Ryan Westfield - Staying Alive

“Sure,” said Sadie sleepily.

“She needs to eat,” said James, as Sadie disappeared inside, looking weary. “She’s getting weaker.”

“We all are,” said Mandy. “Where’s Chad?”

“He’s on the other side of the house,” said James.

“Good,” said Mandy, nodding.

Although for some reason she didn’t want to admit it to herself, it seemed as if Chad was really trying to pull his weight. Then again, he’d gotten in them so much trouble that Mandy figured Chad owed them all. And he hadn’t exactly been much good on the roof until the very last minute.

Mandy started walking out towards Georgia. She kept the Glock out and ready, and she tried her best to keep her attention up. It was hard though, with her stomach begging for food, and her mind starting to wander with fatigue. She’d been awake for too long. They all had.

How were they going to get any rest when they had to work so hard just to defend the farmhouse? How were they even going to have time to find food and water, let alone eat it and drink it?

Maybe Max was right.

Maybe they had to leave.

Mandy tried to remind herself that she was still better off here than back in her apartment in the suburbs. Who knows what would have happened to her back there, if she’d stayed.

If Max hadn’t broken down her apartment door, she’d most likely have died at the hands of those two criminals. And if she hadn’t, maybe a worst fate would have awaited her.

“You finally had the chance to get one, eh?” said Mandy.

Georgia was already bending down over the deer, inspecting it.

“Finally we can eat,” said Georgia, looking up at Mandy.

Even in the darkness, Georgia looked beyond exhausted. They had all been through a lot, but Mandy considered for the first time that maybe Georgia had it the worst of all of them. She was the only one who was really a decent shot at long range, so she held more responsibility for all their safety than anyone else. What’s more, she had to worry about her two kids all the time.

That couldn’t have been easy. Not in the apocalypse.

Mandy suddenly had a weird thought—that was the first time she’d called their situation “the apocalypse” to herself. Well, she supposed that it was true. It was the right thing to call it. Society had collapsed, and she doubted whether things would ever be the same. At least not for a long, long time.

“Here,” said Georgia. “We’d better drag this to the porch. It’s probably not safe to start dressing it here.”

“Good call,” said Mandy, grabbing one of the legs.

Together, they dragged the deer carcass back across the field.

“Nice shot, Mom,” said James, when they got close.

Georgia seemed too tired to say much. She just nodded.

While they had the deer, they couldn’t eat just yet. There was still a lot of work to be done.

Georgia took out a large folding knife from her pocket. The handle caught Mandy’s eye for some reason. It was made of brass and wood. Mandy remembered her grandfather using one when she was a kid, but she didn’t remember what it was called.

Georgia started to work, occasionally giving Mandy directions on how she could help.

Seeing the deer being cut open reminded Mandy all too vividly of the woman she’d stabbed. She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind. She felt like vomiting again, but she resisted. In the end, she was able to push through, and still manage to help Georgia. After all, getting the deer ready to eat had literally become a matter of life and death. She couldn’t let her own feelings get in the way of eating.

“Max thinks we should leave the farmhouse,” said Mandy, watching Georgia working with her knife.

“Leave the farmhouse?” said James. “Where would we go?”

“Make sure you’re keeping watch, James,” said Georgia.

“I am, don’t worry.”

“He thinks it’s too dangerous here?” said Georgia, looking up at Mandy.

“Basically, yeah.”

“He might be right. There were five strangers here in a single day. And we almost didn’t make it.”

“I know,” said Mandy. “But don’t you think that the numbers will… you know, die off? You know, as people… die off in the cities.”

“Maybe,” said Georgia. “But even if that happens, we’ve still got to stay alive here for days, if not weeks, while they keep coming. Frankly, I don’t think we’re going to make it that long.”

“That’s basically what Max was saying.”

“Then again,” said Georgia, taking a large piece of meat and laying it on the porch floor. “I don’t know where the hell we’d go.”

Mandy didn’t know what to say. “Should we make a fire?”

“A fire will attract more people,” said a male voice in the doorway.

Mandy turned around. It was Max, leaning against the doorway for support.

“What the hell are you doing out of bed?” said Mandy, growing angry.

“I wanted to make sure everything was OK,” said Max.

“I sent Sadie in to tell you.”

Max shrugged.

She could see in his face the pain his leg was causing him. Mandy couldn’t believe how tough he was.

“You’d better at least sit down,” said Georgia.

Max shuffled over to the swinging bench that hung from the porch roof.

“I think a fire is our only option,” said Georgia. “The gas isn’t working inside. We don’t have another way to cook it. And we’ve got to eat.”

“Could we eat it raw?” said Mandy.

“We could,” said Georgia. “I’ve done it before. But we don’t know what’s in this meat. There could be parasites. I wish the gas stove inside still worked.”

“We don’t have the medication to treat it,” said Max, from the bench. “Short term, it’d be good. Long term, though, it could be really bad.”

“I think we should risk a fire,” said Georgia. “We’ll all have more strength if we’ve got some food in our stomachs.”

She looked over at Max, who merely nodded.

“You have that fire starter?” said Georgia.

Max dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a fire steel, attached to a small lanyard.

There was already a piling of kindling and dead wood that Mandy had gathered a few days ago with Sadie.

Max pulled something else out of his pocket. “Here,” he said. It was a small plastic tube that had once held film for a camera.

Georgia took the fire starter and the tube from Max. “Cotton balls?” she said, examining the tube.

“Soaked in Vaseline,” said Max. “They’ll ignite in almost any condition.”

“Mandy says you’re thinking we should leave.”

“Yeah,” said Max. “But we should talk about it after we eat.”

“Does anyone have any water?” said Sadie, appearing once again on the porch. “I’m so thirsty I can’t even sleep.”

Mandy picked up her water bottle from where it rested against the side of the house. “Nope,” she said, opening it up. “We’d better go get some. What do you think, Max?”

“Normally, it’d be better to wait until morning,” said Max. “Someone could sneak up on you at night. But given the circumstances, maybe you should go. I’d go with you, but…”

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Mandy. “There’s only so many times I can stitch you back up.”

“Fine,” said Max. “But you’re taking Chad and James. Sadie, Georgia, and I will keep watch. Is that OK with you, Georgia?”

Georgia nodded. She was busy arranging the wood for the fire.

Mandy knew it was dangerous, heading out into the woods at night. But they needed water desperately. Her own throat was incredibly parched.

Mandy headed inside to fetch what was essentially a large plastic bag. She held one of the candles in front of her in order to see. Supposedly, it was better to use up the candles rather than the flashlight batteries. But either way, in a few weeks they wouldn’t have candles or batteries.