“Claire, you want to stay here and lock down? Anyone else want to input anything before I continue?” Nate shifted on the couch and looked around. He wanted to say something, but he was afraid that “Angry Henry” may make another appearance. “Well, I guess we can sit tight for a while. We can look for humans and give true death to the undeads. If any of you want to leave, I’m giving you one last chance to walk.” He looked at Nate with fire in his eyes. “You may go now. But keep in mind, if you leave our group, you will be unarmed and at the mercy of the undeads.” He looked around at everyone. “Are we all in?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Let me get the map, and we can plan out our day.”
Henry got up and went to the hall closet and found a map of the area. I watched him, as he continually rubbed his neck. He stopped at the kitchen and grabbed a highlighter.
After he unfolded the map on the coffee table and everyone gathered around, he rubbed his temples some. He seemed to be doing that much more since the grenade incident. I was worried he had issues that he didn’t want to worry me with.
“We are here.” He pointed to the street where the front of the apartment building was located. “I think we should check the building here, and the three other apartment buildings over here.” Everyone nodded and listened intently as Henry instructed us. He looked exhausted.
“What if we find survivors?” Claire asked, being the inquisitive one.
“We make sure they understand what’s happening. We cannot bring anyone else back here. We are overwhelmed as it is. We won’t have enough supplies. Let me rephrase that. We don’t have enough supplies. We’ll need to pick some up along the way. This may be tough, at first. No one will want to just hand out anything but, if no one is there, then it’s fair game.”
Claire narrowed her eyes at him. “You are not suggesting that we steal, are you?” Claire was always the good girl.
“I’m not suggesting. I am telling you.”
Claire looked shocked. “I’d never steal.”
“We all need to be in survival mode here. We need supplies to survive. You all need to keep in mind that we won’t be the only ones with weapons. It’s every man for himself. The difference is that Sophie and I are highly trained. When we tell you to do something, you do it, without second-guessing. If we run right and tell you to run left, you do it. Got it?” Everyone sat in silence.
“Let’s gather weapons, and get this show on the road.” I was worried. I could see Henry wasn’t one hundred percent.
We all got our guns and extra ammo. Henry and Sophie both had packs and vests that held a multitude of weaponry. He put on a zip-up hoodie, and she threw on a black leather coat over her hooker clothes. Henry pulled on his favorite black ball cap, tight over his eyes, and she readjusted her blonde Barbie locks into a tight ponytail. It was odd to watch, like it was old news for them to behave that way. They were in the zone.
“Everyone ready? We will start up top and work our way down. Sophie, you take the back. The rest of you, just be ready for us to give you a command.”
I was frozen. Henry picked up on my hesitation. “Love? Are you alright?” He walked over to me. I shook my head. “Love, we have to do this.”
“You aren’t well, Henry. You need to rest. I’m worried.”
He looked annoyed and rolled his eyes. “I’m fine,” he grumbled.
“You are not fine. I saw you rubbing your temples and your neck. You could have a concussion, or something worse.” He looked over at Sophie, as if he was looking for some sort of approval.
Sophie walked over to me. “Elaina, I can understand why you would think he wasn’t fine. He’s exhibiting some signs of fatigue. But, I assure you, he is fine. I’ve seen Henry worse and near death many times. He will be fine. Trust me.” I didn’t want to trust her. I didn’t want to know that she knew him better than I did. I didn’t want to know that she understood him better than I did.
“Can we stop discussing me like I’m not here, please? Let’s get moving.” He pushed past everyone and slowly opened the door. We headed for the stairs, whether we wanted to or not.
Chapter 6
I
t was quiet in the swanky building. It was five stories, five apartments per floor. Henry’s apartment was on the third floor. We tried to walk as quiet as possible up the stairs so we didn’t attract any undeads.
Henry paused before he opened the fifth floor door. He rubbed his temples again. Worry over his health continued to sweep through me. He scanned the hall through the small window in the door. “The coast is clear in this first hall.” He spoke in a loud whisper. “I’m going to open the door and we will slowly enter. We’ll knock on every door and clear the apartments. We will not split up. Everyone understand?” We all nodded.