How I Survived The Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter Nine - Make The Most Of The Good Days

"Well thank fuck for that!" I declared as I stepped out of the Jeep. We had just crossed into Montana and I was thrilled.

"That was ridiculous." Groaned Lilly as she stretched out. "Two weeks! I can't believe it's taken us this long."

"Well I enjoyed myself." Sandy chimed in happily. "Yellowstone was so cool."

"Old Faithful was red with blood Sandy." Luke said with an incredulous look.

"Yeah with zombie blood. They just walk right into it!" She said gleefully. She looked around at our creeped out faces. "It means that the biggest volcano on the planet is on our side!"

I couldn't help but laugh, I suppose in some really messed up way little Sandy was right. Though how the hell she had enjoyed our experience at Yellowstone I have no idea. It seemed as though all the walkers for miles around had been attracted to the burst of hot water and steam and had walked right into it.

I was struck once again by how much the walkers had changed, they seemed so different to the first zombies I had encountered in Las Vegas. I wanted to talk to the group about it, we'd gotten so close over the last couple of weeks so it wasn't that I didn't trust them, I just didn't think that I was ready to talk about what I'd been through and the things I'd seen in that god forsaken city.

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Zak smiled kindly and picked up the little blonde, putting her on his shoulders. That was another thing I'd noticed over the last two weeks, Zak was actually a big softy. Well he was if you were a certain little girl called Sandy, then you were practically a princess. Otherwise, Zak was the very definition of bad ass.

"How are we doing for supplies?" I asked Chris, him and Lily had taken charge of that area, working out how much we had and how long it'd last us, rationing the food and keeping an eye on the water levels.

"Well, we have maybe two days worth of food left and three days water. We can't cut rations down any further or we'll be too weak to fight if we should need to." Chris answered. 

"Right, I guess that decides what were doing first then." Luke declared.

I hopped up onto the Jeeps bonnet and laid back, relaxed. While I cant say I was enjoying the heat, the flat dessert meant that trouble could be spotted miles before it reached us and I felt safer than I had done in months.

"Let's have a look at the map, see if there's a little town or something nearby that we can re-supply from." I suggested.

"I'll get it." Maggie said quietly, walking to the passenger side of the Jeep and pulling the map out of the glove compartment.

Maggie was making a real effort to do better, she was trying to be brave and less of a kill joy all the time. She still had a little cry every now and then but she'd taken to wandering away from the group to do it. Zak had taken to following her and just being there while she cried. I think he saw and respected the amount of work she was putting in, how hard she was trying. I hope she realised just how lucky she was to have come across this group of wonderful people and not one of the genuinely cruel gangs we had seen, I know I was counting my lucky stars for it.

Maggie handed the map to Luke who spread it open beside me. It didn't take long to find exactly where we were and even less time to realise we were miles from the nearest town. I sighed and closed my eyes against the harsh sun. Even though it was September it still felt like summer had us in a choke hold and was refusing to let go. 

"Well then." Brian said as he pushed hi glasses further up his nose. "It looks like we're in the middle of no where."

"So what should we do?" Maggie asked. Over the last couple of days she had also started to make an effort to become involved in the group and be part of the decision making. Before that she'd been like a ghost, always there, but vacant and somehow very far away.

"There's bound to be hares and foxes and other small animals in the desert. I used to trap cottontails with my brother when we were little." Brian said. "I picked up some fishing line from that gas station we stopped at a few nights ago, I should be able to make a half decent snare with it."

"I know how to trap too." Zak mentioned. "Between us we should be able to set up a fair few of them. If we don't catch anything by tonight we should move on, but I think we could all use the rest."

Zak was right, Wyoming had really knocked the crap out of me and looking around at the others I could tell it had done a number on them too. I didn't speak but I nodded in agreement and settled down further on the bonnet of the Jeep.

"Come on Alex, we can't just stop here." Lilly laughed, slapping the side of my thigh.

"Ugh." I moaned. "Fine, I guess we should find somewhere a bit more sheltered."

"You're getting soft." Luke teased. I jabbed him in the side with one of my famously pointy elbows and suck my tongue out. I laughed but it was cut short when I felt a stab of sadness chase all the air from my lungs.

Luke reminded me of my cousin Mathew, and thinking of him hurt. He was my best friend, after Dad had gotten ill Matty had been there through everything. Every appointment and every piece of bad news Matty was there to comfort me and cheer me up. Truth be told I'd started to think of him more as a brother, the word cousin just didn't express how much that skinny asshole had meant to me.

"You ok Alex?" Luke asked softly, he knew that he reminded me of someone I'd lost and that it was a family member and sometimes it just hit me. I refused to tell him any more than that, again it wasn't a lack of trust, it was just still too painful to say out loud.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." I tried to pull off a relaxed smile but I'm not sure I managed it.

After a short drive we found a gorgeous spot next to a winding river next to a steep cliff face of yellowed stone. The water was crystal clear and so inviting. We parked the cars in a defensive wedge that jutted from the river bank. The tarps were erected and a small fire burning within minutes, we'd had plenty of practise at setting up camp.

"I'll get some water." I said after I'd secured the last of the guy ropes.

I stood by the edge of the river a took a moment to myself to just absorb how beautiful the place was. I was startled out of my thinking by a small splash in the water. Instinctively I took a step back. I stared at the water intently, waiting. I laughed when I saw what had been causing the splashes. Fish.

"Brian, do you happen to have any hooks for with that line?" I asked, happy that fresh food was looking like it would indeed be on our table tonight.

"I do. There's fish in the river?" He asked hopefully.

"There is indeed. I'm crap at fishing though, tried once, didn't catch anything in the first ten minutes so I got bored and sulked, we were home for breakfast." I smiled at the memory and the others laughed.

"You? Impatient? I just won't believe it!" Chris teased.

"Aww Chris I'm so proud! That was actual sarcasm!" I teased back.

That day I almost forgot that the world had ended. I was surrounded by good people and I was relatively safe. The sun was shining, I was beside a beautiful river and my cares had seemed miles away. The next day however, my life was back to a terrifying shit storm.