After about an hour of trying to calm everyone's nerves, including our own, we discovered that the huddled group we found in the apartment hideaway was actually two separate families who had decided that trying to pool their resources and survive together was smarter than going it alone. They were right. They had been in here three days now, and were set as far as food, clothing, and supplies went. Luckily, nothing else had tried to get in to their apartment yet. The fact that the infected seemed to be pretty impatient in terms of how fast they wanted food, it made sense that they wouldn't waste their time going through the entire building. There were lots of people who were easier to access right out on the streets. The mouse in the maze won't hit the bar for cheese if there is cheese strewn all throughout the maze. It's when the cheese becomes scarce that's worrisome.
The family who lived in this apartment was the Callaghan's. Frank was the patriarch of the family; a tall, solid, brick wall of a man with close-cropped brown hair and a kind face. His wife, Emily, was also tall and athletic; she could have been a model at some point. They had three daughters, Karina, 13, Sarah, 8, and Emma, 2. With the other family with a total of four more kids, ranging from a one-year-old to a seventeen-year-old. Lastly, there was a single, older man, probably in his 60s, named Clive. He was apparently a close friend of the Callaghan family, but he knew everyone.
They all welcomed us into their bunker and we traded stories of what had happened to our world. The only new information we got from them is that the infection seemed to be much more widespread than we had known, with cases being reported in the US and Europe. We also found out that the military operations weren't exactly going smoothly. Most of the troops who were assigned to lock down the cities were reserves, as most of the regular troops were overseas, and the reserves were just as nervous as the people they had to round up. There were many reports of uninfected people being accidentally shot by twitchy trigger fingers, soldiers participating in looting, and other things that made the outside world even more dangerous. It made us thankful that we decided not to ask them for help. Who knows where we would be right now if we had. We also found out that the phones had been dead for days, and that cell phones didn't seem to be working anymore either. The modern world had gone dead.
We traded some things with the families, giving them supplies they needed, a few weapons and flashlights for some better food than we had and lodging for the night. We filled them in on our whole plan, and they understood fully why we were doing what we were doing, but still offered to let us shelter with them if we so desired to stay. I walked over to the balcony, where they had hung thick black fabric over the patio doors to hide any light coming from the apartment. I ducked under the makeshift drapes and went onto the balcony, looking out over the city. It was about 10 p.m. now and darkness had fallen over Scarborough. There were no streetlights or business signs lit up, only small dots of light scattered randomly over the herizon, some brighter where the military had set up camp across the highway and in the mall. I looked to the east, knowing that was the direction of my home, and wondered what Diane and Jordan were doing right now. My heart ached thinking about them sitting there alone in the dark and I wished with everything in me that I could be there with them.
I went back into the apartment and joined my comrades. We settled into a corner on our own for the night with some blankets that Frank had loaned us, and started talking about what we were going to do in the morning. As we talked, I could sense some hesitation from John and Isabel, and thought that maybe they wanted to stay at the Bramford.
"You know, you have no obligation to me. If you feel you will be safer here, have a better chance, then stay. After all you have both done for me, I would never hold it against you."
