coped with everyone I cared about dying around me. I thought about that one for a while. I told him that basically, all I could allow myself to care about was Apocalypse Girl. I have other friends, sure, but if she died that would likely be the end of me, too. He nodded and asked how long we had known each other.
Apocalypse Girl, overhearing the conversation, said; “We've known each other since the apocalypse started. He's right, though. You can't let yourself care too much about anyone, really. Sometimes you don't have a choice, though, do you?” She looked into my eyes. No, sometimes you really don't have a choice. “Anyway, stick close to the four of us, you should be alright. You can take care of yourself with that bat of yours, true enough, but going it solo against the Dead the way you did earlier today is fucking suicide. You could have been bitten a hundred times doing that shit!” Realising that she was raising her voice, she lowered it and apologised. “Still, you need to look after yourself. No more suicidal berserker charging into the Dead, okay?”
Smiling shyly, Sonny said “Yes, Mum!”
May 20thYear 1 A.Z.
morning
We followed the road, stopping for nothing, not that there was anything nearby. Sonny kept quiet, staring at his blood-and-brain soaked cricket bat since he woke up this morning. Apocalypse Girl told me last night that he had reminded her of her little brother in many respects. One thing that she had been grateful for, in fact, was that her brother had not had to deal with the apocalypse, having died when a stolen ice-cream van ran him over on his way home from school one summer afternoon, about seven years ago. The driver, hardly more than a kid himself, felt so bad about the whole situation that he committed suicide in his jail cell less than a week later.
We passed a sign which informed us that Coober Pedy was no more than two hundred kilometres away, meaning we had made better time than I had expected, finding a service station, abandoned to the Cold and Dead, several of which staggered about aimlessly. The Kid drew them away easily enough, Apocalypse Girl pulling the truck up to one of the bowsers. We figured that we should take full advantage of the situation, filling up our dwindling, yet still more than adequate fuel reserves.
This was one of those tiny blink-and-miss-it towns, by the look of things, so Sister took Sonny for a bit of an explore while I filled the truck and Apocalypse Girl took watch from the roof of the truck. The Kid, meanwhile, was off making sure the Dead didn't turn around and realise that there was food back here. After nearly half a year of this I was beginning to get used to the idea of being food for the Dead.
noon
Truck full, spare cans full, Apocalypse Girl and I decided to check out the interior of the service station. The shelves had been thoroughly ransacked already, no doubt weeks or months ago, though Apocalypse Girl was able to use her unique … abilities to acquire some fresh bread and a few bottles of water. Thankfully, though we knew it was safe to do so, we had not had to resort to melting the grey snow in order to survive.
The service station attendant sat at his post, stiff and dead. A rather large hole gaped from the back of his head, an even larger revolver lay on the floor at his feet. I picked it up. Five rounds left. Fiddling with the drawers and cash register I found a box of about a hundred bullets for it, only six rounds missing. Replacing the one used shell, I stuck the gun in the back of my jeans, putting the rest of the ammo in my pack, then we returned to the truck.
As we prepared to leave, once Sonny and Sister returned, The Kid soon after, we heard an unearthly, inhuman, shrieking wail that echoed all around us. Rather than stick around to discover whatever kind of horrible mutant made that noise, we hurriedly moved on.
evening
The Kid left us this evening, saying that it was time for him to go, so off he loped into the Cold
Apocalypse Girl, overhearing the conversation, said; “We've known each other since the apocalypse started. He's right, though. You can't let yourself care too much about anyone, really. Sometimes you don't have a choice, though, do you?” She looked into my eyes. No, sometimes you really don't have a choice. “Anyway, stick close to the four of us, you should be alright. You can take care of yourself with that bat of yours, true enough, but going it solo against the Dead the way you did earlier today is fucking suicide. You could have been bitten a hundred times doing that shit!” Realising that she was raising her voice, she lowered it and apologised. “Still, you need to look after yourself. No more suicidal berserker charging into the Dead, okay?”
Smiling shyly, Sonny said “Yes, Mum!”
May 20thYear 1 A.Z.
morning
We followed the road, stopping for nothing, not that there was anything nearby. Sonny kept quiet, staring at his blood-and-brain soaked cricket bat since he woke up this morning. Apocalypse Girl told me last night that he had reminded her of her little brother in many respects. One thing that she had been grateful for, in fact, was that her brother had not had to deal with the apocalypse, having died when a stolen ice-cream van ran him over on his way home from school one summer afternoon, about seven years ago. The driver, hardly more than a kid himself, felt so bad about the whole situation that he committed suicide in his jail cell less than a week later.
We passed a sign which informed us that Coober Pedy was no more than two hundred kilometres away, meaning we had made better time than I had expected, finding a service station, abandoned to the Cold and Dead, several of which staggered about aimlessly. The Kid drew them away easily enough, Apocalypse Girl pulling the truck up to one of the bowsers. We figured that we should take full advantage of the situation, filling up our dwindling, yet still more than adequate fuel reserves.
This was one of those tiny blink-and-miss-it towns, by the look of things, so Sister took Sonny for a bit of an explore while I filled the truck and Apocalypse Girl took watch from the roof of the truck. The Kid, meanwhile, was off making sure the Dead didn't turn around and realise that there was food back here. After nearly half a year of this I was beginning to get used to the idea of being food for the Dead.
noon
Truck full, spare cans full, Apocalypse Girl and I decided to check out the interior of the service station. The shelves had been thoroughly ransacked already, no doubt weeks or months ago, though Apocalypse Girl was able to use her unique … abilities to acquire some fresh bread and a few bottles of water. Thankfully, though we knew it was safe to do so, we had not had to resort to melting the grey snow in order to survive.
The service station attendant sat at his post, stiff and dead. A rather large hole gaped from the back of his head, an even larger revolver lay on the floor at his feet. I picked it up. Five rounds left. Fiddling with the drawers and cash register I found a box of about a hundred bullets for it, only six rounds missing. Replacing the one used shell, I stuck the gun in the back of my jeans, putting the rest of the ammo in my pack, then we returned to the truck.
As we prepared to leave, once Sonny and Sister returned, The Kid soon after, we heard an unearthly, inhuman, shrieking wail that echoed all around us. Rather than stick around to discover whatever kind of horrible mutant made that noise, we hurriedly moved on.
evening
The Kid left us this evening, saying that it was time for him to go, so off he loped into the Cold
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