The End of all we knew

The end of all we knew The violence of the crash, the noise, the small table overturning, helped bring her out of the shock. She came out slowly, feeling cold and surprised, and she stood for a while blinking at the body, still holding the ridiculous piece of meat tight with both hands. All right, she told herself. So I’ve killed him... Now she couldn't think of anything else to do but run. She ran out of the store and down the street; hoping not to run into one of the cannibals from town or the walking dead. Something fell from the sky a couple of months ago and now people were either the walking dead or went mad with carnivorous desires and became cannibals. Some, like her, managed to control the cannibalistic urges and hunted for meet elsewhere. Yet, there were still those full-blown cannibals out there; always watching, always waiting. She ran until she came to a brick house. Behind the house, she ran to a double door that opened to a cellar. She quietly opened it and went inside. She climbed down the stairs and closed the double doors behind her. There, she had set the cellar up to make it livable for her and her husband. She tore the meat in two and handed one piece to her husband. They ate their meat in silence; listening to the outside while they ate. They could hear growling and moaning every other hour. They also heard the cannibals running around, hunting whoever was left roaming the streets above. At first, it scared her; however after two months of hearing it, it didn't really scare her anymore. They would spend a lot of time reading to each other or playing cards or board games they had found in the house above. As the days went by, she and her husband grew intimate on a daily basis. Eventually, she became pregnant. That's when they decided they needed a bigger and more secure place to stay. They packed up what they could carry and snuck quietly out of the cellar. It was night time when they emerged from the cellar. She still hadn't said anything about the man she accidentally killed the day before to her husband. She didn't want him to be ashamed of her. He was a godly man and news of her killing someone might turn him away from her. She didn't want him to leave her, especially now that she was pregnant. They stayed in the shadows as they traveled. They know it would be more difficult for the cannibals and the walking dead to see them if they stayed in the shadows. They traveled by horse for a month before they found a large compound in the middle of nowhere. They thought it was a odd place for a compound. Her husband suggested maybe it used to be inhabited by people who didn't want anything to do with the social world; it made sense to her.

They found a hole in the fence surrounding the compound that was big enough for them and their horse to walk through. They got to the compound, where her husband tied the horse to a tree that was near a water well. She got a bucket and lowered it into the well, dipped it and then pulled it back up. She put the bucket down in front of the horse and walked into the compound building. Once inside, she left the door open just a crack; enough no one could see inside. This building looked as though it had been a common building. It had two foosball tables on the right side of the room and a few vending machines on the left side. There was a large pool table in the middle of the room and a bar at the far end. She walked over to the bar and sat down. Her husband was more interested in the foosball tables. She saw there was a large 75" tv hanging above the bar. She got up and flipped it on. She rummaged behind the bar until she found the remote. Then she grabbed herself a glass of orange juice and sat down. Fortunately, the power was still on. She flipped through the channels until she found a breaking news report. The anchor man said that the military had set up outposts for survivors that were uninfected by the blast of the asteroid that fell. Apparently there was more that survived than she and her husband had known. Her husband said that sounded like a good idea. However, she thought it might be a trick. Why had it taken so long for the military to act? How were they to be sure it wasn't some way to lure them there? Her husband said considering everything happened instantaneously; that was probably why it took so long. As far as it possibly being a trick, they would just have to arm themselves; just in case. With that she agreed they could leave the next day; she wanted to rest before they traveled again. They rested for the night and the next morning they packed up their horse and headed for the closest outpost to them. It took a few hours, it was only about sixty miles from the compound they had stayed in the night before. They came to the gate of the outpost and noticed there was no movement or sound anywhere. Her husband got off the horse and walked around from one end of the gate to the other. He found a hole just big enough for the three of them and he lead the horse through it. Inside, there was several small bonfires going in the courtyard. A huge mansion stood tall against the evening sky and had candles lit in every window. To the right side of the house, there was a huge pasture that had horses grazing within a round wooden fence. Her husband took the horse to the pasture and rejoined her at the front door of the mansion. He knocked a few times before a old shabby man opened the door. He kindly welcomed them in and led them to the living room; where a dozen people were socializing and drinking. He sat them down, took their coats and bags and left the room. A middle aged man came over to them with two glasses full of a clear liquid and welcomed them.

He told them the drinks were ginatonics and they had nothing to fear in this place. Her husband thanked the man and took a sip of his drink. He nodded to her, motioning it was okay to drink. They drank slowly and quietly. They really didn't know what to say. They honestly felt as though they intruded on some lavish party. A young woman with red hair and emerald green eyes walked up to them and told them her name and story. They listened with respect for her loss; she said she had lost her husband right before she had gotten there. They all had their own sad stories to tell. By the time the last one was done telling his story, she felt as though she had been there for a eternity. She wanted nothing more than for the moment to end. She was exhausted and hungry as well. One thing about being pregnant, you were always hungry. They ate a couple sandwiches that had already been made up and followed the red haired woman down the hallway to their room. Considering they were married, they got one of the bigger rooms. They got inside and dressed for bed. Both were too tired to take in the immaculate room they were in. The minute their heads hit the pillows, they were out. When she finally woke up, she saw her and her husband were alone in the mansion. They both had explored the place after they got up and found nobody. They went to the kitchen and found everyone in there. They were relieved to see they were not alone after all. They joined the rest of them and ate their breakfast. Right after breakfast, they all heard shooting coming from outside. They all ran out to see what was going on. The cannibals had come and were fighting the soldiers there to protect them. They all ran back inside, hoping the soldiers would win the fight. This was a daily event, the others had told them; they were always being attacked by either the walking dead or the gangs of cannibals. Thankfully, the outpost was fortified enough it could withstand a nuclear blast. Therefore, they could be safe for a long while. Her husband told the other men about the hole in the outside fence and they went and sealed it up. With all the security cameras and soldiers with their weapons and dogs; she felt safe enough to stay for a while. Her and her husband made their room as comfortable as possible and lived as best they could in a savage world. © Mindy sleeper