Trying to Survive (Part 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

would move faster.
       I eventually ordered myself to stop checking so frequently. It wasn’t like I didn’t have plenty of other things to think about. I could only guess my subconscious mind was keeping it all a bay by grasping for any distraction that might shield me from the reality of what’s going on outside… and what happened to me.
       I constantly came close to nodding-off, but I forced myself to stay awake – just in case. My only comfort was the fact that my breathing had calmed and my heart rate had noticeably dropped. As far as I could tell, I was feeling perfectly normal.
       The pain in my face and left eye was slowly returning, and it felt more like I’d been burned than cut. I did my best to keep my eyes still – every time I moved them around too much the pain would intensify. I could sense that it was there and still intact, though I knew it was ruined… I could just feel it…
       As I watched the large hand of the clock move closer to 6:30am, I knew Walt would be at the door soon… Has it really been long enough to know for sure? Even colds and stupid shit like that can take days to display symptoms…
       I jerked straight when I heard the loud, frantic knocking, followed by Walt’s voice. “Hurry up – open the door!”
       Even though the rational part of my brain was telling me I would have turned by now, I was still hesitant to walk over and let him in. I was so scared that I could end up hurting him.
       When the knocking turned to pounding, it snapped me out of it and I ran over.
       The moment I slid the deadbolt aside, Walt pushed his way in and gently closed the door behind him. His bewildered expression told me that something had him scared. “Some people just showed up. A man and a woman – she’s hurt and it looks pretty bad. I just so happened to be lookin out the window when they pulled up and got out of a car.”
       At first, I was fearful as well… but after a rapid stream of thoughts, a different perspective soon presented itself. I raised my brow. “Maybe this is a good thing. We can work together.”
       “Yeah, maybe… but we have to be careful. You can’t trust anyone at a time like this. Most people only care about themselves. I guarantee that plenty of people are already going crazy enough to kill us for our food and guns.”
       “So, what – should we just try to stay hidden and hope they leave?”
       We both froze to the heavy, metallic bang of the door to the building being opened and slammed shut. Walt put his ear to the door. “Most of these rooms have medical supplies, so hopefully they won’t check this one first. I really think we should try to avoid them.”
       Within seconds, a man’s deep and booming voice filled the hall. “Is anyone in here!? I need help! Please, don’t shoot!”
       Walt glanced back at me. I could see the want to help them in his eyes as he clenched his jaw. I said “Fuck. This isn’t right… We should help them.”
       “…I don’t know.”
       “You said the woman is badly injured, right?”
       “Yeah.”
       I reached out for the handle and he grabbed my arm, barely stopping me from pushing it down and opening the door. “Are you sure about this?”
       The face of that little girl in the window flashed before my eyes. I just couldn’t bring myself to ignore another person’s cries for help – especially now that we were able. “We have to help them. We’ve been selfish long enough.”
       Walt moved aside, took three long steps backward and trained his rifle at the door as I cracked it open. I could hear their footsteps, accompanied by drawers and cabinets being opened, and random objects falling to the floor as they searched one of the nearby rooms.
       I bellowed out “Hello! We’ll help you!”
       All the different noises resonating out into the narrow hallway suddenly stopped and there was nothing but silence. It wasn’t long before we heard the