Can you See me up here, in the Trees?

Chapter 2

Your first winter was your worst. You were surprised you had managed to make it through it at all, but luck was on your side. When the days started to lengthen and warm up, you got to work.

You fixed your house, improving it so that way it would be better for the winter, and started to work on the other two houses. The other two would be for food and water. You created a drain trap that would catch the water, reuse it for other things. You kept the water in jars, using the melted snow to tide you over till the next rainfall.

Soon you realized that you need to venture further out of your little area to get things. You had dismantled everything you could at the cabin without destroying the structure, and you would need new things.

WIthout hesitation you created new roads along the tree lines, branching out to the edges as best you could. It was there you noticed them. The raiders camp. You recognized them as the ones who had ambushed you and stolen your stuff. You wished you could act on revenge but you knew you needed them.

The first time you walked to their camp to trade, you were sure they were going to kill you, but they didn't.

You traded jars of clean water and the jewelry for other essentials that you needed. This system of trading water for items worked for months, well into the summer. You had gotten some seeds, built a small garden, and were growing your own vegetables now.

On one day, you traded water for two very important things, weapons and a photo. You knew you needed protection, so you got a gun with a full clip and a baseball bat. The gun would be for emergencies only, and the photo was the one you had before they had raided you. It was of your group before the apocalypse.

It was the end of summer, something similar to August weather when you went to trade with the raiders, only to find the entire encampment dead or gone. You checked to make sure the coast was clear before sliding down the rope you had placed there and looked around.

They had been overrun by walkers, you could tell by the carnage that was left. You moved the bag on your shoulder to a new spot, moving the weight to a new spot. You picked through their storage, taking their food, the empty jars for water, their blankets (your favorite find was the cot and pillows) and anything else you wanted. You loaded it all up into the trees, your brow now sweating from the amount of work you had done.

Over the next few days you hurried and moved everything to your home, making it a little nicer than before. You counted your luck at how much they had left behind, but your luck ran out.

It was about a week after you scavenged the camp when you heard the trees creaking. It wasn't a normal creek like you were used to so you were instantly alerted. You grabbed your hand gun, leaving the house to see a raider standing on your bridges.

You had been so naïve to think that no one would come back for the supplies they left. You watched as he stalked towards you, his black leather jacket making him look even more intimidating. You raised your gun, unsure if you were able to fire it.

"You sneaky little scavenger, hiding up here were you?" You heard him say before he threw some profanities at you. For a brief second everything stilled as a breeze went through the trees, moving his torn jeans to show a bite mark. He was infected.

That brief second ended as he lunged for you. You pulled the trigger without thinking, shooting him in the neck. He fell to the ground, blood leaking all over your path, and you puked. You puked up the fruit you had eaten for breakfast and stomach acid.

That was the first time you pulled the trigger, first time you killed someone. It haunted you for months afterwards, even after you had taken anything of value and discarded the body. You had cleaned up the blood and the puke, making sure nothing was left that could remind you. You had pierced the guy's head on the ground, making sure the brain couldn't reanimate, before leaving it miles away from your home. The next day, you went to all your bridges and pulled up any extra ropes you had down.