Chapter 4- Here for the Long Run
The chains on the gate rattled as Vincent locked them. Everyone who was left behind stood on the patch of grass with Sargent Andrews words still lingering in the air. The community now consisted of 15 people;
Alex and her father Daniel stood in a group with Zoe, her father Vincent and Layla and her parents. To their right, was the Davis family; Betty and Frank with their only son, Billy. They were accompanied by Jayne and Adrian Mackenzie- a middle-aged couple with no children of their own. Finally, the Matthews family. Christina, to the best of Alex's knowledge, was a single mother of two; 17-year-old Tobias and 6-month-old Rae. Apart from the Howard's and the Bakers, the rest of the families were former residents of the square.
Jayne and Adrian had lived on the square for as long as Alex could remember. They were a loving couple who treated all the children as their own family. Being chefs by trade, they loved to have all the children around their house for dinner every so often. The Davis' moved in the same time Sam and Billy were born and had lived there for nearly 14 years. Sam and Billy grew up as close friends and were always at one another's houses playing a new video game. The Matthews had lived on the square for a little over three months meaning Alex knew very little about the reserved family. When they first moved in, Alex's mum became quite friendly with Christina, learning they moved to get away from the children's father. She never went into detail, but they could only presume it was bad. Tobias was in the same school year as Alex but the two had never spoken, having no reason to interact before that day. Rae was the cutest little baby with giant green eyes and curly, blonde hair. It was rare to see the two apart, with Tobias always carrying her around on his hip.
Daniel was the first to break the silence.
"We need to draw up a watch schedule." he looked around addressing the group of people, "The Sargent said they'll be back in a few days tops but until then we need to keep this place safe ourselves."
"We'll be safer together." Peter joined in "We should move into these two houses while we wait for them to come back. It'll be easier to defend if anything was to go wrong."
Peter gestured towards numbers 14 and 15 and the families muttered in agreement. They were the corner two houses and seemed the most logical to use as they were furthest from the gate.
"The kids and I can clear out the houses," Betty offered, stepping forward. "we can move anything we don't need into number 16 for now and bring in any spare pillows, blankets and the little food that's left."
"Good." said Peter turning to the crate of weapons the Sargent had left them "There's enough for everyone so if you're old enough come and get one."
Peter and Daniel handed out the small handguns and rest of the knives to the adults. Frank approached the men with an arm around his sons' shoulders.
"I want Billy to have one," He said taking a gun for himself and securing it into his belt "I know he's not technically old enough, but we've seen what's happening out there and he needs one."
Peter and Daniel looked at each other until Daniel sighed.
"I suppose that's not really our call to make." he took out another gun and handed it to the boy "It's not a toy son. Be careful."
Frank smiled at the men and walked back to his wife, leaving Peter and Daniel to distribute the rest of the weapons.
"Dad?" Layla called from behind the men "We want one as well."
The men whipped around and were confronted by Layla, Alex and Zoe stood together in a small huddle.
"Not happening." Peter scoffed turning back to the create sorting through the leftover artillery. Daniel however, eyed his daughter, who was stood confidently with her arms folded across her chest.
"Aren't you supposed to have a knife?"
"I gave it Sam..." Alex replied looking at her feet guiltily "But I want a gun."
"Why did you give your knife to your brother?" He asked almost exasperated but not shocked.
"I wasn't going to let him go out there without one." she argued defiantly "I watched a man have his arm chewed off this morning. I know what it's like out there. That's why I want one. If we're here for the long run, I want to be able to protect myself."
Daniel looked at his daughter then turned to the crate producing another knife and a handgun.
"Now you listen to me young lady, I know you're not stupid but this is big shit. If I ever catch you being stupid with this gun, you will never lay hands on one again." he said sternly, placing the gun and knife in his daughters' hands "And don't go giving this knife away either. I suppose I'll have to teach you how to use it but until then, just keep the gun in your belt."
Alex smiled, securing her new weapons into her waistband.
"Thanks, dad."
"Zoe I'm going to have to speak to your dad about this. I don't mind you having one because I can teach you but it's not my call to make." Daniel said "Vince!"
Vincent looked up from where he was standing with the Davis family, heading over as Daniel beckoned him.
"Zoe wants some weapons." Daniel stated and held his hands up at Vincent's horrified look "Frank let Billy have a gun and Alex and Layla were given a knife off the army officials. She's technically old enough to shoot so I figured she could have a handgun as well if you were okay with it. It's not my decision but it will be safer if we can all protect ourselves as well as each other."
Vincent looked like he was considering his options carefully, studying his daughters pleading face.
"Zoe, you can have a knife but that's it, you will be safe in here until the army comes back."
"Dad you saw what happened out there today." Zoe interrupted "If one of them things can take down an armed soldier, then what chance do I stand if something goes wrong."
"You don't even know how to use one of those things," Vincent argued weakly
"Then I can learn." Zoe squared her shoulders and looked straight into her father's eyes "Daniel is teaching Alex, so he can teach me too. And I know it's not a toy..."
"Okay! Okay!" Vincent threw his hands up in defeat "Just up until the army comes back. The second we're on that truck you give it back okay? Your mother will kill me if she found out."
Zoe smirked as Daniel passed her her own knife and loaded handgun and secured it to her side.
Layla was not happy.
"Dad why do you have to be so difficult!" She practically screamed making the group jump. "All the kids have some sort of weapon now, why can't I?"
Peter wheeled, his anger boiling at his daughters' outburst.
"You are sixteen," Peter grunted slamming the lid on the crate of artillery. He had taken the knife that the Sargent had issued her away "I'm not having my little girl walking around with a handgun when she's perfectly fine without one."
"Fine?" Layla scoffed folding her arms "Is that what you think we are? Dad we're locked in here with monsters tearing people apart outside and you think we're fine?!"
Claire came out of one of the houses and made her way to where her husband and daughter were arguing.
"What's going on here?" she interrupted trying to diffuse the situation.
"Layla wants a gun." Peter explained.
"Excuse me?" Claire asked mortified, blinking like this was all some sort of joke.
"This is crazy, everyone has them, the worlds not like it was anymore. I'm not stupid. I know I can't go waving it around like a mad woman." Layla argued, not backing down easily "All the others have them now, and it's not exactly like I'm a kid anyway."
"Layla Howard you are sixteen years old" Peter imputed angrily.
"Billy's 14 and he gets one!" She exclaimed in her own defence
"Over my dead body..."
"So that's what it takes?" Layla said "If someone dies, I can have a gun? Dad... you saw what the infected do. If I get ripped apart it's on yo..."
"Don't even speak like that young lady." Peter warned, "The army is 'gonna keep us safe and we can have normal lives while we wait for this shit storm to be over."
"Peter. She's right." Claire added quietly looking sympathetically at her daughter. "She's not exactly a child anymore Peter. And the world isn't exactly safe. We're on our own in here and if the other children have one, I'll feel better if Layla has one too."
"Unbelievable!" Peter exclaimed, "Not this morning you were trying to keep this from the girls now you want to give our daughter a gun?"
"That was before I saw those...things." Claire added fear creeping into her voice "It's like Layla said, does it take someone else to die for us to realise it's not safe? Or do we teach her how to use a gun so she can protect herself...even after we're not around anymore?"
Peter grew silent. He hated this. Obviously, he knew they weren't safe anymore but the army would be back to protect them. He just wanted to hold onto the old world a little longer.
"Fine," he agreed bluntly "but the same goes for you. The second the army comes back, that gun is no longer yours. You got it?"
Layla smirked, taking her new weapon "Yeah. Thanks, dad."
Daniel turned to the three girls "Let's hope the army get a move on... If they're not back soon, you girls will be running this place."
"You better count on it." Alex retorted with a bark of laughter
"On a serious note." Daniel said addressing the three of them at once "This is not something you take lightly, do you understand? We're treating you like adults, do not make us regret it."
The three of them nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. With that, Alex, Zoe and Layla walked towards the houses where the others were getting them ready for the rest of the group to move in and sat on the wall outside. Zoe took out her gun and placed it on the wall, staring at it.
"How do you even use this thing?" She asked picking it up again and aiming it at a nearby wall, looking down the barrel.
"No idea," Alex stated "but put it away. It was hard enough persuading them to give us them. If you go waving yours about, your dad will have it off you in a heartbeat."
Zoe put the gun back in its holder. The others had decided that Alex, Daniel, Zoe, Vincent, Layla, Claire and Peter would stay in the Evans' old house while the rest of them would move next door into number 15.
"Girls! Can you bring those boxes through for me please?" Betty's voice rang through the house.
"Yeah! We'll be right through!" Zoe replied jumping down from the wall.
"I'm not anyone's slave." Layla scoffed, still seated "I'm not moving anything for anyone."
"C'mon we all need to help." Zoe sighed as she and Alex lifted a box of food and moved it into the house.
"Ugh I'll help for a bit, but I swear if I break a nail... Someone is getting it."
Everyone was pitching in to get the houses ready. Alex's old room had three mattresses for the three girls courtesy of Frank and Vincent. The other upstairs rooms were now being used for storage for random odds and ends as the adults decided to take the living room for the night. They would be on alternating watch through the night so being downstairs meant they disturbed the others less. However, even after they cleared out all 20 houses of food and medical supplies, the group were understocked on both. They figured that these were the things the families would have packed and left with. Billy, Zoe, Layla and Alex spent most of the day collecting bottles and filling them with water out of all the houses and moving them to the kitchen of number 14. They were all exhausted and hardly realised it was dark outside when they were shooed next door. Their stomachs were rumbling and muscles aching. Betty had come to tell them food was ready, and everyone had piled into number 15 for a well-needed break.
Next door Jayne had made a large pot of soup and bread for the children as they stumbled into the dining room to collect their helpings. They sat back down in the living room as the table was taken up by all the adults who had spent the day alternating between watches and helping the children move furniture and make beds for the night.
"You kids helped us loads today." Jayne said enthusiastically, hugging Zoe who smiled weakly before sitting down on the floor next to Billy and Layla "When all this is over and were safe down at the coast, we will have to find a way to treat you all."
Jayne had spent the day making and passing out food to the men on watch and helping Christina look after the baby. Between all of them, the houses were stocked and beds were made. The fires were lit, heating up both the houses
Alex was passing out the bowls to Layla and Billy as the door to the living room opened again. Adrian walked in followed by Tobias with little Rae on his hip.
"Everyone this is Tobias, and his sister Rae." Adrian introduced, gesturing towards the pair.
A mumble of hellos chorused around the room through mouthfuls of food.
"Come take a seat, I'll get you some food. I saw you up on watch earlier you must be hungry." Said Jayne disappearing into the dining room momentarily before coming back out with a bowl of soup for Tobias and a warm bottle of milk for the baby.
"Thank you." Tobias smiled taking the bowl and sitting in the gap between Alex and Billy on the floor, his sister between his outstretched legs, milk bottle in her mouth.
The 'children' sat eating quietly. For the first time since this crazy day began, the events played out in all their minds- truly sinking in. The only sound in the room was the slurp of the soup and the soft blubber of Rae's voice between the sucks on her bottle. This time yesterday the children were sat chatting, not a care in the world, phones in their pockets. Now they were haunted by the horrors dawn brought, guns in their pockets - ready and loaded.
Nobody really knew what was going on, but one thing was for certain. Their youth now belonged to the apocalypse.
