Journal of Alexander Bryce

Entrie 09

September 19, 2023

58 days into the apocalypse.

Today has been a miracle. We got a stomach full of food, a warm shelter, and some proper beds to sleep on. Courtesy of our hosts.

To explain how we got into this situation, I should start from the very beginning. The day started pretty normally, with the exception of having a sky full of dark clouds. As the day went on, we could even hear rumbles and the roar of thunder by the time it was around noon.

And soon, it began raining cats and dogs, followed by strong gusts of wind. It was so severe that we were forced to abandon our journey and look for some shelter to protect ourselves from the heavy storm and rainfall. That's when we came across this place.

A fairly sizable two story house on the outskirts of Staten island. It was surrounded by about a six feet high electrical fence. There was a metal grill gate at the front. It was locked from the inside with a hash bolt that I managed to get open by slipping my hand through the gaps between the grills.

Once it was open, we rushed inside, hurrying over to the front door, where James slammed his shoulder onto the door, breaking it down and we all rushed inside.

"Don't shoot please!" somebody yelled out.

Immediately, Natalie had her gun out, aiming towards the direction of the voice. And there he was, Arnold Sedgwig, an elderly man in his early 70s, standing there with his arms raised in surrender. His tall and lean figure shuddered in fright.

Suddenly we heard the sound of rushing footsteps, and James had pulled out his revolver on the intruder who came in from another room, an elderly woman.

This woman was Elizabeth Sedgwig, the wife of Arnold Sedgwig. Her age was hitting her late 60s. Her short curly hair were completely white, and a pair of glasses were fixed on aged her face.

"Arnold!" She had moaned out when she walked into us.

"Please, don't hurt us! We-we're unarmed and harmless. We will give you anything, just don't do anything to us, please." Arnold had begged, looking down with his eyes closed. Mrs. Sedgwig was also on the verge of tears, seeing her husband like this and the situation they've found themselves in so suddenly.

But before things could escalate further, I decided to intervene.

"I apologize, mister." I had said, stepping forward, forcing both Natalie and James to aim down their weapons,"We have no intentions to haraz you in any way. Me and my friends were making our way out of Staten Island, when this ungodly storm struck us, and we were forced to find shelter."

"O-oh." Mr. Sedgwig had replied with a shaky breath as everyone seemed to be calming down.

"Yeah. We came across your house, and thought it was abandoned and decided to make a shelter here. We weren't aware that somebody was living here."

There was a few moments of silence before Mrs. Sedgwig spoke up. "Oh, dear, I suppose they can stay here for a while, don't you think?"

"Wait, really?" David quipped.

Mr. Sedgwig seemed thoughtful for a while before he said,"Sure, I don't see why not. Despite the circumstances, you young folks look like you could definitely use some proper hosting."

The announcement made my heart beat fast. But before we could say anything, Mrs. Sedgwig came forward, still wary but now more comfortable around us.

"Come inside now. I think we have plenty of space for some guests." She had said.

And so, we accepted their request.

The Sedgwig couple were old residents of here. They have a son, daughter in law and a grandkid, but they live outside New York. Hopefully, those three also managed to get out too. The Sedgwig couple had stayed behind during the evacuation of New York. Mr. Sedgwig has arthritis and has trouble walking or doing anything in general by his own, and Mrs. Sedgwig has very bad eyesight and she isn't the one to leave her husband behind. Besides, their car isn't exactly in the best conditions to drive. So, despite the risks, the couple had stayed behind.

The electrical fence around their house kept them safe from the Plagued, and those monsters weren't smart enough to open the metal grill door. Besides, it doesn't appear that Billy, or some other guy like him has spread their clutches over to Staten Island. At least this part of Staten island.

We had taken a warm bath. After over fifty days surviving and running through streets, that bath felt really good. We were provided with some old clothes, which were left behind by their son, to change into. I had wore a pair of loose jeans and a black full sleeve t-shirt, while Natalie traded her police uniform for a pair of khaki pants and a dark gray t-shirt. James wore a red t-shirt with the same brown pants he wore throughout the journey and his dark brown jacket, that was probably a size too short for his large body, and David wore a plain white shirt and dark green pants.

Quite some time of the evening was spent chatting with the Sedgwig couples, sharing stories with each other. As the night deepened, Mrs. Sedgwig called us in for dinner and served us some meat stew. They said they had plenty of food and meat with them, so they didn't mind sharing some with us.

There was something about the meat. The strange pork like taste just didn't sit right with me for some reason. But can't really complain about cooking when I'm having a mouth full of warm food in middle of this hell hole.

After the dinner was over, we said good night to each other, and headed to the rooms provided to us. The Sedgwig couple slept together in the same room, and we were given the guest room, where me, James and Natalie used the bed and a couch left in the room to sleep, while David was given the old room of their son.

The night is deepening, and after such a hearty meal, I'm feeling rather tired and sleepy. James has already passed out beside me on the bed, snoring. And Natalie seems to be in deep sleep too, while curled up on the couch.

If this storm stops tomorrow, we can hit the road again. Maybe we can bring these elderly couple with us too. But let's leave those things for tomorrow.

For now, I think I'll have some good long hours of sleep.