Chapter 5

I was burning with rage when we got inside the house. Mom heard the sound of the door slamming and she came out running from the master bedroom.

"Mom, where is Lolu?" I asked in a low voice.

"Didn't he opened the gate for you?"

"I opened it with my duplicate."

It's very clear Lolu is not in the same bedroom as Mom. I instructed him to stay in the living room so he can hear the car coming from the distance. I first looked into his bedroom, he isn't there; I looked at the bathroom, no one's there. I have this bad feeling in my stomach that he is in my room. I went upstairs and heads to my room, I opened my bedroom door and flashed the room with my flashlight. There, I found him sitting on my bed. He's charging his phone with my last fully charged power bank and is wearing my headphones.

He looked at me and he froze in his place. There, I know he can see the fire in my eyes that speaks murder. My hand tightly clutched on the nailed chair leg that is still dripping with blood with my kill. He unplugs his phone from my power bank, unplugs my headset from his phone, and returns everything from where they belong.

"Get down." I pointed the chair leg outside of my bedroom door downstairs.

"Pheene, I-I'm sorry I..."

"I said, get down"

Lolu's mouth was stitched shut, he left my room sweating heavily not from the heat but from fear. He knew he screwed up big time. If it was just me whom he wronged, I won't sue him. But it's our oldest brother and his family who were in the line. There's no way he can talk his way out of the hole he dug himself.

Lolu went downstairs and the first thing that welcomed him was Frodery's fist which sent him falling on the floor. Lolu held his cheek that was punched and I can hear he is crying with the sound of him sniffing. Just like me, our oldest sibling was steaming with anger. I'd guess mom told him with my instructions to Lolu. I haven't got all the way downstairs, I looked down and watched things unfold.

"You sick piece of shit! You were given one job and you failed to do it! What were you doing upstairs huh? What's so important that you had to ignore some simple instructions?!"

Frodery then looked at me, "Pheene, what was this useless man doing upstairs?!"

"Charging his phone with my last fully charged power bank while listening on something in his phone, he was also using my headphones."

He turns his attention back to Lolu, "Why you?!"

Mom and Tema held Frodery down to restrain him from hitting Lolu once more.

"You selfish swine! We nearly died out there!"

"Please stop, Frodery, that's enough!" mom cried.

"Frod please, you had hit him once, that's enough. He's still your brother and the kids are watching." Tema begged.

Frodery relaxed with the two ladies pleading. But his anger doesn't seem to have subsided. He just refrained from unleashing another strike on Lolu.

"Listen up, Lolu, you're lucky our mother and my wife were here to stop me. Next time you make a grave mistake, I swear you'll regret it for the rest of your miserable life!" Frodery warned.

I did not stop Frodery nor helped Lolu. I am disappointed with Lolu, his task was simple but I do think Frodery went below the belt with his language.

Frodery and his family helped themselves, this once was their home so they know how to move around. I then went back upstairs to my room and grabbed my towel. I can feel the sudden release of sweat from my pores. I am so tensed that even sweat refused to make an appearance a while ago. I removed my clothes and the makeshift armor. I wrapped the towel around my body and I grabbed my flashlight. I then went downstairs to take a bath. I can't sleep with the sticky feeling on my skin.

I then went downstairs and headed for the baths. After I went inside the bathroom and closed the door. I turned up the faucet and waited for the bucket to get filled. I scooped some water with my dipper. When you live in the Philippines, dipper is heavily preferred than showers. It may sound odd but the reason is simple; because it lessens water consumption. I poured the water down on my head and let it soak my hair. As I take a bath I can feel my face heating up. My chest ached and so does my head. I didn't notice that I was crying when I admitted it to myself that...that I was scared. I have been the tough nut I am for as long as I can remember, pretty much like an immovable mountain. I don't know why but my memories of the past decided to kick in when there is no relevance to what just happened. I struggled a lot to control my breathing. I'm choking on my own tears because I'm hyperventilating and I don't want anyone to hear me. I don't really view crying as a sign of weakness but if they saw or knew I'm having a meltdown, it will affect their morale. One of the most crucial things in survival is keeping high morale.

After bathing, I went upstairs to wear comfy light clothes. I dried and combed my hair so I can go and sleep. After my errands, I went downstairs and brought the SPE with me because I can't sleep without the knife in my hand anymore. I entered the master bedroom and saw everyone soundly sleeping. I then took my usual place and tried to go to sleep. Disappointingly, I can't fall asleep! It's hot and crowded in here! I decided to get out of the room and try to fall asleep in my own room. I locked the bedroom door from the inside of the master bedroom before climbing up.

I went upstairs to my room and locked my door. I then laid down on my own bed. It was soft and comfy but my body refuses to relax. Sleeping in my bed is not what my body wants maybe because I feel vulnerable with the weak wooden walls.

I went downstairs again and flopped down on the couch. The soft and cold feeling on my skin got me sleepy. I laid my head down and rests my back but kept one foot on the ground. Oh dear me, this made me sleepy. I'm too paranoid that I can't sleep without a knife on my hand and at least one foot on the ground. I closed my eyes as I finally give in to sleep.

The next morning came and something happened that I already anticipated, Frodery appointed himself as the leader. Since the man is the firstborn, I understand if he thought that he should stand up to lead us. I took this one passively to avoid conflict with him. He did not put anyone second in command after him and he just made himself look like a tyrant like he always did when I was younger.

Frodery gave everyone roles, except for Telly of course. He made Mom and Tema in charge of the food supply; had Lolu and Vol in charge of cleaning; he gave me a support role. All was well when he called himself both the brain and the muscle of the group. I completely disagree with him but I stayed passive. Mom was the one who reacted to it but stayed passive as well. I have to make him teach me martial arts before I stand up against him. All members of our family, except Frodery, thinks I'm the smartest out of all of my siblings. And it's very smart that I decide to stay passive for now or else he will refuse to teach me the thing I need.

Their first day here, I nearly had a feast. The food supply I was hoping to last almost a month through preservation and proper storing was quickly cut down in half. I worked my ass off and always gave myself the smallest of portion just to make it last, it was all for naught. It irritated me that Tema insisted we eat twice a day so we don't lose weight too easily. I can already see myself scavenging for food sooner than later.

On the plus side of them being here, Frodery acknowledges my need for training. Both of us exercise in the morning and he teaches me mix-martial arts in the afternoon. I also get more sleep than before because my nephew, Vol, stays watch at night. We agreed that I will sleep and he will stay awake, if a threat arises then he will wake me up before everyone else. And if no conflict is present, he observes the zombies.