Chapter 57 "The Apocalypse Didn't Just Go Away"

Day 362

Lyrik bounced happily around the kitchen, washing her hands as music playing lightly throughout the house. She was dressed in her favorite pink dress, sewn especially for her by Joshua, who she had grown quite close to in the last two months.

Robert soon came down the stairs, dressed only in a black silk robe, another of Joshua's creations for Lyrik. He had caught ear of the music and didn't want to miss out on the party his best friend seemed to be having.

"I'm here with all of my people," they both gleefully sang along with the music. Lyrik turned around, frightened. She had not expected Robert to be awake, let alone behind her singing along to the music.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized to the white boy, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"No, no, you didn't," he laughed, dancing to the music as he grabbed an apple.

"Grab me one, too, please?"

Robert tossed the young chef a crisp red apple and moved to the living room, continuing his awkward 'dancing.'

"When you going to work?"

"I was just about to," she replied, turning from the sink and flicking water off of the apple she had just wrinsed. For the first time, she caught sight of Robert's frantic movements that he considered dancing and she burst into laughter. "I thought Greyson was showing you how to dance?"

"He is!" Robert put a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"He must not be that good," Lyrik laughed and moved toward Robert, imitating her friend's gesticulation.

The male couldn't help but laugh as he realized just how terrible his dancing truly was. "Nah, I'm just a bad student."

"Clearly," Lyrik said, then began to actually dance to the song. "I'm here with all of my people," she sang, moving her body quickly yet seductively in tune with the music. "Locked up with all of my people~ So let me hear you scream if you're with me!"

Robert stood with his hands on his hips, offended. "I hate you."

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," she grinned.

"I don't. I hate you because you're terrible."

Lyrik laughed, pretending to slap her friend. She stopped dancing and headed towards the door. "I'll see you in a few hours. Happy Mother's Day!"

Patricia and Mike entered the cafeteria earlier than the Mother's Day party was scheduled for, but not on accident. Mike's youngest daughter was currently in school, and his other one was here helping to cook everything for the party.

"Dad!" Jessica called happily. "You're early. Where's Alana?""

"I know," he grinned then looked to Patricia. "She's still at chool. Patricia here thought we should come help you, though."

The old blonde grinned and elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs.

"Oomph," he coughed, then looked to her. "Oh! I mean, 'we.'"

Everyone chuckled at the pair and they entered the kitchen. Mike kissed his daughter on the forehead as he entered the kitchen and she stuck her tongue out in mock disgust.

The elder couple proved to actually be quite a big help in the process, especially Patricia, who loved cooking.

"You should consider joining us," Tavia casually said to the woman. "You'd definitely be a big help, and we'd love to have you around. Right, y'all?"

The cooks, Lyrik, Jessica, and Kyle all praised the elderly woman, and she couldn't help but smile as she stirred the cupcake batter. "I'll think about it," she laughed. "Want me to dump that?" Patricia asked as the head chef finished washing the dishes.

"I'd appreciate it."

The old woman struggled to pick up the large container full of heavy dish water, but insisted she had it. Unbeknownst to them, Kenny had entered the cafeteria and was silently watching them from afar.

As Patricia headed to the backdoor, she tripped and dropped the bucket of dishwater, nearly falling over in it as well. Tavia and Mike rushed to her side to make sure she was okay and to help clean.

Kenny grinned and took his opportunity. He moved quickly and quietly and peeked into the kitchen. All of the chefs who remained in their place seemed sufficiently distracted by their individual tasks. Kenny surveyed the nearest counter for something good to use for his plan. He spotted a bowl of batter, but for what, he was unsure.

Stealthily, he unscrewed the cap to a small bottle he had concealed in his trenchcoat and reached around the doorway to pour it into the mixture. It seemed to blend in well enough, but just to be sure, he carefully mixed it in, keeping an eye on everyone as best as he could. Before anyone noticed what he had done, he was already out of the door.

It was nighttime now. The community seemed empty, scarcely any people around. The streets were dark, and only people on wall duty remained. Everyone else was at the Mother's Day party, celebrating with their friends and loved ones and enjoying all of the delicious foods made specially for the occasion.

The only ones who didn't come were either physically unable to, mentally unable to, had other obligations, or had no reason to show up. Thus, Kenny was around at the party. Of course, it was almost as if he was not, simply because he seemed to refuse talking with others. He sat in a corner on an old, metal chair, silently drinking a bottle of Mike's homemade moonshine. Everyone noticed him, but only the bravest dared talk to him. Kevin had attempted to coerce the loner into joining in on the party, but simply got a solemn shake of the head and an excuse that his feet hurt. Jim had made eye contact, and often looked over to make sure he was still present. Despite recent claims that Kenny had actually been friendly and helpful — words that certainly did not come to Jim's mind immediately upon thinking about Kenny — he held onto the belief that Kenny was a threat.

Kenny could not help but grin when he caught people staring at him, laughing inwardly at them. Joke's on you, he thought to himself as he ironically lifted his bottle in a sign of cheers to someone who he had locked eyes with. Thankfully, most people interpreted his smiles as being friendly. The general consensus seemed to be that he was actually quite a nice guy, but having been outside alone for so long had hardened him, and he had a hard time socializing now. Of course, most of this is rumor that had spread with the help of people like Olga, Patricia, Beth, and Kelly, who believed in giving him the benefit of the doubt.

The loner subtly looked over to the snack bar every chance he got, and he had it narrowed down to two dishes. He had put his liquid into either the pink cupcakes or the lemon cake, but he was unsure which it was, as the batter was yellow, but could easily have been dyed pink. He hoped it was the cupcakes, simply because of the irony he found in it. Cupcakes were the last thing he ate before the outbreak. On top of it, he had them with his wife.

He pushed the memory out of his head, shaken by the thought of his wife. He focused instead on where the food was going to. He couldn't keep his eyes glued to the pastries, or else it would become apparent to those staring at him why he was when the secret ingredient kicked in the day after. This of course meant that he missed quite a few of the people who would grab some of the food and walk off. It was also difficult to see everything that people were grabbing when there was a significant crowd around it. However, he had noticed Rosa grab both a cupcake and a slice of cake, and he grinned as he mentally marked one confirmed person onto his list.

A shaggy-haired teenager grabbed two cupcakes and took them to his mother, but she refused hers, rubbing her stomach. Instead, he gave it to his younger sister, who had long, beautiful blonde braids.

Kenny witnessed Mark grab a cupcake before moving into the crowd. Shawn cut off a large slice of cake and sat it before Patricia, who gave him a warm smile, surrounded by her family of the Greene siblings, Mika, Malcolm, Mike, and his family. Seth nearly went for a slice of cake, but opted instead for a kebab before going to stand next to Taylor, irritating Kenny.

Tina rolled her crippled husband over to the table after having a long conversation with Alexandra, and Terrance instantly pointed to the cupcakes. She moved him closer and they both grabbed one, toasted, intertwined their arms, and dug in.

Robert cut off three slices of cake, one very thin one for himself and two of average sizes, then carried the plate back to his table, where he sat with Greyson and Olga. "Happy Mother's Day," Kenny could hear the two boys say in unison to her before giving her a big hug. The loner's stomach turned and he wanted to gag.

As the night went on, he did his best to remember who ate what, but it became more and more difficult to remember, let alone to pay attention as he grew tired. He cursed the comfortable bed he had been spoiled to. Despite the exhaustion, though, he stirred with excitement. This is the moment he had been waiting for. This is what he had sucked up to everyone so long for. Tomorrow, he would finally start having fun behind these walls.

When most of the room had emptied, Kenny rose from his seat and shook Jim's hand, then bid him goodnight. As he exited, he noted with pleasure that the entire cake had been eaten, and only four of the total thirty cupcakes were left.

Officially, no more promises. Chapters will come when they come. I'm sorry for that, but life has ramped up immensely, and I don't have much time for this story. My only promise is that I know how this story ends, and the end will come.