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Post by justus gibbs on Dec 31, 2017 2:02:13 GMT
It was kind of funny that, even after all this time, the only thing about the small cul-de-sac neighborhood was that 'Mother Nature' had reclaimed the land and no amount of hedging, mowing, clipping or trimming was going to get it back any time soon. And in all honesty, Justus just wasn't that thrilled with cutting the grass. That was what goats were for in his opinion! Besides, fussing too much with the outward appearance of the house he and Clare had recently taken up residence in would only be a neon sign that someone was here. In fact, they were using the back entrance so that they didn't trample the weeds and grass in front too badly, and he even parked his treasured 'Hello Kitty' pink scooter on the back porch, hidden in the bushes and wild flowers. The sun was just starting to tinge the horizon when Justus rolled out of bed and padded into the kitchen, where he and Clare had set up a propane camp stove that the had found. So far, the pair had managed to make a decent 'home'' here, there was a source of water near-by, they had the camping equipment., a roof, soft beds with plenty of blankets, ancient magazines...it was the lap of luxury! But as much as he was enjoying it here, he knew that they couldn't stay long...it just wasn't safe to get too complicit. For now, though, he was going to make the best of it, and as a treat, he was going to try to make pancakes from a mix that only needed water. Of course, there was no butter, no syrup, but he had found a jar of marshmallow cream, and that would have to suffice as a topping. So, while he waited for Clare to get up, he puttzed at making pancakes in animal shapes... Clare Barlow |
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Post by Clare Barlow on Dec 31, 2017 6:16:18 GMT
The house that Justus had picked out to stay in was actually a whole lot nicer than her old family home in Ames, Ohio. That had been a farmhouse built back in the 1930s and it showed it both inside and out. Her father was of course always too busy with all his big plans to actually do any repairs. So yeah, this place wasn't bad even if it didn't have electricity and the other onetime modern comforts people had grown to expect back before the world went to shit.
Justus had done most of the work setting up their contributions to the place, Clare, on the other hand, had caught up on sleep, she had really been run down and exhausted from her wandering around all by her self. It seemed so long ago that she used to work her ass off at home doing more than her share of family chores. Well, no father to order her around anymore and she wasn't about to become Justus' slavegirl. Though in all honesty he had really not been demanding at all of her. The guy was just so damn nice! Suspiciously nice actually. A part of her suspected maybe he might harbor some sneaky plans to get into her panties once she became more accepting...or gullible.
Blinking, Clare suddenly realized she was awake as she stared up for a moment at the bedroom ceiling. She had this bed all to herself, there was another bedroom where Justus slept in. Not like she was about to let him jump into bed with her....well OK, he never asked to nor gave any indication of desiring to but still. She wouldn't have let him anyhow. I mean the guy was older than her and, let's face it, he was handsome alright. Clare figured he'd probably slept with a lot of women already. Well she was no slut....actually she was a virgin.And that was the way she wanted to keep it, yes.
She could hear him moving around down below her, sounded like he was in the kitchen. Sitting up she muttered unintelligible curses then stretched both arms up toward the ceiling and gave a last big yawn. Might as well go see Mr. Happy Face. Wrapping a blanket around herself, she padded down the stairs then thru a narrow hallway leading into the kitchen. She had slept in a tee shirt and boxer shorts she had lately looted from a storefront. The socks had been hers from back home and could definitely use a washing.
"Mornin," she barely managed a mutter then plopped her butt down on a kitchen chair, "We still have any coffee left?"
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Post by justus gibbs on Jan 2, 2018 3:09:20 GMT
"Coffee...coffee..." Justus pretended to mull the question over as he glanced back at her. "Reckon we got some of that instant stuff, not th' best, but then, this ain't Starbucks!"
He finally turned toward her with a mug of steaming liquid that resembled coffee, and honestly, the instant stuff wasn't that bad.
"Here ya go, Starshine." Grinning, he gave her a wink as he set down the mug in front of her. She was looking a little more relaxed and at ease today, and that made him feel good. He really meant her no harm, indeed, he felt protective of her. While she wasn't much like his sister had been, he still wanted to make sure that she was safe and had what she needed.
"Annnnnndddd...." He turned back to the counter, then set a plate in front of her that had a pancake in the shape of a dog head. Marshmallow creame made up the eyes, nose and collar. As he sat across from her, he set out his own plate, another dog that had the marshmallow for a mouth.
"Mine's got rabies," he commented dryly, showing no humor teasing, "tangled with a wild squirrel, they were fightin' for th' same acorn...now, I know, dogs don't eat acorns, but that's just what they make us think so they can get more ta themselves."
He took a bite of the pancake...it wasn't too bad, considering it was made with water instead of milk, and it was better than a lot of what they'd had recently.
"Did ya sleep good? It's nice ta have a real bed, maybe we can stay a while." That was a risk, and they would have to be alert to intruders, but in the mean time there were plenty of houses to explore, and the chance to rest was more than welcome.
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Post by Clare Barlow on Jan 2, 2018 4:19:47 GMT
He claimed the coffee they did have was not Starbucks. Whatever, it was a kind of coffee.
"I have never tasted Starbucks anyhow so I won't know the difference will I?" Clare pointed out.
She sat back in the chair and fidgeted a bit while he worked on making the instant coffee, which obviously was not instant despite it's name since he took some time to make it. But hell, she was in no hurry, where were they going to go anyhow. Eventually though she got her asked for coffee as he sat a steaming cup down in front of her. And...called her Starshine. Geez! Plus what was with the winking? The girl frowned.
"Thank you but please...do NOT wink at me. I have always hated winking...it's just so ...stupid...I mean a person blinks one eye in an exaggerated fashion....like that's supposed to tell another person anything important?" she wrapped her hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth.
But there was more, as he then presented her with what looked to a pancake....oh yeah, it was and covered in some thick white topping that was definitely not maple syrup. But it was a pancake shaped like nothing she had ever seen before. Fortunately he explained it was a dog...then set down one for himself, also a dog...with rabies? She looked up at him, he was so damn pleased with himself then started kidding about rabies and acorns.
"Hate to break it to you, but I am not ten," she slowly shook her head.
She then paused and watched him take a first bite of his pancake, he seemed to be content with it but then as far as she knew he never really seemed to mind anything. With a slight shrug, she picked up a fork and cut her pancake then slipped a creamy hunk into her mouth and chewed. It was really sweet almost too sweet. But hell they had eaten far worse and far less on a few days of their wanderings prior to arriving in this
place. As she ate hers, Justus asked if she had slept well, a fair enough question at least.
"Yeah, I did. That mattress is so nice and the pillows are just the right firmness. I wouldn't mind staying here for awhile, sure," she softly answered him.
She ate another two bites of the gooey pancake then suddenly decided she should probably be nice and pretend she gave a shit, "So....Justus, what about you? Did you sleep well?"
That was a bit unfair, she really was grateful he had found her and he was treating her very decently, almost as if he did care about her.
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Post by justus gibbs on Jan 5, 2018 7:52:30 GMT
"Slept real good, thanks," Justus declared with a grin, "no sticks pokin' me in th' back, or ants tryin' ta crawl up my nose ta find out if I got anything up there..." He glanced at her sharply. "Don't gotta comment on that, now!" He almost winked at her, it was just a habit, nothing meant by it, but if it made her uncomfortable, he'd refrain. He wasn't sure if she'd been so surly and guarded 'before', but he supposed she did have cause, after all, the world was uncertain at best, deadly at most, although he tired to keep a positive attitude. That didn't mean that he didn't take situations seriously when the need arose, but to be grim and droll all the time just wasn't in his make-up. Of course, he truly did hope that nothing had happened to her to make her as she was, she seemed like a nice kid, and he hated to think that something terrible (well, more terrible than life in general now) had happened, and as yet the subject hadn't come up. "I don't think yer a kid," he commented, glancing at her, "but I don't think dog pancakes are just fer kids. Fer fun, yeah, an' we need cause ta smile." He shrugged as he munched on the food. "I can go back ta makin' th' plain UFO ones, though, if that's what ya prefer. Round...plain...borin'..." Standing, he headed back to the little stove. "Ya want more? No sense lettin' it go ta waste. Reckon we outgha see what th' neighbors have...we need somethin' with more...good stuff." He knew they'd need something that counted as vegetables, and maybe some meat or eggs. Hopefully they would find something. Clare Barlow |
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Post by Clare Barlow on Jan 5, 2018 15:29:15 GMT
"You said it, not me," Clare actually smiled when he stated he didn't want her to comment on his latest attempt at humor, then picked up the coffee cup and sipped it. Well, it was pretty dreadful when one was used to real coffee, good coffee but then she couldn't blame him for instant, could she?
"Eh, it's not that bad I guess, it'll do," she placed her cup down as she shrugged.
He then proceeded to defend himself on his choice of how he shaped the pancakes. OK, she got it, he was all about having fun, enjoying the little things. His sunshine attitude was relentless but he was wasting it on her.
"Alright...fine, Justus, make'em any shape you want then, I honestly don't care," she conceded as she forked in her last bite of the pancake. There really wasn't much she cared about anymore since she failed her little sister and let her die.
"I'll take another one, thanks," Clare agreed to his offer since he still had some left, would be criminal to let food go to waste nowadays.
As for his hopes to find vegetables, meat, eggs.....it wouldn't be easy.
"Eggs? Well, I don't think you're going to find any eggs in a suburb like this. Those would be out on farms...I oughta know, I lived on a farm ....well, not a true farm....more like...oh what do they call it....a commune I think. We didn't have any cows or pigs....but we did have chickens. And a huge garden.....this time of year though no gardens blooming outside. No people to plant 'em anymore either. So eventually when folks have scavenged everything that was left from before the world ended....then odds are we will starve to death...or turn cannibal," Clare might be negative in her outlook but it was grounded in the reality of their situation.
She took another sip of the coffee then smiled at him, "I hope when you eat me, Justus, that I give you the worst gutache ever."
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Post by justus gibbs on Jan 13, 2018 9:18:08 GMT
"Ya know," he replied dryly as he put more pancakes, these traditionally round, on their plates, "I don't doubt that one bit." He grinned as he took his seat again, then shrugged. "Dunno, just because it's regular houses doesn't necessarily mean someone didn't have some chickens. We had this neighbor, she had chickens an' pheasants an'...well, gotta admit, that wasn't near as nice a place as this -- no sidewalks, big ol' septic tanks in th' backyards, gravel driveways."
There was a little grin as he shrugged. "Just because it's not growin' season doesn't mean there's nothin'. Even dandelions can be food, an' they don't mind Winter. 'Course, hopefully we'll find somethin' in th' other houses besides the creepies."
He took a sip of the bitter coffee, then proposed, "We can knock a hole in th' back fence so we can stay off th' street, at least ta look at th' houses close by?"
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Post by Clare Barlow on Jan 13, 2018 20:57:16 GMT
He disagreed with her assessment about suburbs and chickens. Apparently he knew someone who had them but the more he described the place the less it sounded like it ever was located in a town. Sounded like a country place to her. Of course they could hop on that pink monstrosity of his and drive out to the countryside if chickens and eggs were really a goal. Someday they might have to. Frankly, she was in no hurry to ride in that thing. Not because it was hideous and dorky...OK, that was part. But mostly because they were so exposed to an ambush from the roadside with no protection. Some asshole with a rifle or doublebarreled shotgun could simply pick them off as they buzzed on by. She had mentioned that but Justus was oblivious to her concerns...or maybe the guy was just oblivious in general though - he was a man afterall.
"Great....dandelions. Yum. If I was a damn rabbit," she rolled her eyes then put some more pancake into her mouth and chewed. Well, compared to fricking dandelions, this was a feast!
He sipped his coffee then suggested an idea for going out to scavenge for stuff........with emphasis on food no doubt.
"OK, guess we can do that. Though smashing something in makes a noise you know? That draws 'em too," she pointed out.
Of course walking across a street in the open they could be spotted by hostile people who were not walkers and let's face it, those were sometimes far more dangerous than zombies.
"You're the bossman, Justus. Whatever you wanna do....well, not exactly whatever...whatever...but you know," she quickly added.
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Post by justus gibbs on Jan 18, 2018 7:36:49 GMT
Goodness, but the poor kid was so cynical! Justus reckoned it must just be her personality, maybe combined with how she'd been raised. He'd not had a Nirvana life, but he's somehow managed to stay positive.
"Rabbit food beats no food, don't it?" he reminded her, "'cept maybe them alfalfa pellets." His nose winkled up as he grinned. "So, ya made me th' boss? All right, then, let's grab some packs an' hit th' road!"
Well, the neighborhood, anyway. "Thought I saw a Radio Flyer in th' garage, we can grab that, too, so we won't hafta lug all th' loot we find."
Hopefully, they'd find some decent food supplies, and other 'necessities' they could use. Hopefully, they'd be able to stay here 'bouts for a time.
Hopefully, hope wasn't fleeting...
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Post by Clare Barlow on Jan 19, 2018 4:49:54 GMT
"I'd eat the rabbit, I'll pass on the pellets, thank you," Clare shrugged.
He was serious about kicking down the back fence and going out on an exploration, even to the point of bringing a kid's wagon along to help carry their loot. Always the optimist, this guy. Clare finished off her coffee then stood up. He had told her to get her back pack so off she went to grab that. Well, and her protection too. She normally carried a pistol, even with one of those holsters like in the movies, pretty cool...well, if she cared about that kind of thing.....and she didn't. Then - just in case she ran out of bullets - she also had a carpenters hammer for emergencies if one of those things got up close and personal. Mostly though her idea of defense was to escape. It had worked so far.
Once equipped and Justus pulling that bright red wagon - if he didn't look ridiculous - they made their way to the wooden fence that marked the border of the backyard of the residence they were currently staying in. Nothing massive but high enough the dead things couldn't climb it. Least so far she had never seen even one ever climb anything, they just stumbled and shuffled along. Someday she'd be one of them, best not think too much about it.
"OK, Justus, so you gonna knock a few slats out then? We gonna later repair them because otherwise if we leave an opening our rotting friends might slip thru for a visit, you realize?" she looked to her newly appointed leader.
"Oh and word of advice, don't make too much noise doing it. They do hear things but then I'm sure you know that," she added.
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Post by justus gibbs on Jan 25, 2018 23:49:00 GMT
"Make a hole, not kick down," Justus gave her explained, then shrugged and grabbed his pack as well as an empty duffel he'd found in 'his' room. "Somethin' easy ta fix. Or go out th' front, see what's out there, just stay close to th' buildings? Or climb th' fence, I can hoist ya over."
It would be an easy thing, and they could still handle getting loot that way and stay off the streets. He was certainly willing to discuss it with her, her opinion counted as much as his, and maybe she had a different idea or view than he did.
"Figure we may as well meet th' neighbors, take care of th' 'undesirables'?" He shrugged. "Reckon slinkin' around th' back's not a bad idea neither, we can still get a gander on th' goin's on in our little piece'a heaven, right?" Picking up his pistol, he checked that the safety was on, then stuck it in his waistband. "Ready?"
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Post by Clare Barlow on Jan 26, 2018 22:43:56 GMT
"Ok, make a hole then. Yeah that won't make any noise at all," Clare shrugged. But then he came up with a simpler quieter idea, one she liked better.
"Yeah, let's climb the thing, we aren't old foggies...OK, I'm speaking for myself," she nodded, "But.......I might just take that boost up." Keep all her options open.
Our little piece of heaven he called their so called home or temporary basecamp if you want to get more practical. If only it was so, there wasn't anyplace on earth anymore that could be called heaven, she was sure of that much. And that was assuming there was even a heaven in the afterlife.........OK, assuming there WAS an afterlife too. Still, she didn't want to get any more depressed thinking about all this shit. He was ready to go so why not.
"Fine, let's do this," she agreed, she paused only long enough to check her pistol was loaded and safety on then hefted the hammer and slid it into a utility belt she wore.
****
Well, the fence was a bit more imposing, as in tall, than it had looked like from the house. Still, Clare took a running lunge and got a two handed grip on the fence top then grunted as she attempted to pull herself up. It was not going well.
"Don't just stand there, put your hands on my butt and gimme a boost!" she liked to think he might even enjoy the opportunity.
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Post by justus gibbs on Jan 31, 2018 7:03:01 GMT
Justus was at least polite enough not to laugh at her, and he had to give her credit, she'd done an admirable job considering how tall the fence was and Clare wasn't. She'd actually about made it over, and politeness aside, he couldn't help but chuckle as he trotted over to her, then cupped his hands and cradled her feet, giving her something to 'stand' on, and giving her a boost as well. After all, even invited, he was afraid to touch her butt for fear that she'd find a way to slap him.
"Not too far," he muttered, not wanting to over-do it and toss her to the other side. "Take a gander on th' other side, see what ya can see..." May was well just pause here and let Clare have a chance to make sure it was clear on the far side of the fence and there wasn't any sort of inadvertent boobie-traps. "So, th' neighbors got a pool or anything?" If they did, it was very likely slimy and overgrown with gunk.
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Post by Clare Barlow on Feb 1, 2018 3:40:48 GMT
Clare felt one of her dangling feet getting some support, his hands no doubt. Well.....yeah, that worked too. He was saying something else as she got to the top but there was no hesitation there as she then did a less than agile landing on the grass on the other side. Fortunately for her, there was just grass - nothing sharp, no quicksand or awakened pitbull or zombies. Flat grass or not the young lady let out an "oof" as she hit the ground with a thump.
"Goddammit!" she let loose but then quickly added, "I'm alright. Nothing hurt just my dignity."
As she got to her feet again she did hear his pool inquiry.
"No pool, but no sight of our slow ugly friends either."
She took a closer look on at the property. Unmowed grass, obviously enough, stretching back to another ranchhouse style home, a garage, a raised wood patio, and some kind of storage shed. The odds were likely just another abandoned home whose former occupants were long gone, odds were even dead like much of the US population.
"So....you coming then? Or do I gotta find a ladder for you?" there was a challenge in her tone of voice. Let's see how he does now on his own.
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Post by justus gibbs on Feb 2, 2018 23:17:51 GMT
"Goddammit!" she let loose but then quickly added, "I'm alright. Nothing hurt just my dignity."
"Then no harm done," Justus muttered with a grin as he peered at her through the slats in the fence, relieved to see that she was all right. "Anything there?"
"No pool, but no sight of our slow ugly friends either."
"Ah, well, dang, I'll just leave my swim trunks here." He chuckled, then took a couple of steps back to get a running jump at the fence, grabbing onto the top to hoist himself up.
"So....you coming then? Or do I gotta find a ladder for you?"
"Huh?" By then he was pushing up and over, then he got a foot on the upper rail and vaulted over, landing next to her. "What were ya sayin'?" Grinning, he looked around, relieved that there wasn''t anything to worry about from their 'neighbors'. At least that much was good!
"Well, reckon we can look inside, make sure that's safe. Doesn't look like there's anything back here any good." Well, except for the big wooden swing-set, but business before fun, right? He'd check that out later...he did like swinging, and besides, the chains might be of use.
Cautiously, he headed for the house, looking for any sign of any sort of movement, but everything was still. Hopefully, they would be able to find a way in without having to break anything.
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