Apocalypse? So what I got a 5 year old to raise!

12

Hanna's pov

My patience was nonexistent at this point as I ran to find the children, but I constantly had to stop and wait for Ando, it didn't take long before it grated my nerves too much and I just picked Ando up, slung him over my shoulder and bolted in the direction the children ran off in.

It didn't take long for me to notice an unusually large group of zombies gathering so I followed my mama bear instincts and forced my way through the crowd of dead bodies and upon arriving I the center I saw my baby running with Aiko towards the left. Something told me that Danny was more worried about Aiko than himself and it normally would have made me chuckle at his childish and naive personality but right now my mind was laser focused and I wasted no time making my way towards the two and picking them both up.

At this point, I was carrying three children, and I wasn't bothered. I was simply relieved that they were all safe. The fact that two of these children weren't mine didn't even cross my mind as I got us all out of the spotlight as quickly as my legs would let me. It took half an hour of me running full pelt before I reached the car, which I'd parked across the city. I'd been comforting them all along the way, mostly focusing on the two younger boys, kissing their foreheads and hugging them in my arms so they felt safe after having been cornered alone by zombies. The two brothers had both nearly missed their death at the hands of the living corpses only a few hours ago, so the same situations playing out again so soon were likely to have triggered their nerves.

Perhaps due to their nerves, the two brothers didn't hesitate to get in the car with me and Danny. I ended up taking them to the house even though I barely knew them. Something in me was compelled to look after and protect them as much as I possibly could on the assumption that doing so would not harm Danny in any way. I dismissed it as my motherly instincts as the two brothers were still young, and Aiko is almost the same age as Danny from what I can tell.

I then realised I hadn't actually asked the boys their ages. I was only working on an assumption based on their appearances and my judgement.

As I was driving back, I decided to ask them about themselves since it wasn't like we could listen to the radio.

"So how old are you boys?" I asked, starting with a basic and not overly personal question.
Aiko was the first to respond with childish excitement that warmed my heart, "I'm eight!"
"I'm seventeen at the moment, but I'll be eighteen on the 23rd of this month," Ando answered with a pride characteristic of teens who thought they were mature enough to live their own lives without their parents.
"My birthday was in the beginning of August!" Aiko piped up after hearing his brother talking about his birthday.
"My birthday is at the end of May," Danny said as if not wanting to be left out of the birthday discussion.
"Well, I guess I should also tell you my birthdays in the middle of April," I chuckled whilst thinking about the childish direction the conversation took.
"Since you boys seem to be on your own, how do you feel about staying with me and Danny for a while?" I offered with my characteristic warm motherly smile. I wasn't sure if the boys still had parents considering they were alone when I found them and hadn't mentioned any parents so far and if they didn't I didn't want to risk adding salt to old or new wounds.
"Could we!" Aiko asked with the excitement expected of a young child who had been allowed to go to his first sleepover.
"As long as your brother has no objection, then I don't mind you both staying for as long as you'd both like, we have more than enough room, don't we?" I answered before cueing Danny as an indirect way of asking his opinion on the matter.
"Yeah, we have plenty of room," Danny said as he turned to face out the window as if pouting but I could see the flushed cheeks and smile he was trying to hide at the idea of having friends over.
"If it's really not a bother, we'd appreciate it," Ando finally replied after thinking it over and considering the current situation.
"It's no bother, honestly hun," I answered, turning my head to face the boys all huddled together in the back seat.

The boys hadn't realised we'd stopped moving. The first to notice was Danny as he was absentmindedly looking out the window.

Upon his realisation, he happily informed the brothers, "We're home!"

It didn't take Danny or Ando long to remove their searbelts as Ando had memories from before, and Danny was used to me driving around. However, since Aiko would have only been 3 when the apocalypse began, he had no memories of being in a car. I hadn't thought about it until I saw the boy on the verge of tears as he couldn't get out of his sear due to his seat belt holding him in place. I had expected Ando to be the one to realise first and help his brother, but to my suprise, it was actually Danny. They must be closer than I thought.

Upon getting out of the car Ando just stood stunned looking at the house, for a moment I was confused then I quickly remembered most people didn't get prep time before the apocalypse so most people live in tents or makeshift shelters in bases surrounded by high metal walls if my memories about the book are correct, so seeing my cute little cottage with my vegetable patch in the front garden and the orchard behind the house must've come as a shock to say the least.

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Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!

I forced myself to finish a chapter today before I'd let myself finish the book I was reading. This is the new strategy I'm gonna try, hopefully it'll continue to work for a while, although I don't know how long my self control will last because I honestly struggled and its the first day... 😅

Update: It didn't work...