It wasn’t the end of the world that bothered Quill so much as the way it had been handled. In her opinion, they should have had ample time to prepare, being that the first dimensional rifts had opened a good fifty years before stuff had really started to get bad. But no, it had all been Russia’s problem or China’s problem or someone else’s problem on the other side of the world until one day, Quill had woken up with ten billon other people and gone to sleep in a damp hole as part of the one percent that had survived. Since then, if the monsters weren’t trying to kill her then the bandits were, and even a city like Havenport couldn’t keep them all at bay. If anything other than pure desperation could have driven her to take two kids across acres of desolation towards the allegedly secure city of New Jericho, it would have to have been madness.

“Mom, can I have the water? I’m thirsty.”

“Of course.” She paused in her walking to set down her pack and fish out one of the bottles. Handing it to her twelve-year-old son, Terrence, she took a seat against one of the trees. It was pine, one of the few species the monsters hadn’t outcompeted or predated to extinction. It looked almost normal. In fact, other than the fact that the road was fifteen years overdue for maintenance, it was all almost normal. In another lifetime, they could have been on a family hike. “It looks like it might rain later,” Quill mused.

Terrence was too busy gulping down water to reply. He’d put down his three-year-old sister, Aurelien, and she was blinking groggily in the midmorning grayness. “Me too!” she chirped, noticing the water. Quill poured some into a cup so she wouldn’t spill it, and then indulged in a few swallows herself.

By that point, little Aure was standing on her tiptoes with arms outstretched, looking up at her mother. “Not now, sweetie,” Quill murmured. Terrence stretched and reached down for the water pack. “I can carry that for now,” Quill cut in, stepping over to pick it up.

Terrence was already slinging it over his shoulder. “It’s alright, Mom. I can take it.”

Quill frowned. It was obvious that Terrence hadn’t slept well last night, and he’d been carrying his napping sister for a while. “You look tired. You don’t have to.”

“I’m not tired,” he said, the reply coming too quickly.

Quill’s frown deepened. “Are you sure? It’s okay, it’s been a long—”

“I’m fine,” he snapped. “You’re not tired and—” he cut himself off and his expression hardened. “I’m not tired. I told you I’m not.” He adjusted the strap once more and took off.

He hadn’t said it, but it was obvious what was on Terrence’s mind. You’re not tired and Dad wouldn’t have been either. It was true: if her husband had been alive, he would have been at the front of the group and encouraging the family onward, just as he’d been when they were traveling to Havenport. But Renn was dead, shot by bandits two years ago, and Terrence was striving to fill his oversized shoes. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair and Quill wished more than anything that she could pause for a moment and get it all sorted out in her head. But her children’s needs extended beyond just being extra mouths to feed, and Renn wasn’t coming back.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The afternoon was fading and the sky had deepened to a stormy grey when they stopped again. By that time, Terrence needed more water and Quill had started carrying Aurelien. Eyes waited hungrily in the shadows, and though they drifted back when given a second glance, their gaze always seemed to fall back upon the smallest party member. Quill was relieved when the trees thinned out and an abandoned town made itself visible. “We’re stopping here for the night,” she said, turning off the main road.

Terrence, already a few steps ahead of her, was heading toward the closest of the weathered doors. He knocked once, twice, and then broke the window open. He entered carefully and the next moment, the door was swinging open. “You coming, Mom?”

Quill was past having qualms about robbing the dead.

With the house secured and its abandonment by both humans and monsters made certain, they could finally relax. Terrence, efficient as ever, was raiding the kitchen for canned food. Little Aure pulled at Quill’s shirt and said, “I’m tired, Mommy. When do we get to the ci-tee?

Quill, who was checking the window they’d broken once again to make sure it was blocked, looked down. “Soon, love. We’ll turn off this road early tomorrow, and after that, it will be two days at most before we get to New Jericho.”

“Yeah, and then it’ll be at least three years before they actually let us in,” said Terrence from inside the pantry.

Quill put the water cup into Aure’s grasping hands. “At least a town near it will be safer than here,” she reminded him. At the very least, the proximity of a strong civilization meant laws, safety, and a stable source of food. Often, one could even find luxuries like milk, turkey, real butter, and wool. Living there, one could almost pretend that nothing had changed. New Jericho was crowded because it was good.

Terrence finally returned from the kitchen and plopped down next to them. His hands were empty. “You didn’t find any canned food?” Quill asked with surprise.

Terrence shook his head. “None.” He sighed. “I guess we picked an unlucky house, huh?”

In the dead house within the dead village, the corners of Quill’s mouth twitched down for a moment. “Well, at least this lightens our load for tomorrow.” She reached into the pack and picked out a can of beans. “Who’s hungry?”

Outside, the rain had started to fall. With a fire blazing merrily in the fireplace and the tent set up in the cozy living room, it almost felt safe. Quill spooned beans into each of their cups and prepared to help Aurelien with her meal. The small girl shook her head. “I won’t spill, Mommy. See, I’m a li’l lady,” she declared.

Quill smiled wryly. “Yes, I see.”

The sky outside was dark and the wind groaned miserably. Aure was sated and already asleep, and Terrence was well on his way to following her. The fire, Quill knew, would keep away any monsters that might be prowling around at night. Still, out of habit, she checked the window one more time. Only then did she give in to sleep.