N87 Virus | Book 1 | After the Outbreak Kadin, Karri (booksvooks TXT) 📖

don’t fool yourself; you’re a smarter girl than that. It is selfish. It may bring you closure, but not them.” Dave stood abruptly before storming out the back door muttering something about the cows.

“He is just worried about you.” Sandra’s voice quivered as she spoke. “So am I.”

“You don’t understand what it’s like. I need to piece together my life from the past three years. I cannot do that without facing the people I’ve hurt.” A tear ran down Allison’s face, soaking the neckline of her t-shirt. “I have to do this. Even if people may want to hurt me. I can’t move on like this. I can’t live like this!”

“You need a plan, then. A plan to accomplish what you need to do, but that will also keep you safe.” Sandra stood and walked down the hall. She was gone only a moment. She emerged from the hall with a blue plastic box in her hand. “Have you ever fired a gun?”

“No! I really don’t like guns.” Allison reeled back as Sandra set the gun on the table.

“Do you have a better idea on how to defend yourself out there? What about Infected? Or scavengers who live by taking what isn’t theirs?” Sandra looked pointedly at Allison while she removed a silver handgun from the case. “There are more dangers out in this world now than you realize, and you need to be prepared to face them. I don’t agree with what you want to do, but I do understand why you want to. If you are going to do this stupid plan, you need a gun.” Sandra removed the clip, opened up the chamber and removed the bullet, then closed it and held it out to Allison.

Allison sat speechless, but when she realized Sandra was not backing down, she reached out and took the gun. It was heavier than she imagined a gun would feel. She ran her hand from the silver barrel to the black handle. Then held it out in front of her, pointing it at the oven, holding it sideways like she had seen bad guys do. After all, she was a mass murderer.

“You are holding it like they used to in the movies, trying to look tough. Sideways and ridiculous. You can’t aim properly that way.” Sandra proceeded to give Allison a lesson in how to properly hold a gun. She explained what each part did, how to clean it, how to load it. Allison was overwhelmed but listened as intently as she could. She knew Sandra would not let this go; she would be forced to leave here with this gun whether or not she agreed to it. Might as well know how to use it.

That night Dave returned to a quiet house after being gone all day. Allison had been up in her room waiting for his return despite Sandra encouraging her to sleep. Allison sat on the edge of her bed, suppressing the nausea trying to rise in her gut. Her hands trembled as she remembered Dave’s face from breakfast that morning. She moved toward her door just as the handle turned, and it slowly opened. Dave peeked his head inside.

“Hey, little one. Can we talk?” Dave asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

Dave slipped in the room and quietly shut the door behind him. He sat in the rocking chair near Allison’s bed and motioned for her to sit. She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her feet up underneath her. They sat quietly in the dark, the room dimly lit by the moonlight streaming in through the window.

“One thing I’ve learned about you since you’ve been with us is you are tough. Less than half of the men I know couldn’t live with the memories of being infected as well as you do.” Dave rocked slowly as he spoke. “I think the best thing for you to do if you are going to leave here is to find your family. Forget about making amends.”

“But I . . .” Allison said, but Dave held up his hand, stopping her.

“I just want you to think about it. Think about how impossible this task you’ve given yourself is. I can’t imagine it resulting in anything good for you or anyone else. However, I want you to know I support whatever decision you make and will do what I can to help you.” Allison let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. Some of the seemingly endless anxiety in her chest eased away.

“Thank you. That really means a lot,” Allison said. Dave nodded before slipping through the door and walking down the dark hall to the room he shared with Sandra.

The next few days were spent learning how to shoot the gun, packing supplies, and planning where she would go. Dave said she could take the old farm truck. It wasn’t pretty to look at, but it was reliable. Sandra found her the most travel-friendly food they had and made sure it was nutritious.

Allison shared details of her flashbacks and dreams with the couple, hoping they would recognize any of the landmarks she could describe. Dave recognized one and marked it on the map for her. It was the farm where she had killed the little boy who was trying to feed her an apple. Dave knew where that was because of the radio broadcast and people in town had been talking about where it happened since it was so close. He said it was only about an hour drive and most of the area was cleared of Infected.

“I’ll start there, then,” Allison said and wrote down the directions to the little boy’s farm in her journal.

“Are you sure you want to start there?” Dave asked, his voice laced with agitation. “It’s only been a few months since that child died. Those are fresh wounds that family is feeling. You heard that man on the radio.”

“I don’t know where else to start. It’s the only place I know to