Don't Get Dead | TWD | Volume 1

[2] Not so Foreign Foreigners

My plan was simple. I would return to house number 18 and leave the note on the door where people would be able to see it. The message and tape were tucked away in the back pocket of my jeans.

When I made it to the house, the woman was gone from the window. She probably gave up and returned to the dark confinements of the house . . . do they sleep? It didn't matter, she was gone now.

Tracing my steps to the front door, I tried staying as quiet as possible. Just as I had done before. I made sure not to go anywhere near the window this time. All I had to do was hang the note on the door and leave.

I grabbed the Sellotape, spending almost a minute looking for the edge. When I finally found it, I ripped tape in my teeth and took the note from my back pocket. I kept adding tape until the message was secured against the door. The tape seemed less than sticky.

Taking a step back, I looked at the note. People would see it now, they would know that the house had a sick person inside. I tucked the tape back in my pocket sneaking away from the house. I didn't ever intend on coming back, so I gave a small wave as I left.

When I made it back to my street, I saw a car parked across the street from where I was staying. Glenn's car. I couldn't help but smile; it was nice to see someone again.

I jogged up the house to meet him. The closer I got, I heard him calling my name, followed by a loud banging. Glenn was standing in front of the door, knocking every few seconds.

"Ace?" He called again.

"Glenn!"

He jumped around in surprise, but a relieved look crossed his face. "Oh, thank God. I thought . . ."

"No," I shook my head. "I just popped out to do something."

"Okay," he breathed out.

Part of me was shocked that he didn't ask what I was doing, but he just seemed relieved that I was even alive right now. I didn't realise he planned on visiting again, I assumed he would just be looking through some of the houses that were further away.

Looking down, I noticed a gallon bottle at his feet, almost completely full with a transparent liquid. "Is that water?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "We weren't sure whether houses still have water, so we boiled some up for you."

I frowned. I had looked through all the houses on the streets, and most of them had water in emergency kits. Him giving me all of this felt almost like a waste of supplies.

"You won't run out?" I questioned, a frown on my face.

He shook his head. "The quarry we're at has a lake."

My face scrunched up, but I let out a chuckle. "You probably should have started with that."

"I realise that now," he rubbed the back of his neck with a smile.

"I'm glad you brought that, actually," I nodded to the canister of water at his feet. "Water started running slower now. I think it's going to shut off in a few days. I was going to start storing it in whatever containers I could find."

I unlocked the door, and Glenn entered the house with the gallon of water.

"Does electricity still work here?"

"Not in this town. It stopped two days ago," I shook my head.

Glenn nodded along as I spoke, leaning back on the kitchen counter. Part of me forgot that he was even on the quarry, so he wouldn't know whether the towns had water or electricity.

I turned to look at him. He was questioningly looking at the dismantled walkie on the table, his eyebrows knitting together as he thought about what it was. It wasn't long before I remembered why Glenn was even here.