Chapter 3 : Twins

POV : Adam Charlemonth

[Klamath, California 19 December 2020]

Two days have pass since the outbreak. The news says, the government has send military. But they're not in sight even from the first day. Children that usually play around the block now gone quite, as the neighborhood be more quite.

I sit on the chair, hands clasping each other on the dinning table. I'm staring the clean wooden table while wait for Emma. And after some minutes, Emma came from kitchen and bring 2 can food along with utensils.

"Here you go." Says Emma and give me one can and one spoon, and then sit on the other chair and eat her food.

"How you feel?" I suddenly ask and not eating yet.

"About what?" She ask back while keep eating.

"Everything." I reply and then take one spoonful of food. "Bwahh." I regret myself.

"Be careful, it still hot."

I take a tissue and wipe my mouth up. "You're not telling me in the first place."

"Sorry." She says and then pause for some second. "Hmm.. I feel...nothing? Killing some zombies and never thinking they are still human or not. But yeah, at first... I feel I can't do it, because I won't kill whoever is it."

"Yeah, it's common sense."

"You're right, common sense. Survival sense." Her body straighten up as if she remember something. "But what if they're doing the same, like...maybe they're still human but sees everybody as enemy? Who knows..."

I thinking her opinion. "What you say.. is make sense, but in other hand we still need to do self defense. Even if they're still human but they're a threat, then we have right to kill them. I'm not saying we can't use sit and talk if he's not infected yet."

She didn't say anything and just nod along the way. We continue our breakfast in silence, trying to enjoy the can food. After two of us finish, I'm cleaning the can that maybe useful later. In other hand, Emma connected with her laptop, searching for information through social media. Who knows it can be useful part in the middle of crisis? But obviously not to post some duck face or something like that.

Then I'm stopping my activity when I heard gunshot. I hear one, two and then countless ring of shot. I glance at Emma and she glance back at me. I'm walking to front window, while wipe my wet hands to my pants. I push the curtains off, untill I can see clearly outside.

There's one boy and one girl, two of them using varsity jacket, and I assume they're 14 years old. The girl with brown hair and pale skin is holding a handgun. In other hand, the boy with brown hair and pale skin is holding a broom without the head, so it's just the stick. Two of them is on the other side of street, fighting their way against zombies in their both side.

"Take your knife, but bring your shotgun. Don't use any bullet." I says to Emma as walking to the back door and grab my bat.

"Are we going to help them?" She's ready with her butterfly knife.

I'm not answering. But when I reach the back doorknob, I look at her and simply nod. After she knows what will happen, I open the back door and running to the teens.

I'm running faster than Emma, and reach the teenagers first. When I arrive, I can see the boy is in danger. The zombie is face to face with him, and the stick is the border. I'm not thinking twice and just give one powerful swing and make the head of the zombie crack.

"Th- thanks." The boy say with panic face and then try to control his breath.

In other hand, Emma is helping the girl. She thrust her knife to the zombie's head but it's not enough. Seeing this situation, the girl shot the zombie's head without any hesitation.

All of us gulping and breath heavily, but the quick break stop when more zombie roaring. I turn my back and see at least 4 zombies come closer.

"Should I?" Ask Emma.

"Not yet." I say and march to the nearest zombie. I focus my swing on the one zombie with blond hair. On my left, there's the boy helping me with his stick. Emma also taking the front position, and quickly slice the zombie's neck like if slicing pizza.

One wanderer against me is dead, also the one with Emma. But the boy seems hardly to kill even one of them, and just make his hand bruised because of the struggle. I can't see the girl, but I think she's injured or something that make her can't shoot or move.

"Step back, little boy." He do what I says while I take one big swing to the zombie.

"I'm not a little boy." Says the boy with annoyed sounds.

Again, I take full swing for this zombie but I clumsily miss his head. The zombie push ahead and hold my neck. I want to ask for help but everyone is injured, and Emma also busy with her foes.

I'm trying to push the zombie, but he just way more powerful than me, then he able make me knocked down. He's on top of me, holding my neck tightly, and so do I. This make my head feel dizzy, but the zombie just like non-human. Because when I'm choking his neck he feels nothing. My eyes start blurry and I feel weak. I heard someone shouting but I can barely hear it. And suddenly some shot fired and make the zombie dead.

The dead body falling against mine. I push the body away and roll myself. I catch some breath and coughing along the way. Emma suddenly come and give me support to stand.

"Dad! You okay?"

"I'm..cough.. I'm alright, Em." I says and look around while holding my neck. I can see the girl with her leg injured is sitting on the ground beside the boy, but she definitely hold no gun on her hands. I look at nearby house, until I found one guy with M16 on his hand.

"Adam, you're lucky I'm not missing the shot this time." Says my neighbor, Steve. He has fair skin, dark brown pompadour hair and stubble facial hair.

"Thanks man." I says as shake his hand, but still feel eerie from the coke. "I don't know we're going to meet again, and the time is not really good."

"Yeah it is." He says while let some chuckles out.

"But I really want to know, since when you can pull the trigger?" I ask him. He's a craftperson, guy who can be electrician, crafter, blacksmith and artist at the same time. But I never see him with guns.

"Pull the trigger is not hard thing, but aiming it is the hardest. Like I said, you're lucky I don't miss, or you're going to die. And if you ask, I got this gun when I loot a death soldier." He says as Emma get to the teenagers, with knife in pocket and shotgun sling on her back. "I heard she's practicing."

I look at where he glance, and it's locked to Emma. "Yeah, she's good one. Taught by soldier." I answer with grin in my face, and still trying to catch breath.

After checking the teenagers, Emma come back to me. "Gladys, the girl, is injured on the left lower leg, but not too bad. Gabriel, the boy, is bruised in the hand."

"Brother and sister?" I ask.

"Twins." Answer Emma.

"Okay, bring them to the house."

"Okay." She says and walking back to the teenagers.

"Hey, wait." Steve says to stop Emma. "Can we swap gun?" He says and showing his M16.

Emma confused about what he just say.

"You know, I can't fire gun properly, but shotgun has more chance to hit from close range. So I think it's better to swap our gun." He explain.

"Oh...Okay." She says and then give the Spas-12 to Steve, and Steve give the M16. After gun and ammo swap, she continue her way to the teenagers.

"I think it's my cue, I got patient." I say as some I heard grunt from my left. I'm turning and...no, another zombie.

"And that's my cue, I'm going to clean your escape way from behind." He says and then distract the zombies.

In the other hand, I make my way to my house along with Emma, Gabriel and Gladys. Before entering my back yard, I turn around and give thumbs up to Steve and he give the same. I take my way to the back yard, tailing the teenagers with my bat in my hands. When we enter safely, I'm locking the door quickly.

I make my way to the living room, where the other have gather. "Thank you mister...?" Gladys says.

"Charlemonth, Adam Charlemonth." I reply as put my bat on the table, while Emma coming from my room with my first aid kit bag. "I'm going to fix you all up." I says as opening the bag.

"Wait..are you a Doctor?" Ask Gabriel with cautious sounds.

"Well...I'm surgeon, but I've practice first aid since highschool." Answer me as put some bandage and an antiseptic on the cofeetable. "Emma, can you get me some ice, water and washlap?"

"Of course." She reply and goes to the kitchen without hesitation.

While I'm waiting for Emma, I'm inspecting Gladys that sitting on my couch beside Gabriel. She looks around my house innocently. "Is this your house?" Ask her.

"Of course it is, dumbass." Says Gabriel.

"Yeah whatever, Gab." Reply Gladys.

I'm sitting on the floor while also looking around. "This is my house." I reply. "Well...I'm not born here for sure, I born and raised until 4 in London, United Kingdom. But when I start kindergarten, I'm moving to America, where my father live."

"Ow..kay." Says Gladys.

From the kitchen, Emma comes to the living room with ice in a bag, water in a bowl and washlap inside it. She put all the stuff on the coffeetable.

I take the wet washlap from the bowl, and start cleaning Gladys's wound. "Can you take care of Gabriel?" I ask Emma. "Just like I've told you."

"I remember everything you teach, Dad." Says Emma sarcastically.

I clean the opened wound of Gladys, and she little bit groan in pain. "Wait....did you actually parents of Emma?" Suddenly Gabriel ask when Emma put ice wrapped by clothes to his bruised hand.

Emma chuckles when she heard that, but still continue her works. "It is, Gabriel. What did you think we was?" She says.

"You know, husband and wife?" Reply Gabriel.

"So you think Mr. Charlemonth is..." Says Gladys but stop in the middle. "Nevermind."

"You want to say pedophile?" I ask back and make Emma and I laughing. "It's okay if you want to say that, but that just so wrong." I continue as chuckling.

"No, I mean, you two live together, like...without anybody else." Explain Gabriel.

Our laugh and chuckles suddenly quite. I glance at Emma and she glance back. "There's some incident back in the days." I referring to Emma's mother, my wife. I put the washlap back to the bowl, and stop my activities. "But yeah, there's nothing to do." I shrug before take the antiseptic, and start pouring it gently to her wound.

"Ahh!" Gladys groaning in pain and make me stop pouring. "Sorry, it's just really painful." I nod and start pouring again little farther from her wound.

I look at Emma and she already wrapped the bruised by some cloth. She stand and dusting her pants. "By the way, where you two live?" Ask Emma as she cleaning the unused stuff.

"We're live not far from here with Rachel, our aunt." Explain Gabriel right when I put the antiseptic down.

"You right! Gabriel, try to call aunty, she maybe worried about us." Says Gladys.

"Okay." He reply while rolling his eyes, and grab a phone from his pocket.

I take the bandage and then wrap Gladys's leg. "You're good to go." I say and then back to my feet.

"She's not answering." Says Gabriel.

"Darn it." Curse Ela. "I think we need to back now, Gabriel."

"Wait, you guys actually want to go outside? It's too dangerous." Says Emma.

"Yeah she's right, maybe you just need to call her again, and wait." I says as put the antiseptic back to the first aid kit.

"No sir, we're just going to slow you down." Says Gladys while trying to stand and walk with fixed leg.

"Maybe it just you." Protest Gabriel.

"Shut up, Gab." Reply Gladys. "Sorry sir, we're going to leave now." She continue and then get to the back door with their weapon in hands.

"Alright, take care guys." Says Emma.

Two of them just simply nod and then twist the doorknob and move to the outside world. I put my first aid kit back to it's place. I take a sit on my sofa and then look at my wristwatch. It says 0837 am; almost 1 hour after breakfast. Which is long enough till dinner time. I'm walking to the front window when Emma playing with her laptop.

I look outside. There's some wanderer fighting with some people in other end of street. Without that, the street is almost clear and quite. And there's Gabriel and Gladys walking cautiously. I'm lucky to live in less crowded population. If I'm living in downtown, maybe I'm just gonna be a dead body lying on the street. Or maybe I'm one of them. Or maybe I'm just like now, hiding from the creatures. No one knew. Except god. And whoever did this.