Zombies

XV

Ashley:

The next morning, I was awoken to the delightful smell of bacon, and I can’t tell you how excited I was to smell that, after surviving off of primarily canned foods since the outbreak. I sat up, liking my lips, and heard a faint sizzling of the meat on the stove. Mitch wasn’t in his bed, but I could hear him and Jerome conversing with Mrs. Taylor in the kitchen. I rolled out of bed and trotted off to the kitchen. Ryan was absent from the kitchen as well as Jason, but I couldn’t make up my mind if I had just imagined my encounter with Jason or if it had truly happened. “Good morning Ms. Ashley!” Mrs. Taylor greeted me warmly but timidly. The boys also greeted me as I sat down at the table. “Are you hungry? You must be!” She said, pushing a real plate, (not a cheap paper one, but a real plate,) in front of me. There was sizzling bacon, dripping with grease, a biscuit that was heavily buttered, and even a fresh apple. Needless to say, I savored every last bit of it. “Mrs. Taylor?” I began after I was done eating. She glanced up at me with a twisted expression of concern. “Yes?” 

“Do you have a son?” I asked, trying to act relaxed to calm her. Mrs. Taylor’s face twisted like she had eaten something incredibly sour. “Y-yes.. He’s about your age, I’d say. He’s a sweet boy, really! He just might come off a bit..” It was evident she didn’t want to talk about her odd son. “A bit shy? Yeah, I don’t blame him, strangers from strange lands crashed in his living room. Anyway, breakfast was delicious, can I help you with the dishes?” I offered, changing the subject at hand for her sake. I couldn’t tell if Mrs. Taylor was just an incredibly sensitive and frail woman or if Jason was something to fear. 

After I finished helping Mrs. Taylor wash the dishes, and the boys had wandered off, she took me to a neighbor’s house because it was one of the only houses in the neighborhood that ran shower water, and let me take a luxuriously lengthy shower. “Only four houses in Gardenwall have working shower water, because it uses a lot of clean water and power, so we can’t afford to have it hooked up to all showers. Because it’s so expensive, we’re only allowed to wash three times a week, but all of our sinks and toilets still work.” Mrs. Taylor explained. I dried off with a clean, soft, towel, and was given a hair brush. After I had combed my hair well enough, Mrs. Taylor laid out some clothing options. None of them were an ideal outfit for an apocalypse, but she assured me that I wouldn’t be dealing with any zombies in the gates of Gardenwall. In the end, I choose a red blouse with black jeans. “Thank you, Mrs. Taylor.” I said, smiling graciously. She had genuinely helped me get back on my feet after all I gone through. She flashed a frail grin at me. “Of course, honey. Now, enjoy the day. Maybe take a book to the park? Just relax today.” She offered me her favorite book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and directed me to the park. I strolled down the sunny roads to the park, that was a circular field of neat green grass, dappled with a couple trees that bore fruit and magnificent flower blossoms. I sat on the bench, and was quickly absorbed into the book. Small children played games in the park, and a couple asked me questions since they didn’t recognize me. It felt like life before all the chaos, and it was blissful. As I continued to read, I became aware of a presence than neared me, and sat down next to me on the bench. I looked up from my book and smiled pleasantly when I aw that it was Mitch. “Hey Mitch!” I greeted him fondly. “Hi Ash. You look good.” He greeted me sheepishly. I felt my cheeks blush slightly. “Yeah, Mrs. Taylor got me cleaned up pretty well, I guess. What brings you to the park?” I asked. “I just wanted to talk to you.” He replied with a hint of shyness still. “Alright, let’s talk.” I grinned at him, and stuck up a conversation. Eventually he became less nervous, and our conversation was fluent and delightful. The time ticked by like seconds, and moments later, (as it seemed,) it was afternoon. We noticed Jerome walking down the streets toward the park with a faintly familiar face, but I certainly couldn’t name it. He strolled to the park with his unknown companion, and into the park. “Do you know who that is?” I whispered to Mitch so Jerome’s friend wouldn’t hear me. “I don’t know.” Mitch replied, but he sounded curious. “Hey guys, look who it is!” Jerome said as he approached us with his friend. Mitch and I exchanged glances of unknowing. “Wow guys.” Jerome rolled his eyes. “It’s Dan! From Youtube, SteelSaint. He came to the same place all the way from Ohio! How crazy is that!?”