Surviving

Chapter 8

I dressed as quickly as I could when I woke up. The sun was just beginning to rise, and I couldn't tell if anyone else was awake yet.

I crept down the hall and opened Billy's door. He was curled tightly in a ball with the blankets thrown everywhere. I quietly closed the door and crept downstairs. Dad was asleep on the couch, still dressed and everything. I found a coat closet with some blankets in it and draped one over him.

The sun was higher in the sky now, illuminating the lush mountain forest. It was hard to believe it would be fall in just a few months.

I went outside and popped the trailer open. I began to unload it, taking cases of water and food. Every once and a while I would hit my head on the ceiling of the trailer, reminding me that it was shorter than I thought it was.

It took several hours, but I unloaded everything from the trailer and the back of the truck. But the time I had everything put away, Billy was trudging down the stairs.

"Hey, Billy. You hungry?" I asked. "We have apples. I know they're your favorite."

"Okay. Can I have some peanut butter with it?" He jumped over the last two stairs.

"Sure." I started cutting up an apple while he sat down at the table. I gave him the apple with a spoonful of peanut butter on a plate and brewed some coffee. Dad would wake up eventually, and he hadn't gone a day without coffee since Billy was born.

Within ten minutes of brewing the coffee dad was awake. He poured himself a cup and sat back down on the couch, turning on the tv. All of the news channels had footage of the "zombies," so he flipped to one of Billy's channels.

I was about to go outside to sit on the front porch when dad stopped me.

"Don't. Don't go outside unless we absolutely have to," he ordered. That was all he said, and the cabin was quiet except for the sound of Billy's tv show.