The beginning

The splashing sounds of water betrays his arrival, he must've left work early to be here so soon. I get up from the bedside chair on which I've been sitting one for quite some time now.
I just love watching him sleep, my right hand reached in the white crib as I stroke his soft little pink head before turning and closing the door behind me. He'll probably stay asleep for at least one more hour I think as I head over to the kitchen to fill two glasses with lemonade.
I put them on the counter before heading into the hall to get some soap out of the closet, grabbing my favorite red sweater on my way back, never feeling comfortable without it near me.

Between the two glasses, the soap and my sweater my hands are pretty full when I near the little lake at the back of the house. So when my brother's head bobs up and squirts me with a beam of water I nearly drop the glasses right there and then.
"Cut it out. I'm holding glass here!. Besides I don't want to catch a cold" I squeel at him as I put the glasses and the soap down at the edge of the lake. Putting my sweater on in a state of demonstration.

"Well come on in then" He laughs back at me as he pats the water beside him and swims over to get the soap.

I instead sit down by the water side "You know that makes no sense at all?" I smirk back at him while quickly snatching the piece of soap before he get's to it. "What are you doing here again anyway? And on this time?" I put a accusing tone in my voice.
Knowing he'll think he's in trouble. Though he's the older one I've always been more grown up. Making sure he keeps his promises and behaves as good as he possibly can.

"Come on Gab! Don't start nagging about that now. Let me just enjoy my bath for a minute okay? Besides dad's fine." His hand reaches for the soap but I only put my arm up higher and since he is in the water that makes me taller then him.

"Were you on fence duty today?" I already know they were, I just want him to say it so he'll know he's in even more trouble.

"Yes, but we did most of the fence together already. The only part doing was the one at the back here. He said he would do it so I could catch you here. Can I please get my soap now?" He does the puppy dog face, the one he knows I can't refuse.

"Fine, go fetch little puppy" I throw the bar over his head into the water, he splashes me and dives after it.

I kick my shoes out and dangle my feet in the cool water, enjoying the way the water rocks against my legs. When my brother is back up he swims back over to me. Handing me the bar of soap to wash his hair as he takes one of the glasses. I gently start scrubbing his hair with the soap, feeling the dark brown strands of hair slipping through my fingers. "You know mom will get crazy mad when she hears you left work early and left dad." I try again, hoping somehow responsibility will start to kick in and he will stop doing it.

'Let it go Gab he doesn't mind, beside I need my rest for tomorow. Me and a bunch of guys are going to the beach remember. You sure you don't want to come? You know I'll protect you. And it's not even that dangerous when you don't linger from the path' He tries to face me but I push his face away pretending as if I'm still busy cleaning his hair.

"You know I don't want to go. I wish you wouldn't go either." I say my voice turning lower as I fight back tears.
"Don't you remember how close it was last time we went..?" The only time I went.

I still remember the day like it was yesterday. After all it was the day I nearly lost my father.
I was about ten and my brother twelve when my Dad decided it was time for us to see the ocean, the beach and all it's glory.

The trip to get there wasn't that bad although we needed to be careful and quiet. It was still raining a bit and my dad had rolled us all in mud to cover our scent as best as possible but we still came across a few mudo. My dad and brother got rid of them easily and quickly though so there wasn't much of a worry. We stayed on the path and so it didn't take long for us to reach the beach.

But when we got out of the forest and my feet felt the soft sand for the first time it was absolute chaos. There were mudo every where walking into the ocean trying to reach the boats who where throwing big exploding things onto them. I screamed a terrible high pitched scream and they all stared at us and slowly began walking out of the ocean heads bobbing as the waves splashed over them.

My father said something to my brother but I wasn't paying attention my whole mind set on the gruesome creatures walking towards us hands reaching as moans for our flesh came out of their broken mouths. Before I knew it my brother grabbed my hand and pulled me along the path back to the gate. I heard my father running after us while fighting back the mudo. When we were nearly at the gate my father stopped, facing the mudo head on as my brother tried to open the gate and hold me in place at the same time.

I was just standing there frozen. As reality slowly hit in I tried to run to my dad to help him or drag him back I don't know, but the gate openend and my brother dragged me in. As soon as my father saw that we were safe he ran after us telling Nigel to shut the gate. He just slipped inside before the gate fell shut. The mudo left scrambling at the fences moaning for our flesh.

My pleading teary eyes and cries had made dad promise never to go back ever again. He was getting to old for it anyway.
They didn't seem to have the same effect on Nigel though and he always said he would go back some day cause he wanted to swim in that ocean.

"Aah come on Gab you know dad said we just caught the beach at a bad time. It's not always like that." He says putting his glass down before swimming away from me, rinsing the soap from his hair.

"I don't understand why you want to leave the forest. There's nothing out there but mudo. There're no fences there." I say preparing for the discussion we always have. Is it better inside the forest or out? I reach for my glass and take a sip of my drink before I continue "I mean the numbers say the same thing, we're at the beginning so the safest place should be the end" I hold my head high pretending I know what I'm talking about as if it's the simplest thing in the world. Where as the truth is I'm as lost to what is deeper in the woods as the rest of the village.

"Can you hear yourself? How can the END be the safest place? I mean it's the END" He asks in disbelieve as he scrubs the bar of soap over his body.

"Well that depends to what the road leads to. I mean think of the road to heaven." I say with a smirk thinking I got him while putting my glass cupping my glass in both my hands. He chuckles way too loudly "You know if it's a road to heaven that means you have to be dead to be on it"

My smile falters as I hadn't really thought of that "Okay not heaven but maybe just to a safe place, a place without the mudo, without the infection. I mean why would they build a road if it doesn't lead to something better?"

"I don't know" He simply says shrugging his shoulders "Did you bring a towel?" I get up putting my shoes back on and had back in the house to get his towel. Still pondering over this road business. When I get back he's already out of the lake and I throw the towel at him.

It's the end of the conversation, I know it. He doesn't like discussing questions that we will never have an answer to. Well, will never have an answer for as long as we don't explore. And of course we won't cause we got it good out here. Why would we want to risk something else?

And that's when we hear it. I mean we hear it all the time cause the mudo always surround the fences. But we are not near enough to a fence for the moan to be so loud.

Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think?
Critism is welcome as I'd like to improve :)