Day 02:

"Simon"

*Grumbling

"Simon, wake up, bro!"

" Wh-what"

"Where—oh, it's this place." There were loads of tents all around me, not proper ones, nor were they housing healthy people.

Mike chuckled, "Yeah, I was like that too; shame, isn't it? But remember, we have a job to do," said Mike in a tired tone.

I got up off my bed and decided to go to a large container full of water that was near the kitchen to freshen up; apparently we even had soap. That's nice.

Me and Mike apparently got the job to patrol and loot nearby areas. We also received makeshift melee weapons just in case we ran into some trouble. Mike got a sludge hammer, and I already had one, which was my baseball bat.

"I'll knock those freaks straight into the stratosphere! Those punks ain't going to know what hit 'em!" He kept on excitedly rambling about his hammer while hitting the air with different combos. It improved my mood a bit, and at least someone's happy.

I decided to go check up on my family; they still hadn't fully recovered yet, but that rest must've at least calmed their minds a bit.

"Hey mom, Are you feeling better?"

She just nodded at me and clearly by the look on her face. She wasn't in the mood to talk, so I didn't push it and let her be.

I went to my little sister,

"Lucy? C'mon talk to me; I know we've had a bad day, but it'll get better soon enough, right?" I tried to cheer up my sister, but it wasn't working. At least she doesn't seem as afraid of me as she was yesterday.

"I'll see you guys later." I decided to walk away.

Could I have done better? Should I have been the one to get bitten? What would dad have done if he was in my place? I'm sure he would've sacrificed himself, but beating myself over who should've died will not help anyone.

I'll do what I can. I'm going to make my family happy and keep them safe. I'm going to restore them to how they used to be. I'll try my best or die trying.

Me and Mike decided to go from the northern barricade to loot some houses. Mr. Bennett had suggested we shouldn't go in the south or southwest direction because, according to him, it would have far more zombies there because it used to be a massive traffic spot, and his reasoning definitely made sense.

We heeded his advice and set out. I decided not to talk about the glowing trees last night because I was sure people might've already seen it or at least heard about it.

Along the way, to the northern barricade. I saw some people who were just laying on the sidewalks dazed out of their minds. In the base, people like these or less "important" people are made to sleep on the road, and the other people that were somewhat valuable or were from the big families were allowed to sleep in the buildings.

A hierarchy was clearly taking root in this base, whose effects may just turn this place into a dictatorship, and if I'm not careful, I'll be treated just like these drug addicts.

Looking at the southern barricade, some people were trying to act all friendly with the guards, and the guards, being as they were, were laughing along with them.

People are becoming more and more desperate for some protection or any type of outlet so their worries could leave them. I'm certain that the camp may just get worse and worse as time goes on.

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Earlier this morning, when I went to get some breakfast with Mike. The people I passed by weren't too excited about the food. I noticed a dirty, ragged man who looked like he hadn't had a lick of water since this whole freakshow started.

I went to one of the water containers to get something to drink for the poor dude, but when I gave it to him, he looked at the cup and looked at me as if I was wrong for bringing it to him.

"Hey man, here," he smacked it out of my hand.

"Just leave me alone! God! He turned his face away from me.

The spilled water sat inches away from my feet. I felt anger more than I ever felt before. A hand clutched my shoulder, jerking me out of my mind. I tried to shake it off on reflex.

" EASY! It's alright, just leave him be. Some people are just sad and miserable fools," remarked Mike.

The man leaning against the wall quickly stood up. "What you say to me, boy!" What you say to me, boy!"

"EXACTLY, WHAT YOU HEARD, YOU CRAZY FOOL!" Mike retorted.

"ALRIGHT! Let's just go!" I tried to drag him away from the fight.

The old man let it go too—verbally, at least. He just kept staring at us, menacingly. Mike also joined the staring contest but stopped after the old man gave up. That old man wasn't the only one like that in that camp; the man in the bed next to me was like that; he was just a little bit more calm than him.

All of a sudden I heard someone yelling, "Heyy Eli! Don't leave me like that, you know."

"It's okay, baby; don't worry about it." Eli suddenly hugged the girl that approached him close to his chest.

Eli Johnson was the top football player in my school. He was pretty muscular and dependable at times, but it seems nowadays he got himself a girlfriend.

My opinion on the families is so far not that good; the Johnson's, who are responsible for guard duty, pack the most firepower in the entire base. Most of them are not a friendly bunch. The Bennetts, on the other hand, are well, the ones responsible for the camp hierarchy; the Johnsons just follow in their footsteps.

I got past the church's eastern corner and got to where Mike was waiting for me. He lightly waved at me,

"Simon, are you ready, man?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I gestured towards the bat in my left hand.

A man approached us,You both are on looting duty, right?" Mike and I nodded.

He handed us two backpacks.

"There's more bags inside of them; take care." He woke away, and we both started to wear the bags on our backs.

We approached the roadblock in silence; the guards just nodded at us as we passed by. As we were walking away from the barricade.

"I got some news; the Johnson's are trying to pick a fight with the Bennett's."

Mike informed me.

"Why?",

"Hell, if I know, what I do know is that if they fight. The people are going to suffer," I started thinking.

Mike was right; the base will be jeapordy if that happens. The only safe option I see is leaving the base, but that isn't safe either unless I have something to protect myself with.

Which would be a gun, but how do I get it? The police stations and gun store are too far away. So the viable option would be to steal from the families.

"I'm sure we'll think of something, right?" Mike tried to clear the bad mood.

I nodded at him. Mike also doesn't have that much of a positive opinion on the families. So it won't be that hard to convince him to join me, but I've got to make sure first that he'll actually ride with me.