Low on Time/Issue 32

This is issue thirty-two of Low on Time, entitled: .

Issue 32;
A week later, in the midst of a blizzard, where the survivors could see nothing but snow outside of the house. All of the survivors, all thirty-two, stayed in the house. Each room was just as cramped as the next. The heater was on full blast, but most stayed cold.

In one of the upstairs bedrooms, Kelly, Olivia, Amanda, Paul, Langston, Jake, Ike, Trent, and Kira sat around. All of them, excluding Kira and Trent all had a blunt in their hands. There was absolutely nothing that could be done in this situation, so they had Frank Ocean blasting from Langston's iPod as they smoked. Kira sat at the desk, playing with a portable radio, trying to pick up anything, as Trent sat next to her watching.

"C'mon guys," Kelly said, looking at the two. "Just... relax!"

"Easy for you to say. We ain't on drugs." Kira reminded.

"We don't have anything to worry about with this storm. I mean, just look at us. It's the old gang reunited." Langston said.

"Yeah, we got everyone." Jake said.

"Not everyone." Amanda said, quietly.

"Well, all the alive ones."

As Jake said that, Olivia turned towards, remembering Sean who was holed up in that bandit camp, but Kelly just shrugged her shoulders.

"Man," Langston said, looking at the ground. "Remember, back during that awful October out on the road? We've come along way."

"Yeah, we did." Paul said, happily. "I'm glad that I got to do it with y'all and not some other assholes. You're my favorites assholes."

"Love you too." Olivia said, smirking.

"Could be worse. Maybe we wouldn't have heat?" Ike said.

"Oh my God," Jake said, smile forming on his face. "Remember that time, when, Owen and Violet... when Trent caught them hooking up?" Jake chuckled as he remembered it, "Funniest thing I can remember was them trying to explain that it 'wasn't what it looked like'! Man, I miss those two."

Most of the group, besides Olivia and Trent, smiled along, reminiscing.

"Hey," Kelly said, starting to smirk. "Remember when Valerie kicked your ass, Ike?"

"Yeah," Ike scoffed. "But back then, who didn't kick my ass? Seemed like everyone had it out for me."

"Still do, bud." Paul said, blowing smoke out of his mouth.

"C'mon, some quiet please? We are almost done over here." Trent said, turning back at them.

"What got your panties in a bunch?" asked Ike.

"Fuck you, man." he said, quietly

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Trent immediately stands up, but Kira quickly pulled him back down. "Don't bother." she said.

"Damn, this place is soooo tense." Langston commented.

"Yeah, I need some space." Trent said, getting up.

"I'll come with." Kira said, also getting up.

Nolan and Vince were in the basement of the farm house, throwing darts. Well, Vince was throwing darts, Nolan was using a gray and black custom-made bow and arrow. As Nolan steadied his aim, pulling back, and letting go, the arrow pierced the 100 point space on the board.

"Bam!" he said, happily, turning to Vince. "I think I win."

"Maybe so. I haven't played darts for, like, forever."

"Excuses, excuses."

"So, tell me." Vince said, sitting on a folding chair, putting one leg over the other.

"Tell you what?" Nolan asked.

"About that bow. You're way to good with it, and thing is customized to the extreme. No way you found that put here."

Nolan chuckled, "I was on the hunting team at my college. I was one of the best hunters, only behind this chick named Emily Ross. God knows what happened to her. But, you know, got it customized at the school, man."

"That's badass."

"Yeah it is, man." Nolan smiled, sitting down on an armchair, across from Vince. "You know, I like you, man. Better than most of the people here."

"And why is that?" Vince asked.

"Most people here are either super-soldiers, dicks, or little kids. Glad you don't fall into any of those categories."

"And what about you?"

"Oh, I'm a super-soldier. You don't see people with as much skill as me."

"Man, you full of yourself though, I'll give you that."

The two both laughed, sitting back and getting comfortable.

"Hey, at least I can back up me cockiness."

Manning, Ryker, Julia, and another girl, around Julia's age, sat in Julia and Ryker's room, watching Anchorman. It provided them a, much-needed, comedic relief and the separation of reality.

"Man, I haven't realized how gold Will Ferrell really is until now." Julia said.

"Man's a legend." Manning commented.

"How do you think he's doing now?" asked the girl.

"Oh, he dead."

"No, no, no, don't count him out." Julia said, smiling. "He probably has, like, 30 bodyguards to protect him. I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah, well, according to your logic then, Justin Bieber should be safe too." Manning pointed out, taking a sip of water from a plastic bottle.

"Why? What's so wrong with that?" the girl asked.

"What, Ella? You like his music?"

"Yeah, it's not that bad." the girl, named Ella said.

"Man, that's some bullshit! He sucked!"

"You suck!" she retorted.

"You both suck." Julia said, slightly annoyed, but she was good at hiding it. "Now quit it! You're interrupting the movie."

"Fine." the two teenagers said in unison.

"Guys," Ryker said softly, and the three turned to him. "Ain't any of you worried about the bandits?"

"Nah," Manning said. "We're safe here, especially in this blizzard. Ain't no way they'll get to us, and if they did, we have an army here."

"An army? Man, I hate to say it, but I miss the army." Julia said.

"Why? You one of those hippies who smoke weed and protest?" Ella asked, smiling.

"I wish. That would've been the life, right?"

"Yeah, no worries and no showers. Seems enticing." Manning said, sarcastically.

"I bet the hippies were the first to go!" Ella said.

"Nah, Eskimos."

"Why them?"

"Why not them?"

"Touché..."

"Guys," Julia interrupted. "I'm guessing you didn't pay much attention to the broadcasts, did you? New Zealand was the first country to fall. Those poor bastards."

"Whatever. Fuck them. As long as we're safe, I'm happy."

"Yeah, amen to that." Julia said.

Trent and Kira, both wearing heavy sweatshirts, were outside sitting on the front porch. It was freezing, snow going everywhere, but they didn't care. It was way to crowded in there for their liking. Trent was smoking a cigarette, as Kira just shivered in the cold, sitting closely next to him.

"T-Trent?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking down at her.

"What really happened to Owen?"

"We got separated."

"No, we both know that's a complete lie. What happened to him?"

Trent sighed, throwing the half-burnt cigarette into the snow. "He died trying to buy us time to escape." he said, defeated.

"He-- he died?" she asked. "And you didn't tell me or anyone?"

"You were so out of it and--"

"It's my fault he died, and you couldn't even tell me he died?"

"Exactly why I didn't tell you! I didn't want you to blame yourself for that."

Kira backed away from him, her eyes watering by the moment. "Why didn't you save him?" she asked.

"I tried." Trent said, taking a deep breath. "He-- he wouldn't listen to me."

Kira just looked down, unsure of what to say. "Are you okay?" Trent asked. Kira, without saying a word, just gave Trent a big hug. She couldn't afford to lose him. She couldn't afford to lose anyone else, so she just stayed tight in her grasp on Trent.

Drew, Patricia, and Trevin sat around in the living room, with a bunch of other survivors. Everybody was huddled together, most of them, Drew included, were drinking heavily. Trevin sat next to Patricia, being the only ones who weren't drinking.

"Weird, huh?" Trevin asked, looking at her.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I just find it weird how it's the end of the world, and whenever they have the chance, they get drunk. We could be doing more productive things."

"Everyone needs the opportunity to relax in times like these."

"And I agree, but we can all hang out and talk strategy. We don't know when those bandits are coming."

Patricia nodded her head, sitting back. "Do you always act like you have a pole in your ass?" she asked.

"Only when necessary."

"Fair enough."

"It is my job to protect these people. Half the people here I'd die for, and I don't know shit about them."

"You're just asking to get yourself killed."

"If I do, then I did my job." he said, getting up. "I'm going to go check in on everyone else."

As Trevin left, Patricia closed her eyes, trying to drown out the noise.

Paul and Amanda sat in their room, lying in the bed together. They were both lying on their back staring at the ceiling.

"I never got to say thank you." Amanda said.

Paul looked over at her slightly confused. "What did I do?"

"You protected me. I can never thank you enough."

Paul smiled, "Believe it or not, you were the one who kept me sane. After you told me Haley died-- if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it this far."

Amanda was smiling now too. "You think she's happy?"

"I believe she is beyond happy. I think she'd love to know we're both alive and well; and that we are protecting each other."

"Me too."

There was a knock on the door, and the two looked up. Ike stood at the door, bottle of liquor in his hands. Paul stood up, walking over to the door.

"What do you want?" he asked, undeniably hostile.

"Just to chat, bud." he said, his voice slurring.

Paul looked back at Amanda who was staring at the two. "Fine." Paul said, pushing pass Ike into the hallway; Ike now following him.

"What's this about?" he asked, as the two passed a couple of other survivors.

"Just wanted to get something off my chest."

"Ain't that what Grace is for?"

"Probably, but this was more along the lines of your girl."

Paul suddenly turns around, fire in his eyes. "What do you want to say about her?" he asked.

Ike smiled, "I was hoping to apologize."

"No. You shouldn't be apologizing to me." he said, pointing in the direction of Amanda's room.

"Oh, her? I already told her, what she didn't tell you?"

"So, why the sudden change of heart then, Ike?"

"I know how hard it is to lose someone..."

Before Ike can continue, Paul pushed him against the wall, creating a loud thud. The two survivors they passed earlier, were now running towards them.

"What's going on?" one man asked, ready to intervene a fight if need be.

"You know nothing about loss." Paul continued, ignoring the man.

"Fuck you!" Ike snapped back. "I've been surrounded by loss my entire fucking life. I watched my dad die right in front of my eyes. I watched my pregnant girlfriend die right in front of my eyes. If anything, you don't know any-fucking-thing about loss."

As Ike finished he shook out of Paul's grasp, and pushed him away from him. Ike then turned and walked down the hallway, fixing his hair as he walked. Paul and the two other survivors just gave each other worried some glances.

Olivia sat on Jake's lap, as the two watched over Sam, Oscar and a couple of the other kids. They had noting to do, as the kids were in no such danger, so the two just shared ear buds listening to "How You Like Me Now" by The Heavy. Jake grabbed a hold of Olivia's hand, and she smiled looking at him.

"I love you." Jake said.

Olivia blushed, looking down. "What's the special occasion?" she asked.

"Special occasion? I just thought I'd remind you."

Olivia smiled again, flirtatiously. "I love you too."

Jake then kissed her, and a couple of the kids giggled in the background.

"Little shits." Olivia muttered.

"What? You don't like kids?" Jake asked, smiling.

"No I do. That doesn't change the fact that they can be annoying."

Jake kissed her again, and hugged her tightly. He knows they're in major trouble, but he wants to make sure that Olivia can be as comfortable as possible.

Kelly and Langston were in the cellar, re-stocking and loading up a few of the guns. Kelly pumped back one of the shotguns, and aimed down the sight, as Langston loaded one of the handguns. Kelly looked out one of the windows, watching as the snow piled up against the windows.

"It looks terrible out there." Kelly said, sighing.

"C'mon," Langston said, walking over to her. "It is beautiful, just like you."

Kelly smiled, slapping his arm, playfully. "Were you always such a charmer?"

"You know it."

"And were you always so full of yourself?"

"You know it." he repeated.

"Whatever, baby." she said, kissing him.

Langston smiled, looking back out the window. "Y'know, we may be stuck in this cellar until the snow stops if we don't get out soon."

"Oh my God, that would be terrible." Kelly said.

"C'mon, it wouldn't be so bad, now would it?" Langston asked, hugging her from behind.

"Yeah, it would." she said.

"Ow."

"Well, not like that. I'd love to be with you, but if we got stuck in here, I'd have to sleep on the floor. I'm totally taking that advantage while I can."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Maybe if you stepped up your love game..." she said, turning around and kissing Langston. "Your a bit rusty."

As Kelly walked over to the table to get another shotgun ready, and all Langston could do was smile.

Grace and Jamie were in the kitchen, serving hot soups for the freezing survivors; Manning, Julia, and Ella among them.

"Can't believe I'm doing this again." Jamie said, catching Grace's attention.

"Serving food? What were you, a waitress?" Grace asked.

"Nah, I worked at the soup kitchen. Cooking meals for the homeless and stuff like that."

"Ah, you didn't like it?"

"It wasn't really my choice, y'know? My son, Manning, he would pressure me into taking him all the time."

"Really? He doesn't really seem like the kinda person who would be interested in that."

"Yeah, trust me, I was shocked too."

The two women laughed, Jamie looking at her son who's chatting away with Julia and Ella. All of a sudden, the sound of gunshots filled the air, and before anyone has the time to react, a bullet goes through the window, shattering the glass, and pierces Jamie's throat.

Credits

 * Kelly Gay
 * Olivia Bell
 * Jake Munoz
 * Kira Fulton
 * Paul Alexander
 * Ike Dennis
 * Amanda Dixon
 * Langston Otto
 * Julia Riley
 * Ryker Daniels
 * Trevin
 * Grace Rutherford
 * Nolan Fitzgerald
 * Jamie Manning
 * Manning
 * Oscar Manning
 * Sam
 * Drew Radke
 * Patricia Amador
 * Vince Dallas

Deaths

 * Jamie Manning