Trent’s phone was missing! Adam put off facing the horrible sight after he and Ryan got back to the stables. It took them a while to get back to the others because Adam told Ryan that they should cover the hole. The stinky tarp was burnt once they were done. Then Adam told Ryan that he should go ahead and that he would join him later. Ryan merely nodded and went on to the stables. After he had told Adam the chilling story of how his family was killed, the man was back to his expressionless, quiet self again. Adam knew that there was nothing he could say at the moment that would make Ryan believe that he only did what he had to do to survive. The man believed that he was a murderer and that whatever happened to him was his punishment for what he had done. Adam could understand the feeling well enough. So, he let the man be and he suggested that they should cover the hole instead. Ryan did not need to be told twice. He took the needed tools from the outdoor shed and jumped t

Adam could feel the increasing dread in Old Larry’s body as they proceeded. The tension Adam was feeling earlier had not made him take in the destruction around him. He couldn’t believe it had been over twenty-four hours already that he passed those streetsThe road was filled with all forms of junk. Damaged cars.Rotten foods.Carts and scattered pieces of luggage filled the streets. “Do you know how this started here?” Adam turned to ask Old Larry, who was sitting in the front seat with him. The man’s face was whitened like he had seen a ghost. Adam did not bother to ask the question again since he could see that the man was battling his own monsters at that moment. Only God knew what he had seen with those dim eyes. Adam thought. The young man at the back was just muttering “Holy shit. Holy shit” from time to time as he saw more and more blood and destruction. “Just look away” Adam said, just as he had told Yoshi earlier. “Hey, you can’t tell me what to do!” Jeremy yelled

The Troy’s mansion was as silent as a graveyard that night. Even the children seemed to feel the tension and sadness in the air, even though they did not know what caused it. They quietly ate their food and went quietly to bed. Those who were not asleep yet hung around the living room and terrace, like they were waiting for the hands of the clock to change. The last dregs of hope were evident in some eyes, like they were expecting things to have turned out differently. “It still feels like a dream,” Adam heard a man whisper to his wife. Yet it was no dream at all. Most of them had seen the torn body of Old Larry when they brought him back. Some of them had dug the grave where he was buried. Most of them had heard the repeated “I killed him. He died because of me,” Jeremy mumbled over and over before Marriane calmed him down. They had all seen that, yet some of them couldn’t help but hope. They had seen all the destruction before, yet they couldn’t help but wish that this wa

Marriane had a relapse during the night.She had been doing so well lately that Adam had almost forgotten that she was struggling with oesophageal cancer.The cancer had been a rude shock to the family when Adam was in his final years of college and his sisters had just been admitted to the University of Chicago.At first, their parents did not inform them about the situation, but they all got suspicious when their parents insisted that there was no need for them to come home to spend their holiday that semester.Adam came home only to meet his mother in a hospital bed.She just had her surgery.Though his sisters were not informed immediately, they eventually knew.All had been well in the household, apart from the fact that they were not doing so well financially since the exorbitant rate of $68,980 had been from liquidating the family business assets.They were all happy that the Stage 4 oesophageal cancer had not claimed Marriane’s life.The happiness was short-lived when the tumo

Adam drove for a while on the highway before he started hearing it.A thumping sound was coming from the Jeep’s bed!He had been tuning the radio dial to see if he could get any signal.No stations seemed to be on.All he was getting was static noise.Adam quickly switched off the radio to be certain that he had not imagined the sound from the back.There was silence for a moment, but then the sound came again.Wondering what could be making the sound, Adam thought of parking right there to check.But on second thought, he decided to move farther from the residential areas.He was not fooled by the calmness of the surroundings. He was sure that there were zombies lurking around, just beyond sight. He was not about to deliberately call them to feast.The first thought he had was that the one making the noise from the boot had to be a zombie who had managed to hide there when he was not paying attention.Adam knew that zombies don’t go down without making noises that could attract atte