Survive: The Walking Apocalypse - Part 7

The ashes of my past are seen. Flickering images that make no sense at first. A collage of random scenes with no real sense of purpose. The slideshow continues, until I at last fit the picture together.

These are all happy memories of my parents.

The images show every joyous moment in vivid detail, spanning all the way back to when I was a little boy.

We're playing football in the garden. I shout to my father that I'm getting ready to shoot. He pretends to try and save it as the ball slips under him and I cheer at my victory. He lifts me to his shoulder and cheers my name. He tells me he is proud.

My mother and I are out by the river. We sit on our favourite bench, basking in the glow of the sun as we feed the ducks that gather around us. I glance to my mother and grin at her, feeling at peace and happy. She smiles back and ruffles my hair; a dark brown colour in contrast to her bright blonde that always seemed to catch the sunlight. Her beautiful hair waves with the breeze, shining in the light. I stare for a few moments, mesmerised by its colour. My father sneaks up from behind and spooks us, causing all the ducks to fly off in a flurry of wings and feathers. Frightened, I almost follow them. We laugh as he leans in to kiss our cheeks. My mother kisses him back and pulls me into a hug, beaming all the while. They tell me they love me.

It's Christmas and I'm still asleep. I always did tend to sleep in on Christmas mornings. Lucy bursts into my room, parents not too far behind. She leaps onto my bed and bounces atop it like a trampoline.

"Wake up, Ryan, it's Christmas!"

"A few more minutes," I beg.

"C'mon, Lazy! I wanna open my presents!"

"But, I wanna sleep..."

"Ryan!"

I only groan in reply.

"Ryan! Wake up! Someone else is here!"

My eyes burst open. I sit huddled against a door with Lucy in my lap. Morning sunlight streams into the house, casting gloomy shadows all about.

It was only a dream. My heart sinks and happiness is replaced with despair. Then I remember where I am and the words Lucy just spoke.

"What did you just say?"

Lucy stares up at me, fear in her eyes. "I heard someone moving upstairs," she whispers.

We sit in silence for a few moments as I strain my ears. I hear nothing.

"Lucy, are you sure you aren't just paranoid?"

She frowns at this and crosses her arms. "I know what I heard."

"And what exactly did you hear?"

"Someone moving around!" She says in a harsh whisper, annoyed at having to repeat herself, "The floorboards were creaking like they did in our house and I..."

I wait for her to continue, but she seems unsure. "What's wrong?"

"I think I heard running water, like a shower."

Running water? Can zombies work taps now? Assuming it is a- Did I just call them zombies?

I shake my head free of stupid thoughts. Surely that means there is a survivor upstairs. Why are they holding up here? Why was the door unlocked? Anyone staying here would surely lock the doors, right?

I mentally scold myself for not securing the house before falling asleep. The day before was just so exhausting and traumatic that it didn't cross my mind once I was in the safety of a house. I was upset and tired, I only wanted to calm Lucy down and sleep.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of something thudding onto the floor above us.

"Okay, I heard that. I'm going to go see who it is," I say, getting to my feet. "I want you to stay right behind me, you got that?"

She nods.

"If anything happens, I want you to run. Okay? I want you to run and hide somewhere safe. Once everything is fine again, I'll come get you. Do you understand?"

Again, she nods. I know this must be a frightening little speech for her, but I feel like it's necessary. I don't want her near if something goes wrong.

"Good. Then let's go, Hun."

Slowly, we make our way up. The creaking stairs cause me to flinch with every step. Whoever is here will surely hear us. Each creak echoes throughout the otherwise silent house.

Something crashes to the floor with a deafening smash from the room straight ahead of us, followed by a short scream.

I rush to the landing, Lucy right behind me.

The door to the room is slightly ajar. My hand hesitates over the doorknob. I hear someone on the other side cursing and moving around. It sounds like a girl. Most definitely a survivor and not one of those monsters. Doesn't mean she's friendly though.

I push hesitation aside and shove open the door.

The bedroom is bathed in sunlight. A woman stands before me. Her back to us, she doesn't notice as we enter.

Beautiful, blonde hair cascades down her back, shimmering in the light.

Lucy gasps. She pushes past me and runs to the woman, arms wide. "Mum!"