The Apocalypse: The First Year

Extra, Extra! Hear All About It!

"Why aren't they broadcasting any alerts anymore?" I ask Glen as he turns the knobs on the small radio we scavenged from a house.

"Spence you saw how bad the city was. I doubt there's any government left at all." He tells me, still messing around with the radio.

"But they've been broadcasting that emergency alert for months why stop all of a sudden?" I question.

"I don't know." He shrugs.

"Glen..." I say quietly.

"Yeah?" He turns to me and asks. I'm sure my face is telling him everything I'm feeling right now. I'm happy to be alive but I'm scared that Glen and I are the only one's left. "It's gonna be fine baby sis." He whispers in my ear and hugs me tightly.

"Are we alone in this world?" I ask and Glen gives me a pained look.

"I don't know." He shrugs again. "What I do know is that you have me, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He adds and kisses my forehead.

–

"Mom, Dad! Look what we found." Jessica and Francisco come running from the basement with a huge antique looking thing.

"Oh wow, a Tombstone radio." Tim says taking the radio from them. "I haven't seen one of these since I was kid." He adds examining it.

"Does it work?" Jo asks her husband.

"I don't know." He shrugs. "Lets find out." He turns a couple knobs on the radio and we hear static. "Wow it still works!" He exclaims. He turns a few more knobs and we hear a voice.

"Is that..." Jo trails off as the voice booms from the radio.

"This is an emergency alert. This is an emergency alert. Do not enter the city. I repeat do not enter the city. Survivors should head east towards Atlanta. I repeat survivors should head east towards Atlanta." Then the voice stops. Everyone in the room is silent as Tim frantically turns the knobs on the radio to try and get the voice back.

"What does this mean?" Jayden asks from the stairs.

"Nothing!" Rick shouts. "It means absolutely nothing. We're not gonna sit here and believe that some voice on a two hundred year old radio has the answer to all our problems. Oh head east, so we should pack up and go, just like that." Rick says and scoffs.

"I hate to say it, but Ricks right." Tim agrees. "We don't even know how old this message is. It could be just some tape in a building somewhere on a loop or something." Tim says.

"No." I shake my head, remembering me and Glen's time in the woods right after we went to the city and saw it'd been overrun with walkers. "Glen and I were keeping up with those alerts, they stopped completely after a while." I tell everyone.

"So you think this is new?" Carmen asks me.

"Has to be." I say and everyone breaks out into chatter. My mother and father both place a hand on my shoulder as Tim tells everyone to calm down.

"What should we do?" Ashley asks from somewhere beside me.

"I think we should take a vote on what we want to do." Tim suggests.

"This is bullshit!" Ricks shouts. Everyone rolls their eyes at him. We're used to this by now. "How can we even consider this?" He asks.

"What are we doing here, Rick?" I speak up. My father grips my shoulder a little tighter. "I mean, we're constantly running. If there's a chance, even a small chance that there's shelter, food, water somewhere...I'm willing to take that chance."

"And risk all our lives?" Ricks asks forcefully.

"You don't have to go." I hear Ashley say.

Rick scoffs and folds his arms across his chest.

"Spencer's right." Carmen says. "We're running in circles here and the walkers are migrating this way and fast..."

"How would we even get to Atlanta?" Rick questions.

"Cars." I say. "There's a heap of them on the highway."

"Gas?" Rick asks.

"We can siphon it out of a bunch of cars that way we wouldn't have to stop often." Tim says.

"We'd need a hell of a lot of cars." Aiden says and chuckles.

"Four will do." Tim says.

"So we're doing this?" My father asks from beside me.

"This will take a lot of preparation. The highway is at least a day away on foot." Glen says.

"We should scavenge tomorrow. Get as much food and water as we can." Ashley says.

"I can't believe we're actually considering doing this!" Rick says throwing his hands in the air.

"Well what do you suggest we do, Rick?" Ashley asks him in a pointed tone.

"Not this." Is all he says.

"Heck of plan." Ashley retorts. I stifle a laugh.

"Maybe we should take a vote." I suggest.

"That's a great idea, Spencer." Tim says standing up. I turn to Ashley and she gives me a smile. "Let's take a vote. Everyone in favor of heading east raise your hand." Tim says to the group and everyone but Santana, Rick and a guy from Ashley's group...Owen raises their hand.

"Then it's settled." Carmen says. "We'll scavenge all day tomorrow and head out the day after at dusk."

Everyone nods in agreement except Rick who scoffs and stomps off upstairs.

"Someone's not happy." Ashley comes up next to me and whispers in my ear. Ahh! Where did she just come from.

"Y..yeah." I stumble out. She startled me...give me a break.

"We should all probably get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." Tim suggests. Everyone heads off to their designated sleeping areas and since Ashley and I gave our room to my mom and dad her, Glen, Aiden and myself decided to share the basement.

–

"Are you nervous about leaving?" Ashley asks me from our side of the basement. We put up a make-shift partition to separate us from Glen and Aiden. The noises they're making right now are just...you don't even wanna know.

"Not really." I shake my head. "There's nothing here anymore. I think if there's something out there...a place that's better than this, then we should go there. No questions asks." I add.

"I'm a little scared." Ashley admits.

"Why?" I ask.

"I don't know." She shrugs. "I just have a bad feeling I guess." She says and lays down. I lay down and face her.

"We're gonna be fine." I tell her quietly.

"Wow that's amazing!" Aiden says from the other side of the partition and then moans. Ashley makes a gag face then we both laugh quietly.

"They never stop." She says.

"I know." I shake my head and giggle. We both get quiet and stare at each other. "Well... goodnight." I add after a moment and give her a small smile then close my eyes. I can feel her eyes still watching me but I don't dare open mine again. My stomach is doing somersaults as I feel her body shift towards me. I can feel her breath on my skin and my breath hitches when she places a barely there kiss on my forehead.

"To answer your question from earlier... I do think I could fall for you." She barely whispers then says goodnight and I feel her body shift away from me.

It takes everything in me to hold in a smile.