After Life

Chapter Fifteen

 "Dad would you just listen! Every infected within a few blocks is here! If we attract even more with gun fire or something, we would have at least a few more blocks cleared of walkers!"

"That's a terrible idea Lee!"

"No, it's not. While they are busy trying to get inside, we will be on the roof with that big metal ladder that is with the other cleaning supplies! We'll use that to make a bridge over to the gas station right behind this motel. That will give us enough ground to look for Zoe!"

"No. This is a great place we have here and I'm not about to give it up just on a plan that a seventeen year old made that probably won't even work."

"This is a dying place we have here. There are walkers right outside that door, they're probably gonna get in soon too. Please! This could work." This could work. This could work. Could this work?

He sighs, "IF we were to do this, where would we go afterwards? There isn't anything that was like this for miles!" He's right, there is nothing like what this was for a while.

"Maybe we could have two teams, one will go and look for Zoe, while the other goes to the car dealership a few blocks down, most of the really good cars have been stolen but I'm sure we could get a big van or something." He's considering it, I could see it in his face. I want him to say yes to my scheme, but he could be really stubborn sometimes.

"Go make sure the ladder is in the closet still and that it is in tact, then make sure it will be long enough. I'll go tell everyone else to pack their bags." I nod and run down the stairs and through the hall to the supply closet. I open up the lod door and immediately spot the large silver ladder in the back of the large closet. It takes me a little bit to plow through all the bright yellow buckets, mops, brooms, and spray bottles that are almost gone due to how much we had to clean to get this place how it is. No, not how it is, how it was.

After about a minute of trudging through the supplies, I finally get to the ladder. It looks to be in good condition, spots of rust here and there, but not that bad. I take it out of the closet and slowly carry it out into the hall and bring it up the stairs onto the second floor, and continue walking up the stairs to the roof. Once I get to the back edge of building, I extend the ladder and position it to where about two feet of it is on the roof of the two story gas station and the other side of it is on the motel.

Perfect I think to myself. I leave the ladder in its position and turn towards the door as the sun starts to rise. I need to pack up my stuff. I'm probably going to be the one packing Zoe's stuff too, but I don't mind.

I get to my room and grab my large blue backpack that I've had since freshman year, then, I go to my closet. I won't be able to pack all my clothes, after all, I've definitely acquired more clothes since we arrived here three months ago. The small closet has a small assortment of color, beige shirts that have been stained crimson, blue jeans with small holes in them lined with white. There are even a few pairs of sneakers and running shoes in there.

I shove about six dull colored shirts that seem to be in good condition into the backpack, I then put my best pairs of jeans into the bag. It would be a good idea to pack a spare pair of shoes just incase something happens to the ones I wear now. Out of three pairs, I decide on a pair of tennis shoes that used to be a light green. Then, I get my toothbrush, toothpaste, and my first aide kit.

The main part of my backpack is three fourths of the way full when I decide to pack some personal belongings. I go to my bed and grab a small, stuffed elephant that used to be Kennedy's, she always loved stuffed animals, whenever she went to bed she always made sure that the animals can "breath." One time, I accidently pulled her covers over the elephant's head, she yelled at me.

I put a bronze gymnastics medal into a separate pocket of my bag. It was Leah's, she usually got gold, but I decided to snatch this one because it has a story that I remember. Leah almost always got the gold, but this meet, she messed up on her routine. When mom wanted to take pictures afterwards, Leah was still in tears.

The bag is mostly full now, but I still have two more side pockets that I could put thing into. I get my mother's silver locket with a small diamond in the middle, my father got her this shortly after they got engaged. I've always loved this locket, not for the locket itself, but because of the picture inside of it, on one side, there is a picture of her and my dad, and on the other, there is a picture of me and my sisters. I decide to wear the locket.

There are still two pockets left, so I decide to add what's left of my baby blanket into one. Before the apocalypse, it already had multiple holes that I could stick my hand into, it has only gotten worse. About half of the small blanket has been torn off, I had to learn how to sew so that the rest of the blanket doesn't unravel. I've had it since I was born, I couldn't let it go now.

One more pocket left. I go down stairs to the kitchen and decide to get a two protein bars and a small bottle of water. You never know what could happen out there.