The First ~10K~ (book 3)

19.) Calm Before the Storm

Tommy POV—

A few months passed. It was winter now, which was difficult for multiple reasons. It was cold, the only source of warmth we had was by a fire and even then making one was hard now that all the wood was covered in snow and wet.

To make things worse, Ashlyn was sick. Really sick. It was at the point where she couldn't move and was sleeping pretty much all day. She was running a very high fever and was lethargic. It was concerning now.

We found a rundown motel to stay at. Most buildings were falling apart, or basically just sticks, but this place was holding together. It was still freezing in here, but luckily, the place had fireplaces so we could make fires and not worry about the smoke chasing us out.

I laid with Ashlyn on the ground next to the fireplace. She had laid her head on my leg, curling as close to me as she could for warmth. I could feel her body heat radiating off of her like she was made out of lava. Even though she was asleep, she was shivering and moaning the whole time.

I felt worthless. My daughter was sick, and I couldn't do anything other than be with her. Zoey volunteered to search the area for supplies. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I was praying to God that she would come back with something to help Ashlyn. I was worried that if she got any worse...

No. No, I am not going to go down that path. I can't. It breaks me apart thinking about it.

I can't lose Ashlyn.

I can't.

It would destroy me.

Ashlyn coughed, a cough that sounded like it was ripping her throat to shreds. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking away the sleepiness.

"Hey, baby," I whispered, rubbing her shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm really cold," she whispered roughly, like it took everything she had just to say those three words.

"I know, honey," I say. "Do you need another blanket?"

She shook her head. She coughed again, but couldn't stop this time. I sat her up, patting her back and reaching for a water bottle.

"Drink some water," I told her, putting the bottle to her lips.

She gulped some down. Her strength vanished and she collapsed onto me.

"Is Zoey back yet?" She asked.

I rubbed her head, staring into the flames of the fire. "No, not yet. Hopefully soon."

"And hopefully she has something to make me better," she adds softly before drifting off to sleep again.

Zoey POV—

I got lucky.

Really lucky.

I found medicine. I wasn't sure if it would help Ashlyn at all, but it was something. It was like God was finally taking pity on me and gave me something to hold on to hope.

Stepping into the freezing outside, I made my way back to the motel. The good thing about winter, the zombies turn into icicles. They freeze to the point where they aren't really dangerous. Of course, we still have to watch out, but they can't move very much. And because of that, the game start to become easier to hunt. Tommy has been keeping up with the hunting, but once Ashlyn got sick, he stopped. But it didn't really matter, because he got so much we don't have to worry about running low.

The cold air blew across my face, like razor blades cutting into my skin. My eyes watered, blurring my vision until I blinked them away.

It was about a 15-20 minute walk from the motel. In the cold, ankle deep snow, it felt like hours.