A Story To Tell: Season 2 | A Zombie Apocalypse Story

Day 76.0

Amber

I still feel as though I have to reassure myself that what I did to her was the right thing to do. She is the one that led to Mere's death. She is the one that caused so many different issues, trying to break up the group and turn us against each other. She caused the pain I'm feeling right now. I continue to sharpen the trench knife in hand.

"You ready?" Jackie asks, touching my shoulder. I flinch for a moment before realizing it is her. She gives me a confused glance at my behavior.

"Sorry. I don't know what's been up with me recently," I reply, sighing out heavily. I stand up, brushing off my pants. I walk toward the bathroom, lantern in hand. When arriving, I look in the mirror, fixing my high ponytail. I look at my reflection. My face is clean from the shower I took when we arrived, but barren of makeup. I miss being able to do regular teenage things like going to school dances and football games. We've also been restricted to only one short shower a week for water conservation. The fort has its own system, straight from the river nearby, but it takes a lot of power for the clean water conversion system to work. I exit the bathroom, joining the others.

"My people haven't been back in a few days and they were supposed to be back just under a week ago. If things went accordin' to plan, then they should be right outside of Petersburg, the town nearby. Their names are Georgie, Richard, and Andrew. We're the only ones left," he says, his voice shifting at the end of his sentence.

"I sent them out to the IGA grocery store. Be careful, now, ya hear? Petersburg was sketchy before everythin' happened. Lord knows what could happen now."

Jackie, Willie, and I exit the compound, knives, and guns strapped to our hips. We begin discussing our plans before we hear a "wait up" from someone. I turn around and make eye contact with Axel.

"Let me join," he says, now walking with us briskly. I'm surprised he doesn't have a hangover the size of the moon.

"So, the road that we need to take to Petersburg is currently scattered and jammed with vehicles. That being said, we need to clear it out for passage. That will take a while, so today we are gonna drive as far as we can, and then walk. It's about an hour and fifteen minutes to get where we're going if we walk according to Jeff, but if we take a car as far as we're able to, it will cut the drive time. That will also give us the chance to siphon gas on the way back so we can power a bigger vehicle to clear the roads."

"When did you become Mr.Chatty," I mutter under my breath, swinging into the car. We drive for a few minutes, only to reach the traffic clog. The store really wouldn't be that far of a drive if it weren't for the vehicles.

"Well, we walk from here!" I say with false optimism, hopping out of the vehicle. I swing a military bookbag that was given to me by Jeff over my shoulder. We begin our march to the town, not knowing what stood ahead. Willie has big empty gas jugs strung onto his bookbag. That had to be uncomfortable.

"Be careful," Axel says, placing a hand on my shoulder for a second before looking around cautiously. He seems distracted. I long for more of his touch, not wanting to be mad at him any longer. I've decided; I'm going to apologize to him tomorrow. We never know what may happen. If I keep on holding this grudge, then I could end up regretting ever feeling this way. I look around the abandoned cars, keeping my eyes out for anything decent to grab. A glint catches my eye.

I walk toward the car where the glint came from. I cautiously creep near the car, watching out for any infected. I open the car door, and a loud creak noise sounds from the car. I cringe, looking around before beginning to pull out the sheath. The sheath sports a sword of some sort. When I tug on it, it doesn't budge. I mutter curse words under my breath. I yank it one more time, falling as it comes loose.