10

Chapter 10

post apocalypse begins

"We're okay. Everything is under control." Zumwraek smiled reassuringly at his brother, ignoring the concerned glances that the two girls were shooting him, not wanting either of them to notice that he was lying to them. He didn't want either of them to know just yet, he really didn't. He just couldn't handle the sight of both of them worrying over him and he definitely didn't want them getting hurt, especially Moomintroll, and he certainly didn't want them to feel sorry for themselves. "Don't worry," he said quickly when he saw both their expressions darken. "Nothing bad's happened. We just need to wait till we get close enough to our village and then I'm certain that my parents will come and rescue us."

Zim nodded stiffly in response. He couldn't bring himself to look his mother in the eyes, but she didn't seem to mind at all. "Alright…" she replied calmly, although her voice was shaky and weak and she still looked terrified.

Once they'd started to travel again Zim realised that everything was getting quiet as well. Not a single monster dared to attack them as they drove. The silence made his stomach twist uncomfortably. For a second he wondered whether they had somehow been defeated already, or perhaps they really were gone. But that couldn't be possible, they couldn't have been defeated so easily… could they? He frowned and turned towards the woman who remained slumped in her seat, staring blankly forward, her brow creased in confusion and her eyes glazed over with tears.

Was she thinking the exact same things he was? What would happen to her and her child then? Would they starve or be killed?

For a brief moment he considered waking her up and asking what was wrong, but he dismissed the idea instantly. She clearly didn't want to speak, so even though he desperately wanted answers to all of these questions he knew better than to push her any further than he already had. She needed space and time and he'd given her plenty of that already. Besides, it wasn't as if he really knew what to make of it either, so it hardly mattered to him.

The silence stretched on for several more minutes as they continued to drive forward, occasionally being met with silence in the form of birdsong, the wind whistling overhead and occasionally a rabbit would wander by the path. But none of them seemed interested in attacking, instead choosing to hop out of their way as they passed. Zumwraek eventually stopped the wagon when they reached a clearing with a stream flowing nearby. They'd found it relatively recently; a few days previously. It' had been obvious that it was the right spot to camp because the ground surrounding it was fairly flat and clear of grass, allowing the horses to graze safely and the trees were sparse and provided ample shade as they slept. That was where they intended to stay that night.

Zim jumped down off the back of the wagon and joined his family as they stood there in the clearing. After all, it was easier to see the sky and the stars above them in such a large open area than it was in the wagon where they couldn't see anything except the occasional flicker of lightning from an approaching storm and could hear distant thunder booming overhead every now and again. The clouds had begun to disperse somewhat over the last couple of weeks however and the light rain was fading away as well. Zumwraek figured that it might be due to the fact that winter had officially ended, making it difficult to sustain the weather here, causing the snow to melt, as well as giving them an opportunity for another short period of springtime before the temperatures dropped below freezing point, thus bringing about an inevitable cold snap.

He shook off his thoughts, focusing on the problem at hand instead of his own worries. He then instructed the boys to set up the beds as soon as possible and to make sure to leave room for them on top of each other so that everyone could sleep together.