Tales from the Apocalypse

CHAPTER XI - five years later

The morning was cold, snow was covering the man made paths and the roofs of the recently built homes. Inside the gated community Scott built over the years, there stood multiple places to call home. There were around one hundred survivors living in town, horses to provide transport and farm animals to help provide food. The crisp, cold air made each breath visible, and the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow echoed in the quiet surroundings. Scott walked down the paths he had built with other survivors years ago, along with Kristie, Stella and Raven. They were dressed up properly for the winter, with warm sweaters and thick jackets. They walked through a small forest, still inside the gated area, until they found a frozen lake. The friends spent an hour skating and falling on the cold ice, laughing and having fun like they have done almost every day for the past few years, almost like a tradition.

While the friends had fun in the ice, Raven stayed at home, temporarily retired from all the adventures with her friends. She held a two year old girl in her arms as she ate breakfast, in front of her girlfriend, Ethel. 

“Bacon and eggs again?” asked Ethel. “You really do love those huh?”

Raven laughed in response and nodded her head, eating her favorite breakfast. 

There was a knock on the door of their home, Ethel got up to check. 

“Who is it?” Raven asked as Ethel opened the door. It was one of Ethel’s workmates. 

“We got new arrivals.”

Ethel nodded and gave Raven a kiss before grabbing her jacket and leaving home. She walked to the entrance of the gated community with her workmate, to investigate the newcomers. 

“How many?”

“Four.” 

After her workmate responded to her question, she went on to examine each of the group members, after they had their weapons taken away. One by one, she checked them for bites or scratches to take care of. She questioned each member, asking questions from their name to where they were planning to go to and where they were before coming here. The security in this community was tight, all thanks to Ethel and her team.

The group revealed their names to be Xander, Lily, Julie and Dorian; they were all in their early twenties and had come from a big city a few hours away. They left the city the wrong way and ended up in remote areas, finding this place a couple of hours into walking in the middle of nothing. 

Ethel took their information in hopes of making them an identification card in a week, after their stay at the quarters. They were going to stay there so they were watched every hour of the day, in case one of them turned later than usual. 

Ethel ordered her workmates to watch over the newcomers, and went back home two hours later. She found her girlfriend napping in bed with her daughter, she crawled in and joined them, cuddling up next to Raven. They napped huddled together for a good hour before Raven woke up.

Raven planted a kiss on Ethel's temple, pulling her in for a warm hug as she slept. She then kissed her daughter's cheek and got up from bed, got her jacket, put on her shoes and walked out of the room. It was time for midday patrol, she was the main chief of the patrol group and was going on her turn for the day, since it would be too dangerous for her to go on night patrol while she had a young daughter at home.

She left home, and walked towards the guarding tower, which was an old firewatch tower. It stood in the middle of the town, overlooking it and its outsides. Entering it, she went up the stairs and sat in her seat, watching over town. She used her binoculars to watch over her people and their daily activities. 

For a couple of hours, nothing would be heard about Raven. She was still at her work spot, watching the town like a hawk. Back at her home, her girlfriend Ethel was about to leave with her daughter, whose name was Jenny. They went on a stroll through town, shopping for some supplies and staying warm inside a coffee shop until Raven got off work.