The Remains of Tomorrow #wattys2019

Chapter 1

The Zombie apocalypse seriously blows. Three years ago something caused the dead to start rising and rampaging, tearing up the countryside and people with no sense of reason. Just an infallible hunger that seemed to fuel these walkers.

Looking at me you wouldn't think I'd be able to survive the apocalypse; I was small for my age and looked nearly a decade younger than my actual age of 25. My dark hair was always in either pigtails or braids because it was easier to manage like that, and my blue eyes were always lined by dark eyeliner.  My clothing would be described as Goth, I had always preferred dark clothes before the dead started to rise and that had never changed, plus covered in piercings and tattoos I looked like I was not made for this world.

Being alone for the first 6 months sucked until I found my dad and then eventually my brother Aaron whom I had lived with for two years in the safe zone Alexandria. One of the last strongholds in Washington. With the tall fences surrounding the town, it was safer here than anywhere else in the world.

Being with my family and friends had kept me strong, but my job was to acquire things for the group so when I left Alexandria to do my job I was collecting the usual supplies needed by a group of people trying to survive.

I'd been away from my brother Aaron and his husband Eric for nearly a month and I was getting ready to come home and stay.  Of course, getting fuel was harder but I needed it to keep my truck running. Luckily there were still some Gas stations that still had fuel in their tanks so it was enough for me to keep moving.  One day I will need to figure out a way to haul all this stuff as the Gas won't last long but for now, the lack of people around meant the fuel was still plentiful if you knew where to look.

**

Currently, in the back of my truck, I had a big supply of food from one of the food warehouses about 20 miles away from home; there were only a couple of walkers around the perimeter which I took in quick succession.  Luckily enough I had found a weapon stash a few days before the food warehouse came into sight, so I now had boxes of guns with silencers, bows, crossbows, arrows, grenades as well as an assortment of bullets for the guns.

Taking out the walkers with the crossbow had been fun though as I had never used one before but, it was very accurate and so quiet which was a relief as noise attracted more of the undead freaks.  Anyway the food warehouse was nearly full as no one else had been there so, I had tons of food, army rations, coffee, tea, sugar, toothpaste, dried produces, toilet roll, medicine and even long-life milk which I was shocked to see was still in date; the carton milk certainly had a long expiry.  Also, I was lucky enough to find whiskey, scotch, vodka and...well any spirits that would help keep the people sane in the nights when they hid behind their doors hoping the walkers don't get through the gates.

I was also lucky to find several convenience stores which had stashes of cigarettes in, rolling tobacco, tips, rolling papers, lighters, flints, gas and liquid for the flick lighters.  I know cigarettes cause cancer, but in this day and age you are more likely to get eaten by a walker than die of cancer, so I was quite happy to take the risk. Plus I knew there were a few people who still smoked at Alexandria, so I could use them as currency; to trade for what I needed, as well as keep some for myself.

Taking my hand off the wheel I gently rubbed the head of the small pup that laid next to me as he slept in the heat of the sun as it came in through the glass of the closed window.  At my first stop. I had found a dead dog and her pups curled up next to the wall off the convenience store; the mother and her pups had been ripped to shreds by a lone walker that I had killed when I realized it was about to chow down on something.

As I killed the Walker I had heard the whine of a single pup who had managed to escape the slaughter of its family so I picked up the little guy and wrapped it in my jacket.  Its eyes weren't even open so it must have only been a couple of weeks old. So as well as grabbing anything I could in the convenience store for humans I also picked up food and milk for the little pup with me.