After 30 Days

Three- Day 34 *

Back at the bar, I helped myself to a bottle of water someone had found in the pantry the night before. It had been a relief to find, but as dehydrated as everyone was, the water wasn't going to last very long. Sliding onto a stool I noticed that Luna was sitting quietly, staring at the box of cereal with a far-away look on her face. She hadn't eaten any of the small O's that she'd poured into a pink bowl.

"You ok, kid?"

I must have startled her, because she jumped a little. Nodding slowly, she reached into the bowl and popped a piece into her mouth. "I don't like cereal," she told me around the bite. The tone of her voice was all wrong.

There was something there, some part of the story that I didn't know, but I didn't get a chance to pry.

Just then, the others began to filter into the kitchen, drawing my attention away from the somber girl.

"We're going to need to find some more water before we go. And hopefully a new ride," Maggie was talking over her shoulder as she walked in to the kitchen. Colton was just behind her. She noticed the two of us at the bar and smiled, "Morning, ladies."

"Hey," I grabbed a handful of cereal from the box and pushed it back in front of the girl. It was stale. I could agree with Luna on this one. Cereal was gross, and stale cereal was even worse. But it was food, and beggars couldn't be choosers any more.

Maggie leaned against the edge of the bar as she continued talking, "I think we should split into two groups to cover more ground. We should be able to find what we need and get back here in an hour, tops. Hopefully there are more houses like this one, with most of their supplies still inside. Then we can move on."

I nodded agreement as I chewed. As much as I just wanted to get out of there, we needed water. Over the next few minutes, the rest of our group wandered into the kitchen. We passed around the box of cereal and talked in low tones, eventually dividing into three groups. Alex would stay behind with Luna while the rest of us went in search of supplies. His ankle was slowing him down too much, and everyone agreed that the kid was safer waiting in the house that we had already cleared. Looking sideways at the nurse, I decided to leave Rex with Luna too. I knew the dog would protect the girl if need be. He'd already tangled with a nasty zombie once to do so.

It was still early in the morning when we walked out the front door.

Colton, Shawn, and I headed back the way we had come when we walked in to town. The others turned to explore the area we hadn't been in yet. The yards were small and the houses close together, and it took only seconds before we approached the first door.

This house hadn't escaped the chaos of the zombies. The front door stood open, a look inside showed us that belongings had been tossed around. Whoever had lived here appeared to have gathered a few things and left in a hurry.

Colton led our group as we searched quickly for anything that may have been left behind. My backpack was soon loaded down with cans that dug uncomfortably into my back. Shifting it to a more user friendly position, I looked into the garage in hopes of finding a vehicle.

The garage was already empty. Turning around, I headed back to meet the others by the front door.

"Looks like one of us made out alright," Shawn greeted me with a smile.

"Yeah. No car in the garage, though." I bounced the backpack again. "But a closet in the kitchen had a lot of food still in it."

"It's alright. There's bound to be something we can drive out of here somewhere," Colton came down the stairs. "Was there any water in the kitchen?"