Been a while.. Summer, School, and trying to get back in the mood. But here I am, and here we go...
Sometimes, one finds themselves in unwanted situations. Sometimes, we are forced to do things we don't want to do, or don't like doing. Sometimes, out lives get so fucked up, the only sane bits we cling to would be considered insane by any other measures.
Tonight was going to be one of those nights. Columbus could tell already, and it was obvious to his partner he wasn't going to be a happy camper.
Pun intended.
The week had started simple some stores, check out some landmarks, clean the guns, make sure no hordes were in sight, yadda yadda..
And then Tallahassee declared it was deer hunting season.
Their week seemed to have gotten worse from there. Being woken up every morning at about 4:30 am wasn't doing well for Columbus, and neither was being dragged out into the middle of some woods (even with Tallahassee's assurance it was zombie free) to sit in a tree, with a runny nose, shivering in the cold, being told to stay quiet, for some animal they could find dead on the side of the road anyways.
Aaaand it was after two days of this Tallahassee declared they weren't in the spirit of it yet, and decided they should make a camp. Camp. With tents. And no running water. In the middle of the woods. So they could get better in tune with nature or some shit, to "think like the deer.. be the deer.. so we can shoot the deer's ass."
Columbus was on edge for a few reasons in this little camp... First off was the whole outside portion of it. Second off was all the diseases and the germs they were being exposed to. Third was the vulnerability of their location.
Somehow, Columbus forced himself past the first three.
The fourth reason.. he had a few more problems with. For reasons he didn't like to speculate on, he didn't like fire. Maybe it was because Ohio had burned to the ground, maybe he just didn't like.. Either way, every night, Tallahassee insisted on making the biggest bonfire he possibly could. Which was a violation of The Rules as it was, being bright and attractive, a zombie lure, but Columbus always put himself to bed early on those nights.
The snap and crackle of the fire.. The hiss as sap boiled from logs, the soft whoosh as logs gave out and the fire blazed brighter..
The thought that those tents could and would all too easily catch fire and burn down around them, bringing them to a painful, slow, and probably agonizing death was present in his mind. Sighing, Columbus rolled over, from one side of his sleeping bag to the other. Sleep was hard enough to come by. Even harder with being woken up so early for Tallahassee's "hunting season". But it was impossible with the fear the fire could kill them in the night.
Eventually, Tallahassee pieced it together. And that night, he didn't make his usual bonfire. Curious as to what was different on this night, Columbus allowed himself to stay up a little later. One crazy redneck's grin later, and he found himself being convinced to roast a marshamallow.
Sure.. It was cold as hell. Or rather, cold as the inverse of Hell.. but sitting by the fire, quiet, meticulously watching his marshmallow as it reached the pinnacle of golden brown toasted perfection, Tallahassee next to him wondering out loud what a s'more'd twinkie would taste like, Columbus found himself smiling warmly.
And later, after he had stuffed himself full of chocolately, marshmallowed, graham cracker goodness, a few thoughts occured to his barely awake mind.
He'd never made s'mores homemade over a fire like this before.. and it had been fun.. He'd never even really sat around just a good ol' campfire either.
Columbus figured that it started to make small fires okay in his book.