There was no noise coming from the building in front of me, but I took the safety off my gun anyway. I pushed the door open cautiously. It squeaked horribly, which hopefully meant no one was here. White specks of dust floated from the rug wherever I stepped. But there was also some floating around on the stairs too. Hopefully, that was just random air currents and not a zombie.
I searched the house as quickly as I could, but it was a big house. I think it was called a mansion. After half an hour, I had gone through the first three floors, with good findings. I went to go up the stairs to the fourth floor, but there weren't any. Frowning, I looked around.
There had to be a way to get up there. No signs were apparent of them being taken away though. Then I spotted a knot in the paneled wood of the hall. I pushed it lightly, watching as the wooden swirl twisted. A ladder swung down from above. Testing its strength first, I began to climb the ladder. The rope looked worn, but was plenty sturdy. It would make sense that this was built after it started, but it looked too old for that. There was a creaking noise coming from where the ladder was attached, the hinges rusty. I cursed, not caring because if anyone was in this house, they would now know I was here.
When I got to the top, it came across a great surprise. "Jackpot," I muttered. These people must have had a son, and they had spoiled him. That explained the ladder. I knew Max and Pepper would love it, and probably any other child too.
The room was full of toys and electronics. Also, the kid had a ton of fake guns. The council would love this. I grabbed the kid’s bedspread, and started stuffing it full of toys, games, clothes, and money. The money wasn't worth anything, so I left the weird green paper, but I took the coins with people on them. Metal like this was valuable to a girl trying to support a family.
Taking all of my goods, I jumped down, not bothering with the ladder. It wasn't that long of a fall. I went outside, checked my gun, and started to walk through the deserted town. Passing by a big store, I found a metal shopping cart. I dumped all of my stuff in it, and pushed it in front of me.
Now that I didn't have all that weight on my back, I started to run, I cart gliding along in front of me. I made it to the path and picked up my speed. The path was the only road that was still used. It was dangerous, but not as much as the other roads. It was surrounded my forests, which seems like it would be a great place for zoms to hide, but all the dry leaves on the ground would give away their position.
So, on the path, if you ran, you would most likely make it home. Most of the zombies couldn't run, and if they couldn't catch you, they couldn't hurt you. Things still happened, amateurs came out goofing around, but if you were careful and could run for a really long time, then you would be fine. After running for about 8 miles, I come to a spoon in the road. Apparently they used to be called 'forks in the road', but spoon worked better for here because the path split into two, but they both connected after a few miles, forming one road again.
Most Tocks took the path on the right, because it was safer, but I loved the one on the left. There were still things that survived from before here, things most people had never seen. There were planes, and half-bike half-cars, and houses still intact. It was harder to go on this path because it was covered in debris, so no one tried. Maybe that's why I did. Just to prove you could.
Once you got to the end of the spoon, it was only about a mile to my town. I slowed down as I approached the gates, hoping to go unnoticed. But without luck. All of the guards started to glare at me except for a few, who were attempting to glare while trying to hold in their amusement.
I knew I was in big trouble. I hadn't gotten permission to leave. Under 18's weren't allowed out without an adult or with special authorization. I had neither. So I was in for a lot of trouble. But with this haul, it was so worth it. And I had a new first to report: I hadn't seen even one zom today. That had never happened. So maybe if I told them that I would get off the hook...but that was just wishful thinking.
Once I made it through the gates, the boss of the guards for this shift came up to me. His name was Nat Chop, with was a very fitting name for him because his sentences seemed like they were being chopped off to quickly. Like right now. "Why, girl? What happened? How?" Such a warm welcome, as always.
I quickly told him what had happened, only leaving out how I got out without them noticing. He frowned and got a calculating look on his face. "Danni. Council House. Now!" Busted!
Sighing, I went to the east of the town, where the shops were and where meetings were held. The Council House was the most impressive building in the town. It was from before, and had been preserved pretty well.
As I got to it, I saw Councilor Com standing outside of the building, leaning against the doors casually. He was the head of the council. Normally someone as high up as him wouldn't be dealing with this kind of problem, since teens tried to go outside all the time, though I was the most frequent offender. Something was up. Chop must have called sent him a paq telling him what happened.
News travelled fast in this town. Ever since paqs were invented, everyone knew everything about you before you knew it yourself. Paqs were like what teens used before to communicate; I think they were called 'texts'. But the 'texts' were just words typed up on a screen. Paq Blocks were devices that you pushed a button on it, and thought about your message. Once you were done thinking of the message, you thought of the person's name and they got the paq on their Paq Block, which would play the message in their mind. Don't get me wrong, I love paqs, but at times like these they were so irritating.
Councilor Com told me to go to my house, check on the kids, and report back in an hour for a full council meeting. This was bad. I had never been to a full council before, and they only called them when something was really wrong. Seeing my panic, Com soothingly said, "Don't worry, Danni. You're not in trouble, but we need to figure out what is going on, and you seem very well acquainted with outside." He said the last part with amusement, knowing of how many times I snuck out. Com had always cared a lot for me. He had been best friends with my parents, so he always looked out for me.
I gave him a grin and turned around, wheeling my cart with me. "One hour Danni. Don't be late," Com called after me. When I got to the other side of town where my house was, 10 minutes of my hour where already gone.
I unlocked the door, and stepped in, leaving the cart outside. Before I could take two steps into the room, Max ran at me. Grinning, I ruffled his hair. "Missed you too, bud." I walked through the house to the living room where Pepper was sitting on the floor, doing yoga. She called out, "Hey," but quickly went back to focus on her yoga. Good, maybe that would calm her down so she wouldn't be so hyper all the time.
Max and Pepper weren't my kids, or siblings. But a few years ago, my aunt and uncle, who had raised me, were killed defending the town, along with my older cousin, leaving me to care for their two youngest children. At that time I had been 13. I am now 16, Pepper is 11, and Max is 5. It seems weird that a 13 year old would be allowed to raise two young kids, but I was allowed to because I had just turned 13, and at that age you could live alone. Many people had been against me taking care of them, and wanted to give them to other families, but I refused to be split up. Everyone was required to get a job when they were 17, but I had been working around town for a little extra money for my aunt and uncle since I was 5, and when I was 13, I got a real job.
My job is to go to old towns from before and look for anything usable. Then I bring it back and sell it or keep it for my family. Normally this job is only allowed for over-18s, but I had gone with my uncle before, and I was really good at it. And they needed people to do it. Most of the townies were too afraid because a lot of people got killed while outside. The nickname for people who do this is Tocks, because people think are lives are tick-tocking away faster than most because of the risks. So I was allowed to go once a week, as long as I got permission first. But this job doesn't pay well enough to only go once a week. So I snuck out a lot.
It was hard work, but I didn't mind because it kept me with Max and Pepper. Max is a shy child, but very smart and tough for someone his age. Pepper is very hyper. Her real name is Penny, but she is really peppy, and loved a ton of pepper on her food when we still had it from before. So I started to call her Pepper when she was little, and it stuck. I talked to the kids for a minute, and then went outside to look through what I found. I began to make two piles, keep or sell. In the keep pile I put some children's books for Max, some new clothes for all of us, some sewing supplies, and some non-perishable food I had found. The rest went in the sell pile. Later I would go sell or trade it to different people, but right now I had to get ready to go.
I took all the keep stuff to my room to surprise them with later, and took a quick shower. Meeting with the council was a big deal, so I couldn't show up covered in dirt and sweat from my run. After I changed into my nicest clothes, I told Pepper that there were leftovers in the fridge if I was gone too late, and to watch Max.
"Aye aye, captain," she responded sarcastically. "But you'll be home by 6 so don't worry."
"Thanks. See ya!" Once again grateful for her ability, I left.
I started walking towards the council house, knowing that if I waited any longer I would be late. Butterflies were bouncing in my stomach, so to calm myself down, I went through different fighting techniques in my head. I was focusing all my attention on this, not even thinking about what I had gotten into.
My train of thought trailed off as I realized I had made it to the council house. Taking a deep breath, I walked up the stairs. The room where the meeting was to be held was big. The twenty men on the council all turned to look at me as I walked in.
Scowling, I took my seat at the front of the stand. Two of the younger members had smirks on their faces and were pointing at me and laughing. I had no idea that they were on the council. When I was younger we never had gotten along, and they hated me. I think it was because they tried to beat me up for some reason, and thought they would get me since I was 5 years younger, but I kicked their butts. Most girls started training a while before the guys, so people who were naturally good at it had an advantage when it came to things like this.
This was going to be a long day with this group of guys...
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