Perhaps We'll Meet Another Day

Respect

Lexi yanked the wood door open, her knife held out at the ready for any sign of zombies. The little cabin was empty, though smears of blood painted one side of the wall. Sighing, she grimaced, putting away her knife as she closed the door behind her with her foot. So much for a clean place to stay the night.

The one-room cabin looked comfortable enough. There was a queen sized bed centered against the back wall, with two nightstands on either side. Each one had a lamp standing atop it, though without any power they were little more than just decoration. Walking further in, she turned and saw a small kitchenette near the door containing a sink and small gas-powered stove. Atop one of the burners was an old pot, and she went over to look inside. Thankfully, there wasn't any rotting or spoiled food on the inside which would have rendered it useless to her.

Unpacking her things and tossing them on the bed, she took out a can of soup and a water bottle, placing them on the small counter beside the stove. Grabbing the pot, she returned to the door and stepped down from the little porch, her boots crunching in the snow underfoot.

Winter had set in early this year, and the countryside had been blanketed in a thick coat of snow the week before. She'd noticed the steady drop in temperature well before the snow fell, and was thankful she'd been able to find a winter coat and sturdy boots in the city.

Lexi made her way to the small lake within sight of the little cabin, thankfully not too long of a walk there. Her breath came out in puffs, and she flexed her fingers inside her gloves. They stung from the cold.

Reaching the edge of the lake, she stooped down and filled the pot halfway with water, sloshing it around to clean out the dust. Repeating the action a few times, just to be sure there wasn't anything dirty inside, she dumped the rest out and began walking back towards the cabin.

The city had proved to be full of useful supplies, but after another month of squatting in abandoned apartments and scavenging what she could, she noticed the zombie activity slowly growing, probably due to her constant moving from place to place in search of stuff. Lexi had decided to move on, right after finding suitable winter clothes of course, during what was then late August.

Now, fully into the freezing snowstorms of October, Lexi had moved on from the city. It wasn't as if she'd planned to stay there very long to begin with. Early on in the outbreak, the government had organized and broadcast the coordinates and locations of several supposed safe houses from the shit storm brewing throughout the country. There were some all over the country, various military bases and government properties transformed into what they called 'a sanctuary for survivors until the outbreak could be contained.'

Sure, that had been almost a year ago, but Lexi was hopeful. Sort of. Her faith was running thin. At some point she hoped to come across one of these secure bunkers. There was supposed to be one not too far to the north, in Ohio. It was her last hope that humanity may be able to recover from the disease that had turned the dead into flesh-eating monsters, it it hadn't been killed off already.

Shaking off her thoughts, she tromped up the steps of the cabin, carrying the now-clean pot, setting it atop the stove with a clank. She poured the contents of the soup can into it, adding a little water so it wouldn't be as thick. Crossing her fingers, she turned the little knob that controlled the gas and waited, smiling when the adjustor clicked before small flames appeared underneath the pot. It seemed the gas line connected to the propane tank outside was still functional, and she let out a breath.

While the soup heated up in the pot, Lexi went over to the bed, taking off her heavy coat and laying it on the bed. The brunette dug a blanket out of the bag, wrapping it around her shoulders with a shiver. The cabin walls didn't exactly keep out the cold from outside, but hopefully the stove would heat the inside a little better after her meal was cooked. Already the lovely scents of the tomato soup were wafting to her nose. She breathed in deeply, her stomach grumbling in anticipation.