I'm woken up by the survivor screaming. In one swift motion I'm standing up, my gun drawn and ready. But there's no enemy to fight, just the woman trashing in her bed. I throw my gun on the couch and rush over to the woman's side, shaking her awake. The teenager snaps up, her shirt wet with terror sweats. I'm not sure what to expect, but it's not the teen reaching out and tightly wrapping my head in her arms. I ignore the fact that my face is pressed against the teenager's budding breast, and ask her, "What's wrong? I heard you screaming.". I think I already know, but I want her to confirm it. The teenager gasps and tells me, "I had a nightmare about that savage.". I pull back, nod, and ask, "Is there anything I can do? Do you want anything?". She rubs her throat and asks, "Can I have a glass of water?". I nod, rise, and make my way to the sink. I pull my canteen from my hip, fill it up, and bring it to the teenager. She thanks me and happily gulps down the liquid, water dribbling down her chin. The girl wipes her mouth and hands me my canteen, the container already half empty. I ask the survivor, "Is there anything else? I can go find some food if you want any, or maybe another blanket.". She shakes her head and tells me, "No, thank you." I pat her thigh and move to go to the couch, but her hand on mine stops me.
The woman gulps and quietly asks, "Can you sleep with me?". At first I think she's asking me to have sex with her, but then I realize she literally means sleep. I'm confused why she wants me to, so I ask her. She looks embarrassed and tells me, "My stepmother use to sleep with me when I was little and I had nightmares about zombies. Please.". I can see the pleading look in her eyes, so I tell her, "Move over.". Her face lightens up and she scoots over, allowing me room to slide in behind her. When I'm under the covers she takes my hand and wraps it around her waist, then snuggles up to me as close as she can. When she's settles it's more of a lover's embrace than something a stepdaughter and mother should do. Then, a sudden thought comes to mind and I ask the survivor, "Is this how your stepmother use to sleep with you when you had nightmares?". She nods as she yawns, obviously tired. I clear my throat to wake her up and ask her, "Did you have a lot of nightmares when you were little?". She once again nods, but tells me, "Yeah, but my mom would sleep with me sometimes to fend off the nightmares.". I tell her, "Oh. Well, good night.". The teen must have heard me, but goes to sleep. I allow her to fall asleep, but make a mental note to talk to her about the stepmother thing later. I slowly close my eyes.
I'm woken up a second time by the teen shaking me, trying to get my arm off her. I move my hand and ask her, "What's going on?". She quickly gets up and tells me, "I had to pee.". I roll my eyes and go back to resting, enjoying the warmth of the bed. My dreams were uneventful, but now that I'm awake I remember the stepmother thing. I don't open my eyes as I ask the woman, "What was your relationship with your stepmother like?". The survivor answers, "Just the average relationship I guess. She was nicer than I would have originally thought, but I'm not complaining.". I hum to show I'm listening, but I'm unsure of how to ask her if her stepmother did anything inappropriate to her. The woman is probably long dead, but I don't want the teenager to think it's normal for older woman to just start fondling her genitals. If a corrupted soldier got a hold of her and did something to her, then she wouldn't tell me and would just assume it was normal. But I don't want to start a fight with the woman, so I file the issue away for later and ignore it for now. When the woman has relieved herself she comes back to bed, curling up next to me. I sigh in content and allow myself to enjoy the warmness, security, and feeling of completeness that surrounds me. I don't know why, but I have a sudden urge to join the community.
Then, I remember what that means. Working at a job I hate, I can be shot at any moment, and food is easier to come by out in the wilds. Cities don't just mean a warm bed and a roof over my head, they mean giving up everything to the people above me. I can't do that, and I won't force the teenager to. If it was our last option, then I might consider it. But right now we have the world in our hands, and the city would ruin all of that. Speaking of which, we need to get out and get supplies. I whisper to the teenager, "We need to go get supplies.". She nods and tells me, "We could always just rest here. Just for a little bit.". I sigh and say, "Just a little while will turn into an hour, then an hour will turn into two. And, before you know it, it'll be afternoon.". The teen doesn't answer, but snuggles in closer to me. I allow it, and I suppose a few more hours of rest can't hurt.
I walk through the market, the teenager grasping my hand like a small child. The place was crowded a few blocks back, and the girl grasped my hand to keep from losing me. I'm not exactly sure why she hasn't let go, but I'm not questioning her. I allow her to keep grasping my hand while I look for supplies. Then, I spot a food stand and stop. Most of their supplies are raw meat, but I see a few canned meats. I walk over, ask him a few questions (the meat last for years), and buy twenty cans of meat for five bucks. It's a bargain, but I think I know why it's so cheap. The man who sold them looked filthy and afraid of everything. He obviously needed money desperately, and wanted to get it as quick as he could. Then, I realize I don't care why and silently celebrate getting suck an amazing deal. We find some canned fruit, but the price is too high and we can't afford it. We manage to buy some more shotgun ammunition for five dollars, eighty more cans of meat for twenty dollars (we're sufficiently full on food), ammunition for my gun for ten, and two first aid kits for ten dollars. As we're walking back to our home I tell the teen, "These are amazing deals, I wonder why all of this was so cheap.". The teenager shrugs and ask, "Do you really want to question it?". I smile and say, "I suppose not.". Then, we're back at the apartment.
We put all our supplies in a safe place, sit down, and relax. The teenager throws me a can of Dragon Meat and takes a can of Unicorn Meat for herself. We pop the tops and groan, the smell of canned meat is never pleasant. We bend the tops into makeshift spoons and dig in. I taste the meat and tell the teenager, "Beef or pork.". She takes a bite of her meat and says, "Tuna or salmon. Weird ass brand name.". I scoff and tell her, "And Dragon Meat makes so much more sense.". She swallows her mouthful and says, "At least a dragon might taste like red meat, why the hell would unicorn taste like fish?". I let out a small laugh and answer, "We don't know what a unicorn might taste like, it might end up tasting like turkey.". The teen's face twist and she says, "I'm allergic to turkey.". I swallow the pork in my mouth and tell her, "You should have told me. I would have made sure none of the meat has turkey in it. Do you have any other allergies?". She nods and answers, "Peaches. And, I checked the ingredients. The unnamed cans with the cow on them have turkey in them.". I laugh and ask, "Are you serious?". She nods and I tell her, "You're shitting me.". She laughs and tells me, "I swear to god, the cans with the cows on them have turkey inside. The cans with turkey have dog in them.". We both share a laugh.
Then, I take another bite of meat and tell her, "I think this is the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten.". The survivor shrugs, takes a bite, and mumbles, "I've put my mouth on worse.". I pretend not to hear that, and tell her, "Expect to be eating canned meat for a while. It's not a tasty breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but we'll survive. I actually think we're ready to leave.". The teenager nervously looks at the ground and asks me, "Can we stay here just a little longer? I like not having to worry about dying.". I smile and tell her, "Of course. Now come on, we need to go to bed.". I rise and prepare to make my way to the couch, but the teenager nervously clears her throat, and when I turn around she's shuffling from foot to foot. She gives me a nervous smile and motions to the bed. I smile and climb onto the flattened mattress, the survivor climbing in beside me. She curls up in my arms facing me, her face pressed against my breast. I whisper, "Sweet dreams.". She whispers back, "Don't let the bedbugs bite.".
The horse is dead when we find him, his throat ripped out. The second I see that I know it's not safe to be around here, and the teenager and I rush back to the city. So, here we are. Sitting in our new apartment, our supplies stacked in the corner. The teen has her head in her hands, and I have my arm thrown over her shoulders. She whispers, "What are we gonna do?". I whisper back, "I don't know.". The teen turns and wraps her arms around my middle, nuzzling her head into my armpit. I inwardly sigh and hug the teenager, comforting her. I tell her, "I have a faint idea of what we can do, but you aren't going to like it.". The teen looks up and ask, "What?". I quickly relay the extremely dangerous plan to her. I expect her to reject it, but instead she smiles and says, "Let's do it.".