First Steps | A Zombie Apocalypse Story (Completed)

Day 25

Clarissa

I've had some time to really process what happened. Every ounce of it. None of us have seen Bobby since he marched off, and I can't help but feel like we're dishonoring Charlie's death by not trying to find him. He's all we have left of her. And I worry about his well-being.

Paxton has been extra quiet the past few days, aside from his occasional small talk with us. But it seems that he's been getting along with Zachariah fairly well. Chris has been having Matthew and Gloriana sleep in the master bedroom, but he has barely even stepped foot in the room in the time I've been here. He usually sleeps on the living room couch instead.

Meanwhile, Aliana and Shauna have been staying in Shauna's room whilst I've been in Aliana's room with her bunnies. Zachariah was staying in here, but he offered up the bed to me when I started staying here. Hannah would stay in the bed with me, but she's opted for the treehouse outside where she can be alone in peace. Zachariah and Paxton have been sleeping in the den on the large sectional and Tori on an air mattress. The twins have been sleeping in sleeping bags, though. I think Chris is happy to have the extra people. He always finds a way to talk anyone's ear off who's willing to listen.

Jerry... well, he hasn't come here once since the church. He's been staying there instead.

On the bright side, Hannah has begun to eat more again, but she's still as quiet as ever. The brothers and Tori have really grown on me. Benjamin is annoying as hell. Annoying as a big brother can be. He reminds me a lot of my own brother, to be honest.

Theodore, the less annoying brother, has been very kind and supportive. I never thanked him for what he did for me, but he seemed to be really sympathetic toward people. It's the small things that mean the most in a world like this.

We've come to a bit of a routine of things the past few days. We all wake up in the early hours of the day when the sunlight begins to shine through the house, and we go to bed around 9 or 10 pm, according to my watch. We eat at noon and 5 p.m., skipping breakfast to save on food. Every day, Chris uses his binoculars, looking out through the barricaded windows on the second floor of the home. I'm not sure what he's looking for, if anything at all. Perhaps his wife.

Meanwhile, I've taken to Aliana's library of books in her room. Her showcase of books mainly consisted of mystery, dystopian, and historical books. The mystery books were easy reads, high school level, but I enjoyed those nonetheless.

The darkness of the night is always dangerous, so we opt to stay inside when the sun goes down. There's not much we can do nowadays except sit around, eat our rations, talk, and hang out with the animals of the household.

There's been talk of going to the woods surrounding the neighborhood to look for small creeks or going to the various homes to search for more supplies, but we end up doing nothing for fear that someone else will get hurt or die. We can not afford to lose more people. The mental battles and torment we face are hard enough as is.

But at some point, sooner or later, we're going to half to do something. Our rations won't last forever, and Jerry hasn't come around with any supplies from the church. I'm sure he will at some point, hopefully, but we might have to risk the venture out.

With the crack of my knuckles, I venture out to the treehouse, a teen romance book in hand. As I exit the home, the morning air refreshes me, not too warm or cool. Spring mornings are always a breath of fresh air. Spring might be my favorite season. I subconsciously feel for the gun, being sure that it is within arms reach.