A Story To Tell: Season 1| A Zombie Apocalypse Story (Completed)

Day 72.0

Amber

"So, the plan in short. We're gonna push into town. I have three ideas of where they would be. The neighborhood right beside the big house, the trailer park, or the apartment complex that has the neighborhood. Each pair will go through one neighborhood. They can't be too far from here. Not with how quickly they found the house; they must've found our truck." Axel begins tightening his fist, so I place my own hand over his. He relaxes his hand. This whole situation is just getting to his head, and it worries me. 

"Alright. Let's get in our pairs," I respond, squeezing his hand. I look out at the pairs. Jackie and Willie. Hank and Mark. Me, Axel, and Cate. We decided to keep her close with what happened yesterday. Sherry agreed to watch the kids again, but we moved camp further away, on the South end of the nearby pond to stay a safe distance from the town. 

"Fan out," Axel says, adding, "meet back here before sunset." The group begins to disperse. "Wait! Marthie was kind enough to give us walkies. We only have four, though. Stay on channel seven. Send out a message every two hours. Remember. We aren't engaging in anything unless we have no choice. Be vigilant and gather any supplies if you see it. Stay safe, everyone. We are going into something more dangerous than those things. The instant it goes south, you get out of there. We aren't gonna lose any more people. Let's go." I scrape my dirty, tangled hair into a ponytail and put on my flannel. 

We approach the trailer park from the treeline. I wipe the sweat dribbling down my forehead. Axel points to the first trailer and runs toward it, crouching low. Cate and I follow promptly. 

"If all hell goes south, we will regroup at that house we were just at. I cleared it while scouting yesterday." The two of us nod. I watch Axel cautiously open the door; it opens with a soft click. He points his gun into the trailer and waves us in. We enter speedily and close the door softly. "The blinds are already closed, we can stand," he says, pushing his hair back and nodding slightly. 

We search through the pantry to find it clear with the exception of a few cans of corn and a Gatorade. We crack open the front door and peer out before jumping to the next trailer home. It was also lacking food and other resources. After a couple of hours, we finally reach a house in the middle of the park. 

"Damn, it's locked," Axel grunts, his hair dripping with sweat.

"Wait," Cate whispers in response. She reaches under the welcome mat and picks up a bronze-colored key. She slowly reaches up and unlocks the door. "There." We carefully approach the interior of the home. It was a double trailer, and it was dolled up nicely. We split directions. I creep through the home into the bedroom. My eyes widen at the sight. It was a room filled with bulk boxes of food and water.

"Guys, we've hit jackpot. Hurry in." 

"The rest of the house is cle-oh my God! This isn't good. We are definitely in their territory. This belongs to those men that attacked us. It has to," Axel says, speeding up his words with a worried face.

"This isn't their territory. I'm taking some stuff. Territory doesn't exist anymore. It's all fair game," Cate retorts, reaching for one of the boxes. 

"Taking this stuff could get us killed, Cate. Please understand that," I say calmly, my hands wavering in front of her. "We can come back when this is all over." I glance at Axel to show him to ease. He puts his knife back in his belt loop. Cate makes an unreadable expression before sighing out.

"You're right... let's wait," she responds warily. 

"Let's get to the next place. I don't wanna be here longer than necessary," Axel interrupts, his eyes narrowing. He and Cate hurry to the next house. I close the door and lock it again, putting the key back under the mat. I catch a couple of men walking toward the home in the corner of my eye. I dive into the grass. I meet eye contact with Axel and point toward them. I put up two fingers and mouth 'men.' He reaches for his gun, and I nod no. He turns the volume down on the walkie and looks at me with a perplexed facial expression. I mouth 'go.' He pulls his gun from its holster. 'I have a plan...' I mouth before removing my gun and putting it under the porch. I take my sheathed knife and put it next to the gun, only leaving me with my pocketknife. I tremble as I take it out of my pocket and slip it in my sports bra. I give Axel one last look. He simply nods his head for me to go.