She wasn’t sure which tasted worse, the blood that had sprayed across her face and dripped into her mouth or the bile filled vomit it had induced.  Her body stopped trembling only when she heaved.  Her throat burned and her back burned from the midday summer sun.  Just beyond the brick wall and garbage cans was a horror she simply could not wrap her mind around.  She prayed it was a nightmare, that she was asleep and would wake in her own bed, but the tiny chunks of flesh that still clung in her hair told her it wasn’t and when her body could expel no more the tears began.  Collapsing into a heap against the wall she cried like a lost child at a busy mall.  Saying her sister’s name over and over and over again as though the sound of it would wipe the gore of her death from her eyes and bring her back.  But it didn’t, instead it made her makeup run and smear across her face with each rough wipe Bethany made across her stinging eyes and leaking nose.  Sniffling, her chest heaving from crying, and her body trembling from fear and shock all she could do was stare through mascara blurred vision at the thing that was heading towards her probably drawn by the sound of her sobs.  It was horrible, all discolored like someone who had been badly beaten from head to toe with a pipe.  The bruises turning dark black and purple ringed with that sickly yellow they get before the final healing begins.  Its eyes were fixed in a blank almost frightened stare that was locked on her.  It paid no mind to the obstacles in its way as stepped on a soda can and kicked an empty vodka bottle.  In fact, all it did was walk straight for her still holding on to…her sisters face.  It was still holding a portion of her sister’s face in its hands, she could tell by the large blood covered silver earring of a dolphin that hung from it.  The hot bile rushed its way up and out in one sudden gush down the front of her shirt and into her bra.  Bethany pressed her back to the wall and screamed knowing it would do nothing, but it was all she could do.  Her body would not move, her legs laid out in front of her like they were not her own.  Time stopped, sound stopped and she closed her eyes and waited to die.  But death was her not her friend today, the thing stepped forward bending down to grab her and suddenly slipped and fell on its face making a sick cracking sound as it connected with the ground.  Bethany opened her eyes to see her sisters dead blood filled eye hanging slightly out of its socket staring up at her and the thing slowly rising up, it had fallen in her vomit.  Still unable to move she screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to merge with the wall behind her.  The thing, that was once a person, a woman by the look of it, raised its head to look at her.  Its face was cracked opened from cheekbone to the jaw.  Its nose was smashed nearly flat, chunks of flesh hung from its face when it slid on the rough cement.  The stench that came from it made Bethany’s eyes water as her body lost whatever it was holding.  But it wasn’t till its cold black fingers wrapped around her wrist that she reacted.  With a force she didn’t know she had she raised her left foot and brought her five inch heel down onto its head again and again till the skull cracked and the heel of her shoe wedged itself in its brain.  Panting and not quite sure how she had managed to find the strength she kicked off her shoes and scooted away from its pulverized head.  After several minutes Bethany managed to stop shaking and make it to her feet.  Her urine soaked jeans clung to her as her ass squished in her own shit.  Now only concerned with not being eaten by those things she walked quickly out of the alley to find shelter or maybe another human being in this piss pot roadside town. 

It was nearly dark as walked up the front porch to the old baby blue colored house with its purple and green glass wind chimes hanging on either side of the door.  She had spent the entire afternoon dodging those things and looking for another living person, hell even a dog would have done at this point.  But there was nothing, only those things and bodies of people so badly torn to pieces you could barely tell they were human.  There weren’t any animals around, not even a bird or heat bug, nothing.  The screen door opened silently but the inner door was locked.  She jiggled the knob and cursed as she began to pound on the door.  There was no answer and she was afraid that those things would be drawn to the sound.  So, she took a quick walk around the house to the back where she found an open window.  It was small, but she figured she would fit, in the end it was a hell of a squeeze but she made it.  She looked around the room, it seemed to be the bedroom of a small boy.  Action figures, cars, and airplane models where everywhere.  She smiled lightly for a brief second then went over to the door and gently opened it.  The house was quiet and smelled bad like someone had left food out to rot.  The third door on her left was another bedroom, just beyond that was the living room and a small kitchen.  She heard something, maybe there was someone home, hopefully a nice strong guy, but with her luck it would be some frail old woman that couldn’t see ten feet in front of her.  Quietly, she walked into the living room only to find it empty.  The sound was coming from the kitchen she walked across the living room past the couch and into the kitchen only to stop in her tracks.  There sprawled across the table his head hanging over its edge, his eyes staring at her was her nice strong guy, his guts were being chewed on by one of those things.  Bethany bit her lip and slowly began to back away, when he opened his mouth to say something but only blood spilled out with thick choking sound.  He was alive. he…was… alive!  His blood was a thick crimson pool under the table that was slowly making its way to the doorway.  It hadn’t noticed her yet, it was too busy gnawing at him.  Her heart sank as she quickly ducked back into the living room bumping into a small shelf on the side of the wall knocking down several of the small porcelain dog figurines that it held.  The sound caught the things attention and it stopped chewing for a moment before resuming its meal.  Bethany could take no more, she turned and rushed around the couch towards the front door only to trip and fall over the disemboweled remains of a little girl that laid behind it.  Her hands slid in the blood and her fingers tangled in the girls blood soaked golden curls.  Bethany groaned and pulled her fingers out of her hair only to find her ring caught in it.  With each pull to free her tangled fingers the girls head would jerk towards her.  Bethany tried frantically to pull the ring from her finger, which had swollen from the summer heat.  As she worked the ring slowly off her finger she realized it was getting darker.  But the sun wasn’t supposed to go down for another hour.  Looking up towards the window she saw the thing leaning over the couch reaching for her.  With one final yank the ring slid off and Bethany rolled on to her back and kicked the couch with all her might sending it and the thing tipping over.  As she scrambled to her feet to run out of the house her foot kicked something heavy and metal, it hurt.  Looking down, she saw a medium sized crossbow and several bolts laying next to another body half hidden by a chair.  The thing was up and heading for her again as she leaned down and grabbed the crossbow.  It was already cocked so just aimed and fired, catching the thing in its eye.  The bolt disappeared all the way into its head leaving only the little feathers at the end sticking out.  Its body fell backwards with a loud crashing noise as it fell on a table.  Bethany stayed there, not moving for several moments to make sure it didn’t get up again.   Breathing a sigh of relief Bethany searched for another bolt on the floor and after several tries reloaded the crossbow.  She was exhausted and her brain didn’t want to think anymore.  She wanted a bath and out of her waste filled jeans and vomit soaked shirt and god she would kill for a cup of coffee.  Her tears began to fall as she walked around the toppled couch towards the kitchen; her bare feet slipping in the thick cold blood puddle that covered most of the floor between the doorway and the table.  He watched her walk in through dying eyes, she was a vision of gray that muted out into a glowing whiteness.  He watched as the she raised the crossbow, his ears registering the dull thwang of the bolts release,  he felt the bolts cold metal for smallest fraction of a second against his head, then he felt nothing else.  Bethany lowered the crossbow and sobbed freely, standing there in his blood for nearly an hour before she stopped. 

The jeans were too big, the boots were too big, even the wife beater she had on was too big but they were clean.  The sun would be up soon and after her shower and a little food she was a little more clear-headed but her body was crashing on her…the adrenaline was wearing off and she was fazing in and out of sleep.  Sleep of course won and it was nearly noon the next day when she woke.  She managed to find an old messenger bag in the boy’s closet.  Odd that it was a boy’s room and she had only found a body of a little girl, a woman and a man.  Maybe like her, they didn’t live here but were only seeking help.  Bethany shoved two cans of pork and beans, a can of ravioli, and two bottles of Surge into the bag.  Then she fashioned a carrying strap from a bit of clothes line to the crossbow so that she could carry it across her chest.  It would be a long walk if she didn’t find wheels, that and she only had eight bolts.