While Matt was hunting with Daryl I had clothes to do and water to gather while watching Sam and Ethan myself. I first fed Ethan when he woke up for his bottle. While I was feeding Ethan Sam played with his toy cars on the floor. I burped and changed Ethan before setting him down in his moses basket while I gather the dirty clothes to wash at the lake. I put all the clothes into a laundry basket and added the laundry detergent on top from where I stored it in the side of the closet. I carried it into the bathroom to where the washer and dryer was and started the first load.
Ethan was asleep in his moses basket on the couch with Sam in the floor playing with his toys. I smiled and saw it was past 1 so I started on lunch. I opened a can of chili beans, baked beans, and green beans putting them into a pot with 2 cups of water, salt, pepper, and a little bit of ketchup not much but a little bit. I let the beans cooked until they were warm before adding the already cooked deer meat that I had left that was in the fridge. This would feed us for lunch the next few days.
I took Ethan's moses basket and put in the bedroom so that he could sleep while Sam and I ate and then worked on some school work. I still wanted my children to be able to do read, write, math, science, history, along with hunting, tracking, weapons training, and survival training a long with anything else I could teach them to survive this new world. I dished out me and Sam a bowl of this bean soup I had made up into two bowls and put them on the table for us to eat. I called Sam over to the table to eat with me. I put on some NCIS for us to watch.
Sam and Matt both like the mystery to the show from me and their dad Michael. I like that they had gotten their looks from their father. Of course Ethan and Sam looked more like Michael then Matt did. Matt took more after me look wise but personality he was his father image. Ethan looked just like Michael did as a baby but was more like me personality wise. Sam was the perfect match between the both of us. He was smart, kind, strong willed like his father but also wise, natural hunter and survival like me. Both Matt and Sam were naturals when it came to being in the woods and learning survival things. I hoped Ethan was the same way.
After eating I gave Sam a book on edible plants and berries to look over. It showed pictures of the plants and told what they were used for and why. I washed out the dishes and put them up to dry before putting the left over soup into a tupperware and putting it in the fridge. I grabbed Me and Sam a bottle of tea and sat down at the table beside him. I read the book to him and showed him the pictures of the plant along with its uses and how and were to find the plant. After a few plants I would asked him questions on a plant and he would have to tell me which one i was talking about. We did this for half an hour before I called quits and had him work on his letters and numbers.
I was picking up survival books and replaced them with work books for children in kindergarten. I knew that Sam wasn't in kindergarten but he had always been ahead of his age all my boys were Matt was only ten and already two grades ahead of his classmates. I kept them in the correct grade just worked them harder on survival training, hunting, tracking, and weapons training at home. The teachers seemed to challenged him more in class to which was fine with me. He still got along with most his classmates. Matt like me had trouble in Math and some science, but took after his father in the loving history and love for school area.
I was proud of all my children they all were independent even Ethan only wanted attention when he was hungry or needed a diaper change but I gave him more attention then he wanted most the time but he didn't complain about it. I sat at the table with Sam while he went over his shapes, colors, and numbers that all he really did and read a little. After going through all them about 5 times I called it quits and let him go do what he wanted. I was putting away his school books in his trunk when Ethan started crying.
I went to grab him and found that he was wide awake moving around in his moses basket clearly wanting to play. I smiled as I picked him up and took him to the living room. Sam was playing on the floor with his paw patrol toys. I grabbed Ethan's bouncy seat from between the booth and couch their was a small space just big enough for it to fit. I put Ethan in his bouncy seat to play. I was cleaning up here and there before changing over the laundry and putting in the second and last load of clothes that I had. I liked to stay on top of them so that I didn't have to spend all day washing clothes. I got a knock on my door to find Glenn standing there.
"Hello Glenn what can I do for you." I asked before turning to check on Ethan and Sam.
"Sam don't do that I just picked up those crayons don't get them all back out at once. Only get the one your going to color with." I told him.
"Sorry what you need." I asked him turning back to Glenn who was waiting to talk to me.
"Shane wants me to go on a supply run but I haven't killed one of those things yet." Glenn said.
"Just go for the head and a long distance weapons are better. It just like in the video games you have to kill the brain" I told him smile at the last part.
"Sam what did I just tell you don't dump out the whole box or you won't be coloring at all." I told him.
"Where is Shane sending you." I asked.
"We need camping supplies and most of us don't have anything but the clothes on our backs." Glenn said.
"I would go with you but I have Sam and Ethan to look after." I told him sadly.
"How could I get you to come with me." Glenn asked.
" I would have to wait until Matt got back, then I still couldn't be gone longer then a few hours tops. Matt can look after Sam and Ethan but he isn't me." I told Glenn.
"Okay so when will he be back because Shane wants us to leave soon." Glenn asked.
"When he gets back from hunting we can go." I told him
"Okay we can wait a few hours." Glenn said leaving.
Ethan started crying about an hour later for his next bottle. I was feeding Ethan when Matt returned with 6 squirrels and a rabbit. I was smiling as he arrived at the trailer. I was so proud of him and I could tell that he was proud of himself as well. I notice Daryl had only caught 5 rabbits. I told Matt to take a shower then I wanted to talk to him. I burped Ethan before sitting him on my hip and I started to gather my bag for the run. I grabbed my military bag and put a change of clothes into the bag along with extra gun and ammo. I put some cans of food in to also in case I got stuck out later then what I was hoping for. Matt was coming out the bedroom dressed in fresh clothes then drying his hair with a towel. I called him over and handed him a freshly fed and changed Ethan.
"Matt can you watch your brothers for me Glenn wants me to go the supply run with him since this is his first one. I will be gone a few hours maybe over night tops. If I'm gone over night eat a can of peas or corn each for supper Ethan will need to be fed every 3-4 hours as well as diaper changed. Do you thank you can handle that if I have to stay gone over night." I asked him concerned that it would be too much.
"Yeah Mom I can do it. I promise everything will be fine. Plus I watch Ethan for hours by myself, changed his diaper and fed him now I'm just doing it all together." Matt said .
"Okay I will be back soon promise." I told him kissing him and Ethan who he was holding on the head.
"Sam I'm going out for a bit Matt is in charge what he says goes. If he says hide, you hide, if he says stop coloring and go to bed you do it understand." I asked him kissing him on the head.
"Yeah momma I understand." he siad looking up from coloring smiling at me.
I nodded before putting my boots and leather jacket on. I grabbed my bow and arrows from beside the door as I was walking out. I looked back to find Matt standing there holding Ethan in his arms. I also notice that Shane and Lori were watching me from the main camp. I shut the Rv door behind me as I heard Matt locked the doors behind me. I walked over to where Glenn and T-dog were standing beside a church van talking to one another. Shane was now following me over to Glenn and T-dog. I could that he wasn't happy but I didn't care Glenn had asked me and I told him I would so I was going to.
"Where do you think your going" Shane asked when he reached me.
"Glenn asked if I would go with him on the supply run and I said when Matt got back to watch Sam and Ethan I would be ready to go." I told him hoping in the passenger seat of the van.
"You can't leave your kids alone." Lori demanded behind Shane.
"Yes I can their my kids plus how do you think I work two jobs and raise 3 kids by myself. Matt has watch his bothers plenty of times. I don't need you to tell me how to raise my kids when I don't do that to you." I told her as Glenn was packing up bags to put supplies in.
"Glenn do you know how much of everything we need like how many tents, sleeping bags, cooking ware, blankets, water, food, and weapons. You should have a list already made up and ready to go." Asked him adding the last part.
"Shane said get as many as they had." Glenn said.
"Shane is going to get you guys killed. He has absolutely no experience in being in the middle of a war and that is exactly where we are in the middle of a war." I told them as we drove off.
I made them stop at the Dixon camp where Merle was sitting. "Merle I have a job for you." I called from the van getting his attention.
"I ain't no one errand boy." He said.
"I give two 6 packs of beer if you keep Shane and Lori out of my Rv and my supplies while I'm gone." I told him offering up something I knew he couldn't refuse.
"Fine but I want them cold too." He said surprising Glenn and T-dog.
"Deal. Matt and the boys are in there." I told him as we drove off.
"Your really trust Merle that much." T-Dog asked me.
"No but I trust his need for alcohol that much." I told him getting a laugh from him and Glenn.
We were driving to the small hunting store that I had gotten supplies from the week before. I can't believe that they waited this long to get camping supplies for the group but Shane and Lori already had a tent they had got from Dale so they didn't care if the rest of the people had shelter or not I guess everyone else had been sleeping on the ground under the stars or in their cars the first few nights. I could already tell that Shane wasn't going to be a good leader he should have given his tent up for the women and children to sleep in not his family.
Any real man would have given up his spot up for another woman or child that didn't have some where to sleep but he didn't it. We were now pulling in to the store parking lot and it looked the same but the few walkers that were wondering around. I grabbed my bow and got an arrow ready as Glenn stopped the van I shot an arrow through one of their heads that was closest to the van leaving two for the boys to kill that were farther off.
"Glenn you take one and T-dog will take the other go for head. Do a quick strike to the eye socket will be best place to then retreat and watch out for it's hands your dead if it scratches you." I told them tips on how to kill it.
Glenn ran forward first with his baseball bat hitting it across the head knocking it to the group but not hard enough to kill it. He backed away and it started moving causing him to hit it two more times before blood splatter on his pants as he broke the skull and killed it. T-dog was shocked but advanced on his walker next having a long ax. He ran forward and hit her over the head with the ax twice killing her after the third time. I grabbed my arrow out of the dead walker head. I was going to the door with Glenn and T-dog behind me. I knocked on the door to draw out any walkers that were hiding inside out. I waited a about a minuet before going in the store with my bow raised and ready to fire.
The store was clean and still had lots of supplies. I put my bow on my back and started getting tents. I grabbed three the first go around. I made sure they were several different sizes to. Glenn started getting the camping gear while T-dog was putting medical supplies into a bag all that was left was band aids and some itch cream. I put all the tents into the back of the van that Glenn had backed up to the door of the store so that we could load supplies into it easier. I was now packing the van full of supplies that Glenn and T-dog gave me. I was stacking cooking supplies into the van when I heard the moans of two more walkers showing up.
I grabbed my bow and got out of the van shooting them both in the head as Glenn and T-dog loaded the last round of supplies into the van. It was half full now and we still didn't have food or water and Shane wanted that more then he did shelter so now we would have to find another store for food now. I had already raided the closet gas station so there wasn't any other stores for miles and I still had boys that need to be fed, bathed, and put to bed in a few hours so I didn't have time to go all the way to the closet town to get supplies and still make it back in time.
"Guys we don't have time to get food before dark so lets head back Matt is watching both his brothers by himself." I told them as Glenn started the van
"But Shane said to come back with food and Shelter not just shelter." T-dog said.
"I need to get back to the boys. I agreed to help you go to the hunting store and I did now take me back and if you still want to go then you can." I told them
We arrived back at camp about a 30 minuets later. I grabbed my bow and backpack and got out of the car and went to the Rv. I found Ethan was napping while Sam and Matt watched some spiderman movie. I smiled at them and went to unpack my bag from the trip. I put some of medical supplies from the store along with the left over canned food that was there in my bag without the others seeing me. I put the medical supplies in the medical supply box in my closet before putting the food in the free space in the cabinet. I went and sat down on the couch and started watching tv with the boys. I got a loud knock on my door about an hour after I got back. Lori was standing there with a basket of clothes.
"What do you want." I asked her.
"The women are going to wash clothes you have to come help since your part of the group." Lori said
"I already washed my clothes so I don't have any reason to go down to the lake. Plus I can't bring three kids down to the lake to watch women wash clothes." I told her shifting so she couldn't see inside the door.
"You need to pitch in around camp us women are doing all the work while you sit around and do nothing it's not fair to the other women." Lori said getting pissy with me.
"I went on a supply run today to get supplies the camp needed that is pitching in plus you don't have three kids that need looking after all day every day." I told her rudely as Ethan started crying.
"I have a baby to take care of, dinner to make, and kids to put to bed so I need to go." I told her shutting the door.
I walked over to the moses basket and picked up Ethan before heading to the fridge to grab a bottle to feed him. I was feeding him his bottle when Sam asked "Momma when dinner was going to be done."
"In a few minuets I will start warming it up now." I told him.
I was feeding Ethan in one arm and started cooking the squirrel that Matt had caught that day. I burped Ethan while the meat cooked and put him on my hip while Matt got out the left over lunch so we add the cooked meat to it for dinner. I was warming it all up when Ethan was ready for a diaper changed so I left Matt to watch the food while I changed his diaper. I was now putting food into bowls for Me, Sam and Matt to eat. i also gave each of us one tortilla shell to go along with the food. I ate with Ethan asleep in one arm. After eating I laid Ethan down in his basket to sleep while I did the dishes. I notice the water pressure was getting low so I looked at the water heater and saw we were running low on water. I grabbed Ethan and put him in his sling before grabbing the two water jugs .
Matt would carry the small one while I got the bigger one. I was walking down to the lake to get water with Sam and Matt trailing behind me with their own small jugs to get water in. I could feel everyone watching us as we walked through camp. Lori and Shane both paid extra attention to us. The two never took their eyes off each of us. At the lake I was filling up the water jugs for each boy not wanting them to get to close to the water especially Sam since he was just learning to swim before all this started. I handed the full jugs to the boys before filling up mine last.
I was carrying mine up the hill with Matt and Sam in front of me carrying theirs. I notice Sam was getting tired by how he could barley pick his feet up as we walked the trip back to camp. I took Sam's jug of water so he wouldn't hurt himself since he was basically half asleep on his feet. He must of had a busy day with Matt watching both of them at must have played outside together or something to wear him out because he was dead on his feet. Well that might be a bad metaphor to use with the dead actually walking.
I took the water jug from Sam and carried in my other arm juggling them both was hard but I did it. Once back at the Rv I open the water heater compartment and unscrewed the lid adding the water to the heater. I added Sam's first then Matt's but when I got to mine I found that I couldn't lift it up over my head to dump it in the heater. I had to pass Ethan to Matt in order to lift it with my whole body to get it in. I could tell that it could use another jug or two so while Matt took Sam inside I grabbed Ethan and the two smaller jugs and headed for the water again for another round of water.
I was filling them up at the lake when I felt the presence of some one or something behind me. I had my weapons on me I had gotten back into the habit of always carrying them like in the Military. I reached for my hunting knife slowly as not to alert the thing or person behind me what I was doing. I hid the blade under my sleeve and went back to filling the bigger jug with water. Once done I put the lids on both of the jugs before standing up and turning around to find that the other women were gathering water too just father down they were watching me. I picked up the two jugs and headed towards Rv with both of them in my arms. I could feel something was off but couldn't put my finger on it.
I dumped the jugs into the water heater filling it up. I put the jugs in the camping supplies and water compartment of the storage. I could feel eyes watching me. I looked over my shoulder to find Carol was watching me this time. I locked all the compartments with the key before checking over the outside of the Rv because I had this nagging feeling that something was wrong. I check the whole thing over twice and finding nothing wrong with it so I went inside. I found that Sam had went to bed and was sleeping by the looks of it. It was getting late so I made Ethan's bottles up for the night before putting them up. I restocked the bug out bags making sure all of them had food, water, first aid, survival kit, clothes and weapons in them.
The boy's bags were pretty much the same but Matt's had an extra gun and ammo in it and Sam only had a hunting knife. They both had 5 days worth of food, water, and clothes in them. I had a first aid kit in Matt's and Sam's had coloring supplies and toys for him when Matt had a survival book in it. Mine on the other hand had food for all of us for 5 days along with extra water, weapons, ammo, first aid supplies, Ethan's bag of diapers, formula canister, and blanket in it. I restocked the diaper bag to making sure it had a 3 days worth of food and water incase something went wrong. I went to bed after locking up the Rv.