The following days after the incident we were quick into getting this whole house geared up and prepared for attacks. It took us three days to set up all of the traps we put in the surrounding woods. Multiple pits dug with spears at the bottom to impale any poor soul who happens to step foot in it. We were able to create some make-shift bear traps, they are not pretty sharp but they work perfectly fine as an alert.
We realized that we don’t really have enough fire power in case he does come back with twenty people like he had. None of us really wanted to go into the city to see if we can scavenge some more, so we’re working with what we have. That means conserving what little ammo we have now, and no more shooting lessons with Alice. It’s for the greater good anyways.
Night shifts are the most grueling part about the whole day. It’s been a great system but staying up late at night makes it hard to see. First of all, it’s really dark and we don’t have any flashlights or anything of the sort. Second of all is making sure you can even stay awake during the remainder of your shift. You’re supposed to stay on your post for three hours until you wake up the next person so they can do theirs. One time, William fell asleep while on watch and he ended up snoozing until sunrise. I expected it was gonna happen soon, since this is the first time we are implementing this type of system. To be honest we should have been doing this from the start.
Not being able to see out at the treeline is the thing that worries me the most. It really hinders the look part of lookout. We searched the house and shed for a flashlight or anything that can illuminate the surrounding area but we turned up with nothing. I always end up squinting my eyes and my mind makes up shadowy figures that run across the treeline. I’m glad nothing has happened yet.
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I was laying down on the couch looking up at the ceiling. There’s usually nothing to do when you’re waiting for time to pass by. No entertainment in this house and nothing to do but lay around on the ground. I looked over to the blanket that was flattened on the carpet, the place where I sleep every night. Covered by a thin and silk sheet that barely keeps me warm, but beats sleeping on the floor bare.
“Lee.” I heard William say. “Scoot over please.” He politely asked.
“Sure.” I got up on my butt and scurried over to the right side of the couch as he sat down right next to me.
“I know we talked extensively about you and Runasi.”
Oh yeah I remember all of the questions he threw at me a week ago when I first told the group. It was all of the stuff I went through with Alice and Nancy hasn’t come up to me yet.
“You’re probably sick of all of these questions and such.” He continued on. “But.” He looked around and leaned in close to my ear. “Is there anything else that you’re hiding?”
“No.” I adamantly asserted. “Why do you ask?”
“I just have this feeling you’re not telling us everything that happened. It still doesn’t make sense to me that Runasi would just let you go.”
“Trust me, it’s as confusing to you as it is to me.”
“Still. It’s weird.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “I understand, I was just caught off guard when you asked me that. It’s like you didn’t trust me.”
“No, I believe you. I just have my suspicions that pop up in my head.”
“You’re fine. Just for a second there I thought we were going to have an argument.”
“I would never do that. It’s just this feeling I have.”
I nodded and my vision drifted off towards the floor like I was distracted by something interesting.
“Are you hiding someone else’s secret?” He asked me and it brought my attention back to him.
“No.” I responded quickly.
“Ok. Just making sure.”
Does he know something? Come to think of it, back when me and Jesse left for our last scavenge I did reveal her secret aloud without thinking. Did he hear it or something? No, he would’ve brought it up to the whole group then. It’s probably just his suspicions coming up.
I’d have to talk with Jesse and discuss if she wants to reveal it. This isn’t just some group, these are people we’ve been with for two months, it’s like a family. We can’t keep these secrets away from each other any more. We need to communicate better. It’ll only lead to more arguments to spawn. We need to be united instead of distrusting. William’s attitude can’t be only secluded to him, other people have to at least a little tinge of what he feels. I’d rather address it now then later, we’re not having a repeat with Alice.
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Another cold night came around and it was time for everyone to go to sleep. I went over to my sheet and layed down on the floor on my side. I pulled the thin blanket over me and closed my eyes to try and get some rest before my night shift started. Little footsteps came over and I heard the leather of the couch get squished down as someone laid on it. It was Jesse, she was going to sleep as well. I heard the ruffle of the rugged sheet she pulled over herself as she shimmied around to get into a more comfortable position.
I was thinking about the conversation that William and I had earlier today. Been meaning to bring it up but I never have the opportunity to talk to her in private. This is a small house, your normal talking voice is already loud enough, arguably louder than is needed. But with this we can whisper, I already know Alice and Nancy are asleep. William is out on his post and Fred is resting for his shift already. Everyone in the house is basically not here. I turned over on my side and faced Jesse as she looked my way as well.
“Hey.” I whispered to her. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Sure.” She responded.
“Can I sit with you for a second?”
“Of course.”
I got up from my sleeping square and plopped right down next to her, shoulder to shoulder.
“Now, don’t freak out or anything.” I began.
“Oh boy.” She said,
“But, I had a conversation with William about how he had some suspicions that I’m hiding something from him. And it got me thinking, should we tell people about your secret?”
“No way.” She shut the whole thing down.
“But-”
“No buts Lee, there’s no way I would agree to that.”
“I think it’s necessary to strengthen our bond together and not keep stuff away from each other.”
“Mine is way more shocking than yours. If they find that out it’ll only spring up more distrust in the group. They’ll think I’m a traitor or something.”
“We can just explain it to them.”
“That’ll take one hell of a long time to convince anyone of that. What would Alice think? Everyone here hates him. I wouldn’t imagine the amount of anger that would be thrown against me. I appreciate that you have good intentions but this isn’t it.”
“We’re a family Jesse, we have to act like one and trust one another.”
“All families aren’t the ideal one you have pictured in your head. Families can split apart, die off, and be absolutely horrible to each other, even keep secrets from one another. Not saying we’re like that, but we’re not connected like you think we are.”
“We’ve been through so much together it’s impossible for you to say we aren’t.”
“Is this because you lost yours?”
“N-no.” It caught me off guard.
She wrapped her arm around me and pulled me close. “Everyone has lost their family here. I’m sure everyone would want them back, but you can’t force everyone here to go along with it. Not everyone here will accept that we’re connected like that.”
“Then what are we?”
She had to take a second to think about it. “A group of survivors. People who have had tons of misfortune who happened to cross paths.”
“Nothing else?”
“It’s not like that’s a bad thing. People like us are formed all over the world, people who unite together to survive as a group. Whether you like it or not, this is how it is.”
“Then what am I to you then?”
“A dear friend that I’ll gladly die for. Remember after the incident what I said. I love you, I will never lie about something like that.”
“I didn’t lie either when I said it as well.”
We both hugged each other and held it for a while. Jesse let go after a minute and held me by my shoulders.
“Get some sleep Lee. You’ll need it.”
“Yeah. I really do.” I chuckled.
I got up from the couch and rested back down in my square. I closed my eyes and thought about everything she said.
Just a group of survivors who happened to cross paths. Are we really just that? A group of survivors only connected by their willingness to live, nothing else? To be fair I didn’t trust them enough to tell them about my secret, I even held it from my own sister. How can I really call this a family? Man, I’m too tired to think right now. And is Jesse really just a friend to me? Everytime I’m around her I feel more safe, like my heart just has this warm feeling I’ve never felt before. It’s the same one I felt around Slinca, it’s weird. All of it is something I shouldn’t be thinking about right now. I need some rest for my post. Closing my eyes and putting my mind at ease, I was finally able to drift off to sleep.
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The wind bellowed in the air and woke me up. I felt the soft ground and immediately recognized where I was when I saw the surrounding scenery. It was the flower field again, the same dream I had a month ago. I got up on my feet and looked around me and something seemed off. I remembered my area being bigger than it is right now, it’s shrunken significantly. I can actually see the dropoff of the cliff that leads to the expansive ocean.
The other darker side was larger than it ever was before. More decaying plants and bland colors that dredged on the colorful flowers that covered my side. Over off in the distance the same figure I talked to before started walking over. Looking down at the floor I can see that the line separating our sides was slowly expanding and covering the ground.
“Look who’s back.” I heard the other me snark as he approached the border. “Came back after a month hiatus.”
“Well I didn’t choose that.” I said.
“I know that. Just messing with you kid.”
“Kid? We’re the same person.”
“Messing with you again.”
“I didn’t see myself as a cynical jokester.”
“Neither did I but here we are.”
“My side got extremely small.”
“I know. Ever since you left it’s been getting faster and faster and at one point it had this huge burst of speed before it stopped. It was dormant for I’d say what feels like a month until it sprung back to life and started moving again.”
“Hm.” I thought about it and how the rules work around here. The border moving has to be correlated to what happens in the real world. Maybe certain events like my brother dying speed it up and during our resting period it slows down. It probably responds to trauma and other tragic events.
“Has anything else happened since you were gone?” He asked me.
“Plenty.” I responded. “Our camp was destroyed by a bunch of criminals, we found a new farmhouse that we had to kill people to own, we’ve been building this place up to foster us all, then when we went out to scavenge around we ran into a guy who wants to kill me because my brother killed his two sons, and now we’ve been on lockdown to make sure he doesn’t come by and kill us all.”
“Wow that’s a lot.” He sighed. “No wonder this thing has been acting wonky.”
“What do you mean? The border separating us?”
“Yes, it speeds up through traumatic events. Your whole story proves that.”
“I figured, but why hasn’t this happened before? Like, why only during this year?”
“I’ve been here ever since you were born. My side was so small compared to what I have now, like it was only a sliver. I was just a wee little lad like you were and grew alongside with you. I never ate, slept, or drank any water. I’ve just been left here with only my thoughts. Then, my side started moving over to your side, I finally could walk around without falling into the ocean. It was super slow but every inch that it shifted gave me such a surplus of joy. The only other emotion I felt besides emptiness. Then one day you just showed up, right when both of our sides were equal. I have no idea why you just showed up now rather than earlier. Beats me, I just live here.”
It racked me around even more, why the hell does this place even exist? It’s all just a dream in my mind right? Even though I don’t feel like it, usually you get that sort of haze when you’re dreaming. Even lucid dreams you don’t feel like this, it all feels too real for it to be a dream.
“It shocked me to see just another me, like how you felt.” He continued on. “There was another person other than me here, not just an empty field. But you seemed off. You weren’t like me at all, you were more soft and confused. More naive and clueless, like your head was empty or something.”
“Rude.”
“Oh, but it’s all true. Even now you’re proving me right. Also, watch your feet.”
I looked down and the brink of the border line was about to cross over on my toe. I felt the tip of my skin start to decay and it was painful. I shuffled back and he came closer as the line moved up.
“It’s funny really.” He chuckled. “This whole time since you showed up my side has never gotten smaller, not even a little pushback. It’s like I’m taking over this whole piece of land. It feels.” He paused. “Amazing.”
“Well it’s not for me.” I said. “If this keeps going I’ll barely have anywhere to stand.”
“Is that so bad?”
I shook my head in bewilderment. “I swear you said that I should stop this. It sounded like you wanted me to stop it.”
“Let’s say I had a change of heart. I mean, come on!” He spun around and pointed at all of the free space he had. “Who wouldn’t want all of this? I’m the only one who even lives here, you’re just a visitor who is trespassing on my entrusted property.”
“What’s even the point of having all of this land if you can’t do shit with it!?”
“Whatever I want out of it is none of your business.”
“It sure fucking is. This is my space!”
“Why do you even care? You barely come here!”
“I’m not really concerned about my space, I’m just worried about what it means if you take over.”
“Of course.” He sighed. “Well if you really don’t want it to happen why don’t you do something about it? Oh right, you can’t do anything. You know what, I’m picking up a pattern here. You always want something but you have no conceivable way of getting it. No plan in mind, just hoping blind luck will carry you. Let me tell you something, it doesn’t work like that. It never has.”
“Fuck you man!”
“We went to insults immediately, how wise.”
“I don’t need to hear it from a power hungry asshole like you.”
“Power hungry!?”
“The only reason you want some space is to just have it. Talk to me about having no plans when you yourself have nothing in mind once you get this whole place to yourself. Guess we are really alike after all-”
He lunged after me from his side and grabbed me by my shoulders. He dragged me into his side and tossed me behind him. I felt my whole body deteriorating and decaying as I hit the ground. I screamed out in pain and tried to get up but my feet were nearly gone.
“Wonder what happens when I kill you?” He said. “Maybe I’ll get it all to myself once you die.”
The pain was unbearable, your body dissipating into nothing and you can feel each atom die. I’ve never felt something like this before, it’s almost indescribable. I rived in pain on the ground as he kicked me around, my arms and legs were disappearing and I couldn’t do anything about it. All I did was scream in agony as he watched.
“See you never Lee. Have fun rotting in hell-” His voice cut off as my vision went black.
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“Wake up Lee.” Jesse was above me as my vision snapped back into reality. “It’s your shift.”
I sat up startled, I was sweating and breathing heavily. I scared Jesse as she stepped back from me looking concerned.
“Woah woah.” She kneeled down. “What happened?”
“I just-I just had a nightmare.” I said.
“Ok ok.” She put her hands on my shoulders. “Take deep breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly.”
Soon enough my heart rate slowed down and I wasn’t panicking anymore. I got my bearings straight and I stood up.
“What kind of nightmare were you having?” She asked me.
All of the images flooded my head and overloaded my brain. It all happened so fast I barely remember myself.
“I don’t even remember.” I told her.
“Ok. Are you good though?”
“Yeah, yeah I’m good.”
“At least that woke you up for your shift huh?” She laughed.
“I guess.” I laughed back.
“Now get going, don’t want anyone sneaking up on us while we’re sleeping right?”
“Yeah.”
She handed me the rifle and went to lay down on the couch, pulling the covers up on her. I smiled then walked out the front door to be met by the darkness of night covering the treeline. I sighed and climbed up the ladder onto the rooftop where the white plastic chair was lying dormant. I sat down and slumped my back in exhaustion. I know I’m supposed to be alert and awake right now but I can’t stop thinking about that dream.
I know that it wasn’t real but it felt more real than any other dream I’ve had before. That pain was excruciating, nothing I felt ever in my life. Usually you feel the worst pain you ever experienced in a dream, because that’s what your brain uses to substitute in. But that feeling, god it sends shivers down my spine.
What that guy said, “You always want something but you have no conceivable way of getting it.” Man that seems kind of true, but right now this is something isn’t it? I learned that the Henry guy was going to attack and I took action to prevent it. So it’s not true right?
I mean before all of this, I always wished for a better life for me and Alice. Am I saying to myself that I need to actually take action for that to happen? It’s not like some other being was talking to me, that was me no doubt about it. It’s making sense, kind of, I don’t have anything else to base it off of. Maybe I need to stop dreaming so big and bring them down to a reasonable level. Like it’s not ridiculous to wish for a better life, but is that even possible now?
So much death and destruction has happened to me in the past few months. This must happen to so many more people, millions, scrap that, billions of people must face this. I’m only sixteen though. God it doesn’t seem like I am. Wait? What date is it? It should be close to my birthday, at least I think it is?
Let me think, I graduated from school two months ago. That was May, my birthday is July 17th. Holy shit, we missed my birthday by a whole month. It was even my golden birthday. So much happened it completely blanked my mind. Wow, I’m seventeen, crazy.
A huge crunching sound of some branches and leaves caught my attention. My eyes darted over to wear it generated, in the dark abyss that is the treeline. I pointed the rifle and squinted my eyes. I was breathing heavily and it felt like the whole world froze.
My whole body was anxious and I became hyper aware about every miniscule sound that I heard. I swear I could see shadow figures running along but I just mocked it up to be my imagination playing tricks on me. My finger was resting on the trigger, ready to fire at will.
That’s when I heard something falling, like a bunch of leaves plopped onto the ground. A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the whole area alongside many cuss words were hurled out. I quickly put together that someone fell into one of our pit traps.
It came from directly in front of the house, right outside the electric fence. I saw some person’s head sticking out from an exposed hole, but something peculiar was laying on the ground in front of the trap. It was generating some sort of light.
It was a fuse to a stick of dynamite. I quickly called out to everyone, yelling as loud as my voice could to get everyone’s attention. It’s time to fight, whether he was defeated by that one trap. We have no idea how many more men he was able to round up.
KABOOM!
The explosion went off in a fiery blaze, blowing a hole in the fence and amassing a crater outside it. As soon as I knew it, people came charging outside of the tree’s and rushed over to overthrow the house.
But the horror struck me like a brick as I saw nearly a hundred people come out of the woods. The huge number scared me to my core, there’s no way we’ll be able to hold off this many. More of them started hurling sticks of dynamite at the fence and more booming explosions went off.
All of the collective explosions collapsed the whole fence down and into tiny pieces of rubble. Luckily mostly all of the traps were being triggered and caught a portion of them, but that won’t be enough to hold them back.
We expected another troop force to the twenty he had but this is on a whole other level. They have dynamite, and firearms. Compared to our forces, we may not survive this.
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