To Be A Survivor

Chapter 19: The Kids Are Alright

"Raise the gates!" Sam commands as I get into sprinting position. "Man, those gates have had a hard life. Just look at them-all stained with blood and banged up because no matter how hard we try, we can't get that one stupidly large dent to bang back into place. If those gates could talk, they'd say, 'Help! I'm constantly being attacked by zombies.'

"Wait, where was I?" He mumbles. "Oh, yeah. Covering fire! And... you're off!"

Well, he isn't wrong, because off I go, although I haven't gotten off to the most graceful start since I tripped over a dead zom's leg and nearly fell on my face. But I have regained my balance and am now running through the wet mush that could be considered snow.

"Okay, Runner Five, you know what they say about children and animals, yeah?"

'That they can see spirits?'

"No-well, yes, but the other thing they say about children and animals."

'They're a waste of time and money?'

"What? Five, no! You're a mother of three. How could you say that?"

'Children aren't always rainbows and sunshine, Sam,' I deadpan, thinking back to my little spat I had with Willis. He still refuses to tell me what secret he keeps, and I still suspect he might be lying about him being the only one to know my name, but he hasn't told anyone else, so I guess that's a good thing.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, the saying is that if in the zombie infested wilderness you happen to find a child or animal, you take them in," He explains. "So it turns out there was all sorts of interesting stuff in the journal Lem left behind... eh, that's not good, is it?"

'What?'

"The road is flooded. Bloody global warming. You'd think the apocalypse would put a stop to it, but apparently the gas from all those decaying zombies is worse than cow farts."

I start giggling uncontrollably at that-actually giggling with real sound and everything. 'There is one thing good about this though.'

"What's that?"

'The snow is melting, meaning I can start to finding trinkets again.'

He chuckles softly. "Only you would excited about global warming in the zombie apocalypse. Anyway, guess you'd better take to the field. Runner Seven and Four have beaten a path through that linseed to your left. Just follow that.

"So yeah-yeah. Children. Lem talked about this guy called Jaime, who's been looking after a whole bunch of kids since Day Zero. Lem would bring them stuff they needed-toys, food, vaccines, DVDs of The Night Garden. But he really wanted to move the whole lot of them to New Canton, only... well, you know what happened before he could.

"So now The Fraternal Alliance-does that sound weird to you? It sounds weird to me. Apparently that's what we've agreed with New Canton to call ourselves." Sam laughs. "The Fraternal Alliance is gonna try and finish with what Lem started. We've located the kids' primary school, and we're hoping they're still alive after all this time. Keep running and keep your fingers crossed... if it doesn't interfere with the running."

I laugh again, the sound slightly less airy from the running. 'Sam, you do realize Simon grabs my wrist every time I run with him and I do just fine, right? Me crossing my fingers won't affect my running.'

"Yeah, that's true." He pauses. "You know, I'm actually starting to get used to hearing you laugh. When do you think you'll actually start saying, you know, actual words instead of um... incoherent noises?"

'I talked to Dr. Lobatse and she said I will hopefully be able to say a few words in a week or two.'

"But not full on sentences or conversation," He finishes.