After Death

Chapter 12 (Home)

Chapter 12: Home

Ethan Warren

Estimated, July 2025

About 38 months after outbreak

California, The Coast

Season 4

--------------------------------------------------------

We did it, we found a new place to call our own. It wasn't easy but we did it. It has a view of the ocean, beautiful houses, and most importantly not many of the dead.

It's a community that had been abandoned. I never could tell why it had been, nothing appeared to be noticeable wrong with it. The walls are metal and sturdy, the grass is healthy and good for growing food in, there are no bullet holes in the houses. It doesn't look like it belongs in the apocalypse. It took me away from reality even though I tried to resit it.

"It's perfect," I smiled, my eyes began to water with joy.

"It is," Khai smiled back, "and it's got a great leader to keep it that way."

I remember taking my first steps through those gates, it reminded me of the world before the dead roamed. It was clean, it was peaceful, it's home.

There was weapons, food, medical supplies just laying around inside the buildings. It kinda freaked me out at first, it was all too unreal. It was a miracle but I wondered what it would cost. It was too good to be true, there had to be a catch.

There was no catch. This was real, some could say a gift from God. This place had been abandoned for a while, the dust on the counters proved that, we only got what was left over because there was no one left in the world to beat us to it. Knowing that made it harder to enjoy everything but it was to much to just push into the back of your mind. There really wasn't too many people left, and more people were dying every day.

This place was going to be the start of the future, I wasn't going to let another community die in front of my eyes again. If it did, I would die with it. The captain always goes down with the ship.

---

I hoped Timothy wouldn't chase us. We hadn't really tried to cover our tracks, we hadn't been in the right mindset for that. He would slaughter us if we didn't watch our backs. I tried to be a leader, I tried to do what was right and personally I think I did good. I had Elsye, Leah, and Allan keep watch, they'd switch out in shifts, morning, afternoon, and night. I knew it helped the others sleep without having to keep one eye open, I know it helped me. I used to think that nothing was better than sleeping in your own bed but then I learned that nothing's better than sleeping without worries. Or at least sleeping without thinking you have worries.