Still Alive

CH8: Maggie & David

Maggie and David are out again.

Is this their twentieth or thirtieth time?

They're not sure. They've lost count of how many times they've gone on runs these past few months.

The radius of their search around the neighborhood has been expanding steadily as well as they start running out of supplies to scavenge in the nearby houses (even when they'd finally resorted to breaking into some of them---they couldn't always rely on finding an unlocked house after all). 

It is with anxiety that they now find themselves going farther and farther away from their home every time. Not to mention the time it takes to go on runs has almost doubled now compared to when they first started.

They've been entertaining ideas of moving to another home in a different area, but they are hesitant to let go of the security they now associate with the house they've started out with. The home that they now know like the back of their hands has kept them safe without fail and has been their refuge from the horridness of the new world. They're not sure they can give it up just yet.

But sentimentality is a hard thing to feel when they are exposed to the infected outside for longer periods of time during each run and find themselves extremely exhausted upon return.

To make matters worse this time around, it starts to drizzle.

Rain isn't always a bad thing. In fact, it's something they look forward to on most days considering how precious water has become. When it starts to pour and they are at home, they would scramble to get empty pots and containers from the kitchen and would place them just outside the backdoor. After collecting water, they would filter it through a clean piece of thin cloth and then boil it over a small makeshift fire pit they constructed in the kitchen since their stove had long run out of gas. Sometimes, they would also crouch in their backyard under the rain for a few minutes, staying vigilant but also enjoying the badly needed free shower.

Most of the time, rain is a blessing.

But right now, while they're out on a run, isn't one of those times.

The last time it rained, it poured so hard that the two of them ended up having to stay overnight at the house they had been scavenging in, together with the decomposing corpses they had dealt with and with almost no food or potable water. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but it was safer than running outside with their vision compromised by the gushing rain.

Now, as the rain starts to pick up, they scramble to find an open house on the block.

They end up at another house that looks untouched from the outside. No broken windows, no signs of forced entry, and no evidence of a fire.

Maggie tries to enter through the doors but no dice. David tries the windows and finds one of them unlocked.

Much like they do when they enter their own home, David boosts Maggie up to reach the high window. She peers inside first and, seeing no immediate threat, she pushes the window open and climbs through.

She looks around what appears to be the living room, machete in hand (her best scavenged weapon yet), and when she has ascertained that it is indeed safe, Maggie lets David in through the front door.

They make it in just in time as they hear the rain pour harder now outside.

They then proceed with their modus operandi. Together, they explore the first floor of the house to check for any infected that may be hanging around. They find none and proceed to the second floor. Just like their own house, there are only two bedrooms upstairs. They are relieved to find nothing amiss and settle down in what appears to be the master bedroom for a breather.