Free Lost in the Apocalypse by L.C. Mortimer Page A

room this was.
    She released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
    The pink-and-white paint on the walls revealed a nursery carefully designed for someone’s baby girl. Emily’s heart sank as she looked around: bookshelves, a rocking chair, a dresser with pink bows and ribbons on the top.
    Emily, Neil, and Butter quietly entered the room, but knew what they would find before they even walked over to the crib in the corner.
    Neil looked first and quickly backed away, pushing Emily out of the room.
    “You don’t need to see this, honey,” he whispered. Butter peeked into the bed and sighed, but dutifully followed the others back into the hallway. They closed the door.
    “Tell Robert to stay out of this fucking room,” Neil said quietly to Butter. Emily almost didn’t hear him, but Butter just nodded and went to the guest room.
    “Should we sleep downstairs?” Emily asked.
    “The smell will make you sick,” Butter said over his shoulder. “I’m sure Robert will share the room with you. I’ll keep watch here in the hall.”
    Emily exchanged looks with Neil before shaking her head.
    “It’s okay,” she said. “He could probably use the privacy.” She doubted that Robert had had two minutes to himself in the prior weeks. Maybe he just needed to be alone, even for a little bit. She slumped onto the carpeted hall and tried not to look at the family pictures that lined the walls.
    Butter knocked on Robert’s door and when it opened a moment later, the two spoke quietly. Robert peeked out at Emily, then said something else to Butter and closed the door again.
    Butter came over and sat at the top of the stairs.
    “You can go in if you want,” Butter said. “He promised to keep his pants on.”
    Emily chuckled, but shook her head.
    “It’s okay. I’m fine here. I’m not a princess,” she added. “Not really.”
    Neil sat next to her and she leaned against him, very aware of the way she smelled and the way she looked and the way she hadn’t stopped thinking about his kiss.
    “Everything is going to be all right,” he lied to her. She knew it wasn’t true, but the comment made her feel safe, so she closed her eyes and fell asleep, wondering what the hell they were going to do the next day.
     
    **
     
    Gunshots woke Emily from her nightmares.
    The house was swarming with Infected and the creatures were trying to climb the stairs.
    “Definitely picked a bad house,” Butter grumbled, firing into the group at the base of the staircase.
    “Can we shoot through them?” Neil asked. Butter shook his head.
    “There are at least 15, probably more.” He fired another shot and a thump sounded as the body hit the floor. The bedroom doors opened as Robert, Cody, and Kari appeared, peeking into the hall.
    “Fuck it all to hell,” Robert groaned. He disappeared back into the room and reappeared with his weapon.
    He lifted his gun to fire but Kari stopped him.
    “Don’t waste the ammo,” she said. “Come on through here.” She motioned to the window in her and Cody’s bedroom. Emily grabbed her back and followed Kari into the room. The first rays of dawn were shining through the window. It was bright enough to reveal several more Infected wandering toward the house.
    “Where are they all coming from?” Emily asked. “Town? Seriously?”
    Kari shrugged. “You never know where these fuckers are going to come from. Town, the woods, other houses.” She raised the window and kicked out the screen. “Anywhere.” She put her head through the window, as if testing whether or not it would work. “We can go through here.”
    “What? And just jump?” Emily peeked out of the window, too. They were on the second floor, but she knew there would be no way to land without hurting herself. Would she really be better off with a broken ankle? Or worse?
    “No, dumbass,” Kari held up a length of rope. She had tied one end around the claw foot of the dresser. She tossed the other out the window.