End of the Line by Lara Frater

together, the more the undead came.
                  Harlan watched from the now fortified fence but there wasn’t much you could do with a chain linked fence, even with barbed wire. Zombies didn’t care about pain. I could see movement outside the fence and several dead zombies on the ground directly outside. I saw more than usual, probably because more of us were outside. Harlan shot the ones that came close. While zombies didn’t seem to have higher brain functions, they reacted to basic emotions, at least I think they did. Sometimes you could shoot from far away and they flee as if fearful of the noise. They got almost giddy when they were closing in on us. Nothing could stop them then, but a shot in the head.
                  The gate opened and Tanya and Aisha came out. Tanya closed the gate behind her and the both of them came down the stairs. The loading dock gate was closed for safety reasons. If for some reason the outside got compromised, we would sacrifice ourselves to save CostKing.              
                  Aisha took a shine to Tanya which seemed to both annoy and endear her. It might have to do with Aisha’s new room being right next hers. I cut Tanya’s hair a little better. It was still shaved but looked more even.
                  “Hey,” she said. “Girl wants to talk to you.”
                  “To me?”
                  “You’re organizing this trip, right?”
                  “I guess. What’s up, Aisha?”
                  “I want to come,” her voice sounded a little shaky.
                  “What?” Even though I heard correctly.
                  “I said I want to come,” sterner now.
                  “You’re only 14.”
                  “I can shoot, run fast and fix up wounds.”
                  “No offense, but kids do stupid things,” and there was no way I would allow a 14 year old girl to come with us.
                  “I won’t be stupid. I’ll listen to adults, run from zombs, shot them if I have to.”
                  “Maddie will look after you. If we find your mother and sister, we’ll bring them here.”
                  “I love Maddie and all but my mom’s out there, I got to find her.”
                  “Girl’s got a point,” Tanya said.
                  “Tanya, not helping.” I said, staring at her.
                  “’Course I’m not, I’m agreein’ with her. Kid was on her own before she came here, right? No reason she can’t go with a bunch of adults.”
                  Tanya had loosened up in the past couple of months but she could still be a major pain. She never told me or anyone what happened to her but I’m sure it was bad. For five Vicodin, Princess gave Tanya two lessons, but never referred to her by name instead called her the black girl while Tanya called her the rich white bread. 
                  “What did Rachel say?” I asked. Rachel, our depressed, but I think good leader. I often worried she’d take a dive like Abe did but at least now she had Dan despite their celibate relationship. Everyone talked about the wonderful Abe but he had a darker side. He believed in survival of the fittest. He would have never taken in Henry or Tanya. He didn’t want to help that woman who killed Mindy and Eli. It was much worse than I let on. He told me not to give her pills, not to waste our resources on her. She threw the pills in my face because while I was gone, Abe told her that even if she took the pills, we wouldn’t let her in.
    I was the one who got Ernie to run errands for us and I was the one who said to leave supplies in the food court for travelers, that we should have friends on the outside. Abe didn’t want to, worried that an influx of people would bring