A Story To Tell: Season 1| A Zombie Apocalypse Story (Completed)

Day 71.1

Marthie

I give the window one last uncertain look before openin' it. I swing one leg after the other over the rim. I lower my shakin' body as low as I can before lettin' go. I mute the pain that courses through my ankle by bitin' my arm in pain. I try to stand up but fall again.

"Damn. My ankle." I begin to rub my ankle where I fell on it, cringin' at the pain. I manage to get on my knees and then on a single foot. I begin limping toward the woods. I see a slender, tall man rushing toward me. He wasn't someone from the group.

I start limpin' in the other direction, not going toward the rest of the group. I don't want to give away our location. He picks up the pace. I see him reach for his waistband and the instant the gun cocks and points upward I reach for the gun Mason gave me. My fingers slip over the notch. I pray that I clicked the safety off. I cock the gun as I crawl on the ground. I aim and shoot the stranger in the stomach. His gun goes off as he falls to the ground, grasping his stomach.

"They are gonna skin ya like them crawlers. Just you wait. They are gonna take their good damn time. I hope they start with your feet so that you can feel every moment of it. See you in hell. Bitch," he says in a demeaning tone. A gunshot rings in the air, and his head falls limp. I push myself back in horror. Before I knew it, someone lifts me and puts my arm around their shoulders. I realize that it is that Axel kid, so I relax.

"Are you okay?" He looks at me reassuringly for a moment before facing the woods again. I am still shocked that he just killed that man.

"I-I think I sprained my ankle, but other than that I'm good," I respond in a stutter and a tight-lipped smile. I don't know how I'm gonna relay the terrible news.

"Hey, uh, where's Mason?" I curse vividly in my head.

"He, uh... he distracted those men so I could escape," I say in a whisper. "I know you probably don't believe me because ya don't know me and all, but I swear. He reminds me of my son. I wouldn't dare hurt my son," I add on, raising my voice, emotion thick.

"Let's get you back to camp, we just started setting up," he replies with a nod to the head. We make it to the camp through the dark woods, almost tripping over roots multiple times. He sits me down against a log. "Amber, can you check her ankle? I think it might be sprained." The eyes of many of the people are trained on me as if I did somethin' wrong.

"Alright, I'm going to run my hands along your hurt leg. You just need to tell me where it hurts. Got it?" She looks into my eyes with sincerity. I nod. She starts at the bottom, resulting in my wincing instantly. "This side?"

"Yeah," I say in a breathy voice. She checks the rest of my leg.

"Alright, I think it's definitely sprained. I'm going to look for some wrap out of my bag. Willie just started a fire. Why don't you get him to heat up some food for you?" Amber says with a soothing voice.

"I can't imagine what you've seen so far. Did you have a husband before all this? A family?" I try to stay neutral, but my facial expressions betray me.

"I had a family. Two sons, one daughter. A husband- his name was Rob," I say solemnly, a ghost of a smile on my face. I look down at my fingertips. "My sons, one sixteen and one nineteen, were such handsome boys. They had dark brown hair like dark chocolate. They got their looks from their daddy. My daughter was eleven, and she had the most beautiful grey eyes." I watch the embers of the low fire dance around like lightnin' bugs. I scan the area and notice that other people are listening now.

"My mom didn't have to go through any of this. She passed away when I was a kid. I remember how I would get into so much trouble all the time. It was usually something dumb that I'd do. All hell would break loose. You would hear her scream, Axel Rose McKay! Get your miniature butt over here and put those dishes away!" he explains in an overly feminine shrill. Amber and the little girl giggle. It is refreshing to see some smiles.