I turned the doorknob and yanked it open. I seen what looked to be a woman trying to fight off two biters without any weapons. She was trying with everything she had and it looked like they were advancing on her. I couldn’t just sit back and watching any longer. I had to do something. I grabbed my blade and decided to help. I stabbed both biters in the skulls with no hesitations. With closer inspection, I realized that the woman I was helping was actually a man in woman’s clothing. So many thoughts ran through my head the first was ‘ oh my fucking God. Dude looks like a lady’. I just burst out laughing until I realized this asshole was in my favorite tank top. That is when I lost it.
“Why the fuck are you wearing my clothes ? What the hell is wrong with you ? Are you some kind of pervert or something ? Are you wearing my underwear too ?”
This guy just stood there like he had never heard a girl yell at him before. I was about ready to take my blade and shove it through his tiny little ass.
“You want to answer me or are you going to stand there like you are a scared little pansy princess ?”
“I... I.... I was coated ... in...in..in blood and this..this...this was the only clothes I...I...I could find. I’m s..s...sorry.”
“Holy shit dude. Did Betts, really scare you that bad ? Relax her bark is far worse than her bite. Calm down before you crap yourself.”
“Thanks Kellan. I’m sorry. It’s just that is my favorite tank top and I get emotional and I have had to kill a lot of biters today. So Let’s try this again. I’m Betricia . You can call me Betty or Betts and this is Kellan and That lonely looking guy over there in the corner is Michael. This little bundle here is Azura but we all call her AJ. And who are you ?”
“I’m Brandon. I’m sorry about all this. I just needed a place to keep away from the biters and to get some rest for a bit. I have been running and fighting my way here for about two weeks now. I am about ready to give up. Thankfully this gal showed up at the right time and killed those things with a baby in her arms no less. I am eternally grateful and I know it would be wrong to ask, but do you have any men’s clothes that you could spare ?”
“Yeah. Follow me. I think you should be about my size and I may have a belt lying around somewhere.”
“Thanks, you said your name was Kellan, right ?”
“Yeah. Betts you and dad finish up here. I will be right back. Be careful. Okay?”
“You got it. Hurry back. There is a lot of work to do here.”
Kellan took Brandon off to find some more manlier clothes, instead of my pink yoga pants, black skull tank top, and green over shirt. I swear that had to be the most mismatched outfit I had seen but I understood where he was coming from. Brandon had a thick southern draw and he was lanky enough to fit my small clothes but muscular enough to tell up close that he was a man. If he could pull his weight, maybe we might have a new travel companion. Unfortunately I am not sure how well Michael and Kellan would take that in this situation. For all we know he could be a serial killer, who escaped from prison during all the panic and chaos. No one wanted to be in this type of predicament, yet I didn’t want to be the bad guy and I didn’t want to take a chance of bringing someone in who may harm my family.
Michael was looking under the hood of the largest RV. I noticed that he looked that everything should be ready to go on that and meanwhile I was checking the smaller one to make sure it had gas and propane to make it livable . Luckily for us, Kellan and I would be using the larger RV, which had a bedroom in the back, a dining area, a small living area, and a bathroom with a shower. It was a mini home. I was okay with that. Michael made sure that we would be comfortable. The smaller RV didn’t have as much space but it would work for two men, if we decided to take Brandon with us. Though the smaller one had the option of having three sleeping areas. One was over the driving area, the dining room table laid flat and became a bed, and then there was a bed at the back of the RV itself. I checked the larger RV and it had a full tank of gas and plenty of propane, so now all we had to do was gather all the supplies needed for this journey.
“Michael, I am going to go gather blankets, pillows, sheets, and some soft things to lay on the floor of the RV for Azura. She has been cooped up in this sling for a good 3 hours. She’s I think she needs to stretch a bit and it should be about time for her next bottle.”
“Alright. Be careful and double check everything. If needed find a pen and paper for me so I can make a list while Azura is getting some needed freedom.”
I made my way out of the garage and decided to check the smaller downstairs bedroom first. I knew to be on my guard. As usual I prepped myself for anything. I entered the bedroom and checked every nook and cranny and nothing was touched and there wasn’t a biter to be found. I managed to strip the bed of all its linens and checked the small closet for any extras that may be in there. I was glad I did. I found just what I needed, a large box full of quilts, sheets, and comforters. I grabbed the pillows and noticed a small box that was marked ‘ DO NOT OPEN ‘. Knowing my avid curiosity would get the best of me, I opened the box. It was a box of baby items. I knew right away what and whose this was. This was Elijah’s baby box. AJ was growing pretty fast and it didn’t really matter what was in here, it could be used. I took the box of items back to the RV and let AJ stretch for a good while. Since Michael was with the RV’s I asked if he would watch Azura as she slept while I scavenged the rest of the house. My next stop was going to be the kitchen.
I knew that with there being three, maybe four of us , the food in the pantry should last at least two or three weeks, if it was rationed properly. I grabbed all the dry goods and nonperishable items that I could find and boxed them up. I found several empty jugs and filled them with water, at least that still worked here. I decided to make my way upstairs to finish stripping the rest of the house for anything of use. I came to the first bedroom and noticed it was locked. I thought that was a bit odd. I ran to the garage and asked Michael about it.
“Oh. Yeah, that is Elijah’s nursery. If there is anything you can use in there, take it. The key is right here.”
He pulled the key off a tiny key ring that he kept in his pocket.
“Thanks. I bet there is a lot I can use in there for AJ. We need everything we can get. She is going to grow pretty fast.”
I made my way back to the locked door and placed the key in the lock. I got that familiar gut feeling yet again. I placed my hand on my blade , just to be on the safe side. I turned the knob, and the smell of dust and old age hit my nose, along with a odd funk. I just couldn’t figure it out. I gazed around the room and noticed toys and all sorts of useful items that could benefit Azura in one way or another. I walked over to the crib and what I seen, I just couldn’t get over. There looked to be a skeleton of a baby inside the crib. This room was kept as a tomb for Elijah. I wonder if Michael ever came into this room at all. Since we really couldn’t spare anything, I left the crib alone and went for the bassinet. I pushed it into the hall and smack dab into Kellan.
“Hey. Take this to the garage. Well. ... Wait a minute, There’s more.”
I handed over a few more boxes of baby items, such as toys, clothes, blankets, and what looked to be diapers and everything needed for ages three months and up. I grabbed everything I could from all the other rooms and made Brandon and Kellan carry most of the items down to the RV. I knew that eventually I was going to confront Michael about the infant skeleton in the crib. I just didn’t think that right now would be a good time. We loaded everything up and got it all prepared. I decided that before we took this trip I had to ask, it was going to haunt me.
“Michael, why is there a skeleton in the crib upstairs ?”
“It’s Elijah. Lorna wasn’t ready to let go. She went in the room every day. She wanted to have him stuffed and honestly I couldn’t deal with it. I wanted to have Elijah cremated and she refused. She stole the body from the mortuary and placed him in that room. I didn’t know what was in there until about 2 months ago. I brought it up to her and she broke down. That was Elijah’s grave.”
“Well, I left the crib, but I took everything else. But we really need to leave. The only way to really do this is if we bust the garage doors. Since this is an old house and the garage door was never updated to where all you had to do was push a button, we could have someone stay back and pull the doors open or bust them out.”
“Betts, we will just bust them open. I already bolted the tunnel door. Mom won’t have a way to come in the house and I made sure to leave the boxes of food on the other side like you said to along with a note. So, let’s get out of here and find a new place.”