The Hunt Chronicles (Book 2): Revelation by J.D. Demers

through the front fence, I stared at Judy’s grave.  Sadness crept over me as I remembered her last few hours alive. 
    The first scab I had ever encountered had come back for me.  It found my car, but Fish and I were not in the house.  It had infected Judy before we could kill it. 
    Fish wanted to put a bullet in her right away, but I stopped him.  I foolishly thought she could be saved or that she was immune like me.  I had to watch her change into a scab and, in the end, it was me that had to put her down.
    We had rescued the older woman from starvation and took over her house.  And then we killed her with a scab that had tracked us down to her house.  I had buried her next to her dead husband and son near the black iron fence in the front yard.
    I shook away the thoughts as we made our way through the back yard.
    We entered the house and Enrique and Karina, along with Boomer, settled in the living room.  I told Karina where to find some stored food as I went back out front to retrieve a radio Fish had stashed in Judy’s old SUV. 
    The sun set as I successfully retrieved the radio and I hurried back inside as the moans started growing louder around the city. 
    The two of them were sitting on the couch with Boomer lying on Karina’s lap.  All of us were tired and worn out.
    “Did you call them yet?” Karina asked with a mouth full of granola.
    “I’m about to,” I answered and grabbed a granola bar of my own off the coffee table.  Enrique sat with an unopened one in his hand.  He was staring down into his lap, lost in another world.
    After two large bites of the granola bar, I washed it down with water from my canteen.  I clicked on the police radio and ensured it was on the right frequency.
    “Campbell.  Fish.  DJ.  Is anyone out there, over.” I said into the transmitter as I took a seat on the mattress in the middle of the floor.
    There was nothing but static.
    “Are we too far away?” Karina asked.
    “Maybe,” I frowned.  “Honestly, I’m not sure how far these things go.”
    “Who are you calling?” Enrique said, finally coming out of his trance.
    Karina responded before I could say anything.  “Our friends.  We got separated from them.”
    “They near here?” he asked.
    “No,” I said before Karina could say anything else.  “We were evacuating out of the city when we were left behind.”
    “They no sound like good friends if they leave you,” he remarked.
    “They didn’t exactly leave us,” Karina said with a hint of remorse.
    I tried radioing them again, but still didn’t get a response.
    “What you mean?” Enrique started to open his granola bar.
    “Christian,” she nodded towards me, “and Chuck came after me when I went to get something out of our building.  We got trapped and had to run for it.”  Karina’s eyes started to water.  I think she was now feeling some sort of guilt for Chuck’s death.
    “Who is Chuck?” Enrique asked.
    “He was a friend.  He died saving our lives,” I responded as Karina wiped her eyes.  I think back on that and now realize Chuck, or Santa Claus as I commonly referred to him, was the first person to die for me.  He sacrificed his own life so that we could escape.  He was the first among a list that was soon to grow.
    “If I wouldn’t have gone back in…” Karina started to say.
    “Don’t think about that,” I said before she could continue.  “Chuck went back in to save you.  He was a good man, and died a good man.  That’s all we need to remember.” 
    The radio started to crackle.  I jumped up in excitement.
    “Chris… there… where… you…  Ver.”  It was Fish’s voice, of that I was sure.  But the message was broken up pretty bad.  He was probably barely in range.
    “This is Christian!” I said into the transmitter.  “We’re alive! Over.”
    “Thought… driving… range,” the receiver squawked.
    “We’re at Headquarters.  Your message is breaking up, over.”  I walked