Free Stories in a Lost World: Bridget by L.C. Mortimer Page A

the door. Kristy stayed calm and collected as she went to answer it. We knew it couldn't be anything too bad, right? The undead don't knock.
    It wasn't anyone dead. It was some annoying frat guy and his "brothers." The guy told Kristy that he wanted our food. She told him to fuck off, so he slapped her. The other guys laughed and he told her she could think about it. He'd be back tomorrow with his friends, and if we didn't give him our supplies, there'd be a much bigger "price" than just a slap.
    We basically had two options. We could stay and try to fight, which was probably not going to work. First of all, none of us has any combat training. Danielle was going to join the Air Force, but she chickened out at the last minute. Kristy says she played sports in high school, but it's not like she took martial arts. And me? My asthma is so bad that I'm lucky to make it across the house without wheezing.
    That only leaves option two: leave.
    We all tossed and turned all night, trying to decide what to do, but Kristy woke us up before dawn.
    "We're leaving," she told me. She had made the decision easy. She threw me a backpack and left the room, leaving me alone. So I packed.
    It's weird, when you think about it: the idea of packing your entire world in a small bag. So much of our lives are in our homes. There's so much that won't fit neatly into a bag, especially when you also want to pack a change of clothes and a knife.
    There wasn't much food left, so I didn't worry about that. Instead I packed my favorite photo album, an extra pair of shoes that fit me, some socks, a teddy bear, and a box of pads. I threw in an extra inhaler and the secret candy bar I'd been saving. I also packed this journal with two extra pens.
    Then it was time to clear out the kitchen and leave.
    Like I said, there wasn't much food left. Just a few cans of soup and a box of crackers. We had a couple of water bottles left from a recent scavenging trip, but that was it.
    Now I'm tired. I'll write more later.
     

     
    March 18th
    We managed to leave before the guys came back. Lucky us. Who knows what the hell they've done to our house? I hope they didn't do anything weird, like go through our underwear drawers or sleep in our beds. Somehow, I know I'm probably not so lucky.
    Kristy is the one most familiar with this area of Kansas. She grew up here. She's practically a local. An orphaned local, but a local nonetheless. Me? I'm from Colorado. Everything here is foreign to me and makes no sense at all, but what can you do?
    We left town, heading east, down a little abandoned highway that leads to nowhere. We didn't have any specific place we were going. We just wanted to get away from the creeps who were going to rape us if we stayed. We all realize how lucky it was that we got out. We all realize that not everyone has the same privilege of being able to leave.
    Walking sucks.
    My feet hurt, my head hurts, and my eyes hurt. I don't know how Kristy and Danielle do it without complaining. I'm definitely the whiner of the group, but it comes with the territory. I was always the dork who wanted to be a teacher. My roomies treated me like a crybaby, so I became one.
    Not really.
    I'm just tired.
    We walked for hours, stopped and ate some cold fucking soup, and started walking again. Just when it was starting to get dark, Kristy guided us off the main highway and down a side road. It's all gravel and dirt roads off the highway. That's fine. We managed to find an old farmhouse that looked abandoned. Just to play it safe, we decided to sleep in the barn. I want to save my flashlight battery, so that's all for now.
     

     
    March 19th
    When we got up, we were all sore. Who wouldn't be after sleeping in a barn all night? The sides of the building were practically falling down. Didn't hear any undead, but that doesn't mean much. They can be quiet when they want to be. You have to be on your guard at all times. That's what I've learned.
    "Come on," Kristy said. She guided