What Remains

All of this started 267 days ago. People began to turn into the walking dead. During those early days, I was appalled at what I saw; now, it is just commonplace. Daniel and I had only been married a short time before this began. We had just purchased our dream house and moved ourselves and our dogs along with us.

Apollo and Hera have not left my side since Daniel had to leave. He is an Army veteran, and when they called him back, he had to go. There was a military presence everywhere when it first started. Now in this rural community, you can not find any. According to any communications I have had, they are only in major cities. The last bit of news that I received was three months ago.

Daniel promised to return to me, and something he did not know was that I am carrying our child. It is hard to tell how far along I am, as there have been no medical centers to go to since I learned of this news. I had to scavenge a gas station even to find a test to take.

If my husband were here and the world was ordinary, this would have been the most exciting time of my life. However, I am here with this child during the complete collapse of our world. It was only a month in when all electricity and internet went out.

I can no longer do what I would typically use my smartphone for. We were so soft then and had no idea how easy we had it. Now I have to resort to breaking into the library and book stores to get books I need to prepare me for birthing this child alone, with no help.

I did manage to start a garden, and I do have chickens. I have had to find everything I have learned since the world ended in books. I have done everything in my power to create a safe place for this baby when it arrives.

The walking dead were indeed the hard part in the beginning. Freshly turned are quick on their feet, and every one of them was fresh in the beginning. I had to board up all my windows and keep as little light from showing as possible at night. I tried to just go to sleep when it became dark. However, the anxiety of all that was happening had been too much.

Now, regarding my safety, I worry about the human element. I had not had time to get to know the community when I moved into my home on a nice amount of land. Though the people I now refer to as marauders don’t seem to come from this community. Luckily being in a rural community, I only encounter them when I am out scavenging for supplies.

I have come across some people traveling solo, and we have acknowledged each other and stayed out of each other’s way. Some I see regularly, and I keep finding more supplies in the areas I go to, and I know they leave them out for me to find because of this baby. Sometimes I need a reminder that not everyone in the world is out for themselves.

When I first came across the marauders, I saw them attack a woman, and the things they did to her were unbearable. When they finished with her, they shot her in the back of the head and took her supplies. Since that moment, I have been cautious about where I go. Typically Apollo and Hera are with me. They have protected me from the dead and the living. I would be lost without them.

Sometimes I think of the last time I saw Daniel before he left. Usually late at night when I can not sleep. A heart-shaped locket he gave me on our wedding night and tucked inside was a picture of us on our first date. I slipped it into his pocket when he was leaving because I wanted him to have it. I called it a good luck charm.

Today I am taking Apollo and Hera with me to the closest town. There is not much left, but as it gets more challenging for me to move around, I want to get everything I can before this baby arrives. So I grabbed my backpack, gun, extra ammo, water, and rations and whistled for the dogs. We went out a side gate I had made when building a secure fence around the house, garden & chicken coop. This way, I would not have to worry about the dead sneaking up on me while weeding the garden.

The walk to town takes close to two hours, but these days, with all the extra weight I carry, it takes nearly double that. This made me glad we started earlier in the morning. The day was hot, and we stopped for many breaks. When I was getting a drink of water, I heard Hera growling, and Apollo ran straight to my side. So I found a place to hide, and both dogs stayed on either side of me.

After a few moments, I saw a truck drive by through the woods I was cutting through. This made me particularly nervous as you can never tell where they will be now. Not only that, what would they do to a pregnant woman they find.

Once the danger had passed, we continued on our way to town and slowly went through the drug store for supplies. Never know what you may find digging around. I had a list I was looking for supplies for when I went into labor. I wanted to make sure I had everything I might need.

After the drug store, I went through each store until I became too tired and decided to take a rest before heading back home. I was walking past the town square, which made me remember the day before everything happened. Daniel had taken her there during a day in the park for the whole community.

I decided to cut through there and head to the pavilion. When I arrived, I heard a raspy noise and knew instantly it was the dead. Upside, I could tell from the breathing it was severely decomposed. Walking over to the noise, I saw it was a man in an Army uniform. Instantly a lump caught in my throat.

This could not be Daniel, but it still made me think of him. It had no legs and attempted to crawl using one hand, as the other was missing. His eyes were missing and made me sick to my stomach. When I turned away, something caught my eye. It was shining and dangled around his remaining wrist.

I took a moment to take a closer look; it was a heart-shaped locket. This brought me to my knees, and I shook my head with tears streaming down my face. There is no way that this is at all possible. How could Daniel be here? Was he coming home to me?

I took a deep breath and knew what I needed to do. It did not matter if it would bring attention to someone in the area. Pulling the pistol from its holster, I aimed it at Daniel’s head and pulled the trigger. There would be no time if anyone were nearby, living or dead. I untied the locket from his wrist and ran as fast as possible.

I ran until I could run no more. My stomach felt strained, and I was lightheaded. Finding a place in the woods with a large brush, I hid in it with Hera and Apollo. There was a stream feet away so they could get a drink. I just sat down and looked at the locket, holding my breath as I opened it.

A part of me hoped it was a coincidence this walking corpse had a locket, but deep in my soul, I knew it was Daniel. I finally opened my eyes and stared at the picture of us on our first date. There was no way I could stop the tears, and I sobbed for what felt like hours. I had just shot my husband in the face.

What was going to become of this baby and me? Is there some way we could survive this new world without him? Without anyone? So many questions whirled in my mind, and I could not keep them straight. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next time I opened my eyes, It was pitch dark out. The only light was a tiny bit from the moon.

It was then that I felt an excruciating pain in my stomach. I could hardly muffle my cries of pain. There was no way I was in labor now. This was no place to have a baby in the middle of the woods. There is no protection from those who could do us harm, and if the baby is crying, that will make them sitting ducks.

After a few moments, the pain subsided, and I sighed with relief. Apollo and Hera were right beside me, Apollo started to pace back and forth, whining, and Hera moved in closer. I knew that we needed to get home. I grabbed my bag and stood up. As I did this, I felt a rush of water from between my legs, and the pain started again.

It was time. The baby was indeed coming. I could not stop the cries of pain from my mouth. This would not do. We needed to get home. Slowly we started making our way home, and every so often, I would have to stop and try to muffle the moans that escaped me. I had never felt something so painful in my life.

We had gone quite a ways, and I knew home was maybe a mile away. I tried to quicken my pace, but the pain kept coming at regular moments. Now that I had left the woods, I could see further with the full moon. Finally, I knew I needed to stop and catch my breath, and that was when I heard them, birds.

You would find something like this abnormal in the world before, but now these birds followed hordes of the dead. As I stood there momentarily, Apollo seemed even more agitated and began to pace and whine even more. This would not do. We had to get moving. I was concerned they would hear him or hear my moans of pain.

Stragglers I could handle on a good day. But an entire horde while in labor? This was something I could not do. I needed to get my dogs and myself home. That was our only chance of survival. At least in the walls of my own home, I could silence my pain and keep my dogs safe.

It was going to be one long night, so we better get moving.