World of the Dead

Sandwiches

Quinn blinked as sunlight glared through the crack in the curtains, piercing her exhausted eyes when she opened them. She couldn't help but notice the pattern of really shitty mornings she'd been waking up to. 

The night had been bad, to say the least. While Kevin had managed to drift back into sleep, she had more difficulty. Another infected had joined the first, adding more snarls and groans to the night as they consumed the dog. They had then stuck around for hours, bumping into the wall of the house and the window, making her tense and clutch the knife at her belt. But then the must have heard something far off, because they let out twin shrieks and ran off into the night. 

But still she stayed awake, expecting them to crash through the window to rip her and Kevin to shreds. Every noise made her jump, every distant scream or snarl made her grind her teeth. Even if she managed to drift off, she would wake in a panic, lungs tight and eyes flicking around wildly for enemies that didn't exist.

It was around early dawn when she relaxed enough to sleep longer than a few seconds. Even so, she guessed that her precious rest had only lasted two or three hours. Rubbing her eyes, which she could barely keep open, she dully wondered what time it was and looked at the alarm clock on the side table to her right.

A blank screen stared back at her. Right. No power.

Not wanted to linger on her brief lapse of intelligence, she rolled her neck to get the kinks out. Sleeping sitting up had been a poor choice on her part. Quinn couldn't help but wonder how she had managed to do that, but given how her joints and back popped when she moved, it wasn't easy.

Yawning, she gave Kevin a gentle shake. He groaned and rolled away from her, muttering. He was curled tightly in a ball, head nearly hidden in his arms.

"Kevin," she said, her voice raspy. "Wake up dude. I'm gonna eat without you if you don't hurry it up."

That proved to be the perfect motivation; his eyes opened and he sat up quick. Sleep still had him in its grasp though, as the first thing out of his mouth was, "Pancakes?!".

She couldn't help but grin. "Nothing that fancy, no. Actually, I haven't really planned what we're eating yet." While they had food, using their small supply was something she wasn't too keen on.

"Let me go check the kitchen again, we might've missed something," she said, sliding off the bed. Her legs protested and she wobbled more than she walked to the door.

Somehow, she reached the kitchen without falling over. Once again she began to go through the cupboards and drawers, hoping that maybe she had missed something the night before. If not, they might have to go without breakfast. It wasn't a definite yet, but she worried about how long their food would last.

The only thing she avoided was the fridge. The sickly-sweet smell of rotting food was strong as ever, dampening her hunger slightly. While she was glad for the temporary relief, it was quickly replaced by nausea.

Stepping back and looking around the ransacked kitchen, she realized that there was a single unopened cabinet under one of the counters. Opening it, she fully expected to find cleaning supplies or something similar. What she saw however made her face light up. Chunky peanut butter and a loaf of bread.

How did we miss this?! she wondered excitedly. She decided not to think about it too hard and grabbed items, cradling them like they were precious antiques as she practically ran back to the bedroom. She knew Kevin would be as overjoyed as she was, especially after their previous dinner.

"Hey Kevin," she called, pushing the door open. "It may not be as fancy as Pancakes, but look what I found!" 

His eyes widened as she presented the food to him in a melodramatic way. "Peanut butter!" He grabbed the jar and examined it. "Chunky peanut butter! Thats my favorite!" His eyes were sparkling as he held the jar, as if it was the most wonderful thing in the world.