Thwack!

I watched as my arrow sailed through the breezy forest air and found its target deep in the stomach of a squirrel. The small body tumbled off the branch and fell onto the grassy woodland floor. It was a quick jog over to the fallen trophy, my hand reaching down to pick it up.

"Bullseye!" I exclaimed triumphantly to myself as I laid my bow on the ground.

I quickly pulled the bloody arrow out and slipped my bag off my shoulders. I sat the body next to it as I unzipped the bag, revealing some basic supplies. I removed a small rag, a hunting knife and a piece of flint. I quickly wiped off the arrow tip with the rag and stored it back in the bag. I moved to my next activity, making a fire.

"Okay just need some grass" the thought escaped verbally through my lips as I grabbed some dry grass and a few small twigs around me. Soon they were stacked on top of each other in a small pile till it was about a foot wide. I quickly took my hunting knife and grabbed the flint. As I scraped the knife along the flint, little pieces of it gathered in the center of the pile. After a few scrapes, I flipped the flint over and once again ran the blade against the flint causing sparks. The sparks jumped to the pile but did nothing.

"Dammit" I cursed quietly and moved the flint closer to the kindling. A few more scrapes later and the pile ignited. I smiled in accomplishment and returned the flint to my bag. I cupped my hands around the smoldering brush and blew lightly onto it, occasionally adding a few sticks of varying size. To pass some time as the fire builds, I skinned the squirrel. I divided the guts and skin into a heap leaving me with only meat and bones. I quickly jumped up and doused the squirrel in a nearby stream and then returned to my small fire. I quickly reached into my bag and grabbed a small rod with a sharp point at the end and shoved it through the body and held it over the fire. I eagerly took a bite out of the freshly cooked squirrel as it turned to a light brown color. I was finished quickly and I piled the bones next to the guts and stomped out the small fire. I cleaned off my hands and the rest of my tools in the stream and stuffed them all back in my back I quickly washed off my jeans and t shirt in the stream to get some of the bloodstains out. After the stains had gone, I slipped my wet clothes back on. I secured my bow to my bag and slipped it back over my shoulders. I looked up to see the shining sun still fairly high in the sky and then checked my watch.

"Only 4:30, I have plenty of time to get back in for dinner" I quickly started my jog through the woods constantly admiring the features of nature. The singing of birds. The rustling of the leaves as the wind blows through the trees. The beams of sunlight gleaming on the ground. Nature was something that was a big part of my life. Growing up in a time where you're always on the move and the fact that you could die any second really makes you appreciate the small things. My dad and I were constantly in the woods, hunting and scavenging. He always wanted to make sure if anything ever happened to him, that I'd be prepared to take his place. That meant being prepared to protect my little sister, Abigail, and my mother. Needless to say I spend most of my time in the woods, even though there is no need for me to hunt, now that we have food and a roof over our heads. Guess it's just become a habit of mine. In no time I saw the road and climbed up onto the hot pavement. The tall steel walls loomed a few feet down the road. When I came within a few feet of the walls, I looked around for a tree I had marked with my initial. This was another skill taught to me by dear old dad: Always leave markers so you don't get lost. I quickly found the tree with a Z carved into it. The tree had a hollow interior and was a great place to store my gear. I took off my backpack and placed it in the open tree and covered it with some leaves. I got up and walked the rest of the way to the wall. I checked my surroundings to make sure I was alone and quickly searched for my secret entrance. I felt around for a loose pile of soil and dug it away revealing a small tunnel under the wall. I squeezed under the wall and brushed all the dirt back in the opening and packed it down. I then quietly ran down past a few houses and stopped at the small house with peeling pale blue paint. I grabbed the doorknob and wrenched the squeaky door open. I walked in and slammed the door behind me.

"Mom I'm home!" I yelled as I quickly made my way up the stairs, to my room.

"How was your day? You and Joe didn't get into any trouble did you?" she asked in response. I kept walking but replied.

"It was good and no, we didn't get in trouble" I reached the top of the stairs and walked into my room and closed the door behind me. This is another great example of my lying skills. Anytime I want to go outside the wall, I just tell her I'm with Joe, a fifteen year kid that I hang out with sometimes. His family got here around the same time that mine did and he kind of gravitated towards me because I was the only kid that was around his age at the time. I looked around my dilapidated room. Clothes piled in the closet, a disheveled bed laden with various blankets and a very uncomfortable pillow with a small nightstand next to it, and a weathered dresser with a bunch of various items I had collected on it, in the corner. I kicked my worn out steel toe boots off next to my bed. I checked my watch and sighed. It read 4:50. Perfect. Just enough time for a power nap. I trudged to my bed and fell onto it, the strained springs squeaking. I was exhausted. Just as I was about to doze off, I heard the wonderful screaming voice of my mother.

"Zane, dinner!" I groaned and sat up tiredly.

"Comin' mom!" I yelled back, stood up and sluggishly walked over and yanked open the door and slammed it shut behind me. I quickly made my way down the hallway, down the steps, and into the kitchen. My mom was standing at the sink, washing dishes, and my 8 year old sister was sitting at the table already eating what looked like beans…again.

"Ugh mom, we're eating beans again?" I groaned. She turned away from the sink and looked at me sternly, saying no words.

"But me and dad could easily go out in the woods and-"

"No" she said quickly, cutting me off.

"We are not going outside the walls just because you are tired of the food, Tommy told us that the farm is almost ready to be harvested so you'll have to wait till then, now sit down and get eating" I quickly sat down. I love my mom and all but you don't want to get her mad, it doesn't end well. I guess that means I still have to sneak around if I want to go outside. I grudgingly scooped the food into the bowl near my seat and sat down. As I started eating, I noticed my sister staring at me with a weird look on her face.

"Abby, what are you looking at?" I questioned as I proceeded to force the bland beans down.

She pointed at my shirt and talked with her mouth full.

"You have water all over your thirt" Oh yeah I forgot to say that she has a lisp. You have no idea how annoying that can get. I looked down at my white t shirt. My shirt was a little damp still, from the stream. I quickly came up with a lie to cover it.

"Oh Joe sprayed me with the hose " I said with a fake laugh. My ability to come up with quick lies is pretty good, don't you think? My sister swiftly dismissed it, and to my surprise, my mother didn't even say anything. I looked up at the clock in the wall. It read 5:20, usually dad was home at 5. Before I got the chance to ask where dad was, I heard the door open. Speak of the devil. I heard the sound of my dads boots clacking on the floor as he walked into the kitchen. He took off his construction hat and placed it on my sister's head.

"There's my little girl" he said smiling at Abby. She jumped up and hugged him.

After she pried herself off of him, he looked to me and I waved.

"Hey dad, whatsup?" I asked as I finished the dreadful, bland food.

"Just another long day at work" he answered as he walked over, kissed my mother, and sat down at the table. My dad was one of the construction workers down at the dam, so they usually kept him there pretty long because of the limited amount of people. As my mom finished cleaning the dishes, she turned around and leaned against the counter.

"So how is the dam holding up?" she asked while my dad filled his bowl with the remaining food.

"Well it's still going strong, but you know how that goes, I mean it's not like Steve is Einstein" he proceeded with a chuckle and started on his meal. My mom nodded and laughed too. I looked at my sister and she had a puzzled look on her face.

"Daddy, who ith Einthtein?" she asked with wide, curious eyes.

"Einstein was a very, very smart scientist that lived a long time ago" he answered, smiling.

"Oh" she said promptly and nodded. Even I didn't know who that was. I never went to school for obvious reasons, you know, cause of the infection and all. I had the opportunity to go because they had a functioning school here but I was never really into the idea of sitting around, doing nothing, for eight hours straight. Also, I'm 17 so there's really no point to go for one year. Survival skills are more important anyway.

"So what were you up to today, son?" my dad asked as he looked up from his food, to me.

"Oh, nothing much, just ran around with Joe, nothing special, may I be excused?" I said quickly. He just nodded. I stood up from the table and put my dishes in the sink. Before I even reached the steps the phone rang. I heard my dad stand up and grab the phone attached to the kitchen wall. I watched and listened as he talked.

"Hello?...Oh hey Tommy, how's it going?...Oh really?...Yeah, yeah we can do that….Alright...yep, yep, tomorrow works…..see you then, bye." He put the phone back into its holder on the wall and sat back down at the table.

"So what was that all about?" I asked him.

"Well you remember a couple months ago, when Tommy's brother and that girl walked up to the dam?" He asked me.

I nodded.

"Good, well they left and I guess they came back and Tommy wanted to know if they could stay here, so we are gonna have some new residents." He said smiling.

"And since their isn't many teenagers here I want you to bring her with you when you hang out with Joe" he continued.

"Ugh come on dad!" I groaned

"Stop, just do what I say" he snapped abruptly

"…..alright whatever" I said under my breath as I trudged back upstairs. This was going to suck.