uhhhh idk
Wow, it's been a while since I've done any self care. My joints are wobbly as I head towards the small bathroom near the door. It's risky here, cleaning myself. But this is the only remaining bathroom that works. The other two were destroyed after the officials decided we needed to clear all the possibilities of germs away and tried to bomb all the houses. This house is sturdy, though, so only the fourth and fifth floors were demolished. The other two, the first and second, still stand.
The second floor is where the bedrooms are. We barely use them since the pain of losing our family is still fresh. Instead, on the first floor, Sondra sleeps on the couch with Tim lying next to her while I doze off in my chair.
I quickly walk into the small room and close the door. Then I undress myself, looking at my reflection in the mirror. My stomach has shrunk due to the lack of nutrition, and dark circles ring my eyes. My legs are so skinny I almost cry. I look so.. so odd!
This is the first time in months that I've shown any emotion towards my appearance, or anything really. I've gotten used to the stench of unwashed clothing and sweaty underarms. The want for food numbs my pain and I embrace it. Now, as I see my true form in the mirror, I break down.
Carefully, oh-so-carefully, I step into the shower and turn on the water. The touch of cool hits me and I take in the scent of fresh soap. I lather it on all over my body, and I'm singing, dancing, rejoicing inside. How could I have possibly skipped having a shower- a bath, for so long?
The sound of something crumbling caves in my happiness. There's something wrong here..
It becomes louder and louder, until I peek out of the shower stall and notice that pieces of the ceiling have littered the floor. What's going on?
I've only been in the shower for a few minutes. It has to be something minor; has to, please, just be some stupid jerk tossing pebbles at the window, I plead silently.
But the sound continues again and again, until a hunk of ceiling lands near my foot. It jerks me back to reality.
Another bombing.
Thoughts racing, I rinse off the soap and snatch a hanging towel from an iron bar that Sondra managed to set up.
I use it to dry myself and thank her silently. Then I grab another towel, and after hastily getting dressed I grab a few containers of soap.
Racing out of the bathroom, I slip my shoes on. The sound of the bombing becomes louder, and louder.
The ceiling cracks and shrapnel hits the nape of my neck as I struggle to slip on my shoes, the ones I haven't worn in so long.
I finally manage to get them both on as I scream, "SONDRA! SONDRA, WHERE ARE YOU?!" at the top of my lungs. There's no answer, and this knocks the wind out of me. I manage to dodge a rather big piece of broken wood as I dive through the cracked window in the living room, making ugly little cuts in my arms and legs. I finally land on the ground outside and race around the other edge of the house, looking for my sister.
Sondra's there! She's there! Holding Tim and our ration bags! Oh, thank God, thank God..
The rest of our house crumbles to dust as another bomb drops. It sends me flying across the street and landing into a tree. The impact almost smashes me in half.
* spoilers :
sondra dies, eaten by zombies. steph finds leon, her old classmate (NOT HER BF OR LOVE INTEREST) and he refuses to help her, even after she tells him abt seeing sondra die while watching afar from the treehouse. she then survives for a week or so before stumbling upon leon again, this time at death's door, with a broken arm. she helps him and they partner up, but in the end, she dies, sacrificing herself for him and her little brother when a zombie horde attacks them. leon marries his old classmate, claire, and they have kids after the apocalypse. tim grows up under leon's care (leon legally adopts him after the apocalypse) and he later marries a girl named elyse (they also have kids together).
* if you're wondering, steph doesn't kiss leon or anything. she doesn't have a love interest in the book, but she had an ex-bf before
The second floor is where the bedrooms are. We barely use them since the pain of losing our family is still fresh. Instead, on the first floor, Sondra sleeps on the couch with Tim lying next to her while I doze off in my chair.
I quickly walk into the small room and close the door. Then I undress myself, looking at my reflection in the mirror. My stomach has shrunk due to the lack of nutrition, and dark circles ring my eyes. My legs are so skinny I almost cry. I look so.. so odd!
This is the first time in months that I've shown any emotion towards my appearance, or anything really. I've gotten used to the stench of unwashed clothing and sweaty underarms. The want for food numbs my pain and I embrace it. Now, as I see my true form in the mirror, I break down.
Carefully, oh-so-carefully, I step into the shower and turn on the water. The touch of cool hits me and I take in the scent of fresh soap. I lather it on all over my body, and I'm singing, dancing, rejoicing inside. How could I have possibly skipped having a shower- a bath, for so long?
The sound of something crumbling caves in my happiness. There's something wrong here..
It becomes louder and louder, until I peek out of the shower stall and notice that pieces of the ceiling have littered the floor. What's going on?
I've only been in the shower for a few minutes. It has to be something minor; has to, please, just be some stupid jerk tossing pebbles at the window, I plead silently.
But the sound continues again and again, until a hunk of ceiling lands near my foot. It jerks me back to reality.
Another bombing.
Thoughts racing, I rinse off the soap and snatch a hanging towel from an iron bar that Sondra managed to set up.
I use it to dry myself and thank her silently. Then I grab another towel, and after hastily getting dressed I grab a few containers of soap.
Racing out of the bathroom, I slip my shoes on. The sound of the bombing becomes louder, and louder.
The ceiling cracks and shrapnel hits the nape of my neck as I struggle to slip on my shoes, the ones I haven't worn in so long.
I finally manage to get them both on as I scream, "SONDRA! SONDRA, WHERE ARE YOU?!" at the top of my lungs. There's no answer, and this knocks the wind out of me. I manage to dodge a rather big piece of broken wood as I dive through the cracked window in the living room, making ugly little cuts in my arms and legs. I finally land on the ground outside and race around the other edge of the house, looking for my sister.
Sondra's there! She's there! Holding Tim and our ration bags! Oh, thank God, thank God..
The rest of our house crumbles to dust as another bomb drops. It sends me flying across the street and landing into a tree. The impact almost smashes me in half.
* spoilers :
sondra dies, eaten by zombies. steph finds leon, her old classmate (NOT HER BF OR LOVE INTEREST) and he refuses to help her, even after she tells him abt seeing sondra die while watching afar from the treehouse. she then survives for a week or so before stumbling upon leon again, this time at death's door, with a broken arm. she helps him and they partner up, but in the end, she dies, sacrificing herself for him and her little brother when a zombie horde attacks them. leon marries his old classmate, claire, and they have kids after the apocalypse. tim grows up under leon's care (leon legally adopts him after the apocalypse) and he later marries a girl named elyse (they also have kids together).
* if you're wondering, steph doesn't kiss leon or anything. she doesn't have a love interest in the book, but she had an ex-bf before