Chapter 6: Time

7 months later…

It's been a while since the last time we talked. I feel like I should be the one responsible for filling you in. I guess it would be smart to start from the beginning...again.

After the night at the campfire, the tall guy, who's name we found out was John, took us to his apartment building which he was using for people to come and stay as long as they worked for him. It was like something straight out of The Walking Dead. We adjusted fairly quickly to the new living arrangements but something didn't feel quite right. After a few months Jon started getting smaller and smaller. I ignored it as him trying to lose weight. With the literal apocalypse happening around us it was hard to focus on any one thing for too long.

After about a month at John's here Kaylee got sick, we still don't know what it is that caused it. She's moving around a little more but she still seems sluggish. Mary thinks that John isn't all he claims to be. I think she should be grateful he's given us shelter from the mess going on outside the walls.

A few hours ago John approached me and asked if I would go on a supply run with him, I'd feel wrong if I didn't say yes. He told me we'd leave at three o'clock, I'd probably be anxious if I knew when that was. Time just kind of drags by, I couldn't tell you if it's even 2017 anymore.

John just came into our apartment and said we'd be leaving in 45 minutes, Mary keeps whispering things in my ear about him. How he seems shady and how she doesn't know why he couldn't have chosen anyone other than me. Honestly, I was too tired to even think about anything other than the task at hand. I had to get ready.

I went down to the weapons cache area and checked out my .38 special, a suppressor, a glock 9, and a bowie knife. Rhonda, the weapons handler, must have seen the tiredness in my eyes, she gave me a very pitying look and said "Hon, you look like shit. If you're thinking about going out, I wouldn't recommend it."

"You and your infinite wisdom. I can't though, John asked me to go on a scavenging thing with him and a couple of his other crew members."

Rhonda just rolled her eyes and moved on to the person behind me. I walked back up to the apartment with the guns strapped to my belt. Angel began cooing at the shiny metal of the .38 special, Lukas had been asking for me to teach him to shoot for a while now. I haven't had too much on my plate recently, maybe I should teach him once I get back with John and his crew. I'm sure we'll find some extra ammunition lying around somewhere so it shouldn't be too much of a big deal to use a couple rounds for target practice.

John entered the room looking like a badass for a 56 year old. I can only hope to be something like him when I'm his age. Truth is, I admire the guy, he gets around in the zombie apocalypse almost better than I do.

"You ready?" John asked with a smile. I felt like one of the crew immediately.

We got out on the road in the bus that we took from the school, John said we're looking for ammo, clothes, any gas we could find, preferably diesel. Time, it doesn't feel the same anymore. It drags on and on if you let your mind drift for even a few minutes. A task that in reality only takes a few minutes feels like it takes hours.

I don't know how long it took, eventually we ended up parked outside a weird warehouse. It looked like some kind of storehouse, I didn't question it. It was a place to get suplies, and that's what we needed.

We unloaded the bus and held our weapons at the ready. One of the people on our crew used a crowbar to open the big metal door. I didn't know his name, it made me feel a little bad. I shined my flashlight inside and the warehouse was nearly empty.

"We need to search this place, it looks barren but there could be something useful in there. Take out your guns and check around to see if you see anything. Got it?" John said.

We broke apart into groups of two, John decided it best to come with me since it was my first time scavenging with them. We saw a faint light from the office on the catwalk. I told John about it and he said it best to let one of the others check it out while we search through boxes and crates.

After about 2 hours of searching boxes to no avail. I turned to ask John if there was something else I could do and found a knife pressed to my neck. When I got my bearings I realized it was the bowie knife I had checked out of the arms deposit, and John was the one holding it. His men were behind me pointing their guns at me. I figured that this was just some kind of practical joke. I chuckled and the blade made an incision on my adam's apple. The look John gave me said that this was no laughing matter.

It surprised me how quickly I gave up hope and accepted I was going to die. What would my family do? How would they survive? How would Angel grow up? The questions exited my mind as soon as they entered as I tried to grasp the situation. I knew something was off about this guy. The worst part was the monologue.

"Listen, you need to understand that I don't want to do this. Our people, my people, are hungry. That boy you brought in dropped 50 pounds since you've gotten here. Dustin, the sacrifice you're making will make sure that your people eat good for the next little while. I'll make sure of it." The anger welling up inside me came out in the form of saliva. One projectile from my mouth to his eye was all it took. He stumbled back and I took the knife from his hand and slammed it into his abdomen. His men stood aloof as I pulled the knife out. I didn't know what to do.

I ran.

I ran to the bus and closed the door with his men close behind. I started it up and sped out of there.

I just killed a man. In yesterday's world, a crime. In today's world, an inconvenience.