Cora (Love in the Apocalypse #2)

2. Isaac

Chapter two

Isaac

3 Years Later

I continued to study the house below from the trees. We were on a small ridge in the forest that looked down into the clearing where the house sat. The house was so well hidden that we had nearly passed it. The blue-painted house was weathered and chipped but looked in good shape otherwise. The grass was tall but not nearly as badly as it could have been, thanks to the herds of deer we’ve seen come and go. We’ve been watching the house for a couple of days now and haven’t seen any movement of the human variety.

“What do you think?” my brother, Trent, asked.

“I don’t think anyone lives here anymore,” I replied.

“No shit,” Derrick replied, pushing past me. “I told you that yesterday.”

I rolled my eyes at the abrasive man’s back as I stood and followed him to the house. Most days, I wondered why the fuck we let him stay with us. The truth was that as big a pain in the ass as he was, he was helpful to have around. With the state of the world what it was, finding good people you could trust to have your back wasn’t easy. And I didn’t doubt that Derrick had me and my brother’s backs.

We met him about a year after the virus took out over half the planet’s population. Trent had gotten himself pinned by a few zombies, and if it hadn’t been for Derrick, Trent wouldn’t have made it. He’s been with us ever since, but that didn’t mean he didn’t test my patience daily.

“Making sure before we approached made sense,” I sighed.

“It did,” Derrick replied, “but two days was overdoing it.”

“It never hurts to be cautious,” Remi commented as he peeked through a window. Remington had joined our little group about eight months ago. We had been traveling through the desert when we came across him walking along the side of the road. At first, we thought he was a zombie until he started flapping his arms around like a bird when we passed him. Remi seemed to be the missing piece to our puzzle, capable of bridging Derrick’s attitude, my inability to relax, and Trent’s propensity for joking around too much, usually to his detriment.

“See anything?” I asked.

“Nope. I’ll have it open in a few minutes,” Remi replied. He knelt and picked the locks on the door. When he had it unlocked, he stood and put his finger to his lips as he silently turned the knob and pushed the door open. Remi stepped inside, whistled, and then stepped back outside with us. We waited for any zombies trapped inside to come rushing out. When none did, I nodded at the group and went inside.

Stepping into the house felt like stepping back in time. It was neat and tidy, a distinct contrast to the ransacked houses we usually see.

“Is this real?” Trent asked.

“I think so,” I replied. I looked around the house at the family knick-knacks and pictures scattered around. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something felt off about this house.

“We’ve got canned goods in the kitchen,” Derrick yelled.

We joined him in the kitchen to see the nearly full cabinets. “Maybe whoever lived here went out and never made it home?” I suggested.

“Wait!” Remi said. “Do you hear that?”

We all went silent, and it took me a few minutes to understand what he was talking about. I met his eyes with a surprised look as I walked over to the fridge and opened the door.

“No fucking way,” Derrick said. I opened the freezer next, and he reached around me to snatch out the empty ice tray. “I’m making ice!”

Trent flipped the switch on the wall, and the kitchen light over the table turned on. “Holy fuck. We have electricity. Do you know what this means? Hot water!”

“DIBS!” the four of us shouted at the same time. We all froze as we regarded each other silently before exploding into motion as we ran toward the hallway where the bathroom had to be located. Trent was closest to the hall, so he had a head start, but Remi quickly shoved him out of the way.

“Sorry, Bro,” I said as I ran past him. I stretched out and grabbed the back of Remi’s shirt, yanking him back and passing him. The hallway had three closed doors, so I picked the first and ran into a bedroom. Son of a bitch!

I ran back into the hall to the next door and saw Derrick grinning from the bathroom doorway. “I win,” he said as he slammed the door and locked it.

“I call next!” I shouted before anyone else could. I went back into the kitchen to take inventory of the food there. Canned chili! Tonight, we would eat better than we have in a while.

“What do you make of this place?” Trent asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I’m not going to complain. This could be good for us. We could make a home here.”

“What if the owner comes back?” Trent asked.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Remi replied, joining us in the kitchen.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because this place is just too well stocked. There’s no way they had so much stuff stocked up that they’d still have it all three years later. There are paper towels on the counter,” he said, gesturing to the lone roll. “I don’t think they only use them for special occasions. No, I’m telling you, whatever happened to them, no one has been here since the beginning.”

He had a point. We hadn’t seen several items in the house in many years.

“Maybe they did have a stockpile that lasted this long,” Trent replied.

“No, I think the place has been abandoned,” I told him. “There is something slightly off about this place, but I certainly don’t feel like anyone has lived here for quite some time. And it’s so well hidden, I doubt anyone alive on this mountain would have stumbled upon it. We got lucky.” I pulled out a pot and dumped two cans of chili into it. I set the pot on the stove and turned the electric burner on.

“That felt fucking heavenly!” Derrick moaned as he walked into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped a few feet into the kitchen and inhaled deeply. “Oh, that smells even better. I think I saw rice in the cabinet.”

“Someone cook it then,” I ordered. “It’s my turn for a shower.” I left them to finish dinner while I went to the bathroom. I removed my dirty clothes and added them to Derrick’s pile. If we had running water and electricity, the house should have a washing machine. I haven’t had properly washed clothes in ages.

I stepped under the spray and groaned loudly as the high-pressure hot water beat against my back. I’m never getting out of this shower. I live here now.