Revenge of the Dead

Chapter 17: The Trail

My Mum holds her head tightly in her hands and groans loudly, her voice thick with emotion.

"How can this be happening? First, there are just zombies which are making it hard enough to survive, I mean we had to work for our lives every day. Then they start to evolve and their thinking, they start to perform surgery and horrible murders which I could only just deal with!" she babbles on and I shake my head at her.

"Then they learn to control their hunger so they can hunt us down, that was borderline impossible, to be honest. AND NOW THEY'RE TALKING TO A LEADER!" she rages and then collapses back into her chair. I walk over and crouch down next to her, placing my hands lightly on her shoulders and staring into her stormy grey eyes.

"What have you got to be so afraid of?" I ask her, keeping eye contact the whole time, "the worse has already happened to us, we've just got to try and deal with whatever else they throw at us," I say exasperated and she nods her head slowly but I agree with her words. I wish the world could go back to a time where old age and car accidents where the most common cause of death, I'd take that over what this world had become. I smile at her tiredly before rising to my feet and walking over to Josh slowly. 

"How do you think we're going to find these labs?" I ask him quietly so Sophie won't overhear us, fearful of filling her head with any more anxiety and putting any extra weight on her shoulders. He lets out a long breath and bites his lip in consideration, I study his face for any signs of worry but find none, only a mixture of confusion and hope.

"I don't know..." he trails off and pauses for a moment, "we have to find some sort of clue, like Hansel and Grettle," he smirks and I just shake my head at his childish comparisons. I sigh and place my hand on his shoulder, tapping it lightly.

"Well, you tell me when you find your house made of candy!" I tease and look up to meet my dad's eyes which smile happily at Josh and I stood together. I walk over and sit down beside him, he puts his arm around my shoulder lovingly and I lean into him, ready to put our disagreements aside.

"You know, your mother and I used to be like that," he says and I roll my eyes at him.

"Really?  We're having the when I was younger conversation?" I ask sarcastically and he punches me playfully on the shoulder, I smirk and push him away whilst chuckling to myself. "I'm only joking," I say happily. "I'm glad you're getting on with Josh, though," I say and he nods in agreement beside me.

Jaz jumps up onto my lap and licks my face affectionately, I pull away from her and stroke her in a feeble attempt to stop the assault. She pants happily on my lap and I smile down at her, considering the trauma she's managed to survive since the start of this apocalypse- the whole time her loyalty remaining with us.

"Do you think this will ever be over?" I ask my Dad and he raises his eyebrows at my sudden outburst of a question.

"I think we could end it," he replies, "but it will depend on what we find in the labs- if we find anything," he finishes elusively and I frown up at him.

"You mean if we find a cure?" I ask and he shrugs his shoulders absentmindedly, his eyes fixated on a torn poster across the room from us.

"Or if we find a government," he adds and I consider his words silently, interpreting them in a million different ways.

My Mum clears her throat from the other side of the room and we all stare up at her curiously, wondering what announcement she could possibly have to make.

"Please, sit down," she orders and I grab a chair questioningly. She takes a deep breath and I look around the old shop, the wallpaper is peeling and stained which reveals the mouldy wall peeking behind. Shelves have been upturned and the food is scattered across the floor, leaving only a tiny circle in the centre where we sit now. Eli and Sophie sit next to each other laughing and I glare at him from across the room, he meets my gaze and shuffles away from Soph immediately. I huff in annoyance as I see Sophie cross her arms, unfazed by her irritation and deciding she's way too young anyway.

"So, what's up?" Maria asks sleepily and I roll my eyes at her hostile attitude, my Mum purses her lips and turns to my Dad. Her mouth is open in an attempt to say something but words seem to have failed her, my Dad pats her shoulder comfortingly and she shakes her head. A serious tone overpowers her voice and I snap to attention immediately, straightening up in my seat. 

"You guys need to know something," she says and gulps audibly. I narrow my eye in scrutiny and she drops my gaze instantly, she holds her hands in front of her defensively and words tumble out. "You need to know about operation PDBI."

A small smile tugs at my lips and I look up to meet Josh's stare, he raises an eyebrow knowingly and I nod at him from across our small circle of chairs.

We may not have found a house made of candy.

But we've just found a trail of breadcrumbs.