The Dead

The empty bag which Brick had brought was filled with all kinds of food ranging from noodles, tinned goods, biscuits, crisps and many other things.

It seemed like the shopping had been done recently for the two living in the house so there were many different things within the fridge and cupboards which could be used.

After zipping the bag closed, Brick let out a sigh of relief and then started to contemplate over the current state of things. 'Perhaps I have been acting a little wrong recently, too much violence and the desire to survive has made me lose sight of things so soon. I think I need a moment to reflect and correct some mistakes.'

He looked over towards the body which was covered up then towards Tristan. 'I will start with that.'

Brick then spoke to Tristan. "Help me wrap the body and carry it outside."

Tristan was confused about what Brick was up to but he could only follow along. "What do you intend to do? The child has just lost her mother."

Brick held one side of the wrapped up zombie then lifted it while they both carried it outside. "Just trust me and go back inside."

Once Tristan had gone inside, Brick started to harvest the crystal nucleus then wrapped the remains in the middle of the road. "Help me find anything that is flammable."

Tristan was a little suspicious about why Brick had been keeping the heads and was telling him to go away while Brick was doing something to the remains of the mother. 'Is there a purpose behind this or is it just some sick ritual he has picked up? Doesn't he know that the daughter is just inside? Wait flammable? Don't tell me that..'

Brick saw that Tristan had realised his thoughts so he nodded towards him. "Hurry so we can get this over with."

Some aerosol sprays were brought so Brick and Tristan were busy spraying the wrapped up body from head to toe as fast as they could while some wood had been laid over and around the body.

Brick came inside to find the girl in the arms of Alice so he beckoned them outside. "Alice, this part you will have to explain for me.. we will have a send off for her daughter to witness."

Alice looked between Brick and the child in her arms then let out a sigh. "Okay.."

She brought the child to the side and spoke gently. "I am sorry that we could not help your mother.. but we want to say goodbye with you. Is there anything that you want to bring with you to remember her or anything that you want to leave with her?"

Tears were in the eyes of the little girl then she struggled free to run towards her room before returning with a small bunny doll.

She looked up towards Alice and held out the doll while her body was trembling. "…"

Alice took the doll then held the girls hand before leading her outside. "We will say goodbye to her now."

The girl seemed to have a little understanding towards death as if she had experienced losing a family member before.

The main problem which Alice picked up on was that the girl did not speak and remained silent to most of the things she asked.

She looked quite smart for her small size but she could have suffered too much trauma which had caused her to lose the ability to communicate.

Either it was a mental condition brought on by the trauma or she had been born a mute but Alice did not suspect the latter because there were no visible things in the house that suggested she needed aids or tools for her inability to speak.

The girl walked up towards the body slowly and dropped the doll on top of it before taking a step back.

When she had returned to Alice's side, Brick stood nearby as he looked over the three people and the covered body. "Ahem.. we have gathered today to say goodbye to a mother who bravely protected her daughter and gave her a chance to survive. I give my thanks for her bravery and hope that she has a peaceful afterlife. Does anyone else have anything to say?"

Alice held the girl's hand and said softly. "Rest in peace."

Tristan lowered his head and said in a low voice. "Rest in peace."

Some papers were lit with a lighter in Brick's hands before they were dropped onto the body which caused it to be set alight. "We cannot do this kind of thing for everyone we meet or know.. but we can always make time to say farewell and pay our respects to those we do know or their loved ones."

So far, he had been desecrating the corpses to gain the crystal nucleuses and to provide an environment suitable for survival but it could not always be that way.

The zombies were once human and there would be many who would need some form of farewell so they could grieve over the losses and remember how those people lived up to their last moments.

There were far too many zombies to lay to rest in a similar way so he decided that only those around him or their family would gain such a send off unless the situation was not favourable to the group.

A send off would be unfavourable if the group had just lost someone but needed to avoid detection from the zombie so there would be cases where a body was left behind.

Brick watched the flames from far away and said to the others. "This kind of thing can only be reserved for certain occasions and situations. We will have to talk about how we will handle certain situations in the future so this should be the right time."

Tristan asked. "What do you mean?"

Brick let out a sigh. "Infection or death.. either one is a death sentence so once one of us is infected and die from it.. I want everyone to not hesitate to deliver a clean stab to the head to make sure they do not reanimate. If someone is heavily injured and we have to leave them behind to survive then leave them with the means to defend themselves or end their own lives. We can handle funerals or gatherings to mourn those we have lost but only within a safe environment like this because outside the walls.. it will only put us in danger."

Alice looked towards the flames which were slowly dying down then spoke. "Couldn't we just hold one big farewell for all those we find?"

Brick shrugged and responded in a serious tone. "This serves its purpose in a way.. the smoke created will let other know that there is a fire nearby or there are people still living.

If the smoke becomes too large then it will only become a large beacon for zombies and groups of people that we may not wish to attract. This smoke should be seen from the main house and so should the others if there are anymore."

His plans did have faults with them which he had admitted but there were some valid points which he had thought up on the spot.

The flames would create smoke that would be noticed further within the Reed residence which would let them know that there was perhaps still hope out there.

The current group in the outer area was Brick, Alice, Tristan and a young girl who looked around seven years old.

Brick had been paying attention to the girl's situation so he said to Alice. "Get a notepad and see if she can write. If she cannot speak then we will need to communicate that way. Get her to pack a couple of things she needs to bring with her but not too much since we can always return here."

Alice nodded in response. "Un."

Once they had returned, the girl was wrapped up in a scarf, gloves and a thick coat before being dragged along with them.

They continued to check a couple of nearby houses but there were few survivors and each household told its own story once Brick had examined the insides. 'It seems that the little girl is the only one left within this small group of houses. Onto the next..'