Accepting The End [Zombie Apocalypse]

Chapter 5

The morning sun beamed through the sliding glass door, leaving streaks of gold on the dining table, kitchen floor, and illuminating Ann's bright blue eyes and a dust of freckles that sat on her long, pale face. The room was warm, do to the sun and it being summer, but Ann was cold, naturally. Her hands were shaking as she picked up the fork in front of her and stabbed a piece of cantalope on her plate. A toned hand with spindly fingers waved in front of her eyes. 

"Ann, you alright?" Laine asked, his mouth full of toast, his other arm was around Maddison who was silently devouring her peice of toast with a thick layer of jam, her bedhead was unusually scary this morning, Sunny was stuffing her face with scrambled eggs. 

Ann swatted away Laines hand, and stuck the peice of cantelope in her mouth. 

"You eat so slow, " mocked Izabell, squinting her eyes, "It's been fifteen minutes since Catherine made us breakfast and you have yet to eat your eggs." 

Catherine laughed, Ann looked over to see her and Phalen, soap up to their elbows, washing the breakfast dishes. 

"I want to savor every bite, Izabell," Ann swallowed her bite and took a small sip of water, feeling attacked. 

The Roses had left early in the morning, according to Shae, and Ann barely got anymore sleep after what had happened last night. 

"So," Ann inquired, peering around the kitchen at the tired looking people, "Are we still heading up to Anacortes today?" 

"That was the plan," Catherine said, wiping of her soapy hands on a yellow washrag, then she made a mental checklist, "Car has gas, packed enough food, living room is clean, stuff is packed- Ah, wait!" 

Catherine held up her finger and pointed through the sliding glass door to a rundown, blue shed in the backyard, next to a worn, sagging trampoline that Ann wished she could jump on. 

"Weapons." 

"YAY!" Yelled Sunny, whos mouth was quickly covered up by Maddison. 

"To early for that, Sunny," Maddison said quietly, but sternly. Sunny licked Maddison's hand, who pulled away in disgust. 

"You learned from the best," Laine smirked, elbowing Maddison who shot him a glare. 

The eight filed into the backyard and around the shed, the sun beating down on Ann's fair skin, she was afraid she might get sunburned just by standing outside for a couple seconds. 

Catherine yanked open the rusted door of the shed, its rusted copper hinges groaning. She reached for something, pulled it down and a lightbulb on the ceiling of the shed clicked on, brightening the bare wood walls and crowded floor. 

Amongst the dust and yardwork equipment sat two bows and two sets of arrows in an oversized quiver, two axes with wooden handles and sharp rusted blades, and a machete, in a dusty black leather caseing. 

Ann watched Laine pick up the axes and swing them around on the grass, like he was fighting a zombie. That left the bows, arrows and the machete, covered in a layer of dust.  

Phalen, who was still content on not hurting a single creature, boycotted against the whole weapons scheme by sitting criss-crossed angrily on the trampoline, his arms folded across his chest and his wispy blode hair matted against his head. 

Ann reached down and ran her fingers along the machetes cover, leaving a non dusty trail where her fingertips glided, she picked up the machete with her right hand and pulled off the leather casing with her left, its blade glinted in the sunlight. 

"Cool!" Shrieked Sunny in sheer joy, Maddison looked over at Ann, her hands full of kitchen knifes while Shae was trying to teach her how to properly throw them. 

"Sunny," Izabell placed a thin hand on Sunny's shoulder, who turned around wide eye'd, Izabell offered her one of the bows, the other was slung over her shoulder, "Let me teach you how to shoot." 

Sunny almost fainted with excitment. Ann watched them walk near Maddie and Shae, she bent over laughing at Sunny's expression, when the light in the shed clicked off, leaving her in semi darkness. Ann ran out into the yard, 

"I think the bulbs burnt out!" Ann yelled, pointing into the shed, Cathering came over to investigate, she pulled many times on the switch, but it didn't click on. 

"Weired, it's never done this before," Shae muttered to Laine. 

"Shae, can you please go get another lightbulb in the linen closet?" Asked Catherine, still peering at the bulb in the shed. 

"Ill come with," Ann said. 

"You don't need to, but I don't care," Shae shrugged and they jogged into the sunlit livingroom, opening the closet by the couch, Shae flicked on the closet light. 

Nothing happened. 

Ann's eyesbrows creased in frustration, she pushed passed Shae and flicked the switch on and off multiple times, by the time she was done trying, Shae had already run into the kitchen and turned the faucet handles, Ann watched as no water came out of the tap. 

Ann bent down and put her hand on the ventilation shaft next to the closet, nothing, no air conditioning, no warm heat, just the cold feeling of metal against her palm.

"FUCK," Shae yelled in frustration, he stomped into the yard and shouted the news to the rest of the people, who all came rushing in to try to work things themselves. 

After the seventeenth time Sunny tried to flick on the bathroom light, she flung her quiver to the ground, "Its Hopeless!" She cried, covering her face. 

Ann walked over to comfort Sunny, rubbing her hand on her back. Izabell was biting her nails, Phalen was pacing, and Laine was sitting next to Shae, quietly chatting. Cathering entered the Living room, everyone silenced. 

"Rose and Rose left this morning for Langley, and havent come back yet," Catherines voice cracked, "If we are thinking of leaving it better be now," 

Shae stood, "What about-" 

"Shae," Laine said softly, pulling him back down onto the sofa, Shae's opened his mouth to say something, but closed it instead. 

"We have a better chance of surviving if we leave the island," Catherine getured to the truck in the gravel driveway, "We better leave quick." 

Everyone sauntered into the driveway, weapons in hand, Phaelen was forced to carry a knife, but in return everyone was to make a silent prayer to the god of radishes, for some odd reason, Ann didn't know why. 

As Catherine drove down the deserted streets, trees blocking every inch of sky above, the sun barely shown through the leaves enough to warm Ann's freckled skin. She sat in the bed of the truck next to Izabell, Laine and Maddie. Shae, Phalen and Sunny sat in the only front leather seat of the truck. No one spoke, exept for Izabells quiet humming over the wind that whipped through their hair. Ann replayed the series of events in her head. It was too much, it made her head hurt. She wanted to be in the safe arms of her mother, warm and wrapped in a fuzzy blanket while watching reality TV.

Ann watched as her childhood withered away right in front of her eyes. In her mind, she reached out to memories, clasping onto their ghostly hands, trying to save a few, to hold on to her childhood, it was no use, for they had left long ago. 

The trip to Anacortes gave Ann goosebumps. They passed many deserted streets, many burned houses, and a few of those. . . creature things, that cocked their heads as they passed, their black eyes glinting, hungrily. Ann constantly caught Laine looking at Maddison who paid close to no interest in him. Laine ran his fingers up and down the blade of the axe, and Izabell and Ann watched features of the South end of Whidbey Island disappear down the twisting highway that seemed to drag on forever.