The morning sun drenched the school in sunlight. The people at the camp were already up and about. Most were gathered in the cafeteria, eating breakfast and preparing for the day's tasks. The kids ran around, smiling and laughing. This was a reminder to all those who watched that the world was not completely lost. There was always a glimmer of hope in a sea of darkness. A young Asian carrying a large backpack quickly made his way across the cafeteria. His name was Allen Yu. He was young and vigorous. His positive attitude and smiling personality made him a favorite among those living at the school.
"Hey guys. Jake, I got all the supplies." Allen greeted the group. Jake, Hannah, and Janice were sitting at the table talking among themselves when Allen interrupted.
"You sure that's all of it?" Jacob asked.
"Yeah, positive."
"Thank god that's all." Hannah laughed. "Any more and Allen would be falling on his side."
"Ha..ha… funny." Allen retorted. "But really, can I put it down now? It really does weigh a ton."
"How are you going to carry that all the way outside if you can't even make it down the hallway?" Janice asked playfully as Allen dropped the bag on to the table.
"He'll need a cute little red wagon to wheel it around it." Hannah joked.
"I'm not seriously carrying this all the way up that hill, right?" Allen asked, concerned about what he might have to do.
"Yes Allen. You are." Jacob replied bluntly.
"Figured." Allen replied in disappointment. He picked up the bag off the table and slung it over his shoulder. Jacob stood up and picked up his own bag.
"Let's go, we have a barricade to fix up."
The sun shined down upon the football field. While the air was still crisp during the cool spring of New England, the sun offered some extra warmth. Andrew Carroll was bent over the ground, leaning on his knees. He struck the small shovel into the ground, digging a hole. Jarrod Lawrence sat in a chair on top of the press-box. The box was once used to provide commentary during high school football games every Friday night in the fall, but now it served as a look-out spot for the camp. Jarrod peered down at Andrew through the scope on top of the hunting rifle he held in his hands. He watched as Andrew's shovel struck the ground over and over again. Andrew then opened a small bag and dumped some of the bag's contents into the hole he had made.
"Hey!" A voice resonated from behind Jarrod, startling him.
"Dammit, you almost gave me a heart attack." Jarrod responded.
"Sorry." The voice belonged to Cassandra Johnson. Cassandra made her way over to Jarrod and sat down next to him. Her bright wavy blonde hair reached down past her shoulders. The light hair color made her smile shine even more radiantly. "I just came up here to pay you a visit."
"Oh really?" Jarrod asked playfully.
"There's really not much to do inside there. So yeah."
"And you think there's something to do out here?" Jarrod asked. "I've been sitting up here all morning watching Andrew dig holes. Sound fun?"
"No, not really." Cassandra laughed. "There's nothing wrong with some company though."
"I guess I can't argue with that logic." Jarrod smiled. The sun gleamed off of his curly blonde hair.
"It must be lonely to just sit up here all by yourself."
"You get used to it."
"You know… why haven't we spent more time together?"
"You tell me."
"Well, let's change that. Tonight, if you're free."
"You make it sound like there's actually something to do around here."
"So it's a plan?" Cassandra asked.
"Yes, it's a plan."
"I'll see you later then." Cassandra smiled. As she stood back up, she leaned in to Jarrod and kissed him on the cheek. Jarrod smirked. Cassandra disappeared behind him and headed back down the ladder into the press box. Jarrod picked up the hunting rifle and peered down the sight once again.
Karen and Brady stood outside the front of the school. Surrounding the area was a makeshift barricade constructed from scavenged material the National Guard had brought back for building the wall. The barricade provided a safe border from the dead and allowed the camp's inhabitants to go outside safely for a breath of fresh air. Brady stood looking out a hole that was cut into the barricade. A shotgun rested in his hands.
"There's nothing out there." Brady commented.
"That's a good thing though." Karen stood beside him, a pistol sat in its holster strapped around her waist.
"It just makes me nervous, you know?" Brady replied.
"Everyone is nervous these days. You can't rest easy."
"Remember the last time it was this calm? Only a few national guardsmen came back after a supply run."
Karen patted Brady on his back. "Everybody is here at the school. You have nothing to worry about."
"I'm just thinking, what if we lose the rest of the guardsmen? You can't stop worrying; anything can happen in the blink of an eye."
"If that happens we'll make it, we're strong." Karen assured him.
"I hope." Brady replied.
"We will." Karen said with much more strength.
Jacob and Allen pushed a part of the barricade located at the top of the hill back into place. Walkers had built up against the barricade and pushed the siding out of place, leaving a gap between the siding and the dumpster that were being used as part of the barricade. This allowed a few walkers to sneak through the opening and down the hill towards the school. The walkers were eliminated, but the siding had remained out of place.
"Ok, I think it's all set." Jacob said as he leaned against the barricade. "Now we just have to tie it to the dumpster to help keep it in place."
"How are we going to do that?" Allen questioned.
"The bungee cord. We'll tie it around the handle of the dumpster and then the pole that's bracing the barricade." Jacob explained using his hands to motion what they were going to do. "Can you grab the cord out of the bag and pass it here?"
"Yes sir." Allen replied obediently. He opened the bag by his feet and looked inside for a few seconds. He pulled out the cord and handed it over to Jacob.
"Thanks." Jacob grabbed the cord from Allen and began wrapping it through the handle on the side of the dumpster.
"Hey, I was thinking maybe I could come along on a supply run sometime." Allen said breaking the silence. "I hate being stuck here, left to do menial tasks."
"Do you think you can handle it?" Jacob asked.
"I think so. I'm pretty quick on my feet and I can handle myself. I'm smart. I'll know what to do."
"The rules are different when you're out there. Just because you're smart doesn't mean you'll know what to do. There's a lot of stuff that happens out there that you only know how to deal with because you've been there before."
"Well how am I supposed to learn if I never go out?" Allen questioned sternly.
"Fine…" Jacob paused. "You can come with us tomorrow. But you have to be careful. And I mean careful. We don't want to lose anybody out there."
"Thank you Jake." Allen said with gratitude. "I promise I won't be dead weight."
"Good." Jacob finished tying the ends of the bungee cord together. "The barricade is finished, let's get back."
"Sounds good." Allen replied.
"Oh yeah, a test for tomorrow. You have to carry the backpack with everything in it back to the school, I'll take the empty one." Jacob laughed.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Allen exclaimed.
"Nope, I'm not." Jacob said as he scooped up the empty bag. He started walking down the hill. "Come on."
The automobile shop was deserted. The door had been left open and cars were still in the parking lot. Mark Morse stood beside a car siphoning the gas out of the tank. His hair was jet black besides the signs of gray appearing above his ears. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Mike had been a mechanic before the outbreak happened. His hands worked with meticulous fashion as he tuned up and fixed cars. His knowledge about cars and other equipment had made him a vital asset to the camp. Ethan wandered around the parking lot searching the abandoned cars for any sort of supplies that could have been left in the trunk or seats. He kept one hand on his crossbow in case a stray walker stumbled into the shop's parking lot.
"You'd think there would be someone stupid enough to leave something important behind." Ethan commented.
"You don't give people enough credit." Mark replied. "But statistically, someone is bound to leave something behind."
Alexis, who was perched on the hood of one of the cars, laughed. "Can you explain to me the math behind that?"
"Unfortunately I cannot." Mark smiled.
"She says three words all of yesterday and now we can't get her to shut up." Ethan interjected.
"Hey!" Alexis replied. "I take offense."
"I ain't complaining."
"If you haven't noticed, Ethan has quite the way with words." Mark explained.
"I've noticed." Alexis shot Ethan a look. Ethan smirked and continued pacing around the parking lot. The group fell in to silence. Mark screwed the cap on to the container, which was now filled with gasoline, and placed the container in the back of a truck. He grabbed another empty container and began siphoning gas out of a different car.
"Soooooo." Alexis continued. "I haven't really learned anything about anyone yet. I mean I haven't really been here that long, but what do you guys like? Where are you from? How'd you get here? Stuff like that."
"Well I'm Marcus Morse." Mark said as he continued to siphon the gas. "I'm married to Amelia. We have two kids, Emily and Michael."
"I met Emily. Very nice." Alexis interjected.
"Raised them best I could." Mark smiled. "Well the national guard was making sweeps through neighborhoods when this all first started. They picked up me and my family and brought us to the school, same school my wife was a guidance counselor at. We were there before a lot of others who are there now. It's come a long way since then."
"What about you Ethan?" Alexis asked.
"There's nothing to tell." Ethan replied as he looked down, avoiding Alexis' eyes.
"There's got to be something. It's not like you're a ghost or anything." Alexis joked, but Ethan just continued looking down.
"There's nothing." Ethan said now looking up. "I don't have a family, not anymore. Not since those bastards… Like that one…" A walker had stumbled into the parking lot. It noticed the group standing by the cars and stumbled towards them. Ethan readied his crossbow and took aim. He pulled the trigger and a bolt flew silently through the air, hitting its mark. Ethan went over to the collapsed walker and pulled the bolt out of its head.
"I think it's time to get going, shall we?" Mark announced.
The heat of the sun beat down on Andrew as he continued to till the ground. Once the hole was large enough, he dropped a handful of seeds in. He pushed the dirt back in and moved a couple inches to the side and began digging again.
"Hey, I brought you some food!" Hannah called to Andrew. Andrew looked up and smiled.
"What a nice surprise, I was just about to come in and get some food myself." Andrew responded as he got to his feet.
"You've been working hard all day. You deserve it." Hannah smiled as she kissed Andrew. "You've made a lot of progress."
"Let's just hope they actually grow."
"They will honey." Hannah assured Andrew.
"I'm not a farmer. I worked for the agriculture department, but it never required anything like this."
"Honey." Hannah said shushing him. "You're doing fine."
"I hate seeing all these canned goods." Emily Morse said as she opened up the cabinet doors. She looked just like her mother when she was her age. "How about some fresh food for once?"
"I agree." Janice replied. She opened a can and poured it in to a large pot. "Or even a nice microwave pizza."
"I hated those, but you know what, I would kill for one right now." Emily laughed. "We've had chicken noodle soup for the past couple of days."
"I really wish I could bake." Amelia chimed in as she also emptied the contents of the cans into the pot. "Cookies, brownies. I was the mother who always had something for the kids' bake sales."
"Even homemade birthday cakes." Emily added. "They were never as good as the ones my friends had. They bought the cakes from the store and there's just something about that frosting.'
"At least she made it for you." Janice replied. "My mom never even got me a birthday present. We didn't exactly have the money for it when I was growing up."
"Well, after everything that has happened I've learned to appreciate a lot of thing much more." Emily smiled. "Except for Mike, I don't know about him. He still keeps trying to play tricks on me."
Amelia and Janice laughed. Emily brought over a handful of cans and placed them on the counter. She joined in with the others and helped pour the cans into the pot.
"If it weren't for this, I would be thinking about prom right now." Emily said sadly.
"Oh, honey." Amelia replied as she brushed Emily's hair with her hand.
"I'll never get to wear a dress and feel like a princess. I still don't even know if John's alive. There goes my date."
"I'm sure John's alive and I'm sure he's thinking of you too." Amelia reassured Emily. John had been Emily's boyfriend before the outbreak. "You know what, maybe we can arrange some kind of prom here. I don't know what we are going to do about dresses, but we can definitely find some kind of CD player for music."
"If it makes you feel any better Emily, that would be my first prom too." Janice added.
"Thanks mom, you're the best." Emily said hugging Amelia.
"Cheers!" Jacob exclaimed as he held up a bottle. Jacob and a few others were sitting in lawn chairs on the roof of the school. A small fire was going and the group held drinks in their hands.
"To what?" Ethan asked. "Jarrod getting some?"
"Hell yeah." Brady added. "How do we even know though?"
"I told you. I saw them with my own two eyes." Ethan replied. "Walked passed them on my way up. They were going into Cassandra's room."
"And you know Cassandra." Jacob added. "She can be all over the place."
"I don't think there's one guy here she hasn't come on to." Brady said.
"Um, she never has to me." Allen replied. The group erupted into laughter and then settled into silence. The fire slowly burned and the flames reflected off each person's eyes. The sound of a door opening and the emergence of a head caught everyone's attention. Alexis emerged through the doorway.
"Hey, guys." Alexis greeted.
"What are you doing? This is invite-only." Jacob laughed.
"I didn't know." Alexis replied dejected.
"It's ok. Come on over!" Ethan said, signaling Alexis over with his hand. "They're just playing with you."
Alexis walked over and took a seat next to Ethan. She stared into the flames for a couple seconds before speaking up. "What do you guys do up here?"
"Forget about how shitty the world is now." Ethan replied.
"I hear ya." Alexis said. "Before you guys found me, I was all alone. I didn't have anyone to talk to or laugh with. I had a group, but we got split up. Those things, whatever they are…"
"We call them walkers." Brady interrupted.
"Those walkers, they tear everything apart." Alexis continued. "People, buildings, groups, families, everything."
"And that's why we come up here." Jacob said. "You can't go all this time without laughing once."