Dead Beginnings (Vol. 1) (10 page)
His mind raced with horrifying images of being too late, of finding a torn, bloody body lying twisted on the floor, of holding the boy’s head in his lap as he exhaled his last dying breath.
He leaned around the side of the couch and looked behind it. No one there.
He crossed the room and went back into the kitchen. Frantically, he threw the cabinets open in a fruitless attempt to find the one who called out to him. He pulled one of the chairs from the round breakfast table to reach the pantry cabinet behind it.
The house was silent. There was no creaking of wood to give away the hiding man’s location, no whisper of hope from trembling lips, nothing as Lonnie stood in the middle of the room, arms hovering away from his sturdy frame as he heaved heavy breaths. Where was the little shit? He closed his eyes and took in a slow breath to keep himself from spinning out of control and tearing the whole place apart in a rage.
From under the table, something grabbed his leg with force and he jumped away, crashing against the frame of the doorway. His heart beat against his ribcage as he struggled to take air into his lungs. The white arm slithered back under the table and into the darkness.
Inching his way closer, Lonnie crouched down to get a look. He couldn’t see anything in the thick blackness. When he reached a full squat, something moved that shook the table on its feeble legs. Two hands slapped at the linoleum as a figure crawled out on all fours.
Lonnie straightened himself up to stare down at the head of curly brown hair beneath him. Slowly it turned and a pale face looked up at him. Tears poured from large, brown eyes. “Thank you,” the young man breathed out as he sat on his knees, crumbled over at the waist, and buried his face in his hands. “Thank you.”
There was that surge again. The intoxicating burst that coursed through Lonnie’s nagging limbs all the way to his racing heart. He’d done it. He’d saved another life. They were one step closer to reclaiming the world as their own. He reached a red stained hand down to the doubled over figure on the floor and touched his shoulder.
The boy, in his last year of being a teenager and on his way to becoming a man, flinched away and then gingerly reached out to join hands with the guy who saved his life. With a great upward thrust, he was pulled from the floor to stand on his feet.
The blonde savior clapped him on the back and broke out in a toothy grin. “You got a name, friend?”
The curly-haired young man allowed a smile to spread across his face despite the shaking that wouldn’t quit in his thin, lanky legs.
“Yeah. Mitchell. Mitchell Barnes.”
“Well, Mitchell Barnes. Whaddaya say we get the hell outta here?”
Mitchell nodded, sending his tendrils bouncing around his ears. Lonnie extended his arm to lend a shoulder to the weak and frightened boy. They walked out of the house together and stopped in the broken doorway to stare out into the dark and chaotic world.
There were only a few shadowed figures left in the yard, off in the distance by the trees, shambling away. They no longer chased after the sound of gunshots. The woods were eerily quiet and Lonnie couldn’t help thinking that Rowan was already dead. Not every life could be saved.
Neither of them noticed the silent body that moved through the shadows of the porch behind them.
“Where do we go now?” Mitchell asked as he stared off into the trees. “Is there anywhere safe left?”
The body approached the huddled duo and reached out an arm toward Lonnie Lands to grab him by the shoulder.
“I don’t know, kid. We just gotta—”
A solid hand gripped Lonnie where his thick neck met his collar bone.
“SHIT!” He jumped and turned to see Rowan smiling behind him. “What the hell, bro? Don’t fuckin’ sneak up on me like that!” He couldn’t help exhaling a few breathy chuckles of relief. “Glad you made it.”
“Me too.”
Rowan ducked down on the other side of the curly-haired teenager and offered his shoulder as well. The three of them walked down the steps of the porch together and headed out into the clearing. They disappeared into the tree line in silence, starting their search for another shelter—one that would hopefully last longer than any they’d found so far.
Thank you for reading
Dead Beginnings Volume 1
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