by Eric Vall
“And Kimmy’s,” Marla said.
“Right,” Tara agreed.
I watched everyone chat happily, then I looked out the window at the storm that was still growing outside. I could see the wind shaking the trees outside, and the snow had continued to pile up another few inches at least.
“Looks like this winter will be a doozy,” Rolly said when he saw me staring out the window.
“Looks like it,” I agreed.
“That means it will be a good spring,” Justin said with a smile.
“What do you mean?” Paige asked.
“With a heavy snowfall you get a lot of water seeping into the ground when it melts,” Bailey said. “So the crops and plants get a lot of water.”
“Hm,” Paige said, and she grinned at the blonde.
“What?” Bailey chuckled.
“I think Paige is impressed,” I laughed.
“I am,” Paige said proudly.
“Other people know stuff too,” Bailey teased, and she stuck her tongue out.
“Bailey’s right,” Justin said. “The crops will be happy come spring.”
“I think we’ll all be happier come spring,” Anna said.
“Probably true,” Rolly chuckled.
Tara dished us all up bowls of potato and rabbit casserole, and everyone ate quietly as we watched the snow coming down outside. Part of me hoped that Rolly had been wrong and the winter wouldn’t be so bad, but the other part hoped that it would be a terrible winter, then at least it would weed out some of the Canadians making their way through who wanted to cause trouble.
I felt bad that Dan had to witness that group freeze to death earlier, but there was no shielding people from the horrors of the world at this point. There was too much of it now.
I smiled at the group as they chatted and had drinks after dinner. Joe seemed to be doing well, he came down to eat with us, though his arm was in a sling.
The world had changed so much in just under a year, and I could barely believe how much my own life had changed. I had never imagined that I would have a family once more, but this was about as close as one could get, and I was happy to have them.
“Tav,” I heard Marla’s voice pull me from my thoughts.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Mitch has something he would like to ask you,” Marla said with a smile, and she pushed the small boy forward. “It’s okay, go.”
The small, black-haired boy took a hesitant step forward. He had a small book in his arms, and he held it out to me at full arm's length.
“Would you read us a story tonight?” he asked in his small voice.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Wouldn’t you rather have mommy or daddy read it?”
“They read us stories every night,” Frank said, and he came out from behind his brother.
“Yeah,” Mitch agreed. “We want you to read it to us.”
“Well, I would be happy to,” I said with a wide smile, and I took the book. “What do we have here?”
“Green Eggs and Ham,” Frank said, and he crawled up onto my lap.
“Oh, my God,” Tara gushed, and I looked over and saw her pointing at me. “It’s so cute.”
“Green Eggs and Ham, huh,” I said. “Is this your favorite?”
“It’s Frank’s favorite,” Mitch said.
“Well then,” I said. “Let’s read us a story. Should we go put you in bed first?”
“Aw, come on,” Bailey said with a smile. “Read it down here.”
“Yeah,” Jeff agreed. “I want to hear.”
“Me too,” Kimmy said.
“Alright,” I chuckled.
Mitch sat on the ground in front of me, and Frank crawled off my lap to sit by his brother. Then Winchester came and curled up next to the boys while all the adults moved in closer.
Betty sat on Rolly’s lap, Donna leaned on Jeff’s shoulder, and my girls all cuddled together on the couch next to me.
The snow fell quietly outside while the wind blew the trees, but the house was warm and dimly lit with candles that cast an orange glow throughout the room.
I smiled at the group around me, then I opened the book and flipped to the first page.
“I am Sam,” I started to read, and I flipped the book around to show the boys the picture.
“Higher for the back!” Mike called out with a laugh.
“Sam I am,” I said, and I lifted the book to show the rest of the group.
I read the story happily as the children and adults alike listened eagerly to every word. As much craziness as the end of the world had caused, I think a room full of adults listening to Dr. Seuss was probably my favorite thing about it.
Chapter 13
The next morning was bright and sunny. I woke up next to the girls and smiled at their sleeping forms. Paige and Anna were snuggled together, with Anna’s arm thrown over the brunette. Tara and Bailey slept back to back with Winchester laying between their legs.
I reached down and pet the black-headed dog, and he rolled over onto his back, so I scratched his belly before I stood up and got dressed.
“Is it dawn?” Paige asked as I put my pants on.
“Yeah,” I told her.
“It’s bright in here,” Anna said, and she raised her hand to block out the light from the window.
“I guess that means it’s time to get up,” Bailey said happily as she stretched out.
“I guess so,” I said with a smile, and I threw an old shirt on.
“Is everyone else up?” Anna asked.
“Probably,” I said. “I’m going to go to the top floor and check on the road.”
“We’ll be right there,” Anna said.
“You might want to wake her,” I chuckled and pointed at Tara who still slept peacefully.
“We will,” Anna told me, and then she whispered in the platinum blonde’s ear which caused Tara to shoot up like she had just won the lottery.
Tara looked around for a moment, sized me up and down, and then turned to glare at the redhead.
“You’re such a liar,” she seethed.
“Not a liar,” Anna said with a shrug. “You just missed it.”
“What did you tell her?” I asked.
“That you were naked,” the redhead said.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you all only kept me around for my body,” I joked.
“Well, it does help.” Tara grinned at me.
I chuckled, rolled my eyes, and headed upstairs.
I found Rolly and Betty sitting watch in the dorm room that faced the road.
“Hey,” I greeted them. “How long have you two been up here?”
“Not long,” Betty said with a wave of her hand.
“We old timers wake up pretty early.” Rolly grinned at me. “We figured we’d keep watch at least until everyone else woke up.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” I told the both of them. “Seen anything interesting?”
“Some people are on the road,” Rolly said, and he pointed out the window. “But it seems they’re having difficulty getting through the snow.”
I looked out the window to see a relatively small group of people struggling to walk in the two foot deep snow that covered the road.
“Wow,” I breathed. “I knew we were in for a crazy storm last night, but that’s a large pile up.”
“Yeah,” Rolly agreed. “It’s a good thing you brought everyone in when you did.”
“Oh, they surely would have gotten hypothermia,” Betty said. “You did good.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I have to look out for the team first.”
“Nobody has reached the bridge yet,” Rolly informed me.
“Good,” I said, and I watched the people on the road. “At this rate it looks like they won’t for a while.”
“Hey,” Paige said from the doorway.
“How’s watch going?” Anna asked as she entered the room.
“Hasn’t been too exciting,” Betty said.
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��Looks like there’s some people down there,” Bailey said as she looked out the window.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But they’re having a difficult time in the deep snow.”
“Rolly,” Tara said, and I turned to look at the platinum blonde. She gave the old man puppy dog eyes. “Would you make us some coffee? Pretty please?”
“I would love a cup as well,” Betty said with a smile.
“I’m sure I can handle that,” Rolly agreed, and he moved to the door.
“Do you mind staying here for a minute?” Betty asked.
“Of course not,” I told the old woman. “Go with Rolly.”
“Thanks,” she said and then followed the old man out.
“So you think the snow killed a bunch of people?” Tara asked.
“Tara,” Paige scoffed.
“What?” the platinum blonde asked with a shrug. “Everybody was thinking it.”
“It may have,” I agreed. “But as you can see, there are still people out there.”
“That’s a pretty small group though,” Tara said.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Anna said with a hard voice. “There’s still people out there, and some of them are bound to try to get up here.”
“You’re such a downer sometimes,” Tara said with an eye roll.
“Anna is right,” I told Tara. “We still have to be careful.”
“Do you think anybody will try to find shelter and wait out the winter?” Bailey asked.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” I said. “People need warmth and food and water to survive around here. If they don’t have that established they’ll have to go looking for it.”
“It’d be easier to just keep walking at that point,” Paige said.
“Right,” I agreed.
“Coffee’s ready,” Rolly said as he entered the room with a pot and some cups.
“Thank you,” Tara groaned. “You’re the best.”
“He is, isn’t he,” Betty said with a grin.
“Tav,” Rolly breathed, and his eyes fixed on the window.
I whipped my head around to see what he was staring at, and I felt my jaw harden as I took in the sight. The few people ahead had made it a bit further, but coming through the tree line behind them was a horde of people, more massive than anything we had dealt with up until that point.
“Shit,” Anna breathed.
“Do you think there’s more coming after them?” Bailey asked.
“There must be a hundred people,” Paige said.
“I’m not going to wait to find out,” I answered Bailey’s question.
Anna stood up and ran out of the room.
“Where is she going?” Tara asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Everyone get ready to head down to the bridge.”
“Guys!” Anna yelled, and I followed her voice to the room across the hall.
Anna stared out the window, and I followed her lead. There was a break in the trees and I could see that there were even more people coming. There was well over a hundred, probably two hundred, and they were all heading to the bridge.
“What do we do?” Anna asked, and she looked up at me with hard, determined eyes.
“Everyone get ready to go to the bridge now,” I said, and I made my way downstairs.
“What’s going on?” Jeff asked as we came storming down the stairs.
“There’s a horde of people on the road,” Anna answered.
“Shit,” Jeff said. “What do you need?”
“Get ready,” I told him. “You’re coming with us.”
“Is it time to blow the bridge?” he asked.
“I think so,” I agreed as I threw my vest on.
“What can we do?” Kimmy asked, and she stood up from the couch.
“You all stay here,” I told her with a shake of my head. “I don’t need anyone else getting injured.”
“We can go keep watch,” Cathy said.
“Good idea,” I told her while I put my coat on. “Go help Rolly and Betty upstairs.”
“Alright,” the sandy blonde haired woman said, and she took off up the stairs.
“How many people are there?” Jeff asked as he threw on his winter clothes.
“Probably two hundred,” Bailey said.
“At least,” I agreed.
“Jesus,” Jeff breathed.
I moved to push the door open, and Winchester came and stood right by me.
“No, boy,” I said. “You have to stay here.”
The black headed dog whined and looked outside.
“Why can’t he go?” Bailey asked.
“He might run out to the people,” I said. “We can’t risk it.”
“Come here, Winchester,” Kimmy called, but the dog didn’t move, instead he looked at Bailey.
“Go, boy,” Bailey said softly, and she reached down to pet him. “Go with Kimmy.”
Winchester whined once more, but he went over to sit at Kimmy’s feet.
“Ready?” I asked the group.
They all nodded their heads, and I reached to push the door open. The snow was piled up outside, and it took me a minute to push the door open enough to step through.
“Jesus,” Tara said as we stepped out into the snow. “How are we even supposed to walk in this?”
“Carefully,” I told her. “Step in my footprints if you need to.”
The day was bright. The sun reflected off the snow and hit my eyes with a blaring white as I walked. I had to lift my legs high for each step, and I was careful to not move too quickly so no one in my group risked falling.
I looked back to see that Paige and Tara were struggling with walking in the snow, they held their arms out wide to keep their balance. Bailey took slow, steady steps, staring down at her feet as she moved, and Anna walked confidently behind me, stepping in my tracks. Jeff was larger than all the girls, and he walked slowly, but took large steps to cover more distance.
I turned my attention back to the driveway in front of me. The walk was taking much longer than usual with the snow accumulation, and I gritted my teeth as I realized there was no better way to go about this. We had to walk, and it would take a while. The cars surely wouldn’t start at this point, and even if they did, the snow was so deep they wouldn’t get far.
A cold wind blew across my face and sent a shiver through my body. I hadn’t realized how cold it was outside until just then, but it had to be freezing temperatures at the very least.
“At this rate they’re going to reach the bridge before we do,” Anna said.
We reached the trees that led down to the sentry post, and I stepped inside the tree line. The snow was slightly less deep, but nothing significant.
I realized that Anna was right, we couldn’t let them reach the bridge before we did. I picked up the pace, but after a few moments I heard Tara yell out behind me.
“Oh, my God,” Bailey said. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Tara said, but I turned to see her on the ground, covered in snow.
Bailey helped her up, and she dusted the snow off her pants.
“You guys go at your own pace,” I said with a frown. “I’m going to head down there and hold them off.”
“I’m coming with you,” Anna said with a set jaw.
“Let’s go,” I told her, and we took off through the woods.
Anna kept pace with me as I did my best to sprint through the trees. The high snow made it difficult, but once I got to a running pace, I was able to kind of hop over large portions at a time.
I was out of breath when Anna and I arrived at the bottom of the hill, and I looked out to the road to see that the first group was just arriving at the bridge.
“Just in time,” Anna said next to me.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “But just in time for what?”
“They could still choose to move on,” Anna said.
“Do you believe that?” I asked.
“No,” she said, and she stared out to the group.
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The civilians stood in the middle of the road, staring at the pile of bodies that had been covered with snow. There were still bodies strung up that were visible, but our signs had been mostly covered, and the bodies on the road were mostly invisible under the sheet of white.
“What the fuck is this?” a large man in the front asked.
“Somebody strung up dead bodies,” another guy in a red jacket said.
“Why would somebody do that?” the first guy asked.
“It’s probably a warning,” a woman with long black hair said.
“What makes you say that?” the large man asked.
The woman walked over to the street sign and brushed it with her sleeve so our no trespassing sign became visible.
“Their signs were covered with the snowfall,” the woman said.
“What does that sign say?” the large man asked, and he walked over and brushed the rest of it off.
“No trespassing,” the guy in the red jacket read. “Trespassers will be shot on sight.”
“Well, we’re in sight,” the large man said. “And nobody has shot us yet.”
People were still making their way past the tree line, and the group at the bottom of the bridge was only growing larger.
Just then I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned to see that Tara, Bailey, Paige, and Jeff had made their way down to us.
“What’s going on?” Paige whispered as she crouched next to us.
“Holy hell,” Jeff gasped softly as he saw the size of the group.
“There’s so many of them.” Bailey frowned at me.
“I know,” I whispered, and I stared out at the group.
“They can’t see our signs,” Anna whispered as the people on the road argued about why they hadn’t been shot at yet if our signs were true.
“Should we address them?” Paige asked.
“Maybe,” I said. “Let’s see what they do.”
We watched as the group continued to argue.
“They’re probably all dead up there,” the large man said.
“If so, then why would we want to go up there?” the black haired woman asked.
“Well, if they are dead up there, then they probably left supplies,” the guy in the red jacket said.
“All I know is that the signs say no trespassing,” the large man said. “But we ain’t been shot at yet.”
“They strung up bodies,” the woman scoffed. “We shouldn’t risk it.”
