Kenopsia - Chapter 21: Chapter 21

The office was a bit crammed but I was not going to let people sleep outside in the school rooms, we can fit for now.
The baby was more of a staring little dude instead of a crying one for now so for the moment all is good, he got the couch with his mother who had only briefly woken up, long enough to be helped over the wall before going back asleep.
I cringed at the thought of Adam, that dick still made me feel horrible remembering what almost happened, if I was in anyway more unlucky it could have been this.
I was laying on the ground covered in blankets still, even more is to be added soon, my head on my father's thigh but neither talked, his hand on my head as I had my arms looped around his leg, we fight a lot.... And even if I don't say it out loud to him, I am glad to have someone.
"Tell me about your year." I muttered, staring at the wall, currently in sweatpants, fuzzy socks and a hoodie, the rest of my clothes needed to be burnt again, with a baby I don't even trust disinfectant for clothes.
"What is there to tell?" He asked, voice as gruff as I remembered it, it was dark, way into the night but neither could sleep.
I shrugged.
"Anything."
"Well I left town with Lana."
"No." I said in shocked disbelief.
"Stop smiling, I hear it in your voice."
"Nah not smiling." I bit my cheek with a smile, she was like the office woman next door to home and had been crushing hard on my dad for years even after being rejected many times.
"I know you are." He gave my ear a soft tug. "Yes I did. I am not leaving someone behind to these zombies." I guess I get it from him, my want to help people.
"I call them husks.... Zombie is too human for me."
"You do you Dandelion."
"I hate that nickname." It came to be because Dandelion is pronounced D-Andie-Lion
"I know you do." I know it was his turn to laugh. "So husks huh? Not the worst thing you named. Anyhow I left with her and met a few people, we chose to move out, avoid towns as much as we could. Lana was the first to die, a weak-link, not pulling her weight and faking helpfulness and letting others carry her weight so when she would have needed to help herself she was not able. Then it was Jonny and Theo, they helped me the most along to way. They were two cool men, I bet even you'd have liked them."
"Liking your friends? Impossible."
"I swear you'd have!"
"Ssh."
"Right, but yeah, they died to help us, some car malfunction and they got surrounded so I was alone for a while driving as long as I had fuel before I walked, I found more people, settling with them for winter but left when the snow was gone since they were going in a different way."
"See I didn't leave."
"Mhm."
"I don't know why but I knew you survived, I could feel it."
"You did good." I felt a pat on my head. "I walked here alone and then heard screams, I hoped that there was some way you were around... And low and behold I see the bloody mess you made of the zom--husks."
"Thanks." I said, liking that he used that word. "I needed to survive so there were things to be done."
"Well tell me your story, what have you done this year?"
"Well I was cooped up at home and running out of food when I left, at first I thought it was some drugged up man that tried to attack me so I locked myself in the apartment again. I went out on the balcony and saw these weird people, just standing there not moving. I saw a boy crouched behind a car and screamed down at him to explain, he stood noticing me, making the husks notice him and swarm.... He was the first to die because of my actions."
"Damn kid."
"It's fine, I'm fine.... I got my trusty bat from him, his husk left it behind.... I didn't even know his name.... I then went up to the restaurant near here to the left of the building and hid there, killing another person as I stayed hidden and had blocked the entrance... I don't even know how they looked... Only their scream echoes in my head... When electricity went out I came here.... I lived in here since then. Since I was trying to get into a biology major when I would finish my last year of school that didn't happen I went across town to the university.... I got scratched then."
Saying that caused a tingle in my arm that was scarred from that accident.
"I thought I was dying." My voice broke a little, feeling his hand through my hair. "I thought I was done for but went deeper into the building, thinking if I found something with even my limited knowledge it could help someone else if they found it.... I found Nancy, David and Jack, a school teacher or something and two little boys, she died shortly after I got there,she was bitten to pieces and I shot her... One of the boys was too.... I checked with the microscope.... I was not dying, not having liquid get in my wound but his brother breathed in his spittle and they got sick, the bitten boy died first and I shot his husk.... And I let his brother suffer." I bit my tongue, squeezing my arms around his leg. "I let him suffer through the pain of becoming a husk through the virus to learn, I wanted knowledge and since he was already dying I used him... I shot him as he watched the sunrise so he could die a human..."
I took a deep breath.
"Then I found Adam, something felt off instantly and I was right.... The bastard almost got to rape me but I shot him dead after stabbing his ass full of holes.... Then I somehow make it through winter and find her with a man, labor and all, he was bitten and already infected.... He would have killed her and the baby as they didn't know how infectious it was, I hit him with the bat and he shot himself...."
"Andie...." I heard my father's whisper.
"I killed them dad.... All of them.... It's all my fault." I whispered, tears spilling over, brought up by the memories. "I killed them all..."
I softly cried, trying to not be loud as his hand squeezed my shoulder in silence.
This world is unfair... I am so scared now that I found someone.... I might soon lose them.... And be alone again...
I'm so scared.