Preparations

Its been a few hours since we've burned one of our own, we've sorted out what we needed to bring and what to leave behind for tomorrow.

Food supply is scarce, almost none left. But we have gallons of unfiltered rain water that we haven't boiled.

On top of that, most of our equipment were destroyed or stolen and we have no other way to fortify the house anymore.

All thanks to the ass hats that found us here.

The night sky unraveled as the clouds broke apart once more and I could see our lunar neighbor in its full glory, it was a full moon.

Noises from the nearby wildlife echoed throughout and it was a peaceful evening so far.

I turned my attention from the stars and stared at the burning pile of wood on the fire, the wind carried the smoke eastward and from that direction, is where the town could be seen.

Laying on top of the fire was a metal mesh where we cooked our food, and it was a sorry excuse of a food if I've ever seen one.

It was a fish, small, and slightly longer than my hand but barely held any width to it. There were exactly 4 of those being grilled right now.

But hey, we can't complain much, this is all that we have after all.

I turned to the door in the house being opened, it was Joseph and Rickford.

Both of them waved a small gesture and walked towards our small little fire.

"Sup" Joseph was carrying a bag of bottled water and sat down on the ground right next to me.

"Done yet?" Rick asked as he walked over to grab a stool and sit by the fire.

I shook my head at Rick, then turned back to our meal and flipped over the fishes to cook the other side, it's smell wasn't the least appetizing but it appears good enough for the eyes of anyone who hasn't eaten for 12 hours.

"Where've you guys been?" I asked them both while still flipping the fishes.

I barely noticed it but Joseph tossed me over a bottle of water and I almost missed it, while he also threw one on Rick's side.

"We found a mall with some uncontaminated stuff left alone for years" Joseph responded as he twisted open the cap of the bottle and proceeded to drink it halfway through.

He wiped his mouth with his shirt and continued "Best part: there was a box of canned food that are still good to be eaten" then he continued drinking the water until it was empty.

"We were lucky today, it seems that what happened from our trip just restored what we lost last night" Rick drank from his bottle too unlike Joseph who finished it all in one go.

He pulled out something from the pocket of his jacket, revealing a folded picture that was worn out and stained.

I notice it and asked him "What's that Rick?"

His gaze turned to me and he let out a sigh "Old family picture before everything went to shit"

He dragged his stool closer to sit along side us while I checked the fish to see if it was ready to be eaten, it was perfect.

Joseph stood closer to Rick to get a better view of the picture in his hand, "Is that your family? You look pretty young there man"

"That's my son"

"Oh..."

Joseph stood silent as the depressed man began telling a story about his family, I prepared the fish and laid them all down in one single plate.

"You may not actually believe it, but that bearded man with glasses in the picture is me" he pointed at the picture, and I walked over to take a look with the plate still in hand.

There were 5 people in this picture, the bearded man wearing a trucker hat with glasses and baggy clothing must be Rickford. The one beside him was a woman with short hair wearing a long dress while holding a bag, It must've been his wife.

"And those 3 young boys are my sons"

The man gently swiped his hand over the fragile, stained picture. Covering the faces of his sons while he remembered the events that transpired over the course of the apocalypse.

"And you have a nice home too..." I remarked as I look over the background of the family portrait, it was an ordinary, suburban home.

He folded the picture in his hands and slid it back into his pocket, "Anyways, I think we should eat first, I'm starving" we sat back down in our seats ready to eat.

Each one of us had a plate and an extra fish was on the mesh away from the fire, for anyone who's still hungry.

I took a bite of mine and same goes for both the boys.

It continued on like this until Joseph broke the silence, "That reminded me"

He looked at me while I gave him a confused look, "What?" I asked.

"I told you that I'd share my story once we had gotten back to camp right? like last week ago?"

I vaguely remembered him telling me that, but if it's a story to kill time like what I did, why not?

I took a bite while he was asking me and I tried to talk while my mouth was full, the words came out of my mouth all puffed and messy, "Dwon't rwemembur but shwure"

Rick hunched up and was ready to hear his story, "This oughta be interesting"

Joseph quickly finished the last remaining bits of the meal in his plate before laying it down and started sharing his story and how he got here.

"So if you haven't noticed already in my accent, I'm Italian" Joseph made it clear as if it wasn't already obvious.

Rick took this opportunity to try his hand on a joke "Okay Mario, were you a plumber or an assistant to Al Capone?" and he said this all while trying to imitate an Italian accent, a shitty try of the accent.

"Shut it"

Joseph continued after he was cut by Rick and went on a long tangent.

"I used to be a biology student that transferred here to America for some reasons, and I am proud of the achievements I used to own."

"Not that I ever used those credentials for something nowadays..."

He paused and grabbed another bottle of water and taking a sip before continuing the story

"Not much happened when the infection began and I was honestly just pretty lucky to be alive, I was here ever since the start of the group and got to witness everyone die one by one. And now here I am with the last remaining two, one of which I barely know but respect, and the other who is my best friend who turns out to be just as much of an asshole like I am"

I was surprised he even mentioned the thought of him turning me out into a best friend, and to be honest I was quite happy about it, "Aww you called me an asshole"

He went along with my gag and tried to be funny about it "A hairy one at that"

We heard Rick chuckle a bit as he covered his mouth suppressing his voice, at least JoJo made him laugh.

Actually...

"You call me a hairy asshole, now I'm gonna call you Jojo"

Joseph smirked and slowly, his snarky smile turned into a wide grin, "Oh boy I suddenly have some memories with that name"

He locked eyes with me while retaining that grin of his, and slowly uttered each words like a maniac "Was that a reference?"

I was now confused, as I didn't quite get what he was referring to, but I had to ask: "What reference?"

His grin disappeared as fast as he could drink the bottled water earlier, as he thought I might have gotten what he was saying or referring to. But what the hell has Jojo got to do with this?

"And here I thought somebody would finally get it" He was disappointed.

Both me and Rick were confused, but nevertheless it was still a scene we'd both rather see than blood everywhere.

"And... that's it?" Rick asked if he would like to add more to his story, but Joseph insisted that his apocalypse life isn't as eventful.

"That's all to it really, if we're talking about something from my past, it's hardly interesting from the perspective of a biologist"

Which is a lie...

I've heard him before being chased by maniacs and destroying plates on stores, he just chose to keep quiet on people he doesn't really know better.

Which makes me an exception to his shenanigans.

"Though if you like crazy stories, how about we ask Zain?" both of them looked at me as my asshole of a friend initiated me to telling my part of the story on our camp fire.

"Huh, I never really heard that much from you other than mentioning someone called... Summer?"

"...It's Winter"

When it comes to talking about my past, I would always talk about Winter this, Winter that, the slight mention of her name or even the season would suddenly chain me down where I stand.

And it keeps on haunting me...

"I don't wanna mention that name..."

Both of them understood and kept her name out of the picture, they instead requested: "How about life before all that?"

I would probably just call it quits at this point and just head back over to our house, but it doesn't really feel right to just keep it all to myself, let alone bottle up everything that I've experienced.

I say I'm used to it, but for fucks sake it just doesn't leave me.

As long as they keep her out of the picture.

And as long as Joseph doesn't mention it again, for one last time.

If I'd allow myself to actually be talkative about me for once.

"Well... How do I start?"