The Apocalypse Blog
by Melanie Edmonds

Everyone remembers now why we’re all together; yesterday was horrific and a stark reminder that we need each other. If there had been any fewer of us, the shamblers would have got in and we might not have fought them off. Either group would have been overwhelmed on their own.

For that brief spate, none of the awkwardness between Seekers and Wolverines mattered. We trusted everyone to protect the group as a whole and that was the only important thing on our minds.

The boys are getting cocky, and I’m starting to worry about that. Last night, some of them were joking about the shamblers, about them being taken by the rain. In a couple of cases, I’m fairly sure that it was just bravado, the lively talk that boys do because boys do. But there was a cruel glint in Kirk’s eyes, and Jersey sounds like he’s looking forward to the next encounter, the next chance to beat their brains in. They’re getting confident because we haven’t screwed up in a while, because we’re doing okay.

I wonder if they’ve forgotten about Dennis. I wonder if they remember his name.

I wonder if, next time, they’re going to be so cock-sure that they decide to throw something else in. A little revenge on someone for a minor slight, a little flourish to show off against our slow opponents. The small things that we’ve been too scared to do yet, things that might be the straw that tips things out of our favour. The sorts of things that can get people hurt, and killed.

Of course, I can’t say anything about it; that’ll only make them worse. I sighed and left them to it, but I spotted something that turned my stomach before I went. Dillon was standing on the edges, watching, with an amused grin. He was absorbing it all, and I wished that he would go back to following the taciturn Thorpe around. Don’t learn from them how to be a man. Not from them.

 

I worked on the cars again today, trying to make sure that they’re all sealed against the rain, and I had a few helping hands, mostly Seekers. Jersey came to help out, but I didn’t quite know what to do with him after last night’s display, so I sent him on siphoning duty again. Might as well get as many cans of fuel as we can.

With such an exposed journey ahead, I don’t want to take any chances, so we’re making sure that everything is as good as we can get it before we leave. A couple of the vehicles had minor leaks, so I’ve filled the cracks with rubbery sealant. All the tyres have been replaced with new ones, including the spares, and an additional spare has been strapped onto the back of each off-roader.

I’m also ripping out some of the rear fittings and putting on roof-racks, to give us more room to carry tools, fuel and supplies. We can’t risk putting too much on the roof – more spare tryes, perhaps, and the cans of diesel. They’re the only things we carry that won’t be damaged by the rain, and with the cans, we’ll have to be very careful with leakage. Who knows what acid would do to an engine, especially when exploded?

Let’s just hope the seals hold, on the cans and cars.