The Storage Locker

“It’s going to be dark soon," she murmured to herself as she rushed her youngest daughter, Katie, into the car. Being out this close to dusk was like the old days, back when you could stay out until all hours and the closest thing to monsters were muggers.

"We are going for a quick drive to get your sister’s glove and will be back in time for a movie and popcorn!” she told Katie in an overly cheerful tone. She didn't want to leave her oldest, Lizzie at home but she knew if they had to run, she would be better off only having to protect one of the girls. Jack had taught Lizzy how to use the bow and arrow before he turned but Ella knew if it came to it, she would not be able to suppress her natural instinct to protect her children at all costs. She wanted to avoid any circumstance of having to choose a child to save. She had seen that play out badly too many times in the beginning. If they were to survive, it was best to split up whenever they could. The last good thing he had done before he became one of them was teach them how to survive without him. It was days like this she really missed the sense of security he had given her even when everything around them was collapsing. 

Lost in her memories of him, she almost missed the turn into the storage lot. She knew she shouldn't be there that late but she had promised Lizzie they could throw the ball around like they used to. In the daylight it was easy to forget the horrors that darkness brought. She passed through the security gate long ago torn off its hinges by a fleeing car, slowly and cautiously, scanning the lot for any unexpected movement. She could see the wreckage of that car at the end of the lot and the burnt remains of its driver grinning at her with its blackened skeletal smile. 

When the Turn first began, fire and chaos was a daily ritual in an effort to destroy the sick and dying. It happened so quickly, there was no time to investigate the cause, place blame, or finger point and second guess decisions being made to address the crisis as had become the norm. Race, religion, political leanings, all fell to the wayside when faced with the unequivocal ferocity and inhuman power of the Turned. Those who were once enemies took a stand together, no longer warring over their differences but it came too late. Eventually the battle for the night was lost and so now she had to hurry. The day was hers but the night now belonged to the Turned 

The storage lot had been deemed "cleared" by the CDC early on. It was one of the first places the Turned had used to hide during the day. She came to see the storage lot when she first heard it had been set ablaze. She had been relieved to see the section with her locker had remained untouched. She should have moved her things out back then. Back when she had Jack to help. The world got crazy for a little while when it first began. They had to stay sequestered until the CDC could declare them clear of the virus. Once the virus was obliterated the only way you could become Turned was to be bitten. By that time millions had been Turned and so the world became split into the daylight world and the world of the night, where predators of a different sort now roamed the streets. War was being waged and it was hard to tell who was winning. No internet, no WIFI, no social media. Her interactions with other survivors were few and far between in the daylight. The last conversation she had with someone other than her own children had been with another family traveling to find their son who had been away at college. They had lost contact with him once the world went radio silent. She parked her car and looked back to find Katie curled up with her bear, fast asleep. She jostled the sleeping 5-year-old and planted a kiss on her forehead. 

"C’mon sweetie, we have to hurry" She walked past the corrugated steel doors covered in dirt and soot stopping at #49, Katie skipping along behind her, singing a Taylor Swift song. She pulled up the door, glad to see her boxes intact. Looters became scarce for obvious reasons but she still had to keep it locked to keep the Turned from transforming her locker into a lair. She left it unlocked once and came back to find one sleeping. She killed it with ease but never forgot to lock it again. 

It was difficult for her to go through the boxes without stopping to sift through her kid’s old pictures, remnants of the life she once had. Ella knew she didn't have time to stop and reminisce but she couldn't help herself. Lost in memories of BBQ’s, camp outs, and dates on outdoor patios, she didn't notice how quickly nightfall was setting in. 

"Found it!" She shoved the glove into her bag as the last rays of sun were disappearing in the distance. She had taken a big risk but soon she would be in her car and pulling into her reinforced garage. The still quiet at dusk was always a precursor to the screams that would soon announce the arrival of dark. This quiet was too quiet, seized with panic, her mind raced…where was Katie?! Her reminiscing had come with a price, she hadn’t noticed Katie had stopped singing. A few doors down a storage door was now ajar that hadn't been before. The hair on the back of Ella’s neck rose as she walked over and saw Katie's bear resting on its side near the slightly open door. She felt her chest tightening, as she called “Katie?”  A tiny hand appeared slowly from beneath the door, nails blackened by sudden death, a sight she knew all too well. The familiar little hand reached and grasped at the door as a raspy, gurgling voice sounding nothing like Katie's, whispered “Mommy, will you come play with me?"