Zombie Parade

4: Traps

Percy POV

"WEEHAA." WEEHAA." "AAAAHH."

"Come on, Stella. You need to calm down," I pleaded with the baby. I bounced her in my arms gently to calm her down. However, nothing was working. She kept crying even though I already fed her. 

"Stella Bella, please," I whispered. 

The zombies outside were banging and clawing at the cabin walls. The loud crying had probably called a whole neighborhood of zombies to us. 

"Shh. It's okay," I paused while looking down at her beautiful face. She was so young and tiny in my arms. "I know that you miss her, but you need to calm down, baby girl. You're attracting a lot of zombies."

I was surprised that the woman lasted this long with a newborn. I wasn't even sure if that woman was Estelle's mother. Anything could've happened. The zombie apocalypse had been going on for 8 months now. Baby Estelle is (at most) seven months old. This meant that the baby was born after zombies had taken over. I can't imagine what her real mom went through in the meantime. Of course, I was positive the mom probably had help.  

Slowly, Stella's family died until she's the only one left. I don't even know her last name, so her name is going to be Estelle Jackson. 

I'm giving her my last name as a testament. She is now my family. 

Finally, Stella stopped fussing around. Her green eyes opened wide, and she smiled at me. After a whole hour of crying, she's smiling now. 

I don't understand babies at all!

"Hey, Stella, I think that you're finally used to my face," I responded. "Anyway, we have to lay low for a while so that the zombies outside disperse again."

The baby let out a chuckling sound. 

"Yeah. That's what I like to see," I did a double-take. "Okay, I don't like what I'm smelling right now, so let's change your diaper."

This is what I wasn't looking forward to. She had already peed overnight, but this was her first poop in my custody. I wasn't sure if this is a milestone or something. Regardless, I set her on a blanket on the floor. 

I started breathing through my mouth before getting to work. Essentially, changing a diaper is the same as wrapping a burrito. 

In a few minutes, I was done. 

Stella and I waited a few more hours. She fell asleep on the bed, so I got to work in peace. I was scared about leaving the cabin with Estelle. However, I can't stay here for much longer. The cabin is old, and I was afraid that the zombies would tear it down. It was better to leave while we still had the chance. 

The baby bag also carried a baby backpack. It's a velcro strap backpack where you plot a baby into a seating position against you. It reminded me of the baby carriers that young moms or dads would wear outside. 

I guess I'm becoming a dad today. I sighed while strapping the backpack on. Then, I carefully placed Stella into the backpack before tightening the straps. She didn't even wake up. Instead, she snuggled deeper against my stomach and chest. 

My hand covered her head as I way to protect her. 

I figured it would be better to leave while she was sleeping. As such, I stepped out of the cabin and silently walked toward the Manhattan streets. Estelle against my chest limited my range of movement. 

However, carrying her in the baby backpack, allowed me to have two free arms. I could fight relatively normally again. 

Any time a zombie got close to me, I stab it without hesitation. At this point, I don't see the zombies as dead humans anymore. They're a breed of their own, and I don't like imagining them as humans. it hurt too much to do that.