Revived

Connections

It must be midnight, the storm is still going strong and the shed threatens to collapse every second as the wind and rain batters against it.
I stare awake and looking up at the roof, it ended up leaking so we moved our hay beds under the attic which is full of hay so we don't get wet.
The attic is a weird placement, it only covers half the roof, it's not a full room, it looks like someone who was building the floor of the attic and ran out of wood half way through.
I don't know whose awake or whose sleeping, except for Alan- you know he's asleep by his loud snoring.
I flip onto my side and face Austin, his eyes are closed but they open at my movement. He looks at me and smiles, "can't sleep?" He asks still laying on his side facing me, I nod.
He sits up and I do too,
"When do you think the storm will end?" I say shivering and looking down at Trent next to me.

"I'm not sure," he says taking off his jumper and giving it to me.

"Thanks," I say putting it on over Trent's fir shirt which I'm still wearing.

"Should probably refill the fire," he says getting up and throwing some logs into the fire which has died down.

He crouches next to the fire and stares into it as he puts wood in the blaze.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask hugging my knees,

He looks up at me, "my mum," he says, sending a shiver down my spine and making me regret asking that question.
"I'm kinda glad she doesn't have to go through this," he says sitting down and the light from the fire dances off his face, "this mess, what the world has come to," he looks over at me, and I realise we both have something in common- we don't have mothers.

I shuffle over to the fire and sit next to him, "I'm glad my mum doesn't have to go through this too," I say.
Austin puts his arm around me and we sit in front of the fire in silence.

*8am*
Day 21

I sit up and look around me, the boys are still asleep and the rain has stopped.
I climb up the ladder and look out the attic window, the place is a mess.
There's half fallen down trees and branches everywhere- and what shocks and confuses me the most is I see a walker about 30 metres high impaled on a broken branch on a tree, wriggling around aimlessly.
I gulp and shimmy back down the ladder where I'm greeted by Austin.

"Sleep any better?" He asks smiling at me.

"A lot, thank you," I say, I've said it before but I damn well miss just talking to Austin by myself without anyone interrupting or without any dramas.
I take off his jumper and hand it to him and he puts it next to Alan whose fast asleep along with Trent.
I step outside and I'm hit with a cold wind,
"Don't you think it would be a good idea to get some more fire wood?" I say scrunched up,

"Definitely," says Austin as he shivers and we walk off and pick up some wood as we explore the damage.

"Did you see the walker in the tree?" I ask,

Austin laughs, "a walker in a tree?"

"Yes, up there," I say pointing up to the tree with the walker impaled on it,

"That's something I never thought I'd see," says Austin grinning.

We walk in silence for a few minutes before Austin speaks,

"You said you're glad your mother doesn't have to go through this too," he says stopping and looking at me, "when?" He asks, meaning when did she die.

I look to my left and avoid Austin's eyes and try not to cry, "two years ago," I manage to say, "she died from brain cancer." I say turning and looking at him.

Austin's face twitches and he looks like he's about to cry himself, and he engulfs me in a hug.

This chapter hit me right in the feels lmao