Julia spent sleepless hours thinking with Jay at her side. He, also sleepless, felt the need to do anything other than sit and do nothing. Both had fears, valid concerns. Is this it? Should they sit it out and wait until the infection passed and wait for help, wait for people to come and save them, wait for help that may never come? Should they push onward to the cabin? Should they risk their lives and the lives of the others to get to a place that may or may not be as frightening?
They grew more and more restless as the time slowly passed. The reality of their present was all consuming. Darkness and boredom and death, the fear of more darkness and more boredom and more death. Julia avoided focusing on the fears, and what they lacked. Instead she redirected her nervous energy into being productive. She holed her rag tag group of people in the abandoned house and their safety was covered, but the other needs were lacking. She had to get these people up and moving and focus them on the bigger picture instead of wallowing in their fears that death was inevitable or the hope that someone would step in and save them. They had to save themselves.
They sat in the bedroom as tight as sardines in a can and hatched up a plan. They smoked the last of Chess's weed and by the light of camp lanterns Julia made endless lists of supplies to fulfill their basic needs, their hygiene needs, their safety needs. She documented in the notebook their story and their fears and their goals. They ultimately determined that they could not sit still and let themselves starve or be killed. They needed to be productive and get out there in the neighborhood, the remaining houses that have been abandoned and gather the supplies they'd need short term and long term.
"There's food out there. We don't need the market. We need to get our asses to work. All of us. We'll leave Luz in here with the kids and we'll start going through these houses. We'll put down those that are dead and we'll take what we need. First thing in the morning we'll start."
"Is that smart? Your dad said that he'd come."
"Until then who's taking care of you and me, Andy? Who's feeding us? Who's keeping us warm and fed? There's no adult doing anything but sitting and waiting. It's gotta be us. Someone has to be the first to walk out the door and get the job done. I will do it."
"I will too." Jay added. "Anyone else?"
Slowly they started to agree, but some hands were down.
"I'm not saying we storm Washington DC and take over the White House. I'm saying we go the hell outside. We cross the street and we take the food and the things we need. If anyone's alive in the same situation, we leave them be. It's ours before it becomes someone else's. You think I'm the only one that's sitting in a room planning the same thing?"
First thing in the morning Jay, Tavin, Julia and Chess initiated phase one of their plan. Their main goal was to clear the houses, go through each one and clear them out one by one. They'd have to exterminate the dead, mark each house that it was clear and then they'd start phase two. Phase two involved everyone who lived under the roof, men and women alike, except for Luz who would stay in the house with the children and keep them occupied. They'd go out in teams for phase two. Each team leader had experience exterminating the dead and it would be their job to keep their team safe. Day one's goal was food. Freezers first, then the foods that would spoil like fruits and vegetables, then the foods that would last, packaged foods, canned goods. Gradually they'd clean out every fridge, cupboard and countertop.
The team of four weaponed up and went outside into the cold and when the wind blew, they felt like they were being cut with a knife. They killed the dead that crept through their street first, warming up their bodies and testing the skills they'd developed freeing Rey and Luz from their apartment building. They avoided the use of guns. They didn't have the ammunition to waste and they intended on saving it for the road. They cleared six houses total, room by room, saving the only house on the block they knew for sure held the infected for last.
The four of them stood on the front porch steps and stared at them through the door. The infected inside the house raged against the door, banging their skulls and clawing at the glass panels and the wooden frame of the door.
"So how we doing this?" Chess asked. "Want me to get a gun? Shoot em through the door?"
"No, that's noisy and a waste of ammo. How about the back door? These idiots are in our way." Julia said.
"Stay here, Julia. Keep them occupied." Jay told her, then took Tavin and Chess with him around back of the house. Julia stayed put, distracting the door hangers while the boys broke in the back and caught them by surprise. Julia saw blood, skin and chunks of brain explode on the glass like splatter art.
She sat outside, waiting for them to clear the house rather than participate. No one was more surprised than she when Tavin escorted three kids to the outside. Kelly, a 13 year old girl, and her brothers Daniel, 4, and Frankie, 8. She'd kept her self and her brothers alive for days on snacks she had stashed in her room and water bottles she filled up in the bathroom sink. They'd been hiding in the upstairs since her family had died, then become reborn as flesh eaters. Their food had run out, but Kelly had collected rain water for them to drink.
Julia escorted the kids to the house and had Callie check them out while Luz fed them a good meal. Julia called the rest of the group to action, handing out lists of what they'd need and sent them out to the street to meet their armed team leader.
She pulled Tom aside. "There's something I would like for you to do. Come with me." Julia led him outside away from her team of food shoppers. She had a detailed list of what she needed specifically from him. She instructed Tom to get into the garages behind the houses. "Make us a tool box. Replacement parts for these cars if you can find any, any tools that we can use as weapons, crowbars, bolt cutters, tools you'd use day to day for repairs. That kinda stuff. Can you do that?"
"Yep, you been through these places? There ain't no dead?"
"Been through them all. Yes, but keep your eyes open. Don't take any chances."
Callie was next on her list of shoppers. She'd come outside and updated Julia that the children appeared healthy, not infected and a little dry. Kelly had saved their lives by catching the rainwater for them to drink, she'd googled it before the cell tower went down and before the cell battery died. She was a smart and resilient kid. Luz was feeding them and giving them plenty of juice and water to rehydrate them. "How are their spirits?"
"Considering you slaughtered their family while they listened, pretty good."
"They were long gone before we got there." Julia told her. "But we saved three kids today so anything that happens today that's bad, it's still a good day."
"Three more mouths to feed and three more bodies to keep safe." Callie said. "We're keeping them?"
"What would you have us do with them, Callie? They're children." Julia snapped at her, annoyed with the poor attitude. "Anyway, I have plans for you today, nurse. Hit up all these houses we cleared, get into the cabinets, closets, bathrooms. Find us any and all hygiene stuff, any unused or left over meds." She reached into her pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it over to Callie. "Everything on this list as well."
She opened her mouth to argue, but Julia stopped her. She held her hand up. "If you don't want to be part of this group, the road is right there. Otherwise, get to work."
Julia stepped away from the pretty and pissed off blond and led her group to the first house.
Hours passed. People hustled and worked, gathering the food they needed and bringing it to the kitchen for Luz, Daphne and Fiona to divide up, store and inventory. As their day drew to a close, the snow started to fall. They'd been working nonstop, ahead of schedule with the supplies gathering. Julia was pleased with the work they'd been doing and no one was slacking. When she took a break she went home. The first time she'd been in her house since she'd moved. Julia walked from room to room, letting go of her tears and sadness. Another family's belongings set in the rooms, another family had lived there and run from there, leaving everything behind to go to the county camp or the hospital or just out of town to escape the mayhem that had taken over their small town. It didn't take long for Jay to find her. Her house had been turned over by another team. She'd hinted she wanted to revisit. She'd said no place would ever feel like home in the way that home felt to her. The home held so many memories, her childhood, her mother lived and died there, her relationship with Jayson had originated there and for her, personally, her relationship with Tavin and Andy had formed there.
He found her in her room. It had been repainted a light blue. There was a crib in it, baby related artwork of bears and toys. Homemade and hand painted letters that read Brian above the baby's dresser.
"We used to sleep in here together." She sighed.
"Did a lot more than sleep." He added, holding her hand.
"It's not my house anymore." She whispered, touching the crib. "Not my room."
"We done here? The snow's coming down pretty hard."
"I'm done here. Wish we could go back in time? Start over?"
"No. No regrets, Jules. Let's go."
Across the street at the truck Tavin was loading up what Luz had set aside. Callie was in the rear of the truck with her supplies in a pile, dividing up her cache of claimed supplies from the houses. She had a book out, inventorying her items. She still had her rosy mood intact. Tavin dropped off the back end of the truck and head back inside. He took his brother with him. Julia looked up, peering into the truck.
"I don't know what I did to piss you off. No one will give me a clear answer, so maybe we could call a truce and you can pretend to be happy."
"I don't pretend anything." Callie shot back at her.
"Like I was saying, I guess I should apologize and if that's not good enough-"
"Yeah, I know, the road is that way."
"Actually I was going to say we could avoid each other unless it's important."
"What would you consider important, boss?"
"Are you jealous?" Julia asked, hopping onto the bumper of the truck, then crawling into the box rear end. "Cause I'm nobody's boss."
"I don't like being told what to do by a little kid."
"I'm the kid, I suppose." She suggested. "I'm sorry it feels that way. Tavin didn't say that you'd mind."
"I don't need or want Tavin speaking for me. He's not my representative."
Julia sat on the floor of the truck, reached for the note book in her hand. "You speak, I'll write. We'll get done faster."
"I got this."
"I'd like to help you out."
Callie handed her the notebook, calling out the inventory as Julia scribed the entries across each line.
"I'm trying here, Callie. I have never done anything like this before. I saw no one else stepping up for these people. Someone had to do it."
She was silent as she pushed the boxes toward the back of the truck. She sat on the end of the truck, dangling her legs. She zipped up her medical carry bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. She hopped off the end into the couple inches of snow that had accumulated.
She watched Callie walk away from her.
Julia sat in her spot a minute, looking around. She heard a new yet familiar noise. The moaning as it lurked near her got her heart beating fast. She stood up, grasped the knife that hung sheathed on her waistband of her jeans. Jay had given her that knife, the one that he'd used to sever Caleb Downing's arteries. She flashed back to his neck, the jagged line that Jayson had drawn over his Adam's apple. She remembered the blood, the sound of the air as it escaped his open airway, the sound of the crunch when his Adam's apple had been ripped open with the edge of the knife.
That was nothing compared to what her group of 4 had handed out that morning. As the sound approached, Julia peeked out of the truck, poking her head around the side. She'd never seen so many gruesome and distorted individuals. Missing limbs, missing chunks of flesh, gashes and lacerations, charred clothing and flesh and the stench of rot. It had been a smell she'd learned over the last week since the world surrounding her had become an open grave. And from all appearances at this moment she had one foot in that grave.
"The plane crash. These people are off the plane." Julia thought aloud. She gripped her knife and leaped off the end of the truck, hanging on the strap that closed the door. The door slid down with a hard bang, which startled her and the monsters on their wintry death march toward her end of the street. Her feet hit the ground and she slid in snow, falling and landing on her ass. She struggled to get to her feet as she crawled toward the yard and the porch. They pursued her, a hand grasping her shoulder. She slipped from its grasp, but her hair did not and she was yanked backwards. She pivoted, slamming the knife upward through the chin into the skull and then fell on top of her aggressor, struggling to free her tangled hair. She couldn't get free of its fingers, so she stabbed at the hand till it severed from the arm, then it dangled from her red curls.
She got to the porch, standing there and watching as they approached and began to fill the street. Stopping involuntarily as the street was a dead end. They packed into the snow and stopped moving altogether. With no where to move, they stalled. Julia crept quietly to the front door, stepping inside she hushed everyone.
They'd been invaded by the dead army.
Dinner was somber and welcomed by many hungry people and empty bellies all around. They'd worked all day and hadn't eaten anything other than a snack or two, a drink of water here and there. Everyone had wanted seconds, but in the new world there was no such thing as seconds.
"I have something to say." Julia announced, pulling her notebook from her lap. "We're going to have morning and evening meetings from here on out. Everyone needs to be involved in meetings, children excluded. Suggestions and comments are made at meetings. I will write down the minutes so to speak."
"Ok. Why though?"
"Everyone needs to know what's going on. Everyone needs to have input. I feel that everyone needs to have a say and everyone needs to know our plans. This is a group."
"Fine."
"We had a good day. We might have a few friends outside but as long as we don't start making a lot of noise, we should be ok." Julia paused. "Luz, updates please."
"We're done. Everything's put up. We have the food packed in snow, we have buckets collecting snow for our water reserves. My concern is our friends outside and cooking. I have an idea though."
"Let's hear it, Luz, the idea." Tavin said.
"Remove the screen from the outside back door and move the grill in front of the door. That way I stay inside to cook our food and the friends stay out. If it's done properly, it shouldn't cause much of a disturbance. There's not as many in the alley way. It's a through way, so they walk through instead of backing up out there."
"Ok. We'll get to it in the morning, bright and early." Julia nodded, writing it down. "Callie? Updates."
"You already know."
"No one else does, so please. Inform us."
"I got stuff, the list. Our personal hygiene will be impeccable."
"The list."
"Got it done. Toilet paper, especially. Medicines and bandages that were out there, obtained."
"Tom, your day?"
"There's a pile of crowbars over there in the corner. I got the tools we'll need if we'll even need them. I got everything together, it's in the van for now. I found a couple pistols, little ammo. With our friends out there, we need to have the pistols ready to fire."
"We need to keep them on our person though. I don't want the children coming across them. We have little ones here." Julia added.
"Anything else?" She asked, looking over her weary eyed soldiers. "Meeting's closed then. Suggestion in the morning please."
Everyone went back to their conversations or their own corners of the house. Before Luz went upstairs, she approached Julia who'd put her head down on the table to shut her eyes and to think some more about her day.
"Julia,"
"What's up, Luz?"
"The kid you brought in here today, Kelly. She's a bit nervous about the bathroom situation. She's started her period and she needs some pads."
"Oh, I'll get her some. I have tampons in my pack."
"It's her first, Julia. She was upset earlier with all that was going on and hid away up there in the room. I didn't want to mention that in front of everyone."
"Are you trying to tell me I have to have the talk with her?" Julia whined. "Luz, you're much better prepared as a mother."
"I spoke with her. I think she needs someone her own age."
"Yeah, ok. Yeah, I'll take care of that right now." She agreed, dragging herself to her feet. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and head into the bedroom, stepping over people and blankets and clothes and boots and weapons and water bottles. Half her friends lay around the room in various levels of disrobe, some making out, a couple reading, one praying, and a couple asleep. Jay was thinking, pretending to sleep in the dim lit room. Julia started rummaging in a couple boxes in the room till she found the store brand pads that they had. She took the pack and head off to the kids' room to find Kelly.
"Hey, Kell. Come with me." Julia said, entering the room. Kelly looked scared.
"Everything ok?"
"Yep, everything's fine. Let's talk."
She looked at her brothers who colored with Alex on the floor. The boys seemed to be getting along fine. She followed Julia into the hall way, then to the bathroom. Julia explained the ins and out of the plumbing situation they'd set up. She had to discuss period hygiene with a 13 year old, then wished someone else could do it.
"This is so embarrassing, Julia."
"Hey, it happens to everyone, you know and under the best of circumstances it's no fun. This is how we do it here, and it was the best we could come up with."
"What are you going to do with us?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
"With us? Are you sending us away? Putting us out?"
"No, Kelly. No. Absolutely not. You are with us now, unless you have another place to go? Family that is safe somewhere?"
She started to cry. "My family was in that house. It's just us now."
"It's not just you now. It's all of us. You are part of this group of people. You don't have to leave and we're not putting out anyone. It's not how I operate."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. You also don't have to room in with the kids if you don't want. It's up to you. You can move in with us."
"No, I want to be with my brothers."
"Good. Go be with your brothers. Come to me if you have any questions."
Julia walked her back to the kids room, closed her inside.
She went inside her own room and collapsed next to Jay. She kicked her shoes off. She was knocked out before Jay even covered her up.
Jay and his brother went out the back and head down the alley toward the end of the block. They had an idea that may or may not work, but first they needed to check out the street, the durability of the fence and whether the garage lot would be able to hold the number of dead that stood on the dead end of Green Street. Jay carried the bolt cutters and snipped the chain that held the padlock that kept the garage 12' gates closed. Whoever owned this place didn't want their place looted or ransacked or any of the cars inside stolen. Now it wasn't a factor. If the idea they had worked out, then they'd be able to leave Green Street and get on the road toward the cabin. Jay reminded him that the snow first had to melt. Whenever mother nature saw fit to do so and the sooner the better would be nice.
They slipped inside the fenced in enclosure, looking around. They stood in the middle of the isolated lot completely protected from the walkers on the perimeter. This far down Green they were merely scattered through out the road and it was easier to maneuver around without being clawed at or attacked. They'd taken a couple heads off on their way to the garage. The closer they'd got to the intersection, the safer they were.
"I think it'll be able to hold them." Tavin told him.
"How we getting out?" Jay asked.
"We're going over the fence."
"That fence?" Jay pointed to the rear of the lot. "You gotta be kidding me. We don't have wings. How we getting up there?"
"We climb, dummy."
Jay stared at him puzzled a bit. "Well show me cause I have never-"
"You never climbed a fence?"
"I have. Back yard fences. This fence is not a back yard fence though."
"It's easy. Look if I can run from the cops, high and scale a fence you can do it no problem." He said smirking. "I'll show you. Up, over and meet me out front."
Tavin took off at a sprint and he made it look easy. Up, over and off he went. Jay tried it a couple times. First time was a failure, not fast enough. Second time he got near the top and fell back. His brother on the other hand had made it around the building and he was still standing there staring at a tall fence, cursing at it. Tavin did it again. Up, over and off running. His long and skinny frame may have played into the ease of it all. Jay was a bit put off by the failure of it. He wasn't out of shape. Then his brother, the asshole he was, gave him some incentive to haul ass over the fence. He set loose a couple of the dead friends, which motivated him to jump as opposed to killing them off. He tried again and then again. The second time was the charm. Up, grab on to the top, used his feet for some extra leverage and then he pulled himself over. The jump down wasn't as bad as the jump up. He ran back around to the intersection and saw his brother chaining up the fence again. Just like they'd found it.
Tavin jogged to where he stood in the intersection. "What are you waiting for?" Tavin asked.
"Will you look at this shit?"
"Military." Tavin nodded at the men dressed in fatigues.
"Dead ass fucking military. What do you think? Take them out and take their weapons? We need them."
"Looks like automatic weapons."
"Looks like today is our lucky day."
Tavin and Jay approached the military personnel with crowbars elevated, they bashed the first two till their skulls were barely recognizable. They took the next two and then they got the last together. The scuffle unfortunately attracted attention their way. They gathered up the guns from the heap of military and loaded up with weapons and ammo. They took off toward Mr G's store and head round back to the delivery entrance. Jay unlocked the door with his key and they ducked inside just in time. They placed the weapons on the counter and took a couple lollipops. Crouched by the window they counted heads. Even attempting an escape was temporarily impossible till the herd thinned out and they could make it back through the alleyway.
"Looks like we're hanging out awhile."
"How long ya' think?" Jay asked, plucking the wrapper off the lollipop. He stuck it in his mouth.
"Awhile." He answered, making himself comfortable on the floor beside his brother.
They sat and talked about their plan to get the dead off their street. The herd that had stalled movement and lay in wait till prey appeared. They had to draw them out, make noise, get them to follow them down the street in unison. Their best bet was to wait till the snow melted and do it then. They could finish loading up the vehicles and ride out, hopefully making it to the cabin or somewhere near the cabin safely and in one piece. The plan in their two brains seemed easy, but getting it to come off without a hitch, that would take some effort, some coordination and a lot of luck.
The hours ticked by. They ate a lot of what was left in the store, bagged up some more supplies and waited. A lot of waiting at the end of the world. They talked about their girls, they talked about what they wanted to do with their lives before the end of the world and what that would even mean now that the landscape of their future was drastically altered. Tavin had enough time before the end to get some experience under his belt and work a little over the summer. He never made it to a full time college student, but nearly had done it. Circumstances changed and they were forced to make some hard choices. Choices they never fathomed making a few weeks ago.
As darkness loomed in the sky outside the corner store, Jay and Tavin decided they had to make their escape happen for themselves. Was it the snow that stalled them out, slowed them down? The bitter cold or was it something more? Did they sense that living flesh was near?
"You know, I can't stand your bitchy girlfriend." Jay told him out of the blue. "She's pretty, she's got some nice long legs. What do you see in her?"
"She's pretty and she's got some nice long legs." He repeated.
"I'm serious. Is she nice to you?"
"She's cold now. She was different before. When I met her, she was the sweetest girl. She was happy and had dreams. She volunteered. She had interests. She thought she could change the world. And she's smart. I found out because everything she learned in those books she can't apply in real life. She's scared. This whole thing turned her into someone else. I hope she'll come around. I wouldn't be with her if she was like that when I met her. I would have just fucked her and never talked to her again if that was the case. She would have been one of the many."
"How many?" Jay asked.
"Hell, I lost count. But the ones that mattered I can count on one hand."
"Ha, all three of mine...the few and the proud."
"You added someone? When? Cause last I heard it was Red and Hayley."
"Jess." Jay replied, peering out the window again.
"You have a habit of fucking his girls don't you?"
"It wasn't like that. He knows."
"Does she know?"
"Yes, it's cool."
"How is this cool?"
"I think it's time to try and get out of-"
"No, it's not. How is this cool with her? You have a gold dick or something? I don't get it."
"Gold dick? I don't think so." Jay laughed. "Hey, it was a one time thing. Homecoming. Julia was there."
"With you and Jess?"
"Yes, and Chess. It's complicated."
"You all fucked each other?"
"Not me and him. Her and Jess, we watched and then kind of joined and then kinda of split off in pairs. Look, talking about it, I know it sounds weird, but it wasn't." Jay settled down and he explained the whole night, how it went down from beginning to end.
"You ass, you had a problem with me and her, but you 4 go off on this orgy thing like it's no big deal."
"That shit ripped my heart out. You don't know. I already felt like the scum of the earth for fucking with Hay, but when I found out about you and her...I wanted to kill you both. I wanted to kill every last person that remotely had anything to do with that. You, Chess, Hayley, her."
"Why Hayley? Of all people, talk about bitches."
"Nah, she was different. We sat at her place getting high, hanging out. She got fat. She looked good. We got along. The thing me and her weren't doing."
"I didn't help that any. I'm sorry about that."
"Can't change it." Jay said, getting to his feet. He extended his hand to his brother, hoisting to his feet.
"I am serious, Jayson. I'm sorry."
"Ok. I accept that. Let's go home."
Julia and Chess stood on crates, looking through the peep holes cut in the boarded up window. They looked over the street, observing them. They stood there motionless like ghoulish, Halloween snowmen waiting for their magical hats to bring them alive again. She and Chess went over the what if's. What if they moved? What if they suddenly decided to crush in the door and come inside? What if they were forced to leave? Jay and Tavin were gone all day. Chess knew they'd gone out to check out the garage area, but they should have been back hours ago. What if they'd met an untimely death? What if they were gone for good and they had to leave without them?
"Considering they have the keys to 2 of the vehicles, that would be impossible." Julia noted. Tavin had the truck keys and Jay had the Prius keys.
They determined that they were stuck. At least until the snow melted. Then a light bulb went off above Chess's head. "We could set them on fire, Julia. We have the fuel and the bottles. We could fire bomb them. Get us out of here and get another car. We would need a team. But we light them up and we go get another car or truck."
"If they don't come back, then we'll devise a plan to move us out ok? We'll have to. We can't stay here and risk this kind of threat."
They watched a bit longer till they heard what sounded like gun fire. "Chess, do you hear that?"
"I do. It's real close." He whispered.
"Everybody get down. On the floor. Now." Julia urged as suddenly the first floor of their dwelling didn't appear to be very safe. She hopped off the crate and charged upstairs to the kids. "Every one down." She urged, making the kids lie down.
As quickly as the gunfire had begun, it ceased. Voices could be heard from downstairs.
Julia flew down the stairs, flooded with relief and anger. "Where have you two been?" She asked, hugging each one.
The boys were back and they brought the guns with them. Jay jogged upstairs and looked in on the kids. Then he cleaned up in the bathroom, changed clothes quick. He returned to the kids room, gabbing with Kelly and the boys, playing with Tatia. He pulled a bag from beneath his hoodie and he dumped it on the floor. Candy littered the floor and the hands flew out snatching up chocolates and lollipops. He hoisted the girl onto his hip and carried her down stairs where he let her ride her tricycle around the first floor. She peddled her little feet off in circles around the dining table and through the living room and back to the kitchen. Jay dropped a dozen blow pops on the table and opened one for himself.
"Tavin told me what you thought up. Chess came up with something too. I think we need to have a sit down and put this all into a plan that we can act on when the snow melts."
"Sounds good, babe." He said, then took a seat at the table.
She felt like he was dismissing her. "Wanna talk, Jay? Or later?"
"Later."
"I'm glad you're back safe." She told him, kissing his forehead. He held onto her hand and pulled her to his lap. Jay needed some time to process what he had gone through with his brother. There would be time to plan. The snow wasn't going anywhere.
Tom hammered heavy nails into the studs, then hung each gun up. Everyone clambered around the weapons, none having seen one in real life. The eldest of the men weren't as interested in them as the youngest who'd only used these weapons in video games, namely Call Of Duty.
It took 3 more days for the rain to come and the temp to go above freezing. They'd spent hours going over the plan to remove and eliminate the threat that stood between them and their departure. Once their plan had hatched, and the rain fell, melting snow and ice, they started packing. Everything piled in the living room by the door and set waiting for the day they left. They kept only the basics with them in their packs. Each person had a pack they'd be responsible for, including the kids, except for Tatia.
The box truck was parked out front of the house and the van and Prius were parked in the alleyway out back. As Luz cooked on the grill, Julia watched the alley. Jay, Tavin and Chess stood in the yard and killed the strangers wearing death masks as they passed through or approached the yard. They worked quietly and with knives and crowbars only.
"Why do we have the guns if we aren't going to use them?" Kelly asked as she stood at the sink, refilling water bottles with a funnel. It was tedious work, but Kelly wanted to earn her way for herself and her brothers. Kelly still feared they'd leave her and her brothers alone when they left.
"The guns are for the people that are still alive." Julia answered.
"Like me and my brothers." Kelly said with tears in her eyes.
"I told you that you were part of this family and I mean it, Kelly. You and your brothers are safe with us. If we didn't want you with us, we would have left you 3 in your own house to fend for yourselves."
Julia took the tub of dishes and silverware to the table and started to set places for everyone. After their meal, Julia started breaking down the table. Gathering the plates and utensils in the same tub and took them to the kitchen. There was a pot of water on the grill, which she added to the dishes with some soap and started washing them for the next meal. Kelly helped her again by dipping everything in the rinse bucket and setting it all into racks that were set in the sink for their dishes and utensils to dry.
Jay joined her in the kitchen and stood behind her, kissing on her neck and asking her to come upstairs with him.
"Are you going to have sex?" Kelly asked, looking at Jay as he held Julia's waist in his hands.
"If I get my way." Jay answered.
"You'll get your way." Julia said. "Let me finish up here. Ok?"
"Did you two meet on your way here?" Kelly asked.
"Uh, no. I didn't pick up Jay on the road to Green Street." Julia laughed. "We've been together like 2 years now."
"Oh, I see, so you and Chess are-"
"Friends, Kelly. Chess is Jess's boyfriend." Julia paused. "Kell, do you have a boyfriend?"
She blushed beneath her blond hair that hung in her face. "Oh, uh, no." She answered. "I was just wondering is all. Who knows who and where everyone came from. That's all."
"Well, ok then. But I don't pick up guys off the street and have sex with them. That's not...not something I would do. Let's put it that way."
Julia and Jay got their clothes straightened out and exited the bathroom. Their romantic getaway didn't last long. Every sexual encounter amounted to a quickie whenever they could sneak one in, which was not as frustrating as no sexual activity at all. Some was better than none, Jay said summing up his view on the subject.
Since the rain started, it was time to pack and get ready to move on.
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