Apocalypse Life/Issue 10

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Issue 10 - Hope
As the hours went by, Julius found it even harder to grasp the idea of leaving this house. It's provided him and Alice, especially Alice, so much comfort that his own house couldn't.

He was finally able to sleep well this time, even if he took a very long nap earlier. Alice urged him to rest, finding it hard to disagree.

After a dreamless sleep, he wakes up, only to find nobody beside him. It was still somewhat dark. It was still night.

He pulls away his blanket, stands up, and pulls up his pajamas, which were resting on the floor. He stretches somewhat as he exited Alice's room.

All of the lights were off, except for the blue flickering in the living room.

Alice was there, sitting on the comforter, her attention glued to the television set. She takes notice of him as he walks toward her side.

"Morning sunshine," she greets him, as he changes direction to the sofa. The smell he left seemed to be gone, but not completely; there were still traces of it beside him.

He looks over to the TV to find out what Alice was so interested about.

It was the anchor, talking about something that he needed to catch up on, since he had no idea what he was talking about. She looks to Alice, hoping to get some answers.

"He said most of the walkers are in the urban zones, attracted by all of the sounds there," Alice replies to his glance, recognizing his interest.

"Mostly made by people... but I'm sure the military's guns were louder."

The military? Julius never thought about them since his apocalypse realization.

"Oh, right. The military's here. Arrived a few days ago," she adds, recognizing another realization in Julius's face.

Julius turns back to the television set, now a little more caught up with the news.

The anchor further speaks about the increased military presence, and a few names of refuge centers. He speaks of a particular one named "Fort Arcaden," which had a small field hospital, lots of trucks, soldiers, and a sea of disoriented people; so much of them that they had to be placed behind fences, so that they can be processed separately.

The anchor speaks with a little energy in his voice, as if to encourage viewers that the fort is a safe bet. But the way it was crowded, Julius didn't want to get mixed into it.

Just as the anchor changes subjects, the screen suddenly goes into a brief static, then an emergency broadcast message takes its place.

"Oh, great. Second time this happened," Alice says, placing the remote on the coffee table in front of them as if she was done watching.

Though the broadcast was cut short, it was very informative to Julius. No wonder there weren't many walkers on the streets outside this house; they were all fixated in the urban areas. Still, he was sure that there are still walkers present here.

"So... what's the plan?" he asks Alice. These were the first words he uttered since he woke up.

Alice looks at him, inquisitively, as she thinks of an answer.

"Um... stay here until we die?"

Julius looks at her, slightly perplexed.

"Alright, alright... I'm kidding. I meant old age, by the way," she continues.

"Well... I'm satisfied. We took a shower, washed our clothes, surprised me last night, and... watched the TV. I feel good again."

She stands up from her comforter, gives Julius a peck, then goes back to her room.

"Get ready soon," she tells him, as her voice fading slightly. "We've got a big day ahead."

Julius was still thinking about last night. Ignoring the slight disturbance, it definitely was a good stay.

He surfs some channels on the TV, mostly finding static. He stops at a particular channel, the public announcements channel, still on its regular programming.

He leaves it there, then walks to Alice's bedroom, getting ready to change out of his pajamas.