Dead On Arrival: Episode 7

Episode 7: Those We Seek

I smelled the scent of food as I made my way down the ladder to my safe haven. The smell was both intoxicating and alarming. The cans were all sealed up tight and I hadn’t cooked anything. I barely knew how to cook to give off such a smell. Who the fuck was in my shelter?

I climbed down feeling anxious while my mind fought off thoughts of devouring whatever was making the mysterious scent. When I got to the bottom I saw the back of a man at my kitchen counter. I slide out my katana ready to slice open my intruder, but then he turned around with a plate in his hand.

“Woah girl it’s me. Vince. Put that thing away.” he exclaimed wide eyed raising his free hand.

I slide my sword back into its hostler. “What are you doing?”

“What it look like I’m doing chica? Cooking breakfast…or brunch depending on how you look at it I guess.”

“Are you fucking nuts? Wait…….is that my bacon?”

“Yeah girl. Bacon and eggs. Wait till you taste Vince’s specialty.”

“I was saving that! You idiot!,” I yelled feeling a rush of anger bubble up inside me.

“For what? To make frostbite bacon and rotten eggs? You gotta eat this stuff when it’s fresh,” he said as he grabbed a plate and silverware from the cupboard. He then slide half of the pan’s contents onto a plate.

“Bon appetit! Dig in!”

I hesitated inching over to it. I sat down and began to exam it with a fork. It looked normal enough. My mouth watered as I slowly brought it up to my mouth. I touched it to my tongue feeling the searing heat. I blew it and stuffed it in my mouth instantly. The taste brought feelings of nostalgia and euphoria. Before long I was stuffing it in hungrily barely able to contain myself. I hadn’t even notice Vince had sat down across from me with his own plate.

“Um…thank you,” I mumbled with a mouth full of eggs.

He looked up looking as if he was lost in thought. “You’re welcome. Try not to inhale it though.”

“I’m not…” I sighed almost choking. “I thought you left. Why are you here?”

“I decided to stick around. You look like you needed company and I ain’t in no shape.”

“Well you were lucky. The bullet went right through, so you’ll heal just fine,” I said as I finished my plate.

Vince was not too far behind as he hungrily shoveled food into his mouth. He paused swallowing and continued, “I’ll be fucking clueless patching up a stranger’s bullet wound. How do you know this stuff?”

“Well my dad’s use to be a doctor till he went into the science field. Then I remembered stuff like movies and video games. So yeah I winged it.”

Vince laughed shaking his head. He then furrowed his brows shifting in his seat. “So that man upstairs is your…?”

“My uncle,” I quickly said feeling uncomfortable about the subject. “I plan on burying him soon, but not yet. I…..do think that my dad is alive somewhere though.”
He nodded forcing a small smile on his face. “Of course. I feel the same way about my daughter and her mom.“

“You have a child?!”

“Yeah. Maya. She’s five,” he said showing me the back of his cross necklace with the name ‘Maya’ etched on it. “This was a gift from her and her mom, Alesha. Me and her mom are together, but it’s complicated.”

He continued, “But something been bothering me though. Where the fuck you find eggs?”

I snicked “My…we have a coop out back. The zombz ate the hen a few days ago. Why I was keeping it for a special occasion. The bacon specifically.”

“Sorry.“

“Well this is a special occasion I guess,” I smiled feeling at ease now. While Vince suddenly grew tense as his focus shifted to the corner of the room.

“Well how about that sword? Slashing any faces lately?”

“What do you mean?” I glared at him suspiciously.

“The men who did this,” he pointing at his shoulder and face. “They were looking for a girl with a sword. Someone had slashed into the face of the leader’s son. You know anything about that?”

“Maybe,” I said as memories of that night flashed in my head. I had successfully evaded him after confronting him, but now he was looking for me? Looking for revenge?

“Earth to Audrey. You alright? I’m not going snitch,” he continued as my mind wandered. “Don’t worry. We’re figure something out. Maybe you need a change of scenery.”

“A change? A change of scenery?” I found myself repeating. I regained my composure, “What about your men? The guys you were traveling with? Maybe we should look for them first.”

Vince shook his head sighing, “David probably dead and Mark probably hightailed it out of here by now. I don’t know. Maybe. I’m pretty happy here for the time being.”

“Yeah I bet. Food,” I smirked.

“Is that all you think I care about? I’m insulted,” he laughed rubbing his stomach. “That food was pretty good though.”

Time flew by leaving nothing, but the night above us. Vince went to sleep after some time. The guy was nice, but he sure could talk a lot. I slipped out without him noticing to my relief. Out into another night full of sounds of the forest and sounds of the dead.

My time here seem to be dwindling. My walks. My little sessions of clearing my head and clearing the walkers would be coming to an end. I had only borrowed time to find the walker I truly seek. Vince wouldn’t understand. No one would. I would have to find her soon. Maybe tonight.

No poll till Sunday’s new chapter! In the meantime, feel free to express your thoughts and give me any constructive criticism. :)