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Chapter 7
In the morning, the four of us pack up our gear and get ready to start walking. Ryder and Reese both look tired, and I wish I'd forced them to let me take a turn at watching. They're the only things standing between death and me, and if they're working at half-full, mistakes might happen.
Reese stops me before we leave, and buckles something through the loops of my jeans. It's black and looks like a belt, but it has a leather holster right over the hip. He tucks one of the Glock 17's away, and smiles. "You remember how to shoot, right?""Um, yeah," I say, not nearly as confident as I sound. And I don't sound all that confident. "I think I'll stick close to you just to be on the safe side." I give him a nervous chuckle, and he smiles."Don't worry, I'll protect you."Ryder makes a rude gagging noise, and I glare at him. He just shakes his head, ignoring my stony glare, and grabs some extra ammunition, tucking it into a bag that he hangs oveRelated chapters
75 Days Chapter 8
Tobe screams and Ryder brings his rifle up. He pulls the trigger, and a zombie drops, but another quickly takes his place. There are dozens of them, and the four of us are no match, especially since I barely know how to shoot, and Tobe still doesn't have a weapon.She bends down and grabs a rusted piece of metal to defend herself with, and moves closer to Ryder. I bring my gun up and aim directly for the head of the nearest zombie. I pull the trigger, and the shot goes wide, lodging in the shoulder of the zombie next to him. "Shit!"I aim again and squeeze the trigger. This time the bullet lodges in the zombie's throat, but he doesn't stop coming. The third shot buries itself in the zombie's eye socket, and he crumples to the ground, tripping up two of the monsters behind him. I turn, looking for my next target.A woman comes at me, drooling thick, yellowish slime down her front, and I shoot. My heart is beating wildly,
75 Days Chapter 9
Ryder reacts fast, and jumps away from the knife. It slashes through the air, missing his neck by a couple of inches. Ryder grabs the leader's wrist, and twists it sharply. The leader curses and the knife falls from his hands and into the dirt. Ryder twists the wrist harder, and it snaps.He draws the leader closer, and brings his knee up directly into his stomach. The leader wheezes harshly and doubles over, trying to catch his breath. Ryder doesn't give him the chance though. He brings his arm up, and slams his elbow down directly onto the leader's spine. He falls to the ground and doesn't move again.His two companions just stare at him, unsure of what to do next. They're still holding their weapons, but Reese has them at gunpoint. I can't see what he says to them, but they drop their shotguns to the ground and start to back away, hands raised. They don't want to mess with Ryder or Reese now that their leader is laying face-down on the gr
75 Days Chapter 10
It took Reese and Tobe about fifteen minutes to find a working boat and the keys that went with it. They spent the rest of their time gathering new supplies that our store didn't have. Tobe had two bags full of new clothes, and she couldn't wait to show them to me.I go through the bags, surprised to find that I don't hate the stuff she picked for me. Her clothes aren't entirely practical. She's got a skirt and some nice boots, but as long as she can run safely in them, I don't think it'll be a problem.My new clothes are similar to what I'm wearing now: jeans, a pair of black boots, a new belt, a couple of white camisoles, and a new black sweater for when it gets colder. Which should be anytime, I think to myself. It's getting cooler at night, and the days are getting shorter. It should only be a few weeks before the first snows get here. I hope we're someplace safe before then."Alright," Reese says, brin
75 Days Chapter 11
In the morning, I head into the one bathroom with a bottle of peroxide, a cotton swab, and a fresh bandage. After peeling away the old bandage, I notice the cut on my thigh is a light red color, and it throbs gently when I touch it. The cut is healing, but I don't want to take any chance it'll get infected. So I clean it carefully, dry it, and stick a new bandage on it.Then I dress for the day in the new clothes that Tobe grabbed for me, and I feel fantastic. For the first time in months, my clothes aren't dirty, torn, or covered in blood. They're nice, fresh, and clean, and I feel like a brand new person wearing them. It's strange to think that something as simple as brand new clothes could lift the mood, but they do.When I join Ryder and Reese, they're sitting at the small, circular dining room table. Each of them has a bottle of expensive Fiji water in their hands, and they both look incredibly happy about something. When I sit down bes
75 Days Chapter 12
I sleep for almost four whole hours. When I wake up, it's getting dark out, and I feel a little better about what happened earlier. I was stupid enough to make a mistake that almost cost me my life, and Tobe's, and I won't let it happen again. I can't afford to if I want to survive in this new world.When I wake up, I stretch until my back cracks, and then head out into the living room. Reese, Ryder, and Tobe are all sitting at the dining room table with a deck of cards. They're playing poker and are using stale pretzels as money. Tobe smiles when she sees me. "Should we deal you in?"I smile. "Sure, I haven't played poker in ages."I take a seat across from Reese, and Tobe slides some cards towards me along with a pile of pretzels. I do a quick count. Twenty of them won't last me very long, so I play it as safe as possible. It takes me almost forty minutes to even out my pretzels with the others, and then I slowly pull
75 Days Chapter 13
"Do we turn around and find a different way back home? Or do we go knock and see if anyone is home?"Ryder thinks to himself for a minute, and I don't rush him. This decision could have either really good, or really bad consequences. On the plus side, we might get a new ally, a new pair of eyes and ears watching our place. On the negative side, we might get a new enemy, a new person to watch out for. This person might try to kill or rob us if we turn our back on them.Finally, he sighs. "I think you should stay here, and let me check the house out first.""I don't think so. There is no way you're going up to that house alone. You can go up to the house, or you can turn around and head home. Either way, I'm gonna have your back on this. Now, what are we doing?"He's studying me intently, and I feel oddly self-conscious about it. After a minute, he nods once. "If you wanna come with me, you stay behind me at all times, and if I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?""Yes."We sli
75 Days Chapter 14
Ryder nudges me, and I raise my own gun, just in case. The man takes the gun from Ryder, and turns away from us. He takes aim at his wife's head, but the gun is trembling so badly I know he won't hit her if he pulls the trigger. He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself, and then tries again.With one last shuddering breath, he turns the gun around, sticks the end in his mouth, and pulls the trigger. The back of his head explodes, coating us in blood and skull fragments, and I scream as the man drops to the ground, missing half of his face. I'm still screaming when Ryder takes the gun from him and shoots his wife.When he turns to me, all I can see is the man's blood that coats Ryder's shirt and arms, and then I look down at myself. Bits of blood, brain matter, and bone coat my clothes. I slap at my arms, trying to scrape everything away, trying not to see it as I do. Right now, I don't want to think about what's sticking to me and soaking into the carpet, I just want to clean mysel
75 Days Chapter 15
Tobe doesn't come out for dinner, and our talk is mostly subdued. I know that I should be worried about Tobe's drinking, but she is an adult, and she is relatively safe here. If she wants to get drunk once in a while, I don't really have a say in the matter. I can tell that Ryder and Reese don't necessarily agree with me, and I know Ryder is tempted to say something to her, but I keep him from doing it.After dinner, Ryder gets up to explore all of the cupboards and drawers in the house, and I sit on the couch with a book, trying to read by candlelight. I've barely read five pages when Ryder comes back with a triumphant smile on his face. In his hands is an old, massive, purple radio with a built in CD and tape player.Reese sees it and smiles. "What did you find? Anything good?"Ryder shrugs. "Don't know. Thought I'd let it be a surprise."I set my book on the table next to the purple radio, and get to my feet. I haven't heard music in ages, and I've really missed it. Almost as much
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