Aunt Jones's back wasn't what it used to be. As she eased herself down onto the small stool, one hand braced against her aching back, she felt a bit more at ease once she finally settled.
"This is what I scavenged today."
Dora Lin took the candy and wine out of the basket on Alex White's back and placed them carefully on the ground. Then, she handed the canvas bag slung over her shoulder to Aunt Jones. "The house hasn't been raided by scavengers yet. Maybe it's because there are fewer people around now. I found quite a lot of things this time."
"Did you run into any trouble?"
"Just a big cat, but Alex White managed to pin it down. And… there was a strange group in town. Not sure what they were looking for, but I think they were headed to the hospital."
As Dora spoke, she pulled out a small piece of paper that Alex White hadn't even noticed her pocket. It contained information about a survivor's settlement.
"They're from here. Maybe… just like you all predicted, an official settlement is going to be established sooner or later. If you're thinking of going, I can keep an eye out for the right time."
Dora handed the paper to Aunt Jones, who squinted at it for a moment before setting it down. "An old woman like me, I'd just be a burden wherever I go."
"But you, Dora, if you have the chance to leave, you should. Just be careful. Things might not be as chaotic as they were in the early days, but you still need to watch out."
As time passed, more and more survivors gathered, and groups like their village that slowly faded away would become more common. Eventually, the remaining people would have to find new paths, leaving behind only a few ever-growing settlements.
Aunt Jones glanced at Alex White, the tall man wearing sunglasses. "Is he from there too?"
"No, he's just… a scavenger who happened to be around," Dora Lin replied.
"Take off your glasses. Let me see," Aunt Jones said to Alex White .
Often, a person's eyes could reveal something about them, no matter who they were. But with sunglasses on, it was hard to see through to the truth. Sunglasses could hide a person's thoughts all too well.
"Huh?" Dora turned to look at him.
Alex White hesitated. "I have an illness; my eyes don't look good."
"Take them off."
"..."
After a brief pause, Alex White slowly removed his sunglasses, revealing his eyes.
Aunt Jones paused for a moment, frowning slightly.
"I've got pink eye, caught some bacteria. It's pretty scary," Alex White said, rubbing his eyes.
Aunt Jones looked at him for a moment. "Pink eye, huh… Back in the day, a few drops of eye drops would've cleared it right up."
Dora Lin gestured for him to put his glasses back on. "The village is empty now, Aunt Jones. You know how to farm and mend clothes. It's better to have someone around to help you than to be alone. What if I sneak over there and check it out? If it looks safe, I'll bring you with me."
"I'm old; I don't feel like moving anymore. But you, you should really think about where you want to go," Aunt Jones waved her hand, pointing to the vegetable patch in the yard. "See what's ripe and pick some."
After that, she fell silent, squinting in the sunlight as she slowly opened the canvas bag that Dora had brought back from the city.
Alex White, still carrying the basket on his back, didn't move. He wanted Dora to grab something that could be used as seeds but didn't say anything.
Dora Lin was a bit like Aunt Jones, yet different in some ways. Aunt Jones was from a generation that had lived fully through the times before and after the disaster, while Dora hadn't. But Dora didn't want to leave either, and she wasn't interested in farming. She just lived each day as it came.
Both of them wanted the other to leave, to find a different path.
They were the last two left in the village.
Dora picked two cucumbers, tossed them into Alex White's basket, and with a quick word of farewell, prepared to leave.
Outside the gate, Alex White turned back for a final glance.
Aunt Jones sat under the eaves, a rifle leaning against the doorpost, quietly sitting there. Though she was only in her forties, she looked older, as if time had passed her by, or perhaps she was lost in memories of days before the disaster.
As they walked further away, the village didn't look quite as run-down from a distance, just lifeless.
Uncle Jones was still wandering near the village.
"I've heard some villagers say that Aunt Jones was like my mother. She was pregnant when the disaster struck, but she and her husband made a different choice than my parents," Dora Lin said softly as she walked ahead. "Otherwise, that child would've been a few months younger than me."
Alex White continued walking, the basket still on his back.
"She once told me that if she were ten years younger, she'd have become my godmother. I told her she could still do it now, but she refused," Dora Lin said.
"If she were ten years younger, she could still protect you," Alex White remarked, noticing the large elm tree in the distance. "But now that she's older, she'd only hold you back. That's probably why she said no."
"Are you thinking of sending her to that settlement?" Alex White asked.
"If she keeps going like this, she won't last much longer," Dora Lin replied. "People who lived before the disaster aren't like us. They age quickly when they're on their own."
Alex White remained silent.
In the village, where once neighbors looked out for one another, only she and the young Dora Lin remained.
The courtyard was steeped in a quiet, aging decay, as the few remaining grew older by the day.
The elm seeds were a bit old but still edible, though not as tender as before. Alex White, tall as he was, picked them with ease.
"You can grind elm bark into flour," Alex White commented out of nowhere, staring at the tree bark.
"If you want some, you'll have to grind it yourself. There's a millstone in the yard next door," Dora Lin replied.
"How about we tie up Alex White to the millstone, blindfold him, and hang a piece of meat around his neck to keep him moving… Why are you looking at me like that?" Alex White asked.
"You're a zombie too. How about I tie you up instead?" Dora Lin shot back with a glare. "Eddie is so old now that he can barely walk straight. You, on the other hand, would just follow me around wherever I go… You even knocked down my shed today with all that strength of yours."
The mention of the shed made Dora Lin angry. With all that strength, why not put it to use grinding flour instead of wrecking her shed?
And he wanted to use poor old Eddie, who could hardly stand, to turn the millstone.
"I'm the Zombie King. Have you ever heard of a king who grinds flour himself?"
"I'm just now realizing how wicked you are."
Zombie King? If those old creatures weren't so worn out, they'd have overthrown him long ago.
After filling the basket to the brim with elm seeds, Alex White packed two large burlap sacks, shouldering them—two large bags and one big basket.
"Aunt Jones didn't realize I'm infected."
"Well, no one's ever seen a zombie that can talk and carry a basket around," Dora Lin said with a smirk.
"So, do I even need to wear sunglasses?"
"If you're far away, she can't see clearly. But if you get too close, she might start to suspect something."
As they spoke, Eddie wandered nearby, oblivious to the fact that a certain zombie, who fancied himself a king, was plotting to have one of his subjects turn the millstone.
Eddie wobbled unsteadily, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Dora Lin didn't bother to push him away with a stick. She simply quickened her pace, and she and Alex White easily left him behind.