Better Lucky than Good (Records of the Resistance) by Shaun Meehan

still felt largely disappointed in himself for not making an attempt to reach her sooner.  

    "Clay? What's the matter?" Melanie asked.

    She could tell by the look on his face that whatever he had been thinking about was deeply troubling to him. The possibilities were too numerous for her to guess at what might be occupying the mind of Clay.  

    "Nothing... It's fine." Clay replied.

    It wasn't fine. It wasn't even close to being fine. He knew that the chances of Brooke surviving were slim, if at all. Up until now he had just simply been trying to get a handle on his situation. However, the time was fast approaching when he would need to see for himself if she lived. If she had, then he needed to get her the hell out of there. Clay felt an anguishing amount of guilt for not making an attempt to reach her earlier. But circumstances had not allowed for it and if had he of tried, he certainly would have failed. Clay was not equipped to make an attempt to locate Brooke. At least, until now.

    "There's still people in town you know." Kevin said, his voice drawing Clay back to reality.

    "The farm house burned to the ground a few days ago. No one survived." Melanie answered.

    "Farm house? There was a second group? Shit..." Kevin said, sounding apologetic.  

    "But they aren't who I'm talking about. There's a whole bunch of people trapped in a three story walk up, about two blocks from here." Kevin continued.

    "How do you know?" Mel asked.

    "Email... My wife and son are stuck in the building. There are infected crowding the exits and they're trapped..." Kevin's voice turned somber.

    The three remained quiet for a moment, contemplating the revelation in silence. What would be the point of planning and attempting the rescue of Brooke, if there was no where for them to return should he find success, Clay wondered. Where would they go? According to Kevin, the big city was no where near inhabitable, and the odds of long term survival would only increase with the strength of their numbers.  

    "We're going to get them out of there and bring them back here. They can't wait for the military." he said.

    "What? Clay... I get it. I'm not trying to sound like a total bitch here, but how the hell are the three of us going to rescue an entire apartment building?" Mel asked. She was incredulous at the suggestion.

    "Kevin, have they given you even a slight indication as to how many infected are there?" Clay asked.

    "Yah. My wife guessed about seventy-five at the front door and around ten at the back. But the number has been increasing daily." he answered.

    "Mel, I know this sounds crazy... But we need people if we're going to survive. We can't run like we have been, for the rest of our lives. The military is working to take back their areas of operation and our best chance of survival hinges on us doing the same." Clay explained.

    "This department store is secure, easily defendable, has supplies and by using the railroad tracks we can conceal our movements through town." Clay continued.

    Mel didn't know what to say at first. She was happy that she was alive, but wasn't entirely thrilled with the concept of endangering that. On one hand, they could choose to stay out of trouble and leave those people to sort their situation out themselves. On the other hand they could give this rescue their best shot. Had Clay ignored her pleas only a few days ago, she would have certainly been horribly killed by the infected. Instead, Clay had chosen to help her and as a result, she is alive and learning to adjust to their new situation. Why should she not pay forward that which Clay had done for her?

    "Okay, Clay." is all that Mel said.

    For the first time since he had spoken with his wife post-outbreak, Kevin began to feel a glimmer of hope that he may someday see his family again. Up until this moment, his circumstance had felt to him like it were a cruel joke. Although his wife and son had survived the outbreak and subsequent onslaught, they