BloodGutsandChocolatePudding You're welcome!

Blood on my Machete I can't believe you came here! It seriously means the world to me. Drag on as far as you want, seriously. It is so helpful to me. Thank you!

DarthGranola Yeah. It's a challenge to write.

ILoveGoten1999 You are great and amazing.

eli-XD-o Thank you!

inazumahunter Glad you're still around, thanks. And fuck, I'm so glad you like her.

As April rolls in, I go to school, or swim in the lake with my friends. I read so many books that sometimes there are whole days lost to them, and a few days ago, we celebrated Carl's fifteenth birthday. Jessie made a banner. Carol made corn casserole and cookies, since there weren't enough ingredients to make a cake. He totally loved it. For gifts, we all got him things that he could use for his art; a drawing pad, pencils, paints, watercolours, paintbrushes, his own carving knife and some blocks of wood found out in the forest, and even a small, desk-easel that Jessie helped me make for him. He couldn't believe it, and has been so distracted in the last few days that I've hardly seen him. But that's okay. I've been busy, too, working, like today.

I'm going on a warehouse run to look for batteries. The electricity went out yesterday. Me and Mikey were playing pool in his garage together, since everyone else was busy or not around, and everything suddenly went black.

"Whoa..."

I could hear him feeling around the room for me, knocking over pool cues — we both made an effort to put them back in the same place. Then, on the way back upstairs, we staggered out into the sunlight, laughing and acting all dramatic about it. Nicholas was standing in the living room, holding his breakfast and still in his pyjamas. He didn't look impressed.

Mikey chuckled. "There's a power-cut."

Nicholas looked like he already knew this. "I'll talk to Eugene. Hey, are the cues back where they belong?"

"Yes," Mickey groaned.

Nicholas huffed, then went into the dining room to eat — Mikey bickered with his dad a lot, but not like Ron did with his. I knew so because I asked if Nicholas ever beat him, and he said, "No way, man."

I didn't say anything else.

Now, I check out my Glock, some ammo, my knife, and my machete from the armoury. Enid gives me a cup of coffee because I drink coffee now, and then I head for Deanna's house with the others.

"Hello," Deanna says as we arrive. I get to helping Maggie, Tara, Glenn, Nicholas, and Aiden in loading the eagle truck, and a little while later Eugene comes to help. Noah, too, who has fully recovered from his surgery. He'll have his limp for the rest of his life, but at least it's not in pain anymore.

"Did you get the job?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he says, showing me grey notebook. "Reg gave it to me to write down the plans for building designs."

I smile, then toss a dish towel at Tara when she asks for it. Eugene pulls out an empty battery from his supply bag, the same battery we're looking for today.

Noah presents him with a handgun.

"Oh, no thank you," Eugene says.

"Jus' take it," Nicholas grumbles.

"You gotta protect yourself," Noah adds.

"Not if I don't go!" Eugene argues.

"Not driving all that way so we can just drive back with the wrong shit," Aiden tells him.

"It's a dozen of these..." Eugene holds up the empty battery. "They're consistent in appearance across manufacturers. This shit will be right. I... I will install said shit. Then that grid will be fully operational again."

Noah gives him an exasperated look and pushes the gun into his chest. Eugene takes it, giving me a dissatisfied glare when I snicker.

"Heard you talking to Nell last night," Tara tells Noah, tossing a supply bag his way, "what's her story?"

"Why'd you ask?" Noah asks.

"No reason," Tara teases.

"M-hm..."

Tara scoffs at him. "What, it's an innocent question!" She grabs him. "Don't make me hurt you."

Maggie laughs at them. I check through a rifle case.

"Use this," Maggie tells me, handing me a homemade silencer. It's made from the end of an aluminium baseball bat. "It was Carl's."

"Whoa..."

Aiden's saying goodbye to his parents.

Maggie asks me, "Carl not coming to say goodbye?"

I shake my head. "He doesn't like goodbyes. Plus, I thought I'd let him sleep in."

"That everything?" Glenn asks us all. We all nod or something similar. Glenn and Maggie kiss, then goes to talk to Deanna and Reg. I climb into the truck with Noah, Tara and Nicholas.

"Daylight's burning — let's go," Aiden yells from the driver's door. Glenn gets in the truck with us. The engine starts. Eugene gets in, too, looking mortified. Maggie watches from outside.

"Seriously, though, about Nell," Tara asks, "what's her story?"

Noah looks exhausted, shaking his head and twisting his own silencer onto his gun. Then, suddenly, music blasts from the stereo. I'm so used to it that I don't even flinch — just put my hands to my ears and sigh.

"Great!" Noah shouts. "Another mix."

Tara throws her hands up. Glenn laughs. I can hear through my palms the dubstep and the female, British voice saying things like: 'Is she hotter than me? Would you fuck me? Are you gay?' and 'You blocked me on Facebook and now you're going to die.'

"Helps draw them away!" Glenn shouts, always trying to find the silver lining. Grinning, I sit back on the space of truck floor beside Tara, watching Alexandria disappear through the back window.

"Hold this a sec?" Noah tells me at some point later, pushing his notebook into my chest while he rummages through one of the supply bags.

"I'm gonna snoop," I say, and either Noah doesn't hear or he doesn't care, so I flip open his notebook and read the first page. There are just four words: "This is the beginning..."

Notes

Song was Internet Friends by Knife Party. Also, I don't really believe in horoscopes but I still think Carl fits a total Aires steriotype lol. Coincidently I think Oliver fits his Lebra one too. I hate myself.

Happy reading.