Decimation

Chapter 17:

The next day, Camila and I started to pack. We were restless and stubborn and didn't want to stay in the same place for too long – no matter how safe it was. At the end of the day, this was an apocalypse. There was no military coming for us, no Obama, no nothing – this wasn't going to end, so why stay in one place? What would you be waiting for? What where the benefits other than 'safety', and where was the fun in that?

It didn't take long for us to remove all 'in date' food from the house and export it into the car along with our choice of clothes for the road.

"Do you think the walkers in Canada would be polite?" Camila asked from the drivers seat. "Like, you'd be sat there eating your dinner and would hear a thud on the window – and then when the walker saw that you were eating it would just raise an apologetic hand gesture and move along."

One of my favourite things about Camila was the way her mind worked. In an apocalypse, not much amused you. You tended to have a serious mindset at all times whereas Camila just had a colourful one. "Probably." I agreed, laughing softly at the thought.

Satisfied with my response, she flashed me a toothy smile before focusing her eyes on the road and placing her right hand on my leg.

"God, traffic is so bad today." I wanted to lighten the mood the same way Camila did almost every single day. I'd always been rather dull and didn't have a playful bone in my body once I was a few weeks into the apocalypse. I thought I'd lost my humour forever until I met Camila – but this was one of the very few times I had decided to join in with her playfulness and it was worth it to see her eyes practically light up once she realised what I was doing.

"I know. I'll never get to work on time – I'll have to get my manager an extra large coffee to apologise." Camila sighed, the corners of her mouth tilting up a little.

"The kids are probably forming a queue outside class right now." I glanced down at my non-existent watch before running my fingers through my hair. My comedic line had made Camila chuckle but I'd made myself somewhat sad considering I was an assistant teacher before all of this – an assistant teacher who wanted to become qualified and full time. It still scared me that I'd never get that opportunity now.

I was quiet for a few minutes after that, focusing on all the what ifs and maybes that were plaguing my mind. Somewhere along the line I must've have completely ignored Camila, because I saw her turn to face me as she rubbed her hand soothingly against my thigh.

"Are you okay?" Camila's voice shook me out of my thoughts and I nodded quickly. Instead of pushing me any further, she squeezed my (uninjured) thigh reassuringly and decided to leave it at.

Initially, I wanted to any talk of 'life before the apocalypse' – but remembering Camila had told me about her younger sister made me want to open up to her. "I was the eldest out of my two siblings."

Camila glanced over at me. She didn't say anything for a few seconds but eventually spoke up. "What are their names?"

"Taylor and Chris." I smiled. "My mom's is Clara and my dad is Mike." I let her know, rufflinig my hair with my fingers as I rested my head against the window. "I remember they were really proud that I was getting into teaching. They told everyone."

"You don't really seem like you'd like children." Camila chuckled somewhat.

"I guess I've just changed." I shrugged. Before all of this, I was a lot less bitchy and I was definitely better company.

When Camila and I spoke about our past selves, it was always sounded like we were mourning a person but in a way we were. The people that we were before all of this didn't exist anymore.