Survive: The Walking Apocalypse - Pt. 9

A rumbling growl echoes throughout the room.

"There's a monster in your tummy," Lucy says in a sing-song voice, feigning a gasp of horror.

I laugh and pat her head. "There must be one in yours too," I shoot back, "We haven't eaten in a while, have we?"

I am answered by a quiet rumble from my sister's stomach and a silly grin plastered across her face.

A quiet voice interrupts our stomachs' growling match. "There's some food downstairs in the kitchen, if you'd like?"

I glance at the blonde haired girl and smile, "That would be great, we didn't eat all day yesterday."

Lydia gives a small trace of a smile, not quite reaching her eyes, and leads us both downstairs.

The kitchen is small. Inside, there are various cream coloured counters lined along the pale blue walls. Atop the counters sit many different appliances and other items, such as a toaster, a microwave, breadbasket and even a coffee machine - much to my delight. A white refrigerator adorned with magnets, letters and drawings sits in the top left corner, with a simple gas stove placed two counters away. In the centre of the room is a small, square table and four seats, all a metallic silver. A set of three, rectangular windows line the right wall, giving a view of the outside street. Below that, lies a small sink, empty of dishes. It's a typical kitchen, nothing unusual.

"What would you like?" Lydia asks.

"What have you got?" I ask back.

She thinks for a second, going over the food in her mind. "There's some bread if you'd like toast and there's also cereal in the cupboards."

"Cereal sounds great," I smile, "what would you like, Lucy?"

"Toast," she says excitedly, her stomach letting out another loud rumble.

Lydia walks ahead of me and opens up a cupboard door. "The cereal is in here, just help yourselves. I'm going to quickly take a shower, if it's okay with you?"

"It's your house," I remind her. "Would you like me to make you something while you're gone?"

Shaking her head, she exits the room and bounds back up the stairs. From the top I hear her shout down at me, "There's some milk and butter in the fridge! Take whatever you need!"

I shout my thanks back up at her and set about making breakfast.

This is calming. After traversing through such a hellish nightmare, the peace and normality of this morning feels utterly surreal. I'm making breakfast. Cereal and toast. This is so bizarre. It's almost like none of what I experienced last night ever happened. Maybe it was all a dream?

Glancing out the kitchen window, I spot a stumbling figure ambling slowly along the road. No, it was definitely not a dream, I think to myself before yanking the window blinds shut.

Cereal ready and toast finished, I place them on the table where Lucy is already sitting.

"That girl seems nice," Lucy says innocently. I nod my head in agreement, mixing my milk and cereal together with a spoon. "I like her hair," she adds. Again, I nod in agreement. Expecting her to continue talking, I look up curiously after a few moments of silence. Lucy is only picking at her toast and not putting effort into eating it. Her eyes are cast down as she stares at her shoes under the table.

"Lucy, is something wrong?"

She gives her head a quick shake.

"Lucy..."

"I miss Mummy," she mumbles sadly. My stomach drops. The spoon in my hand clatters into the bowl as I pull Lucy into a hug.

"I know, Lucy. Me too."

For a while, we just sit like this. My arms wrapped protectively around her, holding her head to my chest. Her arms hanging desperately to my waist as she sniffles and forces back tears. Thoughts of our parents pass through my head and no doubt through hers also. My father's last words echo in my mind. 'Look after your sister'. 'Survive'. 'I love you'.

The quiet hum of a shower running from upstairs brings me back to the present and I slowly let go of Lucy, noticing that her crying has stopped. "Eat your toast, Honey. It's getting cold."

Soon after, the hum of the shower comes to a stop. Around five minutes later, just as we're finishing our breakfast, a damp looking Lydia makes her way downstairs. In her hands are the lead pipe she had from before and my metal baseball bat. "You left this," she says, placing it upon the table. On her back is a small black and red sling pack.

"Thanks. What's in the bag?" I ask.

She glances back at it and shrugs. "Some supplies. A few clothes, a small medical box with a few plasters and bandages inside." As she says this, she carefully pulls it from her back and lays it on the table beside the bat. "I thought it might help us. Should I just leave it?" She asks.

"No! That's brilliant, the bandages will come in handy, though I hope we don't have to use them. I wish I had been able to bring stuff with me."

She blushes slightly at my approval and moves to the cupboards above the counter. "Should I bring some food?" she asks.

I hesitate for a second. If she did, it would have to be light and something long lasting. Don't want heavy, rotten food weighing us down. "Maybe, what do you have in mind?"

She pulls open the cupboard and peers inside. "There's a box of energy bars that my dad...used to eat," she says the last part quietly, "There's also cereal bars and cans of food."

"Energy and cereal bars would be good. I think the cans would be too heavy though."

She nods in agreement and begins packing the bars. She then opens the fridge and pulls out three bottles of water, one for each of us. "This okay?"

I nod. "We'll need it."

Her bag fully packed, she takes a seat opposite us. Her blonde hair is still damp from the shower. Every now and then, a small drip of water splashes to the table. Some strands of hair have curled slightly due to being wet, but most still remain straight. She raises her hands and slides her hair down behind her back, the golden colour still shining brightly despite its dampness. Her cerulean eyes stare sadly towards my little sister, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. Lucy nibbles on a leftover piece of toast and smiles broadly at the staring girl. Lydia gives a soft smile back before casting her piercing eyes upon me. "So, what now?" She asks.

I think my choices over for a moment. What now? Uncle Raymond's still seems to be the best bet. The crazy old man's probably turned his house into a small fort by now. I really doubt that he's fallen to the undead horde just yet. Thinking it over, that does seem to be my only choice actually. Every other logical place was overrun almost immediately. The hospital was one of the first places to fall, which, all things considered, wasn't especially surprising. Any large shopping buildings are definitely not safe - too many people. There's been no response from the police whatsoever, so I doubt their headquarters are still standing. It's either Uncle Raymond's or fleeing the town altogether, which honestly isn't a bad idea. My Uncle's house is a lot closer though. That settles it, even though my mind was made up to begin with. Better safe than sorry.

I explain my plan to Lydia and tell her exactly where my Uncle's home is. She agrees that it's probably the best option. Lydia herself had no idea where to go. Her family is gone and any other relatives are apparently too far to reach. She just seems relieved enough to finally have a goal set in mind.

"Do you mind if Lucy and I use your bathroom to wash up?" I ask. Lydia looks us over quickly and takes in our appearance, her eyes focusing mainly on the dark red marks splattered across my clothing and skin.

"Please do."