Music

I miss music.

I never even realized how quiet it is. Well, as quiet as moans and screams in the middle of the night can be.

I guess I never was able to slow down long enough to notice. For the most part being quiet is a lifestyle these days. The kids even know what level of "not so quiet" they are allowed. The baby is nearly smothered to death with attention to keep her quiet. Everyone here keeps a mellow level of noise. When we get angry at each other it turns into an assertive whisper rather than yells. At first I liked it but now... now I'm just bored.

Is it allowed to be bored during the apocalypse? I guess this place has gotten me feeling safe and pillowy. Well, okay, there was a snag with the girls not too long ago but that was exciting in hindsight. It did get us all paranoid that since it happened basically under my nose and didn't hear it that maybe these apartments are too insulated. We all are required to sleep with our windows just barely cracked so we don't let the "human smell" out. We bury our human waste in a pit and try not to leave anything outside that has been recently used by us. (Cups, silverware, kids toys, etc) We try to make this place look deserted as possible. We don't want anyone to jump us in the middle of the night thinking they can take us over. That is why we have overnight watch. Those on overnight patrol can't even kill a zombie until morning if they don't seem to be of immediate danger to us.

We now have TWO people on shift at night. During the day while everyone is around we seem to have a better span of watching out for the shamblers but since craziness happened on the backside of the place we now have someone perched on my stoop every night. I just happened to be in the middle far back. Lucky me, right? I have to get use to a lot of new noises. I try to take as many shifts as possible just to give my space back. I'm becoming nocturnal. My night vision is much better and the sun beats down on me during the day like I'm a vampire. I still try to manage to meet for "community dinners" and lunches and the like. I have to show my face. I have to play normal. Sometimes it doesn't feel like I'm faking it but other times it's all I can do to not chop everyone up into little pieces and feed them to the hungry idiots outside of these gates.

Davis says I'm punishing myself. He says I shouldn't punish myself. It's not my fault, he says. But it is my fault. If Buffy and I hadn't started what we did she wouldn't have been out and about. I put her in the line of fire. I keep reminding myself is being around other humans is the key to surviving this. I don't want to become feral again. We all need companionship... no matter on what level. I guess Davis has stepped in as a close friend. We talk the most. Or at least he's the one I talk to the most out of the group. We can speak freely. It started when he came over to talk about his daughters. He sobbed. I watched a much other man cry into his hands like a little injured kid. Ever since then we've had a weird air around us. It's like our energies are linked-- if that makes any sense. It's not romantic by any stretch but we definitely have something going on that we didn't before. Lilly has noticed and has become more attached to Benny. I see their marriage crumbling before my eyes and it seems so normal. Even though there are zombies nipping at our heels there is still time for married-life qualms and secrets.

I keep telling Davis that I wouldn't mind telling Lilly. To save his marriage. I would take the blame for both daughters to save the angst and just clear the air. That I would take the heat. He refuses. He doesn't want me to possibly be kicked from the group. I tell him that it wouldn't happen that way because if I was the one bitten one of them would've killed me before I turned. It's the agreement. No suffering, no questions... just whack.... death. Real death.

Davis has started taking up with Krista. Both he and Lilly are doing the post apocalyptic divorce. The rings had been long taken off. In the beginning people were chopping off fingers of others to get to precious stones that are more worth paperweights these days. Anyone with sense removed all jewelry and either stored it safely or tossed it to the thieves before they could get close enough to cause harm. Our jewelry and social standard is what weapons you are carrying and how many. Instead of earrings it's a knife. Instead of diamonds it's a bullet belt. Instead of lavish necklaces it's a pick axe.

We are still held by the the same standards society has set up for us, just different. No one has really batted an eye at the adjustment. Krista has moved in with Davis and Lilly is a new sister wife. Since I've been sleeping through most days to me it seemed to happen simultaneously. Jeremy is annoyed about Krista but knows not to mess with Davis since he is a "founder". As a whole we feel that fighting amongst ourselves is a sure way to die in the teeth of our common enemy.

They Knew

No sleep. No sleep.

Every time I close my eyes I see them... pawing, scratching and grunting.

Benny is trying to be upset for Davis. Lilly has now become the recluse. Davis spoke to me yesterday since he was relieving me of my patrol shift. I didn't say anything at first but as I was walking away he stopped me.

"They knew." Was all he said. I turned to look at him with a puzzled look on my face. "They knew I would take them out at the first sign of infection." He was making eye contact so I tried to keep my facial expression as neutral as possible. "I have been a dooms day prepper since my daddy was alive. He lived through a war. I was raised to think on my toes and do what it takes to survive. My girls shown such weakness."

I slowly sucked in air through my nose but my throat felt like it was closing up and I could feel the tears roll down my face. "Don't... just... you don't have to explain anything to me. Honestly, you did the right thing. It just.... fucking sucks. It sucks that they're gone no matter how they left, ya know?"

Davis wiped his face with his handkerchief and took in a deep breath, "Thank you. Thanks for saying that." After an awkward shuffle he gave me a one armed bro hug and I went back to my apartment to sob.

As far as I know no one else knows the full story. Other than the "leaders" of the group. I hope it stays that way. Davis wasn't sparing Lilly of much, she considers them dead just like all of her other family she can't keep close tabs on.

Out of nowhere Jeremy brought me a duffle bag and said, "it was hers." Without any more follow up he walks off. I think he needed it out of their apartment so it wouldn't raise suspension. I found small trinkets from her past that I only know vaguely of. Her wedding band, a pocket photo of her daughter and husband, a couple pieces of jewelry, clothes, and a couple letters.

I also have her weapons. She had a knife on her that I had found in the bushes by my building. It raised more questions than answers but I knew it was Buffy's weapon. I close my eyes and play the scenarios out in my mind.

Elliott is asleep in the apartment Charlie is held up in. Charlie decides to end herself in the middle of the night, maybe in the empty tub with the bathroom door closed. Charlie awakens to strange noises only to open the door to find an already mobile corpse of her sister. Stunned she stands there, reaching out to the image of her sister only to realize it's too late as Charlie chomps down on Elliott's hand. Then I don't know... Elliott runs from her sister out of the apartment leaving the door open? Once Elliott is safe she realizes she's already been bitten and is too scared to go get help?

Then as Buffy is on her way to my place she spots Charlie facing a bush? With Charlie's back to Buffy, just standing there motionless it must have freaked her out. Buffy pulled her knife and had a scuffle with undead Charlie and managed to get bit on the shoulder. Charlie feasted until Buffy began to reanimate... then they decided to pay me a visit?

I'm going to puke.

Erased.

Last night I immobilized Buffy's shambling corpse.

I was waiting.
Waiting for her arrival.
Waiting.

It was late... or early. Depending on what your stance is.

I heard the bells.  The soft twinkle of foreboding.  The bells I had strapped to the barbed wire wrapped around the rails of the stairs leading up to my apartment. I had carpet on the stairs under it so humans could climb over without harm. Zombies would get snagged.

Zombies did snag.

Two of them.

Charlie and Buffy. Scratching at the air in my direction. Rumors amongst the living is that shamblers have acute memory of their living past. A fresh zombie does unfinished business by reflex.

Even in the dark I could see the deep gashes in Charlie's wrists. The dark ooze that ran down Buffy's front. I could imagine how it all panned out. I pushed Charlie down the stairs so I could deal with Buffy. I gritted my teeth and brought my machete around to decapitate Buffy. Her head just past Charlie on her stumbly crawl back up the stairs. I patiently waited for Charlie to get back up to the barbed wires. I hesitated before I took her head off too. I did three almost hits before I connected. I didn't even know I was crying until I sounded the alarm on the walkie. One by one the apartments checked in.

"Benny. All is safe."
"Jeremy. Missing Buffy."
"Davis. Missing Elliott. "

Elliott. Elliott. Elliott. Elliott. Elliott.

"Use caution but I need you guys here. Code Z. I repeat: Code Z."

I dropped the walkie and ran down the stairs. I collectes the heads and put them safely in the middle of the bodies. Their jaws still moving and gurgling noises escape their mouths.

The guys got to me right as I tossed the heads.

"Davis.... I'm so so sorry." I put my arms up just in time for a scream to be heard from the apartment Charlie was staying in. We watched as Elliott ran over and threw herself at her father's feet. She raised her bloody hands in a begging jester and Davis pulled out his hunting knife and plunged it deep into her eye socket.

We all must have been equally shocked because as he cleaned his knife off he simply said, "She had a bite in her hand. Behead her and toss her into the pool with the rest. Burn them before Lilly sees. As far as she knows these girls ran off. As far was as I'm concerned they left together weeks ago. Sunrise is about an hour. I'd be grateful if they were embers before breakfast." He nodded to us and left somberly.

We did as he said.

No one but me cares that Buffy hasn't been seen. Jeremy started a rumor that she helped the twins leave and probably too ashamed to come back. That she probably feels obligated to help them survive. The bodies we burned were the shamblers that breached the gate as they slipped out. Their pockets were empty.

Erased. Just like that.

Just like that.

Undead Girlfriend

Yesterday was such a mess.

Buffy wasn't out to sabotage the group but it still sent a ripple out. Soon after I made the entry yesterday there was a knock on the door, the twins.

Elliott and Charlie were both highly upset about my house guest. Their yelling woke Buffy up. I had no words, I didn't know what to say... how to make it right again. Apparently Jeremy was frantically searching for her and was causing everyone else stress.

"I just thought-- Nevermind." Charlie said with tears swelling up. I knew what she thought, and she was right. We had been playing a mental game ever since I got here but we had never physically acted on it. Just random touches here or there, spotting each other during work outs or lingering hugs. I thought it was just the need for companionship, not sexual. I guess I was wrong. "Hey, life is to short for drama, okay? This sucks but I don't want to be on bad terms. I don't want to regret words. We can talk later." Charlie shot Buffy a look, bit her lip and motioned to her sister to leave with her. They closed the front door and I spun around to face Buffy.

"Well, I should get back now. I don't want Jeremy to cause us to get kicked out." Buffy finished getting dressed and left... not even a kiss good bye.

I sat by myself and sipped my coffee. My stomach was in knots. I did a breathing exercise I used before the zombies, my anxiety breathing. My, "Everything works out in the end" and "I can do this." mantra. Having feelings was strange. How calm everyone was even though tension was high was strange. Things are different now.

Another knock at the door.
This should be wonder-fucking-ful.

"Hi. Umm, sorry about earlier. I just--- didn't know how to act. Ya know... about that girl." Charlie stood there, sniffling between words. I couldn't help but be surprised at how upset she was. Even though we flirted it always felt more of a reflex than anything else. Teenage girls flirt and especially flirt with people that would make their Daddy angry... that's all. I thought. "Jasmine, one of the cheerleaders... well... come with me." She grabbed my hand and lead me to the far corner storage unit. My throat was clogged with anxiety, I could barely swallow. I knew what she was going to show me before she pushed open the large door. A hog tied zombie lay in the corner. The smell made my eyes water.

You never get use to the smell. Out in the open it becomes a tool to know when they are coming but in close quarters it's just like finding a dead body that has been forgotten about for months, in a car, on the hottest day of the year. Bugs won't even feed on these gnarly bastards. I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt. From the noise of us approaching the tied up beast started thrashing and kicking. Black ooze leaked from around her bindings, her skin was torn from thrashing around. Charlie sat down on the floor beside me. We had an easy six feet between us and the thing Charlie called Jasmine.

I pulled my knife from it's holster and looked at Charlie. We both jumped when Elliott slipped under the storage door. Charlie continued into her quiet sobs while Elliott put a hand on my shoulder.

"Jasmine was Charlie's girlfriend. They were on the squad together and our parents just thought she was a close friend. Charlie saved Jazzy in the beginning and we moved here. Their relationship became hard to hide when we were all crammed in the truck for days getting here. Daddy even blamed Jazzy for the deaths of the other girls. Our parents ignored their relationship because obviously there was bigger shit to deal with. Jazzy got bit while we were helping Benny and his family secure these apartments. Charlie and Jazzy wanted to have their own apartment to have more privacy." Elliott made a grimace, "Well, Charlie tied her up when she died before she... came back. I helped her put the body in here. I thought--" Elliot choked by a sob, "I hoped that Jazzy was taken care of."

"I couldn't do it." Charlie sobbed.

I walked over and plunged my blade deep into the skull of the undead cheerleader. The thrashing stopped and her body went limp. I pulled the knife out and blackness oozed everywhere. I spat at the ground to get the smell out of my mouth. I wiped my knife off on the dead girl's pant leg. I calmly walked back over to a hunched-over sobbing Charlie and her sister who was consoling her. I leaned over to be face to face with Charlie and lifted up her face by the chin with my now black ooze splattered hand. She shivered with pain and tears as I told her very solemnly, "That wasn't your Jazzy. This isn't a game. You put everyone at risk. Are you hiding any more dead girlfriends? You have to clean this shit up. Got me?" I kissed her forehead, nodded to her sister and walked out of the storage unit straight to Davis and Lilly who were talking with Krista and Jeremy in the courtyard. I had black splatters on my pants and shirt. As I approached Jeremy and Davis reached for their weapons.

"I would say relax it's me, but I'm pretty sure my news isn't going to be a day at the spa." I said through clinched teeth.

Since it was in the middle of the day we all helped the twins clean up the storage unit and burned the officially dead girlfriend. Charlie won't even look in my direction and Elliott keeps talking for her and apologizing profusely. Buffy and I haven't spoken about our night together. No one in the group has brought it up either. Tonight is my night to keep watch so people think I will be sleeping most of the day. I think it's a good thing.

It's amazing how the end of the world can put things in perspective. Krista is banging all the men in her group. Even Kroger who apparently doesn't speak. They call him Kroger because that's where they found him. Held up in a grocery store he was a night janitor at. Smart hiding place, if you ask me. He kind of speaks through hand jesters and Jeremy swears he's said a few words in the year they've been in the "Zed Wars" together. Jeremy was a teenage drug dealer turned distributor to now zombie killer. Kroger was the first "living being not out to kill anything that moved" (his words) he came across after the dead stopped dying completely. Point is-- no one cares about that extra drama. If anything the group is just happy to be "gettin' some" and now they are happy to be semi-comfortable. They have a whole apartment building now like the Benny's. Both levels of building seven. It was decided last night to integrate them officially. That means putting them on the patrol and the work schedule. We run like a hippy commune. I guess it helps that Benny's family has training in running and feeding large groups.

We are all just happy to be alive and now that all the skeletons are out of the... umm... storage units, we may be able to move forward.

Dumb Libido

Is this what being hung over feels like?

It feels like it's been years since I've had this pang between my ears and the nausea built up inside. It's so bright outside.

I woke up next to Buffy this morning.

Yes, like the vampire slayer. She said she always loved the show and renamed herself almost instantly once everything went to shit. She met up with Jeremy and the others after a few months on the run. Jeremy is smitten with her but is involved with Krista. Krista is also involved with Oliver and John, from what I gather.

I'm warming up a few coals to boil water to make coffee. Buffy is still passed out inside. What the fuck is wrong with me? These people have been here for three days and I'm shacking up with one?

Well, I don't think we did anything too much last night. Not that I remember anyway. It's all a blur really. A big, big, blur. I can't trust this girl, she may have planned something awful for the rest. Maybe she was just slowing me down so her friends could get to the others?

Fuck.

I can't believe I let my dumb libido get in the way... again.

Fuck.

New Comers

A bullet whizzed through the apartment and embedded its self in the wall in the hallway.

What. The. Fuck.

I'm so lucky that I was doing my crunches in the living room when it happened. I heard the pop and only knew where it ended up when the picture in hallway hit the floor. Glass everywhere. Up until that point I didn't even realize there was a picture in the hall. I crawled over to the picture, a loving couple and a baby. A family photo. I grabbed my weapons and left the apartment. I went around the corner of the building and could hear the yelling on the far side of the complex, near the 301. Shit.

I noticed the twins crouched behind a building on the inside of the courtyard. I join them and ask what's going on.

"New comer. Benny saw them and the dude shot at him. Lucky for Benny the dude is a shitty shot." Elliott said with big eyes.

"Yeah, well, it could've been me. The bullet is in the wall of the hallway." I replied.

We turned to listen more as Davis went to the gate. Luckily the new guy hadn't breached the gate. The men were discussing what the protocol of the new guy crossing the gate should be. I gripped my knife and cleared my throat. I got this.

I came across the parking lot and cuffed the knife against my arm. I approached the men and took note of the packed truck in the road behind the guy. I saw movement. He's not alone. I tab the shoulders of Benny and Davis to stop the arguing. I pull them a couple feet back after giving the "One moment." motion with my hand to the guy on the other side of the gate. We move far enough away from the guy so he can't hear us whisper.

"Look, we're mind fucking him right now. He shot at you and he is obviously looking for some form of comfort. We all have locks on our doors and we have walkies between us in case shit hits the fan with this guy. I say we let him in--"

Davis cuts me off, "But what if he jumps us as soon as we let him in?"

"Look-- that gun shot let some shamblers know we are here. Either we let him in and set him up at least temporarily or risk him trying to set up somewhere else and leading the fuckers even close to us, but en masse." I made sure to make eye contact with both men to gauge their reactions. They weren't opposed. "First, we assess their group and make them strip. We have to make sure they aren't bit. They should at least appreciate that. Once they are okay we make them leave the vehicle on the outside and allow them within the gate. What house would be better for everyone, Davis?" It's strange how they just let me take control. It must be my time on the outside.

"Uhhh, probably building seven. It's on the corner in between us all. Benny can see them from his place and you're on the backside so if they are trying to do anything funny out of sight you are more likely to catch it." Davis said, gripping his shovel.

"Hey, fellas. I don't like being so out in the open here. We deciding something?" The guy called, carefully, while glancing around.

"Right. We don't tell them where we are held up. Tonight we eat picnic style outside the pool gate at the tables there. We escort them to their apartment, ground level. Keep a copy of the keys. You guys watched me so I trust we can watch them the same. Integration starts once we gain that trust." I nodded to the guy, "You see anything?"

He shook his head no, "Sorry I shot at you, dude. You gotta understand why I'm jumpy."

"Davis, go get the keys to seven. Benny, come with me." Benny and I approached the guy on the outside of the gate. When we got up to him he seemed a lot calmer than before I joined the discussion. "Okay, this is how it's going to go. You're going to get everyone you have with you out and by the gate. Strip to your skivvies and once you're cleared you guys can come in here. We have plenty of space. No more than one melee weapon per person. Leave your firearms in your vehicle until we're sure you aren't here to take us over.  We won't bother them. You can park outside the gate to where you can keep watch to make sure. There is safety in numbers. We don't fuck with you, you don't fuck with us. Got it?"

The guy seemed visibly annoyed but willing. "Sure. Where do I need to park?" I motioned to the 'Exit Only' gate. It was the only gate they hadn't completely blocked off with a car. It was a gate we could unlatch a few chains to let people semi-comfortably squeeze through the opening and we could easily re-secure it. Easy, but time consuming.

When it was just me, I had jumped the fence and broke into my apartment through an unlocked window. I knew the chances of finding an unlocked window was better on a second level.

The guy re-parked outside the gate and showed up with with five others. He had been driving a diesel full sized truck so that many people wasn't so far fetched. Four men and two women, counting him. They each had large bags with them. Nothing too big though, everyone traveled very similar these days. Even the Benny's each had a duffel they would grab to go if need be. Without a word they all undressed, Benny and I had our quiet distance weapons at the ready in protective stance. The guy was so nervous I promised we'd watch their backs since they promised to do our song and dance to get in here. The sun was starting it's slow slink behind the horizon. I wanted them inside before true dusk. The group as a whole looked very underfed. Their lips parched with dehydration. No wonder the guy seemed so desperate for us to help. I could hear the twins, their mom and Randi setting up dinner in the courtyard. We all wanted to be in our homes before the curfew we had set up for each other. Even though we have been broken, now that there are new people our unit has become one again. Us against them. Maybe this is what we all needed. Fresh blood.

Davis rejoined us with keys and started un-threading the chains. The first guy undressed and passed inspection first. Davis checked their bags on the way in to make sure they weren't carrying. The whole process took maybe fifteen minutes but felt like hours. They grouped up behind Benny and I as they shuffled in. Just as the last person crossed the gate we noticed four shamblers coming down the road. Benny and I nodded to each other silently and climbed the car that had been rolled on it's side and jumped the fence. Davis hurriedly re-threaded the chains as Benny and I approached the zombies. We separated and coaxed two a piece in opposite directions.

I had dropped my distance weapon within the gate and was now holding my two go-to melee weapons: a miners shovel strapped to my back and a machete in my hand. Benny had an aluminum baseball bat and his large hunting knife. I had my knife on my thigh strap but that's too close for comfort for me to melee with. I teased my two with the machete and kept my distance. I saw my chance and kicked the kid shambler in the chest, landing him on his back. I then ran circles around the other shambler disorienting it and kicked it over as well. As it lay face down I put a foot in the middle of it's back and brought the machete down taking off the head. I glance up at the kid zombie who had now gotten back to his feet. I glance over to Benny who had also taken down one and was now working on his second. The kid shambler was an easy target. I used the shovel to keep the distance between us and swung my machete around to sever the head.

Benny was wiping off his bat using the shambler's jacket when I came over to him. We shook hands and nodded to each other. We headed back to the gate and used a ladder Davis and the new comers had launched over the side to aide us in getting back over. We climbed the ladder onto the roof of the storage units that line the outside fences and pulled the ladder back up to then get off the roof.

"Let's eat and then we'll show you to your temporary home, eh?" Benny said, propping the ladder on it's side away from the gate.

"You guys have enough food?" One of the women said, putting a hand on her stomach, "For all of us?"

"Yes. We have enough." I said with caution. They don't need to know the wealth of food here just yet.

We got to the rest of the group and they introduced themselves, starting with the dude who came to us first.

Jeremy.
Buffy.
Oliver.
Krista, with a K.
Kroger.
John.

And then there was 18.

Broken

They've added me to patrol. Davis and his family moved into a new apartment to be away from 301.

The twins have started crashing at my place at least once a week. It's a mess. The group is broken. Benny tries to keep watch but he mainly seems to be focusing on his house. I haven't heard the baby cry at all. I don't know if that means it didn't survive or the house is just excellent at hiding noise. They've had their windows closed.its been a hundred degrees. I don't know how they are dealing. I haven't been in there.

Group meals are now a thing of the past. Davis sneaks over to peek in on the Benny family to make sure no one has turned.. for our safety. He often jokes about going in and killing Benny, the sisterwives and the infant. The eldest child is almost a teenager and could be of use and the other two are old enough to adjust.

I told him I'd only kill them off once they join the ranks of the undead. Not before.

I keep waiting for the screams of despair and more death. We are less safe being broken. I realize now how much I need people. Being alone made me go crazy. I survived but to what avail? The twins and I made a pact. If their parents die or their parents and the Benny family start a war within themselves, we are booking it elsewhere.

I just hope the group can recover.

Howls

It's been raining pretty much nonstop all week.

Zombies aren't a fan of rain. They are like any other animal when a storm comes into town, they find a crevice and stay there. Well, most of the time.
When you live in a horror movie you plan on horrible things happening during a heavy rain.

The twins came over for coffee and board games since the rain wasn't allowing much else. After the board games and coffee we did some sit ups and crunches as well as push ups and jumping jacks. The rain still didn't let up.... then we heard a howl.

It was like a werewolf movie. Too human to be animal and too animal to be human. Charlie put a hand on her gun, "What the fuck was that?" I was trying to remember if wolves were even normal to Louisiana-- I had guessed not.

We covertly left my apartment and followed the howl.

We followed that grisly noise to the 301.

We saw candle light in the second level windows, a huge rule breaker for the group. Any notable kind of light at night would give us away to zombies or worse: other breathers.

Davis was already halfway up the stairs when we got there. Charlie opened her umbrella over us. "What? I'm not going to keep getting drenched if I don't have to." Was her response.

We followed Davis up the stairs but we were quite a few paces behind him so we ended up plowing into him at the top. Davis readied his weapon and nodded for us to do the same. Charlie sat the umbrella down to ready her weapon. When he was satisfied he slowly opened the door.

Benny and Randi were bent over a mattress in the middle of the livingroom, blood was everywhere at their knees. The three kids were huddled in a corner, the littlest ones were covering their eyes. The howl came again, much louder so up close.

We collectively took two steps forward and saw a very human Isabelle on her back, pulling her legs into her chest and howling as she pushed one last time and a baby was now being scooped up in a fresh towel by Benny while Randi cut the cord and brought over a small trashcan to plop the after birth in.

We all stood there, mouths hanging open, staring at this new life. The baby screamed tiny baby screams and was quickly places on Isabelle's bare chest. Benny finally glanced back at us and motioned for us to meet him down the hall, away from it all. Davis shook his head firmly.

"Alright, fine." Benny talked while he wiped his hands off with a towel, "Let me hear it."
"Are you fucking clinically insane?" Davis whispered in a hurried tone, a finger planted forcibly against Benny's chest.
"Now wait a minute. This is amazing! A new life! A new generation. Not a stillbirth or monster, but an infant." Benny's voice was steady and glowy. Like a new father.
"That screams and needs diapers and shouldn't be in climates that compare to the surface of the sun! What if that thing dies of SIDS and comes back as a ghoul? How will you handle that? How will your wives handle that? Your kids? For fucks sake, Ben. You never even told us. No warning, nothing." Davis ran a hand through his hair and took a long gaze at his feet.
"It's a risk we are willing to take. We lost so much in the early days, we have to replenish."
Davis cut him off, "Ben, don't give me that holistic bullshit, okay? You're not the only family dependant on those gates and these apartments. Got it? And if you want to pull 'We were here first' bullshits let me remind you who saved your ass two years ago and who mended the fences and set up a perimeter. Got it? Fuck this. My family will not be allowed in these walls, around that thing until it can walk and talk." Davis poked Benny one more time in the chest and pushed past us down the stairs. He headed towards the guard perch in the center building.

That left us.

Mouths still open.

Watching.

"Want to meet baby Imogen?" Isabelle asked us, now moved to a fresh mattress. That's when I realized they had covered her other mattress with a tarp. Benny and Randi were carefully taking the tarp out to wash it off in the rain. I hoped the human scent would be long deluded before the rain stops.
Charlie was the first to take a peek at the baby. The tiny baby couldn't have weighed more than seven pounds. Isabelle looked exhausted and pale. I wondered if she'd make it past tomorrow. I hung back. The entire situation mortified me.

Davis was right.

This was a terrible idea.

I know its not plausible for us to stay out of the 301 but I am definitely keeping my distance.