Zero

Chapter 18

Hey!!! I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter up, hopefully you'll find it worth the wait though :] Enjoy!!

Chapter 18

 

"You have that look on your face," Atlas says when we stop for the night. It's been three days since Birdie died and I hate to say that things are getting back to normal without him. There's a sense of sadness and loss, but there's also a sense of the world today and that means that we don't get time to grieve like we used to. There's not as much laughter and talking during our walks but that's due as much to exhaustion as it is to loss.

We're going to have to set up camp here for a couple of days, until we can regain our strength. The last of the food ran out this morning, so we'll have to make do a supply run. It's not as simple it was back home... we don't know the area as well and what we've passed seems to be well picked over.

"What look would that be?" I ask.

"The one that says you might do something stupid."

"Careful," I chastise him with a smile. "You're starting to sound like Braces."

"I heard that," Braces calls back from several paces ahead where he walks at the front of the group with Hunter. Atlas and I are in the back so that the two girls stay protected in the middle.

"I was just thinking we should clear out a house," I say quietly so not to get anybody's hopes up. "We're walking through suburbia and we'll need to find a spot to stay for a couple of days. I don't think it would hurt to find a house."

"You mean that?" Atlas asks. I don't have to look over at his face to know he's smiling. The mere image of sleeping on an actual bed is enough to cause excitement in anyone here.

As a rule, we've always stayed away from houses. From little suburban neighborhoods. They're not safe. Creeps always wonder the streets and hide safely tucked away in the home they died in. But we also had more of a choice then. We've been walking through cookie-cutter house hell all day and it doesn't look like we're getting out before we need to stop. Bambi really can't go much further. It's probably more dangerous at this point to set up a camp on the side of the road. Four sturdy walls will act as better protection than anything else I can think of.

"Where else would we stay?"

"I don't know," he shrugs. "I just didn't think about it I guess."

"Be back," I tell Atlas and walk up to the front of the group. It isn't hard to catch up, we're moving pretty slowly at this point. Getting to the front, I turn around to face Hunter and Braces and keep up the pace walking backwards. "We should find somewhere to stop soon," I say.

"We should get further out," Braces says sounding concerned about the idea of stopping still in the suburbs.

"I was thinking we'd find a house. Bambi can't go any further and I wouldn't mind a bed either," I tell them with a smile knowing they'll agree.

"You always get your way, don't you?" Hunter asks, seemingly amused.

"Usually," Braces says as if he's in on a joke.

"Because I'm right," I tell them unamused. "And you know it. We should find one sooner rather than later. If we get settled, maybe we can get out and find some food before the sun goes down."

"Zero this place..."

"I know. Not safe. Which is why we need to stop before it gets dark, because I'm telling you the girls aren't going to walk fast enough to get out of the suburbs before then."