Age of zombies

[73] A new home

Two months had passed since the attack, and the town still felt hollow. With two-thirds of the population gone, Banff was a shell of what it once was. The streets were quieter, fewer people walked about, and everywhere you turned, there were vacant buildings. But the upside—if you could call it that—was that housing prices had plummeted. After weeks of sharing a cramped motel room, we finally had enough to buy a house.

We pooled together everything we had. It wasn't much, but in this market, it was enough. And now, here we were, standing outside our new home—a modest two-story house with pale blue siding and white trim. The windows were intact, which was rare these days, and the porch, though a little weather-worn, still had a sturdy wooden railing. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was ours, and that was all that mattered.

The neighborhood had seen better days, though. Some of the houses had boarded-up windows, while others were barely standing. But ours? It was solid, untouched by the chaos that had swept through the town. I guess that was luck—or maybe just timing. Either way, we weren't complaining.

We stepped inside, the front door creaking slightly as we entered. The interior was simple but cozy. The living room had hardwood floors, scuffed but still in decent shape, and a brick fireplace that was probably the best feature of the whole place. The walls were painted a faded beige, with a few cracks running along the ceiling. But overall, it was livable.

The kitchen was small, with outdated appliances that still worked, which was a miracle in itself. The countertops were chipped, and the cabinets squeaked when you opened them, but I could already picture us cooking meals here—actual meals, not just whatever canned crap we could scavenge. The idea of sitting down at a real table for dinner felt almost surreal.

Upstairs, there were three bedrooms—two small ones and a master bedroom. Yabe and I would take the master, while Daisy and Liza would split the other two. The bathrooms were tiny, and the water pressure was questionable, but again, it was more than we could've asked for.

We dropped our bags in the living room, taking a moment to look around. It still didn't feel real. After everything, this place felt like a fresh start—a sliver of normalcy in a world that had gone to shit.

Liza flopped down on the couch we'd found at a thrift store earlier that day, letting out a loud groan of satisfaction. "Finally," she said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in the cushions. "No more listening to the neighbors fk all night."

That broke the tension, and we all burst out laughing. Daisy leaned against the doorframe, grinning as she shook her head. "Hell, I thought you liked that, Liza. You were always the one eggin' them on."

"Yeah, well," Liza smirked, sitting up and tossing her ponytail back over her shoulder. "I'm a fan of live entertainment, but even I have limits."

Yabe blushed, her dark skin flushing slightly as she tried to stifle a laugh. "It was... distracting," she admitted softly, brushing a strand of her long white hair behind her ear.

"Distracting?" I grinned, nudging her playfully. "You're just mad we weren't getting any sleep."

She gave me a look but smiled all the same. "Maybe. But I'm glad we won't have to deal with it anymore."

"Me too," Daisy agreed, plopping down on the arm of the couch. "Though, I gotta say, this place ain't half bad. We did good."

I nodded, looking around at the space we'd claimed as our own. "Yeah. It's not perfect, but it's ours. We'll make it work."

Liza stretched her arms above her head, her bratty attitude slipping back into place as she looked around. "First order of business," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We need a shit ton of furniture. This place is emptier than my social life."

"You've got us," I pointed out, grinning. "We're your new social life."

"Yay," Liza deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "Lucky me."

Daisy stood up, slapping her hands together. "Alright, enough bitchin'. Let's get this place furnished. We'll hit up the stores tomorrow, see what we can find."

"Good plan," I agreed, already feeling the exhaustion of the day settling in. "But for now, I think we've earned a break."

Liza let out a dramatic sigh of relief. "Thank gosh. I thought you were gonna make us work all night."

Daisy shot her a playful glare. "Don't tempt me."

We spent the rest of the evening unpacking what little we had—some clothes, a few random knick-knacks, and the bare essentials. There wasn't much, but it was enough to make the place feel like home. The fridge was still half-empty, but we managed to scrounge up enough food for a simple dinner: canned beans and some bread we'd gotten from the market earlier.

As we sat around the small kitchen table, eating our meager meal, it felt like a victory. A small one, sure, but a victory nonetheless.

"This feels weird," Yabe said quietly, glancing around the table.

"Weird how?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just... sitting here. In a house. Eating dinner. It feels... normal," she said, her voice soft, as if she didn't quite believe it.

Daisy nodded, her usual smirk replaced with something more thoughtful. "Yeah. It's been a while since we've had anything close to normal."

Liza snorted. "Normal? You call this normal?" She gestured around at the half-furnished house and the canned food on our plates. "This is post-apocalyptic normal, maybe."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "It's a start."

After dinner, we collapsed onto the couch and the mismatched chairs we'd picked up from the thrift store. The house still felt empty, but it was starting to come together. Bit by bit, we were rebuilding something for ourselves, something that felt almost like a real life.

"I can't believe we have a whole-ass house," Liza mused, lying back on the couch and staring at the ceiling. "Like, we actually bought a house. That's insane."

"Yeah," I said, leaning back and closing my eyes. "But it's ours. And that's all that matters."

For the first time in a long time, it felt like things were looking up.

Q: What would be your dream house in a zombie apocalypse?