The Settlement

Day 1

A bell jingles in the distance and Olivia sits bolt upright. Her heart pounds against her chest. Another bell, closer this time, starts to jingle. She slowly slides out of the sleeping bag, careful not to make a sound. With one hand, she slips her safety glasses on; with the other, she grabs the axe.

As she creeps forward, out of the tent, a third bell sounds. It's almost upon her. Her breathing quickens and she takes a few step backwards, until she's hidden behind a large oak tree. Now, she waits.

A few moments later, a figure steps into the clearing near the tent. In the dim moonlight, she can't make out any details, so she watches silently. Her palms start to sweat against the handle of the axe.

All of a sudden, the figure in the clearing hisses, "Olivia!"

She slumps back against the tree and sighs her relief. Then, she steps forward and whispers back, "Max, what are yo--"

"Later. We gotta move. "

As if on cue, the outermost bell starts to jingle. Olivia grabs her backpack and sleeping bag. Together, the pair hurries away from the campsite. Faint growls reach them as more bells start to ring near the abandoned tent.

They've practiced this routine so many times that it comes naturally by now. They step around the loose rocks and over the trip wires and bells. Even in the pale light, they're able to travel the path with hardly a sound. Finally, they reach the cave that they've set up as their secondary base.

"Alright," Olivia drops her things on the cave floor, then turns toward her cousin. "Why are you back so early? And what's with you sneaking up on me like that? You freaked me out."

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I had to be quiet since the zombies were following. And I figured ringing the bells was better than popping up next to the tent unannounced."

She gives a begrudging nod.

A smile breaks out across Max's face. "I found a settlement! I watched it for a couple days and it seems like a really nice place."

Olivia's hands slide off her hips, and the corners of her mouth lift up into a smile.

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Day 2

Olivia tiptoes over and crouches beside Max. Without taking his eyes off the clearing, he whispers, "How many?"

"There's a crawler out past those trees, but I'm not worried about him. So that just leaves those two walkers by the tent. The others wandered off after we left last night."

He nods in acknowledgement. Grabbing his baseball bat, he sneaks toward the clearing. Olivia picks up her axe and follows. Max gives a signal for Olivia to go after the walker on the left, then he creeps off toward the right.

Holding her breath, Olivia tiptoes forward. All the while, she watches Max from the corner of her eye. When he's close enough to strike, he waits, crouching behind his target. Olivia takes a few more steps, then nods. She's ready. Max holds up a hand to count down. Three... Two... One... Both cousins leap up, prepared for battle.

With a whack-crunch, the aluminum bat collides with the skull of the rightmost zombie. Olivia swings her axe toward the one on the left. From over her shoulder and down with a swoosh, the axe cuts through the air. (Whack-crunch.) With a thwack, the axe collides with its target. But it slides off, taking a strip of skin and hair with it. (Whack-crunch.) A shower of blood sprays out. The axe usually sticks on the first strike, but this time... (Whack-crunch.) Surprised by the resistance, the axe handle slips from her sweaty grip. The walker rounds on her and she stumbles backwards. (Whack-crunch.) Teeth bared and growling, it stalks forward. (Whack-crunch, thud.) She searches around for something to use as a weapon.

WHACK-CRUNCH! Max raises the bat once more over the second walker. WHACK-CRUNCH! Olivia watches as the blood and gore shower across the forest floor. WHACK-CRUNCH! WHACK-CRUNCH! WHACK-CRUNCH! Thud. The walker lies in a gory heap by Max's feet.

Max plops down on the ground, chest heaving from the exertion. With the back of his shirt, he cleans the blood from his safety glasses. After more than a year in this apocalypse, they knew the danger of getting the blood in their eyes. Ever since Victor turned, they've always kept the glasses nearby.

Olivia goes over and nudges the zombie's shattered head with the toe of her boot. "Well, that's different." Grabbing a handful of green leaves, she wipes at the blood on the skull until a glint of shiny, dented metal shows through the carnage. "Of course I find the one zombie with a metal plate on its skull."

A bell starts to ring in the distance. Letting out a low groan, Max pushes himself off the ground. "Hurry and pack up the tent. We need to go."

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Day 3

Olivia sits with her back toward the tent and watches the sun come up over the horizon. This was the reason she always chose to take second watch. Seeing the reds and oranges and purples come to life across the sky reminds her that there is still beauty -- and hope -- to be found in this grim world. Even though the world has ended, she still enjoys the sunrise.

Before long, there's a rustling sound. She turns to see Max crawling out of the tent. Without a word, he gives a half-hearted wave and walks down to the edge of the river. He fills his canteen and washes his face in the ice-cold water before walking back up the bank.

"Any trouble during your watch?" His words float into the air as little gray puffs of steam.

"Nah, just one crawler." Olivia stands up and wipes the dirt from her pants. Then, she wraps her sweater tighter around herself. "Let's get going."

The hours are filled with companionable silence, simply walking onward toward their destination. An eternity ago, someone had asked Olivia to describe what living in an apocalypse would be like. She'd speculated that it would be "thrilling, terrifying, overwhelming, heart-stopping, panic-inducing." That was all true. But now, as she trudges along for hours on end, she has more to add to that list: "bleak, dull, dreary, monotonous." Back then, she never would've imagined how boring it could -- would -- also be.

The day passes uneventfully. Finally, as the sun sinks low over the horizon, Olivia speaks up. "How much farther?"

"A couple miles or so. We better find somewhere to make camp."

"What?!" Olivia spins around to face him. With her fists on her hips, she continues, "No! If it's only a couple miles, let's hurry up and get there."

Max lets out a sigh. "Liv, think about it. The sun's already setting. They've got guards and a huge fence surrounding this place. Do you really want to go sneaking up after dark and risk getting ourselves shot?"

She glares for a moment longer before conceding. "Fine. You're right. What do you suggest?"

"There's a ma... Hold on." He pauses, turning his head to the side. "Do you hear that?"

"Shit."

Max bolts off. Olivia stays close on his heels. Behind them, a fast-approaching cacophony of rumbling growls, snapping twigs, and stampeding feet. Adrenaline coursing through them, the pair sprints onward. At last, they come out at the edge of a highway. The commotion behind them warns that the runners are still in pursuit.

Hearts pound against their chests. They dash across the highway and into a parking lot. Breaths come in ragged gasps. They dodge between broken, rusted cars. Sweat drips down their backs. They hurdle over trash and rotting corpses.

Halfway across the parking lot, Max trips. Olivia continues racing forward. She knows the pact:  fight runners from a distance, if you can, but don't stop moving. Fortunately, Max heaves himself off the ground and continues on, only a few steps behind her.

"Turn... Right!" Max shouts the order between gulping breaths.

Without slowing her stride, Olivia turns toward the building. She sees the open door at the back of the mall and barrels through it. Inside now, she gets ready to slam the door closed. Max rushes onward. Three runners follow in his wake, nipping at his heels. Finally, Max flings himself through the door and she yanks it closed.

Olivia keeps a tight grip on the handle as one runner after the other slams into the door. Their screeches of fury carry through the door and tear at the pair's ears. The handle twists beneath her grip as the zombies pull at the other side. Struggling for breath, Max reaches up and slides the bolts into place to hold the door fast. At last, Olivia loosens her grip from the handle. Stepping back, the pair watches as it turns and twists in vain.

"They'll draw... More... We've got... To move."

With a quick nod, Max turns to exit the room. He leads her down a long hallway and up a flight of stairs. Then, they squeeze underneath the small gap below a candy store's security gate. Olivia pulls the gate the rest of the way down, while Max makes a quick pass through the room to verify that they're alone. Finally, both collapse onto the floor.

Before long, exhaustion takes over. Each one passes out without another word.

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Day 4

Olivia wakes with a start and clamps her hands over her ears. She struggles to focus on what is happening. But, from what she can tell in her sleepy state, an alarm has been tripped and zombies are gathering at the gate. The barrier, already straining against the growing horde, won't keep them out forever.

They scoop up their belongings. Then, the pair hurries out a back door that opens out into an exterior walkway. In the pre-dawn moonlight, they hurry forward until noise fades into the background.

"What happened? I thought the electricity was out."

"Backup generator, I guess. No idea what suddenly tripped the alarm though." He takes a beat to look around. "May as well head to the settlement. I think the sun will be up by the time we get there."

They tread down the stairs. Moving quietly, they hurry across the parking lot and back toward the woods. In the distance, they watch as silhouettes of zombies move between cars and toward the noise of the mall. If nothing else, the wail of the store's alarm provides an easy distraction so they can get away.

Less than an hour later, they walk through the densely packed vegetation. Trees tower overhead, but through the gaps, they can see the first hints of the rising sun. They climb upward, toward the top of the hill -- the last obstacle before they reach the settlement.

Just as they reach the summit, the wind changes directions. They're greeted by an overwhelming odor of smoke. The pair emerges from the trees to look down on the remains of the settlement. Now, it's just smoldering piles of ash and charred debris.

"Come on, Liv." Dejected, Max places a hand on her shoulder. "If there were any recent deaths, there'll be runners nearby."

Olivia's eyes fill with hot, angry tears. When she doesn't respond to his words, he wraps her in a quick embrace. Then, he grabs her by the hand and tugs. "We've got to go."

Behind the veil of smoke, the sun appears over the horizon and paints the sky. Olivia can't find the beauty -- or hope -- in the sight today.