HERE LIES: NO ONE [03]
VOTING HAS FINISHED FOR THIS CHAPTER!
Last weeks vote:
>Do you think what Cody did (letting Alex kill the Zeeks) was a good idea? Yes 68% No 32%
>Should Raf appoint himself leader of the survival group? Yes 51% No 49%
-Or do you believe someone else should be leader? If so, who? Cody: 2 votes, Alex: 3 votes
>Will this neighborhood prove to be safe...at least for now? Yes 80% No 20%
Chapter Three: Homestead
-“Did I want to kill my brother? No. But I had to.” *There’s a thud of a head being decapitated* “You can judge; I don’t care. Let me know how it is for you when your family members are bleeding on the ground, stomach torn open, and begging to die.” *There’s another thud.* “I used to be a librarian, can you believe that? That was the only thing on my resume. Now I can add sibling killer. Oh yeah, and the camp’s zeek-dismemberer and incinerator. The bodies? Oh, you’ll get used to the smell eventually.”-
-Ted McVanderson, Newport Survival Camp, Circa-Year 2, A.AE. (After Apocalypse-Event)
With every house in the rich neighborhood abandoned, the freedom to choose where you wanted to bunk down was apparent. The bus came to a screeching halt in the middle of a round-about, massive houses visible in the gray pre-dawn light circled and glared down at it as if about to bully the mangled vehicle. Raf eyeballed a white multilevel home with its door wide open, clothing and personal belongings spewed out like a large mouth dirtied with crumbs.
He stood up from where he sat next to the now-conscious Paul—the guy really needed to get cleaned-up and checked for a concussion. He walked the bus isle, squeezing between crushed seats where the side was caved in, and approached Alex who stood up from the driver’s seat, pocketing the keys. Cody, still cleaning his knife from the zeek blood, followed; shadowing Raf. Most of the bus occupants watched, waiting on what would be next.
Raf turned to face them, thinking. What was next? Who was he to tell these people what to do? They could each stand up and wander off on their own, doing what they thought was best for them. He flashed back on the swarms of zeeks flooding in through the football field. How many of these people—these sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen-year-olds—would die within twenty-four hours? Cody and his twin would most likely survive out there. Alex and he could probably do it if they stuck together. But the others? How many could fight? Knew how to shoot a gun?
“You don’t have to be responsible over them.” Cody whispered from his left, probably thinking along the same lines as Raf.
“But we need to stick together if we want to survive. It’s common sense.” Alex whispered back from his right. Cody shrugged, indifferent.
Raf cleared his throat. “Look, you all don’t know me. I don’t know any of you. The situation we have here is whether we decide to stick together—no longer strangers but a group—or separate our own ways. No one will stop you if you go, but understand the best chance of us living through this is staying together.”
Raf moved back and forth on his feet, not feeling like what he said was adequate enough. “So, yeah. Up to you guys.”
He looked at Cody, Alex, and then Paul in the back; his eyes eventually stopping on the girl that had argued with Cody earlier—she had been the one to ask them to join up the next time they fought zeeks. He got a sense that those four—well, five if you counted Cody’s twin— would stick with him.
The young adults looked at each other, studied Raf, and gazed out the windows.
“I want to go to the Quarantine Zone.” one of them said.
Cody scoffed. “You can—we all can—as soon as we find out where it is.”
There was a moment of silence again before another person spoke up in a deep voice. “We’re all gonna die out here.”
There was a hissed intake of air as the atmosphere tensed even more. Some mumbled out or shook their heads.
“You might, prick.” Cody said, stepping forward and pointing out at the lanky dark-haired kid with stubble. “I’m planning on surviving. If any of you want to curl up in a ball and wait like a buffet for the zeeks, go for it. We don’t care!”
Alex put a hand on Cody’s shoulder and gently pushed him back, stepping in front of him. He looked at Raf with an aggravated face, then to the crowd.
“What we meant to say is that it’s up to you—but we’d love to have each of you stick with us here. We can pick out one of these houses, clear it out, and outlast whatever this is until we find out where the Q.Z. is. You can be safe here with us.”
Raf nodded to Alex in appreciation then looked at the bus occupants. They still seemed to be thinking it over.
“Those that want to stay, come outside and help us clear out a house. We should settle in one and not spread out. It’ll be better off that way.” he said, feeling a little more confident with Alex there to support him. He turned and opened the bus door, a slight breeze—still chilly from the early morning air—hit his chest and face. He stepped outside and like he predicted, the first ones to follow him out were Alex, Cody and his twin, Paul, and the girl who he still didn’t know the name of. The remaining six stayed in the bus.
They gathered in a group and Raf pointed to the white home he had been eyeing earlier. “That one seems the biggest of the houses. We could fit the most people there.”
“Hopefully there’ll be a first-aid kit inside.” Paul croaked out with a lopsided grin as he pushed his long blond hair, matted with blood, away from his eyes. He reminded Raf of both a friendly dog and a hippy.
“We should be prepared for zeeks.” said Cody’s twin. It was the first time the freckled boy had spoken and Raf still didn’t know his name. He looked at Raf and extended a hand with a friendly smile, realizing they hadn’t been introduced.
“Cameron. I’m that lunatic’s younger brother by two minutes.”
Raf grinned and shook his hand. This twin seemed a little less intense than Cody, but just as formidable. Raf noticed he still held the semi-auto he had scavenged from back at the school; actually, held it comfortably. Both twins apparently knew how to use guns.
They walked towards the house, Cody in the front with a knife at the ready, Cameron right behind him holding his gun. Raf followed, holding his axe at the ready. He looked at Alex, holding his pistol. He nudged the skinny kid. “What are you gonna do with that? Beat a zeek over the head?”
Alex’s eyes lit up as he remembered that he’d used all of his bullets back at the burning tank. He shook his head and shoved the gun underneath his belt, giving Raf a bemused smile. Cody walked up the front porch steps, stepping around the personal belongings that were scattered around like as if they were cursed objects. He turned to them, licked his lips, and rang the doorbell. The chime sounded out through the open doorway.
“Why’d you do that?” Alex asked, chuckling.
Cody curved his hands into claws and pretended to bite the air. Zeeks. The noise would bring any zeeks out of hiding. Raf felt foolish for not thinking that himself.
There was no movement or noise from inside. Raf turned and looked at the bus. The six figures inside were staring through their windows out at them. Paul followed his gaze then shook his head at Raf.
“They’re like tuna fish in a can in there. They’ll eventually realize it and come out.”
“Will they?” Alex asked out, voicing everyone’s doubts.
Paul gave another lopsided grin. “Of course! Have a little faith in them. They’re just scared.”
“And you’re not?” the girl asked, turning to them.
Paul laughed. “I’m terrified!”
Cody stepped into the house, pushing the door wider. Walking towards the dining room, he motioned for his twin Cameron to move to the right and up the stairs. Alex followed the younger twin as they both climbed the steps. Paul stayed behind Cody, grabbing a curtain hanger from the floor and holding it like a spear. Raf was left with the girl near the entrance. He looked to her and she looked back, face strong and determined.
“I guess we check out the basement?” Raf suggested.
She stuck her chin out towards his axe. “You lead.”
They walked around the house slowly, the memory of zeeks fresh in their minds. Encountering one in the house would make for a difficult fight. With all the furniture to bump into or trip over, it was no wonder most attacks that spread the pandemic around the world so fast happened indoors. If anyone had been attacked in here, there would be blood. Raf tried his best to keep all of his senses aware. The girl pointed out a staircase going down as they passed the kitchen. Behind them, Cody and Paul opened a door leading to the garage and stepped through.
Raf walked down the stairs with his ears perked for any noise, feeling paranoid. Almost the entire valley had been evacuated and the chances of encountering any humans at all were basically zero. Even dead humans. But non-the-less, he was cautious.
He took the last step down and found himself in a large cement basement stacked with row upon row of wooden shelves. The place looked like a mini warehouse with its ten lines of arranged boxes and plastic bins. Faint light filtered from window wells illuminating the assorted items. The girl walked forward and opened a bin, peering inside. She closed the container and opened a cardboard box. She looked up and mentioned Raf over.
“It’s all junk. Holiday decorations and old files. Whoever lived here was pretty organized. Everything seems well-kept.”
It felt weird for Raf to be in this house, someone else’s house, and touching their stuff. He examined the containers. It was all personal belongings. Nothing useful.
“We can clear these shelves out and start storing food and other supplies down here.” the girl said, pulling back on her hair. Raf, first thinking her hair had been dark in the dim light of the bus, now could see that it was honey-brown. He preferred that color on her.
“You think we’re going to be here that long?” he asked her.
She scoffed. “Yeah, I think we’ll be here long term. The chances of us making it out of this valley are impossible—alive, that is. Even if we knew where the Q.Z. was, getting over the edge of the valley wouldn’t be achievable.”
Raf didn’t like the idea of having to survive on his own with a group of strangers, away from his family. But she had a point. “If we can get a hold of someone at the Q.Z. they could send soldiers over to extract us.”
Her eyebrows went up. “That’s an idea. But there’s no power. We’d have to use a shortwave radio—if we could find one.”
She looked a little more comfortable around him now. “See, two heads are better than one. We work well together, you and me.”
Raf opened and closed his mouth, staring into the girl’s hazel eyes. A thud came from upstairs along with a shout. They froze. Zeeks? There was another thud and more shouting. A lot more, from multiple people. Raf shot forward, sprinting for the stairs. He gripped his axe, ready for anything; the girl right behind him. Taking two steps at a time he heard something shatter and a grunt. He burst out into the kitchen and ran around the hallway to the living room where the noise was coming from.
Rolling around near the front entrance were two wrestling forms. Everyone was there, even the people from the bus. With a start, Raf realized Cody was one of the people on the floor. The other one was the deep-voiced teen with the scruff and black hair that had spoken out in the bus. He had been the one that said they were all going to die. Cody had his lips peeled back in a snarl as he gained the upper hand and grabbed the other boy from behind, drawing his arms up in a painful pin. He guy howled and struggled, but Cody pulled the arms up farther, making the boy freeze.
“What the heck is going on?” Raf shouted. Everyone froze and looked at him, their faces flushed in fear and excitement. Cody regarded Raf, a scowl on his face.
“This idiot walked into the house without making any noise or giving us any warning! I thought he was a damn zeek!”
The black-haired boy—Raf could see his face was pock-marked with acne—turned his head, cheeks flushed. “He just jumped me! He’s a flippin’ lunatic!”
Cody let go of the boy’s arms and stood up in disgust. “Should have warned us; I could have stabbed you!”
The boy jumped to his feet and turned, fists raised. Paul appeared in the middle, between the two angry figures. It was bad timing: the boy was swinging his fist at Cody and Paul took the blow to the cheek. He fell down to one knee with a whoof! of pain. Alex and Raf jumped forward; Alex holding a red-faced Cody and Raf standing in front of the livid boy.
“Stop!” Raf yelled, trying to calm everyone. He turned to Paul. “You okay?”
The shaggy-haired guy looked up with a smile, cheek bruised. “Hard hit, but I’m alright.” Did Paul ever not smile? He wasn’t even upset.
Looking at everyone gathered at the entrance, Raf . They’d all chosen to stay together. The boy he was holding back was breathing heavily and Raf turned to him. The boy met his eyes with a stubborn look.
“The house is clear.” Raf said out loud for everyone to hear. “Possibly the whole round-about. Let’s make this place our home. We’re moving in.”
The group stared at Cody, then the other boy a moment longer, before one by one they wandered off through the large residence. The deep-voiced boy clenched his jaw and walked away, heading towards the garage. Raf looked to the calmer twin, Cameron. “Anything upstairs?”
“We found a revolver in a dresser. Apart from that, there’s five rooms upstairs—the place is big.”
The twin didn’t look fazed over his brother having just been in a fight. Apparently Cameron had seen his brother attack others before. Raf thought about the gun the twin had found, then mentioned towards the girl that had been in the basement with him.
“She doesn’t have a weapon yet. You should give it to her.”
“We’ll still have to get weapons for the others. Only half of us can defend ourselves right now.” the twin pointed out.
Another girl a head shorter than Raf walked up to him, one he hadn’t met or talked to before. She wore glasses and had dark hair to her shoulders. “What are we gonna do about food?” she asked.
Alex looked up from where he crouched next to Paul, who still hadn’t gotten up from the floor. “He’s going to need a first-aid kit for his head.”
They were all looking at Raf, waiting for him to fix their problems. Protection, food, and medical supplies. Feeling overwhelmed, he bit his lip. How had this happened? This insane situation? He wanted to walk away. Not even look at them as he left. Maybe get a house on the opposite side of the block. Deal with only his own survival. This—taking care of them all: it wasn’t his job! He didn’t want this! He felt his palms grow sweaty. He had no one to turn to. No one older and with experience to help him out or hold his hand. They all stared with expectant looks. And what if he did walk away? What then? What would happen to these people he had just started to meet? They could deal with it. Just like he was dealing with it. They weren’t babies. But Alex, even not knowing anything about him, had supported him this far. Cody, although a firebrand, had as well. He couldn’t just walk way. Could he?
What would that cop back from the field have done? He wouldn’t have ditched out. He would have breathed in and pushed through it. Raf calmed his thoughts, then made up his mind.
“Let’s gather everyone; barricade the windows and doors. We’ll form scavenging groups to search the other houses for supplies and get everything we need. We’ll make this work. Together.”
Raf looked out through the open door as the sun came up over the horizon, bathing the neighborhood with a fresh orange light. It lit up rooftops and glinted off windows, bringing in warmth. He could have pretended everything was alright. It was just another normal day. But he still felt the axe handle in his hand. The stickiness of dried blood on his skin. Horror and normalcy mixed into a macabre batter of existence. They had to survive. Somehow, they would survive.
-Ted McVanderson, Newport Survival Camp, Circa-Year 2, A.AE. (After Apocalypse-Event)
With every house in the rich neighborhood abandoned, the freedom to choose where you wanted to bunk down was apparent. The bus came to a screeching halt in the middle of a round-about, massive houses visible in the gray pre-dawn light circled and glared down at it as if about to bully the mangled vehicle. Raf eyeballed a white multilevel home with its door wide open, clothing and personal belongings spewed out like a large mouth dirtied with crumbs.
He stood up from where he sat next to the now-conscious Paul—the guy really needed to get cleaned-up and checked for a concussion. He walked the bus isle, squeezing between crushed seats where the side was caved in, and approached Alex who stood up from the driver’s seat, pocketing the keys. Cody, still cleaning his knife from the zeek blood, followed; shadowing Raf. Most of the bus occupants watched, waiting on what would be next.
Raf turned to face them, thinking. What was next? Who was he to tell these people what to do? They could each stand up and wander off on their own, doing what they thought was best for them. He flashed back on the swarms of zeeks flooding in through the football field. How many of these people—these sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen-year-olds—would die within twenty-four hours? Cody and his twin would most likely survive out there. Alex and he could probably do it if they stuck together. But the others? How many could fight? Knew how to shoot a gun?
“You don’t have to be responsible over them.” Cody whispered from his left, probably thinking along the same lines as Raf.
“But we need to stick together if we want to survive. It’s common sense.” Alex whispered back from his right. Cody shrugged, indifferent.
Raf cleared his throat. “Look, you all don’t know me. I don’t know any of you. The situation we have here is whether we decide to stick together—no longer strangers but a group—or separate our own ways. No one will stop you if you go, but understand the best chance of us living through this is staying together.”
Raf moved back and forth on his feet, not feeling like what he said was adequate enough. “So, yeah. Up to you guys.”
He looked at Cody, Alex, and then Paul in the back; his eyes eventually stopping on the girl that had argued with Cody earlier—she had been the one to ask them to join up the next time they fought zeeks. He got a sense that those four—well, five if you counted Cody’s twin— would stick with him.
The young adults looked at each other, studied Raf, and gazed out the windows.
“I want to go to the Quarantine Zone.” one of them said.
Cody scoffed. “You can—we all can—as soon as we find out where it is.”
There was a moment of silence again before another person spoke up in a deep voice. “We’re all gonna die out here.”
There was a hissed intake of air as the atmosphere tensed even more. Some mumbled out or shook their heads.
“You might, prick.” Cody said, stepping forward and pointing out at the lanky dark-haired kid with stubble. “I’m planning on surviving. If any of you want to curl up in a ball and wait like a buffet for the zeeks, go for it. We don’t care!”
Alex put a hand on Cody’s shoulder and gently pushed him back, stepping in front of him. He looked at Raf with an aggravated face, then to the crowd.
“What we meant to say is that it’s up to you—but we’d love to have each of you stick with us here. We can pick out one of these houses, clear it out, and outlast whatever this is until we find out where the Q.Z. is. You can be safe here with us.”
Raf nodded to Alex in appreciation then looked at the bus occupants. They still seemed to be thinking it over.
“Those that want to stay, come outside and help us clear out a house. We should settle in one and not spread out. It’ll be better off that way.” he said, feeling a little more confident with Alex there to support him. He turned and opened the bus door, a slight breeze—still chilly from the early morning air—hit his chest and face. He stepped outside and like he predicted, the first ones to follow him out were Alex, Cody and his twin, Paul, and the girl who he still didn’t know the name of. The remaining six stayed in the bus.
They gathered in a group and Raf pointed to the white home he had been eyeing earlier. “That one seems the biggest of the houses. We could fit the most people there.”
“Hopefully there’ll be a first-aid kit inside.” Paul croaked out with a lopsided grin as he pushed his long blond hair, matted with blood, away from his eyes. He reminded Raf of both a friendly dog and a hippy.
“We should be prepared for zeeks.” said Cody’s twin. It was the first time the freckled boy had spoken and Raf still didn’t know his name. He looked at Raf and extended a hand with a friendly smile, realizing they hadn’t been introduced.
“Cameron. I’m that lunatic’s younger brother by two minutes.”
Raf grinned and shook his hand. This twin seemed a little less intense than Cody, but just as formidable. Raf noticed he still held the semi-auto he had scavenged from back at the school; actually, held it comfortably. Both twins apparently knew how to use guns.
They walked towards the house, Cody in the front with a knife at the ready, Cameron right behind him holding his gun. Raf followed, holding his axe at the ready. He looked at Alex, holding his pistol. He nudged the skinny kid. “What are you gonna do with that? Beat a zeek over the head?”
Alex’s eyes lit up as he remembered that he’d used all of his bullets back at the burning tank. He shook his head and shoved the gun underneath his belt, giving Raf a bemused smile. Cody walked up the front porch steps, stepping around the personal belongings that were scattered around like as if they were cursed objects. He turned to them, licked his lips, and rang the doorbell. The chime sounded out through the open doorway.
“Why’d you do that?” Alex asked, chuckling.
Cody curved his hands into claws and pretended to bite the air. Zeeks. The noise would bring any zeeks out of hiding. Raf felt foolish for not thinking that himself.
There was no movement or noise from inside. Raf turned and looked at the bus. The six figures inside were staring through their windows out at them. Paul followed his gaze then shook his head at Raf.
“They’re like tuna fish in a can in there. They’ll eventually realize it and come out.”
“Will they?” Alex asked out, voicing everyone’s doubts.
Paul gave another lopsided grin. “Of course! Have a little faith in them. They’re just scared.”
“And you’re not?” the girl asked, turning to them.
Paul laughed. “I’m terrified!”
Cody stepped into the house, pushing the door wider. Walking towards the dining room, he motioned for his twin Cameron to move to the right and up the stairs. Alex followed the younger twin as they both climbed the steps. Paul stayed behind Cody, grabbing a curtain hanger from the floor and holding it like a spear. Raf was left with the girl near the entrance. He looked to her and she looked back, face strong and determined.
“I guess we check out the basement?” Raf suggested.
She stuck her chin out towards his axe. “You lead.”
They walked around the house slowly, the memory of zeeks fresh in their minds. Encountering one in the house would make for a difficult fight. With all the furniture to bump into or trip over, it was no wonder most attacks that spread the pandemic around the world so fast happened indoors. If anyone had been attacked in here, there would be blood. Raf tried his best to keep all of his senses aware. The girl pointed out a staircase going down as they passed the kitchen. Behind them, Cody and Paul opened a door leading to the garage and stepped through.
Raf walked down the stairs with his ears perked for any noise, feeling paranoid. Almost the entire valley had been evacuated and the chances of encountering any humans at all were basically zero. Even dead humans. But non-the-less, he was cautious.
He took the last step down and found himself in a large cement basement stacked with row upon row of wooden shelves. The place looked like a mini warehouse with its ten lines of arranged boxes and plastic bins. Faint light filtered from window wells illuminating the assorted items. The girl walked forward and opened a bin, peering inside. She closed the container and opened a cardboard box. She looked up and mentioned Raf over.
“It’s all junk. Holiday decorations and old files. Whoever lived here was pretty organized. Everything seems well-kept.”
It felt weird for Raf to be in this house, someone else’s house, and touching their stuff. He examined the containers. It was all personal belongings. Nothing useful.
“We can clear these shelves out and start storing food and other supplies down here.” the girl said, pulling back on her hair. Raf, first thinking her hair had been dark in the dim light of the bus, now could see that it was honey-brown. He preferred that color on her.
“You think we’re going to be here that long?” he asked her.
She scoffed. “Yeah, I think we’ll be here long term. The chances of us making it out of this valley are impossible—alive, that is. Even if we knew where the Q.Z. was, getting over the edge of the valley wouldn’t be achievable.”
Raf didn’t like the idea of having to survive on his own with a group of strangers, away from his family. But she had a point. “If we can get a hold of someone at the Q.Z. they could send soldiers over to extract us.”
Her eyebrows went up. “That’s an idea. But there’s no power. We’d have to use a shortwave radio—if we could find one.”
She looked a little more comfortable around him now. “See, two heads are better than one. We work well together, you and me.”
Raf opened and closed his mouth, staring into the girl’s hazel eyes. A thud came from upstairs along with a shout. They froze. Zeeks? There was another thud and more shouting. A lot more, from multiple people. Raf shot forward, sprinting for the stairs. He gripped his axe, ready for anything; the girl right behind him. Taking two steps at a time he heard something shatter and a grunt. He burst out into the kitchen and ran around the hallway to the living room where the noise was coming from.
Rolling around near the front entrance were two wrestling forms. Everyone was there, even the people from the bus. With a start, Raf realized Cody was one of the people on the floor. The other one was the deep-voiced teen with the scruff and black hair that had spoken out in the bus. He had been the one that said they were all going to die. Cody had his lips peeled back in a snarl as he gained the upper hand and grabbed the other boy from behind, drawing his arms up in a painful pin. He guy howled and struggled, but Cody pulled the arms up farther, making the boy freeze.
“What the heck is going on?” Raf shouted. Everyone froze and looked at him, their faces flushed in fear and excitement. Cody regarded Raf, a scowl on his face.
“This idiot walked into the house without making any noise or giving us any warning! I thought he was a damn zeek!”
The black-haired boy—Raf could see his face was pock-marked with acne—turned his head, cheeks flushed. “He just jumped me! He’s a flippin’ lunatic!”
Cody let go of the boy’s arms and stood up in disgust. “Should have warned us; I could have stabbed you!”
The boy jumped to his feet and turned, fists raised. Paul appeared in the middle, between the two angry figures. It was bad timing: the boy was swinging his fist at Cody and Paul took the blow to the cheek. He fell down to one knee with a whoof! of pain. Alex and Raf jumped forward; Alex holding a red-faced Cody and Raf standing in front of the livid boy.
“Stop!” Raf yelled, trying to calm everyone. He turned to Paul. “You okay?”
The shaggy-haired guy looked up with a smile, cheek bruised. “Hard hit, but I’m alright.” Did Paul ever not smile? He wasn’t even upset.
Looking at everyone gathered at the entrance, Raf . They’d all chosen to stay together. The boy he was holding back was breathing heavily and Raf turned to him. The boy met his eyes with a stubborn look.
“The house is clear.” Raf said out loud for everyone to hear. “Possibly the whole round-about. Let’s make this place our home. We’re moving in.”
The group stared at Cody, then the other boy a moment longer, before one by one they wandered off through the large residence. The deep-voiced boy clenched his jaw and walked away, heading towards the garage. Raf looked to the calmer twin, Cameron. “Anything upstairs?”
“We found a revolver in a dresser. Apart from that, there’s five rooms upstairs—the place is big.”
The twin didn’t look fazed over his brother having just been in a fight. Apparently Cameron had seen his brother attack others before. Raf thought about the gun the twin had found, then mentioned towards the girl that had been in the basement with him.
“She doesn’t have a weapon yet. You should give it to her.”
“We’ll still have to get weapons for the others. Only half of us can defend ourselves right now.” the twin pointed out.
Another girl a head shorter than Raf walked up to him, one he hadn’t met or talked to before. She wore glasses and had dark hair to her shoulders. “What are we gonna do about food?” she asked.
Alex looked up from where he crouched next to Paul, who still hadn’t gotten up from the floor. “He’s going to need a first-aid kit for his head.”
They were all looking at Raf, waiting for him to fix their problems. Protection, food, and medical supplies. Feeling overwhelmed, he bit his lip. How had this happened? This insane situation? He wanted to walk away. Not even look at them as he left. Maybe get a house on the opposite side of the block. Deal with only his own survival. This—taking care of them all: it wasn’t his job! He didn’t want this! He felt his palms grow sweaty. He had no one to turn to. No one older and with experience to help him out or hold his hand. They all stared with expectant looks. And what if he did walk away? What then? What would happen to these people he had just started to meet? They could deal with it. Just like he was dealing with it. They weren’t babies. But Alex, even not knowing anything about him, had supported him this far. Cody, although a firebrand, had as well. He couldn’t just walk way. Could he?
What would that cop back from the field have done? He wouldn’t have ditched out. He would have breathed in and pushed through it. Raf calmed his thoughts, then made up his mind.
“Let’s gather everyone; barricade the windows and doors. We’ll form scavenging groups to search the other houses for supplies and get everything we need. We’ll make this work. Together.”
Raf looked out through the open door as the sun came up over the horizon, bathing the neighborhood with a fresh orange light. It lit up rooftops and glinted off windows, bringing in warmth. He could have pretended everything was alright. It was just another normal day. But he still felt the axe handle in his hand. The stickiness of dried blood on his skin. Horror and normalcy mixed into a macabre batter of existence. They had to survive. Somehow, they would survive.
