Zomb-Pocalypse 3

Chapter Ten

The morning is drizzly and wet as the girls and I throw our gear on. "Today is going to suck." Megan complains and I nod in full agreement. It's totally going to suck. It's been raining for the last couple of days and with the low temperatures it's only a matter of time before it turns into snow. I wish we didn't have to go out today, but since we have such a late start getting ready for winter, taking a personal day is not really an option. The past week has gone by quickly, despite the weather and the girls and I have fallen into our own little routine. It's been a lot of changes, but some of them haven't been all bad–I was always an athletic person, but I've really seen a lot of changes in my body over the last week. Long hours each day spent chopping, hauling, and stacking wood has toned and muscled my arms and upper body.

The girls and I always joke that if the world didn't ended, we could've made a fortune selling logging-workouts as part of a full weight loss and toning program. It's fun to have something to do while we complete our mindless work and listing all the stuff we would buy with our profit is a favorite for us all–it's not like we have TV anymore.

My Mom is already in the kitchen and she hands us a thermos of hot chocolate, three go cups and a hot egg sandwich. Ryan, Dad, Barry, and Regg have made several supply runs into the small communities and surrounding rural farms in the area and it's like Christmas every time they return. I bite into my egg sandwich and close my eyes for a minute to savor it. Their third trip into town last week they returned with the backseat of the truck stuffed with live chickens. Half of us thought they were crazy, but the chickens have really added to the quality of life we are building for ourselves up here.

Silas and Ryan set them up in the closest neighboring cabin. It was empty and if the owners haven't shown up yet, chances are they probably won't. It isn't a permanent solution, but with winter coming, it's the best option besides letting them live in the house with us! The only drawback is soon we will need to keep the fire going in the cabin with the chickens as well, and that will mean even more wood that needs to be chopped. I almost voted to keep the damn birds in our cabin when I heard that.

My Mom has always reveled in the house wife duties, so she's adapted to life at the cabin better than anyone. She stays in the house playing with Sunny all day, baking bread and making all the meals. I can't complain though because I would never be able to make bread and having even the most basic comfort back again has really made this whole situation seem not so terrible– of course, the fact that we are on top of a zombie free mountain has a lot to do with that too.

"You girls be careful out there today." My Mom says, planting a kiss on each of our cheeks and we all promise her that we will. Silas joins us in the kitchen and my Mom hands him his own egg sandwich and cup of coffee.

"Take care of my girls." My Mom says, like she does every day and Silas nods as we make our way outside. The icy blast of wind and water make me want to run right back inside the door, but I settle for running to the truck instead.

Megan climbs behind the wheel of the older model pick up that my Dad brought back for us after their first supply run, and we all sit with our teeth chatter until the engine warms up and the heat kicks in. "I think we should start the truck before we all come out here in the morning." Abby complains "We can take turns." I agree whole heartedly.

"Dad should've brought us back a truck with command start." I grouse and the girls laugh. It might sound ungrateful, and really, we are very thankful to have our own truck, especially since we couldn't fit a lot of wood in the old truck–but since everything is essentially free these days, a few extra options would've been nice.

Just like she does every morning Abby flips on the radio and together we all sit and listen to static as she flips slowly through every channel to see if there is anything new.