A/N: I'm incredibly sorry that I haven't written for a long while. I was on vacation from school, and whenever that happens I get a horrible case of writer's block. I've got a few more chapters ready to go already, so I should be able to keep it going for a while. Again, terribly sorry that I haven't written. Hope you enjoy what I finally did get done!
Melissa woke up panting, her wild heartbeat slowing as she realized she'd only had a nightmare. She rolled over, coughing slightly as the movement stirred the dust. She stared out at the moonlit room, taking in what the silvery light showed. She sighed, wishing she was sleeping instead, but sleep was not coming easily to her after her nightmares.
She spied a bookshelf in the corner of the room after a little. She stood up, quietly moving across the room until she was in front of it. Squinting in the moonlight, she gazed at all the different books on the shelf. She hadn't read at all since the start of the apocalypse, and now she felt a nagging urge to do so, just to calm herself down. "Just a small break from reality," Melissa muttered. A story where the good guys win, Melissa thought to herself. That's what I need.
She browsed through the titles until she actually found her favorite book. "Aha!" she murmured as she pulled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone off of the shelf. It was well-worn, as if it had been read many times by its previous owner. She moved over until she was in front of the window, letting the moonlight shine down over her shoulder onto the pages.
Melissa opened the book up, sighing softly as she read the first few words, so familiar to her. She read for a while, before thinking of Punk downstairs. She might as well go take over the watch if she wasn't going to be sleeping.
Pushing herself to her feet, she left the room and made her way down the stairs. She found Punk in the kitchen like he said he'd be. He had found a single candle and lit it, lighting up part of the kitchen in a warm golden glow. He was sitting on the counter over by a window, staring out at the scenery behind the glass.
"What are you looking at?" Melissa asked curiously.
Punk started in surprise. "Just checking to make sure there were no zombies sneaking up on us. We don't really have much in the way of weapons, besides the guns, and those are too damn loud for my liking."
"Maybe we should look around in the morning," Melissa suggested.
"Speaking of looking around," Punk said as he jumped down off of the counter, "I did some of that. That's I how I found the candle." He pointed at the single candle. "And…" He drew the word out. "I also found some canned food!" He opened up a door, which obviously was the pantry, because it was stacked full of dry goods.
Melissa stared at the food for a moment before speaking. "You just hit the jackpot!"
"I know I did," Punk said smugly. "And with everything still being left out in this house, there probably should be a backpack or two to carry everything in."
"If it didn't attract zombies, I'd probably be screaming for joy right about now," Melissa said with a small laugh. She eyed a can of peaches. "…I don't think it would hurt to eat one or two of them, would it?"
"We won't be able to carry out all of it, even if the Shield turned up," Punk confirmed.
"Do you think they will?" Melissa asked, overcome with a wave of guilt as she realized she hadn't thought of them in hours.
"They can take care of themselves," Punk assured her, echoing his words from earlier. "We're heading back to the car tomorrow, so we'll probably see them by then."
"Promise?" Melissa asked hopefully, knowing it really wasn't within Punk's power to promise.
"Melissa…" Punk started.
"I know," Melissa mumbled. "I just wish there was a way to know that they're okay."
Punk nodded. "I do too. But there's nothing we can do about it, and worrying isn't going to help."
Melissa sighed. "I know. Thanks anyways." She glanced up, looking at Punk, who seemed exhausted. "Why don't you go sleep? I can keep watch the rest of the night." She knew she wasn't going to sleep after the nightmares that had woken her earlier.
Punk shrugged. "I'm not ready to sleep just yet. I'm going to go look for some backpacks, and maybe a flashlight. There's probably tons of stuff lying around, and I'm going to find it."
"Want me to help at all?" Melissa asked.
"As long as you remember to check for zombies every once in a while. I don't really want to be snuck up on by something that doesn't even bother with stealth." With that Punk left the kitchen, heading into what Melissa thought might be the dining room.
She glanced out the window once, looking for any zombies. Not seeing any, she followed Punk, trying not to run into anything as the light from the lone candle faded. She pushed open the swinging door, gazing around the dark room. A large dining table sat in the middle of the room, taking up most of the available space. Punk was over by a fancy cupboard in the corner, searching through it. The sound of clinking dishes reached her, and she joined him. She leaned up against the table. "I don't think there's going to be anything in there," she commented.
"You never know. People put things in the weirdest places," Punk muttered.
"That's true," Melissa said with a small laugh. "My parents liked to keep the peanut butter with the spices. I never figured out why."
"Maybe they wanted spicy peanut butter?" Punk suggested. He stood up, carefully balancing himself on the cupboard in the dark. "Nothing here," he said, referring to the cupboard.
"To the next room!" Melissa declared with another laugh. "It's like an insane treasure hunt!"
"You're insane for thinking it's a treasure hunt," Punk muttered.
Melissa stuck her tongue out at Punk, knowing full well that he wouldn't see it in the dark.
Punk led them out of the dining room through another door, which opened up on the living room. "You search over there," Punk told her, pointing to a small end table, which sat like a small lurking animal in the dark.
Melissa headed over to the end table, cursing softly as she ran her shin into the coffee table in front of the couch. She kneeled down in front of the end table, opening the small cabinet doors. She squinted in the darkness, trying to see what might be inside. She decided she would have to feel the objects out; there was no other way she could really determine what the objects were in the dark. She carefully reached inside, thinking for a moment that there were probably spiders inside. She suppressed a shudder, carefully pulling out the first object.
There only ended up being magazines and a few books inside; there wasn't anything that could really help them, unless she wanted to learn how to decorate a home, which wasn't exactly at the top of her list of priorities at the moment.
She left the living room for a moment, going back to the kitchen to look out the window for zombies. There were none, and so she headed back into the living room. She could dimly see Punk rummaging through a cupboard under the stairs. "Find anything?" she asked as she came up behind him.
In response, a bright light was shone in her eyes; Punk had found a flashlight.
After Punk turned the flashlight off, Melissa rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of the blinking spots that overlaid her vision. "Did you really have to do that?" she grumbled.
"Yes."
Melissa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You find anything else good?"
"I found another flashlight, plus a few bags. One or two of them should work for us," Punk told her.
"Cool," Melissa said with a yawn.
"Why don't you go back to bed?" Punk offered. "I don't mind keeping watch."
Melissa shook her head. "Nah. You need some sleep. I'll be in the kitchen."
Punk shrugged in the darkness. "If you're sure."
Melissa nodded. "I've got a book I can read if I get bored."
"I'll be upstairs then," Punk said, heading for the foot of the stairs, yawning as he went. Melissa waited until he had made it up the stairs, and then headed back to the kitchen, still lit by the lone candle. She pushed herself up onto the counter where Punk had been sitting, opening up the book she'd left earlier. She gazed out the window once more before she started reading, taking a temporary break from the nightmarish world that had become her reality.