Survive: The Walking Apocalypse - Pt. 8

For a moment, time stands still. My heart stops and I cease to breathe.

A vision of my mother replaces the scene. She stands before me and turns ever so slowly, revealing her shining face and beautiful smile. Her long, straight blonde hair that I have missed so dearly traces her movement, reflecting the morning sun. She opens her mouth to talk; maybe to say she loves us or that everything will be okay now. Maybe to say that she'll protect us.

Then reality comes crashing down. My mother is dead. I watched her die with my own eyes. We all did. She died a brutal death, only to come back as one of those... monsters. Then I had to watch her die a second time at the hands of my father.

This woman is not my mother.

"Lucy, no! It isn't her," I warn, but it's too late.

She hugs the woman from behind, crying into her waist. The girl spins with fright, freeing herself from Lucy's grasp.

"Wh-, Who are you?" she questions, snatching a lead pipe up off the ground. She lifts it protectively to her chest, but makes no further movements.

I knew it. This girl isn't my mother. She's not even an adult. She looks eighteen, same as me.

I reach for Lucy's hand and pull her back behind me. The girl stares intently as I do, watching my sister with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" she asks again, her voice low and shaky. I can see her hands begin to tremble as they wrap tighter and tighter around the lead pipe. She's terrified.

I slowly place the baseball bat I hold onto the floor and raise my hand in peace. "We're survivors, same as you."

A look of uncertainty crosses her face, but she at least lowers the pipe. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

A moment of tense silence passes between us. I feel Lucy's hand shaking in my grasp. I pull her head to my side and protectively stroke her hair.

"She's so young," the girl whispers. I don't think she meant for me to hear, for when our eyes catch she flushes. "I-, I was getting my things. This is my house."

That's when I notice it. A chest of drawers and a broken television scattered on the floor. I'm not sure how I missed such an obvious mess, but I'm guessing that was the source of the noise.

"What happened to the TV?" I ask.

She looks to where I point and immediately turns a bright crimson. The girl holds up the pipe. "I found this stuck behind the drawers. I needed a weapon against those... things," her face contorts into an expression of disgust as she tries to name them. "Everything tipped over while I tried to pull it out."

"Odd place to keep something like that."

"Yeah. This is my parents bedroom, not mine. My dad was a construction worker..." she chokes up a little at the mention of her father. I can guess for myself what happened to her parents. There's no need to ask.

"Hey," I whisper softly and reach out to her. She instinctively flinches and backs up against the wall. My hand falters, still outstretched. "Are you alone here?"

She only nods her head, eyes flicking between my own and my outstretched hand. "What are you doing here?" she asks again.

"The power died last night. The whole street went dark, we couldn't see a thing. I had to find somewhere safe for the night," I explain. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone else was here. I can't be wandering around at night with those things out there when I have my little sister to worry about."

Again, she stares intently at Lucy. "Yeah, I understand. Don't worry about it."

"You look like our mummy!" Lucy bursts out.

The girl turns a deep shade of red and looks away. I can't help but laugh a little. She's easily embarrassed.

Honestly, there isn't much of a resemblance between my mother and her, other than the straight blonde hair. This girl has amazingly bright blue eyes (Currently puffy from crying earlier, I'm guessing) as opposed to my mother's dull hazel. Her nose is smaller and even her face is more rounded, although her cheek bones are more pronounced. My mother was a little taller too. The girl is almost a head shorter than me.

She's actually kind of cu-

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asks quietly.

My mind goes blank. "Uh, I was wondering what you were planning on doing next?"

A moment of silence passes between us. Lucy leaves my side and props herself onto the bed beside us, legs dangling over the edge.

The girl is staring at the ground and appears to be in deep thought. "I don't know. I- I'm..."

Alone. She's all alone. There's no way she'll survive out there. Not by herself. My mind is set on keeping Lucy alive and well, but I can't just leave this girl here. It would haunt me.

"Ryan, can she come with us?" Lucy asks excitedly.

I smile. I guess I'm not the only one. "Would you like to?" I ask her.

"With you?" She repeats quietly. I notice her stare at Lucy again. Why does she keep doing that?

She looks back at me and nods. "Okay. I really don't want to go out there alone. I've been here since yesterday morning, too afraid to leave."

"I know the feeling, trust me." I stretch out my hand and smile. "I'm Ryan, and this is my little sister, Lucy."

She peers at my outstretched hand for a moment before giving it a firm shake.

Shyly, she smiles back. "I'm Lydia."