Day 41

I did not sleep well. It was the same dreams, but mixed with waking up with pain in my leg. I have Charlotte look at it and she says it may be infected. We have no antibiotics and so she and Josh leave again to find some broad spectrum antibiotics.

Dawn is standing by the window, holding Seeley who has fallen asleep. I am amazed that she is still able to get him to take him daily naps. Connor is at a table, reading one of the books Josh had got him, making up the words according to what he's heard us read to him. For a moment, it almost seems as if we are back home. There is a deep swelling of homesickness in my stomach and I long for it. I long for the normality. The work and school and homework; stressing about tests or finals. But now, all there is, is survival.

I sit down near Dawn and go about sharpening my machete. We talk. Not about anything important, but just about stuff. About movies and restaurants, or her families reunion where we would go camping for a week. It's hard to talk about, but also easy. It seems to flow out and we soon find ourselves talking deeply about topics we use to.

Outside there was still violence. The amount of people we saw diminished quickly. Now, an occasional zombie would walk around, maybe a human, but not often. There were still many signs of fighting going on, trying to contain the infection. I suspect that within a day or so we can make it out of the city. There are still fires throughout the city as well, smoke rises dark black. Dawn and I stand, silent, watching the apocalyptical scene unfold.

I hear something from outside the door. Dawn runs to Connor, whispering in his ear. I grab my machete and move towards the door, opening it slightly. I look down the hall and see Josh come through the stairwell door, Charlotte just behind him. She is obviously in a state of anxiety. Dawn comes out as well as she looks at he shirt, now bloody, and at her mask which has bloody flakes on it. He takes it off and replaces it with a new one. She then pulls her unbuttoned jacket off and literally rips her shirt from off of her. Josh and I look away and she storms into another room. She turns on the shower, I hear a squeak from the knob, and surprisingly water starts pouring. I hear her scream from excitement and assume the water is cold. If it's gas it should warm up.

I look at Josh, "Maybe you should take one too."

"Yeah," he looks down at his body. "We ran into some trouble at the pharmacy, but got you some stuff. Charlotte has it in her bag, so . . ."

"It's fine. Hop in another shower and wash that blood and sweat off so she feels more comfortable and then we'll deal with that."

* * *

They brought me pain killers as well. I take them and soon feel drowsy. The sky is darkening and so I let myself drift off into sleep. Connor comes near me and reads me a story from one of his books. I smile at him and put my hand softly on his leg.

"Thanks, buddy." I say, "I love you."

"I love you," he says, and then continues his story and I fall asleep.