if we survive

s i x

a s h

I tripped up the steps to the cabin. Two lurkers had already made their way to the door but paid no attention to me yet. I could vaguely hear Zac crying from the other side of the door. I gripped the arrow in my hand and pushed all my force into stabbing it through the closest lurker's skull. Arrows were a lot harder to use when you don't have a bow. The lurker fell over and tumbled down the steps as I stabbed the arrow through the second lurker's throat. It fell backwards onto me but I instinctively swatted it away like a fly and it tumbled down the stairs in a heap. More lurkers were making their way towards me now, a few of them were hit with Colman's arrows. I pulled on the cabin door but it didn't open, they'd locked it from the inside.

"Zac! Let me in!" I yelled over the groans of lurkers. I heard a whistle of an arrow fly past my head and stick into the skull of a lurker that had gotten a little too close for Colman's liking. "Colman! Stay in that tree no matter what! There's too many, so just wait them out!" I yelled as loud as I could hoping she could hear over the noise of the lurkers. Suddenly, the cabin door opened and I was pulled inside. Tripping over my own feet, the person who'd pulled me inside fell over me and I tumbled to the ground beside him. I saw Zac slam the door closed and lock it back. I looked beside me and saw a guy that was probably in his early twenties, he looked like he had some Japanese heritage and his black hair had fallen over his eyes slightly. I sighed in relief when Zac kneeled down between us. He was okay and thankfully I hadn't sent him to his death.

"How many are out there?" Zac asked me fearfully. I glanced beside him while I struggled to catch my breath.

"A lot..." I mumbled and sat up checking on the Japanese guy by patting his chest cautiously. He just silently nodded at me and sat up as well. I looked in front of me and made eye contact with a gorgeous blonde woman biting her fingernails nervously. She must've been the medic on call, Mika is what Rory called her.

"Why are lurkers finding us now? We've had this camp for almost a year and now they decide to show up?" Mika paced back and forth between two empty hospital cots. I stood up and helped the Japanese guy stand as well, we all just stood there in silence for a few minutes until the radio clipped to Mika's belt came to life.

"Does anyone have eyes on Benji? I repeat, who has eyes on Benji?" Rory's voice came through panting. He was panicked and solo delivering a child.

"Who's Benji?" I asked. The Japanese guy raised his hand and shrugged. Mika shakily handed me the radio so I could reply to Rory. "He's here at the medical cabin, how's Jade?"

"Ash? Um, she's in a lot of pain but I'm watching out for her. Don't let Benji out of your sight." Rory replied. Zac pulled on my sleeve.

"What's wrong with Mrs. Jade?" He asked me. I glanced at Mika and Benji before kneeling down to eye level of Zac.

"The baby that was sleeping in her stomach woke up." I said cautiously. I didn't know how to explain child birth to a child so I hoped he didn't ask. "It hurts when the baby wakes up, they have to get it out of her stomach." Zac cocked his head to the side and scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

"Jade's giving birth? Oh my god, I have to go help her." Mika said and started gathering as many supplies as she could carry in her arms. I stepped up to her and carefully grabbed her elbow so she'd look at me.

"There's way too many lurkers out there, you wouldn't make it three minutes outside of this cabin." I calmly told her. I was never a people person, I couldn't speak to people alone.