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For the most part, that sums up the experience I had at the school when everything started to move off of the ground. From there, it was small improvements around the base, small improvements in the friendships I made, and calm waters until June 8th, 2020. I remember that day so well. You remember the beginning of the end very well at the End of the World.
The wall expanded, the habitants expanded, and it seemed like our lifespan would expand as well. I learned to shoot a gun, I practiced with a knife as Dad taught me this world, and I was thrown into the mix of things on this day. I'll end the prologue of my story here, and give one more entry before things started to get bad.
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I woke up on that humid day at the end of spring, staring at the ceiling of one of my classrooms. It's weird, as time went on, I got up out of my small sleeping cot only to be closer to the ceiling. I was slowly getting taller, slowly growing up here.
I wiped my face with the towel by the sink in the classroom and took a breath outside as I observed the playsets.
Several kids we had in our base were now able to play everywhere. I had to admit, I wanted to join them, but now I had duties to attend to. It was of my own volition that I wanted to mature as fast as I did, and I don't regret it. The grass is always greener, was how I saw it.
Cody and Connie both grew up along with me. Cody got a little bit taller, and Connie was starting to have more defined features, such as a sharper jawline, a sharper nose, and a cunning stare that was waiting to be tested. Her attitude, in addition to her features, was sharper now as well. She definitely grew the most out of any kid around here.
Uncle Brandon and Dad had been working on a shooting range out back for practice, and clearing the small block the school was on to make it safer.
Dad was working with Farmer David, an older man who joined our ranks after his car broke down in front of the school. I knew that Dad had to kill a ton of zombies to free him from that corner he was placed in, and because Farmer David was so gratuitous, he started to make up plans.
With all of the houses that burnt down and all of the open fields, Farmer David proposed an idea to Dad to use it for farmland. He was very intuitive and figured that if any places around here wanted to trade for the products we made, then he would allow for that future to build upon itself.
"So, we can build the fences right there after clearing out Melbourne... but, that street is a dead end toward the creek so we should clear that out first, oh, there's Leon!" Dad yelled out. I ran up to him. I never thought twice about it, but that was the last time he rubbed my head as I approached him.
"We were just talking about going on another mission to clear the creek out of all the zombies that may have roamed in. Do you want to come with us?" Dad asked me. I remembered that in the zombie show Connie and Dad always talk about, they discuss how one of the young characters was often held back from his true purpose, just because he was a kid. Dad didn't let that happen with me, and let me join when I wanted to.
"Yeah, I'll come with. Do you want me to bring it?" I asked him. I avoided saying the name of the weapon I carried around when I walked outside now because I hated using the word 'gun'. It must've shown by the way I nervously bounced around while talking about it.
"Don't sweat it, Leon. You don't have to bring it if you don't want to, but it wouldn't be bad practice if you just carried it, you know?" Dad asked me.
"I know, it's just weird. A lot happened in six months, but I'll get there. Probably by the end of this month! I'll set that goal for myself," I said to him. For the first time in my entire life, my voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. I didn't notice it, but Farmer David and Dad both laughed once they heard it.
"Hahaha! Listen to that Charlie, your boy is finally getting some hair on his chest! About damn time!" Farmer David said with his southern accent. I wasn't sure how to react to that, so I just sheepishly squinted my eyes at him and then turned back to Dad.
"Are we going right now?" I asked him. He nodded, explaining that I would go to scout at the entrance to the creek while he got all the supplies necessary for a short trip. Farmer David was able to stay with me because he had everything he needed, so we both crouched down at the downhill slope leading into the flowing creek. I noticed that over time, it moved faster.
"Why do creeks move so fast? Where does it go?" I asked Farmer David. I figured that he would know a lot about everything, considering his age and whatnot.
"Creeks normally lead to rivers, and sometimes they move faster because it doesn't have to flow over a wide area. See, we can jump this creek if we got a head start, maybe about an eight-foot length over the whole thing. It probably moves faster because the runoff is blocking most of the area and forcing it to move down a smaller path," Farmer David explained to me.
"Woah... okay, I get it. Hey, where did you learn all your stuff from?" I asked him next.
"My Dad's Daddy. Grandpa Dave... really unique name choice, right? Grandpa Dave taught me everything I knew so I could run the farm up north here in Michigan. I know most stuff, including cows and pigs and water and crops, but there's a lot I don't know too. Your Dad seems to be a good enough person to understand that and saved my life. I owe him a lot. You as noble as your Dad, boy?" Farmer David asked me.
"I'm not sure yet, but I look up to him a lot, so if I'm not now, then I will be one day. Dad is pretty amazing," I confessed to Farmer David. I often didn't want to say it in front of him, but I'm sure he knew. He had to.
"Alright guys, got some water, some snacks, a spare weapon, blades, and a flashlight in case it gets late. Let's go, are you ready?" Dad asked me. I nodded, and I followed him down the slope by the creek.
Both Farmer David and Dad helped me slide down the slop until I was almost parallel with the creek behind a tall mound of dirt blocking us. The trees were plentiful and decorated with green leaves after the dead-look they had all winter. The ground was uneven, but for the most part stable and not soft at all.
There didn't seem to be any footprints or sounds of the dead, which Dad told me to be careful of. They move like us, they hide like us, and they think like us. Thinking they were mindless creatures wouldn't permit a more certain death.
"Right here, I have a button from some clothing. This could be a lead, right?" I asked Dad. He nodded after I threw him the button and he analyzed it thoroughly.
"Anything is possible. Come on, let's keep moving," He said. His gun was now out, and down by his hip, pointed at the floor.
I followed behind him, keeping it pointed at the floor, and far away from any person at all costs. The barrel even moving past somebody was a disrespectful thing, and wouldn't slide here. I would get it taken away as quickly as it was given to me, so that was one thing I always paid attention to.