Apocalypse? So what I got a 5 year old to raise!

16

For a moment, I was overcome by nostalgia, and without realising it, I was stood by the windowsill and watching the sun rising. I'm going to miss Danny without a doubt, but I can't help feeling excited to explore this world some more. I watched the picturesque scenery until the sky had returned to its usual blue shade before changing into a white breathable off shoulder top and brown knee length skirt that was light enough to puff out when I spun but not too light that it would blow up easily (because I don't care how old I am what girl doesn't like to feel like a Disney princess?).

Dressed and ready with my bag full of supplies I made my way to the door, it was approaching the time for Danny to get up and I was torn on whether to just leave, to write a note or to wait and say goodbye on person. As I was deliberating over what to do, I saw Danny stood flat the top of the stairs. He had a sad but resigned expression on his face, but he didn't say anything. Looking at my baby all grown up, I felt my eyes get teary and couldn't help muttering, "I love you."
"I know, mam, I love you too," Danny replied before turning around and going back to his room.

Overcome by emotions I quickly left the house, saying goodbye but not forever because I promised to visit my child and I fully intend to.

After stepping out of the house, I realised I didn't actually have a plan for where to go, and I have no idea where anything would even be anymore. Since I was completely clueless, I decided to simply choose a direction and start walking. Since I knew which direction the city was in, I decided to go the opposite way since I'd never been that way before, and if it's an adventurer, it should also be an exploration. With a plan in mind, I decided to take the car, Danny can't drive, and neither can Aiko, so they don't need it.

As I began to drive, I decided to see if the radio would be able to pick up anything, so I switched it on for the first time since the apocalypse began. To my suprise, there were actually many different working signals, listening to each one briefly. I realised they were mostly government broadcasts or surviver base broadcasts, each advertising basic survival knowledge, base locations, and other similar news that could be useful to people given the current situation. Flicking through the various base propaganda, one broadcast caught my attention. It was a man's voice, and instead of the normal reminders, he was talking about how he missed certain foods from before the apocalypse started and how he wondered how many people still had basic skills like the ability to read and write or ride a bike. Amused by the opinions of a man who sounded as if he was the same age as Danny but was acting like a middle aged adult, the contrast reminded me of myself but the likelihood of the existence of a second person like me must be miniscule so I just dismissed it as a young person acting older than they are.

Since the broadcaster was funny and the content wasn't the same brainwashing statements or common sense popularisation I decided to keep listening, and I acknowledge survival knowledge wasn't common sense before but after over a decade of living like this I'm confident in calling it common sense now.

As I was driving at some point I noticed the signal began to breakup but by this point I'd began to really appreciate the young man's humorous content and since I didn't have a destination in mind I decided to change direction and drive in the direction which provided the best signal.

Whilst on the road, I did encounter a few zombies but with a good hard look and a few scolding words about how poor their manners were, and I was back on my way. Before I knew it, the sun was setting, so I decided to park the car and set up the back seat to sleep in. It mostly consisted of me laying down a blanket, which I kept in the boot, using my bag as a pillow and changing into my sleepwear. The space was a little cramped, but I guess I'm lucky to be on the shorter side as I was still able to somewhat stretch when I lay at an angle and just like that I'd finished my first day away from my baby and my first day exploring this new world.

After day one, I fell into a kind of rhythm, almost chasing that radio signal, and after a week on the road, I stumbled upon the first sign of post-apocalyptic human survival. It was a structure that somewhat resembled a castle, but it was made of differing sheets of metal and stone that had seemingly been fused together, forming tall walls that encompassed a... town? I could only assume this was one of those bases that had sprung up after people began to get there footing in a zombie infested world.

I was unsure about whether to attempt to enter the metal structure, so I just parked the car and listened to the radio as I thought. After all the time I'd spent listening, I realised that this was an unpopular station, and the person speaking was a man named Caleb. He claimed to be 43, but I don't believe it, and he is currently living in his broadcasting studio in a base near J city. As I listened to the young sounding voice, I decided that if I was to enter a base, I'd want it to be the one where caleb was living so I could call his bluff and also because I honestly think his nonsense radio talk is the only thing that's been keeping me going since I left Danny.