Decimation (Ianthony Apocalypse AU)

day fourteen

chompers seen: somewhere around five hundred

chompers killed: 0

near-death experiences: 3

human deaths witnessed: 2             

friends left behind: 4

We'd been at the camp for three days now, and they'd been the best three days by a landslide.

I was actually kind of happy. Genuinely content.

I felt safe, too. Besides the few times I'd left the premises of the camp, I hadn't seen a single chomper. Joe was right: their security actually was pretty sturdy. And the people were extremely friendly. They had no problem sharing food, water, weapons, and clothes. Every morning, a group of ten or so people split up and ventured outside the furniture-barricade; they killed every chomper in the area, checked for new supplies, food, and usually came back with a person or two. When we first arrived, there were maybe thirty people, and now there were probably forty-five. Soon, we'd have to start sharing houses.

I awoke early that morning. My sleeping schedule was finally falling back into normality, which was strange. I hadn't gone to bed before midnight and woken up naturally before nine in years.

Anthony and Jonah were still asleep. Usually, I'd wait for at least one of them to wake up so we could go outside together, but I decided to go out on my own. I knew I shouldn't have felt so secure, especially this early, but it was sort of impossible not to. It wasn't even the sort of situation where everyone was too friendly and you could tell they were some sort of cult of serial killers. All of these people were authentic and kind.

I got up, quickly slipping on a clean-ish pair of jeans and a fresh button-up flannel Joe had given me. Outside, it was still dawn and a thick layer of fog hovered over the street. It was mostly empty, with the exception of a small group lingering around the fire pit. I approached it slowly, my old Adidas sneakers instantly sopping up the early-morning dew.

"Hey, Ian, what are you doing up so early?" Aaron asked when he saw me, smiling.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea."

"Here, have some coffee." This came from Joe, who I still was extremely skeptical about after what Anthony had said. I mean, he was always the first to offer me anything and always stood by me in groups, but I didn't even think he realized he was doing it. He was just friendly.

I took the small plastic mug, smiling. "Thanks."

"We're actually just about to leave for the morning," Brandon said. Brandon was a young guy, I guessed very early twenties, but was far more mature than even I was. In just a few days of knowing him, I knew he was strong, intelligent, and incredibly keen. "You should come with us."

I was just opening my mouth to protest when Joe interrupted me.

"Actually, Ian needs to get his rest." He smirked at me. "Tonight's your night. Me and you are on patrol."

~

It was only eleven p.m., and I already could barely keep my eyes open.

Patrol ended up to be exponentially boring. We walked the perimeter of the camp once every fifteen minutes or so, but other than that, we just sat on the outskirts of the woods, downing caffeine and making small talk to stay awake.

It was weird not being with Anthony. This was really the first time we'd spent more than just a few minutes apart, and I didn't like it. I liked Joe a lot, but he was no Anthony.