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The vehicle had been packed full of the supplies once it had all been said and done, her father and mother getting everything prepared for the worst-case scenario, before they’d gotten sick, before shit had hit the fan.
Now they were living in their own personal hell.
Sasha sat across from Lucy at the table, the can of chili that they’d opened for dinner sitting uneaten in front of them. She picked up her spoon and pushed around the beans and meat, the most unappetizing food she’d ever seen. But that wasn’t why she wasn’t eating it. Since they’d gotten settled in a few hours ago all she’d been able to think about was their parents back at the house.
She’d never see them again, never hear her mother singing in the kitchen as she made them dinner. They’d never see Lucy grow up. She forced herself not to cry, made sure she didn’t show that kind of weakness in front of Lucy. She was fragile right now, maybe forever. Sasha had to be strong for both of them. She had to make her see that she had things under control.
The fire crackled in the hearth and she looked over at the flames. There was a small woodshed beside the cabin and she’d gathered as many logs as she could and brought them inside before it had gotten dark. She didn’t know the first thing about starting a fire, but thanks to some old newspaper and the little bit of lighter fluid that had been sitting next to the hearth, they had something to heat up this godawful dinner and keep them warm tonight.
Sasha needed to figure out how to make this work out for them. Wood needed to be chopped, especially when the winner came. The food would only last so long, so she had to figure out how to provide for them. There was always fishing, which wouldn’t be so hard to manage during the summer months. She could dry the fish, maybe smoke it. She remembered watching her father and uncle as they’d smoked salmon one summer.
Yes, she could do this.
But she needed to think about gardens, vegetables, figuring out other means that would sustain them out here in the middle of nowhere.
“You should eat something,” she said softly. Lucy looked up at her and gave Sasha a weak smile.
“I could say the same thing to you,” she said and looked down at her bowl filled with chili. Sasha chuckled humorlessly and leaned back in the wooden chair.
“Do you think we’ll get sick?” Lucy’s question came out of the blue and surprised her.
She sat there not knowing how to respond. Sasha didn’t want to lie to her, but she also didn’t want to make this an even more horrendous situation than it already was.
“I think we would’ve gotten sick already if it was going to happen.” It had been nearly a week since all of this started, and neither of them were showing any kind of symptoms. But what are the odds that they were both immune?
Lucy nodded slowly and picked up her spoon, scooping up some of the chili and bringing it to her mouth. Sasha did the same, both of them eating in silence. The sound of their spoons hitting the bowls seemed overly loud in the small cabin.
Whatever would happen was out of their control. All Sasha could do was be there for Lucy, help her grow, keep her alive. Everything else was up to fate.
Chapter Five
One day at a time
“Do you think we should go in the water?” Lucy asked.
It had been a couple of days since they’d arrived at the cabin, and so far, things had been going smoothly.
Staring at the edge of the lake, Sasha thought about Lucy’s question and had her doubts. For some reason, she didn’t feel comfortable getting in the water, but they hadn’t bathed in days. She, herself, was starting to have issues with that. She looked around, everything serene, quiet. In fact, it was far too quiet and still, as if no life was around.
So far, they hadn’t encountered any other people. With no electric or satellite, she didn’t know what had happened to the world since they’d left.
Still, every single night without fail, she locked up the cabin in the hope of keeping her sister safe.
Lucy seemed to be dealing with it well enough, better than Sasha thought she would be, in fact. At least it looked like it on the surface but then, all she seemed to do was remain silent most of the time.
Their food supplies were going to start depleting and she didn’t like what that meant.
Either hunting, fishing or gathering what they could, or venturing back to civilization.
The world that she’d once loved was now a scary, dangerous place.
“Well?” Lucy asked again. “What do you think?”
