The Complex: (The Reanimates) Read Online Free PDF

over the complex where were we going to go? Getting back to mom's house was not an option, we couldn't pass through that carnage again. What were we going to do?
    In some sort of miracle the roads started to clear up the closer we got to our complex. The cars we did come across were occupied and in motion. It appeared like the craziness of what we had just seen hadn't yet reached this area. There was a small flicker of hope that maybe we would have a place to go after all. Maybe, just maybe, we would find the complex unscathed. The scene before us was amazing. It didn't seem to be the scene of impending zombies but rather an F-5 tornado. There were no zombies here yet. I wanted to fall on my knees and kiss the grime crusted asphalt right then and there. I laughed out loud as Trent drove over the curb, on the sidewalk path between the buildings, and parked on the lawn in front of our building so we could off load our stuff. People were finishing the loading as we started to unload. Walking towards the apartment with stuff in our arms and a stupid grin on my face instead of fleeing the place with an expression of terror had earned me a few weird stares. As we reached the stairs Mrs. Mendez came out from her apartment directly below ours.
    Mrs. Mendez gave us an incredulous stare as she began to say "You're staying? Really? Why? It's not safe!" Mrs. Mendez was an older devout Catholic woman. She supplemented her income by doing people's laundry at times, mending clothes for any extra money she could make. When she got paid immediately she put a portion in one jar for the church, a large portion to send to her family in Mexico, and the smallest bit to use to feed herself. Mrs. Mendez was a proud woman and refused to take charity from anyone. She believed in earning her way though life. Trent and I knew that every little bit of money made a difference in her life. Since she wouldn't take hand-outs, sometimes while Drew played outside in the common area we would pay her to keep an eye on him. We knew full well he didn't need a sitter and that we were constantly checking on him ourselves, but this was the only way she would take money from us. She adored Drew and would constantly remark on how polite and well behaved he was. He would take play breaks to run over to where she sat on the patio and would ask her if she needed anything or to tell her a story about school. When we paid her for watching him she would chuckle a bit and say “With a boy like Drew I should be the one paying. He is so kind to an old lady.” To see her afraid of the world and worried about us deciding to stay behind broke my heart.
    "This is home. This is where we belong. Where are you leaving to?" I asked.
    "We hear there are no monsters in Mexico. That's where my family is. I am going to my grandson's house first then we are leaving this Godforsaken country and go to where He will protect us. This demon filled land is a direct result of the lack of God in the lives of the people." She crossed herself quickly.
    She looked at the supplies in our hands and then said "If you are being called to stay in this then you must follow God's plan for you. When I go, you can have whatever I have left behind. Don't know if it will be of any help but I don't need it. Mija, I will pray for you and your family that you will survive this. Your family has shown me kindness always and I pray that Jesus will send you a kindness in protecting you."
    I hadn't noticed that our other neighbors had come out to hear our exchange. Daniel, our upstairs neighbor, said he and his girls were staying too. I was glad to hear it. Daniel was an athletic guy with a sweet disposition. He was a doting father to his girls, the oldest was three and the baby was a year and a half. His downstairs neighbor said to him that he would follow the example that Mrs. Mendez had set and that Daniel was welcome to have first dibs on anything left in his place. We walked Mrs. Mendez to her old car, packed to