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QUIET SNORES FILLED THE FOREST as Jane was peacefully sleeping on her father's lap, her head resting against his thigh while the remaining parts of her body were lying on the soft grass, near the fire the single parent had created in the middle of the night.
The summer air was beginning to fade away, a cold breeze greeting the three as they were starting to fall asleep, mimicking the youngest Sheilds. The leaves were starting to be painted in warm colors, yellow and red being seen all across the forest as the winter showed its early signs of approaching. Nature, the trees, and the warm air were dying as well, almost as if they were mocking humans and what happened to the world barely a few weeks ago.
Blaire wondered what the cold season was going to look like. She asks herself if they would be able to survive the colder temperatures all while dealing with the biters lurking in the shadows. The world had been silent ever since that day, being dragged away from the city into a more secluded area made the older sibling question whether they were the last humans alive or not. Had everyone else been bitten? Is it worth it to keep going if it's just the three of them?
The creaking of the wood burning made the girl return to reality, staring at her father as he watched the flames dance on top of the sky. Her breathing slowed down once she saw him. Her father was here, and everything was going to be okay. She didn't need to ask herself questions about survival or the state of the world, for he would answer all of them. She didn't need to worry about the cold weather, for he would be there to make sure his children were safe – regardless of the situations or the weather they were facing.
Blaire's father was a brave man. She knew it before the world even ended. He was a firefighter, he risked his life every day to save others. She wonders how many people tried to call for him the day the world ended. She wonders why he was so scared of death when he saw what happened to his wife. Due to the many times she had heard the people around her praise the older man for being so courageous and fearless, she expected him to somewhat get used to everything quickly. That didn't happen, he seemed traumatized and on edge all the time, just like his daughters. So much for bravery.
Blaire didn't know how to grieve, and neither did Jane. The two of them just cried after what happened to their mother. Their father didn't come up to them while it was happening, instead hitting the cannibalistic creature with a book over and over until the groaning faded away, until all that was left of the monster was its body, twitching slightly before the movement stopped completely, announcing the death of the biter along with their mother.
It seemed as if the family was trying its best to forget about her, to pretend as if her existence was never real. Nobody dared to speak about her. Even Jane, whom Blaire had seen crying over the last few days disregarded the topic, saying it wasn't important. If it was as irrelevant as her family was making it seem, then what was the unknown tension in the air making it difficult to breathe? Why did Blaire feel as if she couldn't speak to her father anymore? She had to say something, she had to speak now and face the consequences later. She was afraid she'd never get the chance to.
