Day's End

FTF

        The rough, ice-cold wind mercilessly beat on the trio as they staggered their way forward, each member only mere inches apart from each other. The icy wind blew so fast and so strong, that Rose nearly had to shout to address Micheal and Sidney, "Hey, how are you guys holding up!?"
Micheal simply gave a thumbs-up, and Sidney looked over at Rose, leaning in slightly before yelling back, "Totally freezing! When are we going to find shelter?"
"I don't think it's going to be long now. Just hang in there!"
        The group had migrated to Michigan, and now just happened to be a particularly bad winter; unfortunately, Rose had now given up on finding Natalie, as Sidney was more-than-eager to get somewhere cold. Micheal had informed the three that, because walkers were already dead, cold weather would, literally, freeze them; to him, it was only common sense.
"Hey, Rose, what's that?" Sidney shouted, pointing forward to a faint, orange glow up ahead.
"I'm not sure, but, whatever it is, at least, it's something."
"Let's go to it!" Sidney suddenly lurched forward, dragging Rose and Micheal with them, as they all were holding hands.
          They fought against the wind and neared the warm, orange glow that, thankfully, was alighted on a porch to a small, wooden cabin-type house. Sidney let out a sigh of relief and let go of the two others' hands, rushing forward and nearly bursting through the single door. However, Micheal and Rose took their time by the fire, and Rose noticed something off. The fire was lit in a metal barrel, and, on the wall near the door, were the letters 'FTF' written in a substance Rose didn't recognize; perhaps, the substance was mud, or even chalk.
           Rose and Micheal both entered the small cabin, but both of them froze at the sight before them. A hand was tightly placed over Sidney's mouth as they clawed desperately at it and a gun pressed firmly against their temple. Sidney's words came out only as light whimpers and muffled nonsense. Rose instinctively stretched her arms out to Sidney, shouting, "Sid-" before being interrupted by the woman.
"Only talk when I ask you something or I'll kill all of you," the woman said hurriedly, almost gasping for breath at the end of her sentence.
Rose nodded, slowly bringing up her hands in surrender with Micheal copying her actions.
The woman pointed the gun at the two others. "What are you doing here, only the three of you?"
In almost a whisper, Rose responded, "We were just looking for shelter from the cold."
"Where are you from?" The woman demanded, raising her head and studying the two.
"We're from... South Carolina."
"So, you've come a long way, then?"
"Longer than I wanted to."
Relaxing her grip on Sidney, the woman's face suddenly changed from aggressive to wary, "Have you ever heard of the group 'Phoenix'?"
"'Phoenix'? Uh, no, never."
"Does 'Feed the Fire' ring any bells?"
"No, not at all."
Completely lowering her firearm, but still holding on to Sidney, the woman kept inquiring, "Did you run into anyone on the way here?"
"No, I wouldn't imagine I would've, anyway."
"Was anyone following you?"
That question caused chills to go down Rose's spine, more than they already were. "No, I don't think so."
The woman let Sidney go, who immediately dashed forwards to their companions. The stranger muttered, "So, it's only here, then.."
"What's only here?"
"Phoenix," she flatly responded, turning her back and picking at her fingernails as she thought.
"What's 'Phoenix'?"
The woman spread her arms in a hopeless manner and they limply bounced on her hips as she turned. "Hell if I know! Some shit cult or something. They actually 'agree,'" The woman used air quotations before continuing, "with this whole hell. They purposely turn people to 'Feed the Fire.'"
Sidney whispered, "Damn.."
Rose shook her head. "So, what're you doing here?"
"I came to hunt some of these monsters down," She sighed. "Turns out they abandoned this place before I got here, now I'm snowed in." The woman chuckled dryly. "I thought you guys were some of them."
"I can assure you that we aren't part of a cult."
"Clearly. They have more 'fancy' weapons. Anyway, what's your names?"
"I'm Rose," Rose points to Sidney, "That's Sidney," She then points to Micheal, "And that's Micheal."
"Nice to meet y'all; I'm Lidia. Oh, and, uh, sorry for the whole thing."
"It's fine. I probably would've done the same in your place."
"Glad to hear, Rose. So, uh, any 'a you hungry?"
Sidney's jaw practically dropped as they stepped forward. "Starving."
Lidia smiled, turning and waving her hand as a signal to follow. "C'mere."
        The cabin was in surprisingly decent shape, and there was even a small fireplace that Lidia attended to. Over the fireplace set a pot of some kind of food that didn't have much of a scent but, nevertheless, made their mouths water over the noise of the contents boiling inside. "The little shits actually bothered to keep this place tidy before abandonin' it like it was nothin'," Lidia informed, stirring the pot with a splintering wooden spoon as steam escaped from the opening. Studying her creation, she continued, "It's not much, but it was all I could find."
Sidney shivered, kneeling in front of the fire. "Well, it's something, at least. Frankly, as long as it's edible, I would eat anything at this point."
Rose stepped down into the area the three others resided. "So, I know we just met, but why are you hunting these people down?"
"Why wouldn't I? Someone's gotta teach 'em."
"Do you have any idea where they went?"
"Not really. Since the snow is so bad, it's covered their tracks, but, when the time comes, I'll see what I can do."
Sidney spoke up from mere inches away from the flames, "So, how long's this snow going to last?"
"Can't ever be sure about these things. We'll have to wait it out."
Scrunching up in a ball, they muttered, "Damn.."
Lidia set the cover back on the pot. "So, Micheal, not one for talkin'?"
Sidney chuckled. "I guess you could say that."
Rose lightly hit their shoulder and corrected, "He's actually mute."
"Oh, uh, well, sorry, then."
Micheal simply nodded with a polite and patient smile.
Sidney impatiently mumbled, "So, is this done yet or what?"
Lidia merely shrugged. "Probably. Take some if ya want to; bowls are over there."
        Sidney scuffled over to a stack of scratched and weared bowls on the floor, selecting the cleanest one in the pile and filling their bowl to the very top. With Sidney nearly scarfing it down, Lidia poured some of the thin, clear liquid into three other bowls for the rest of them. Deciding to strike up more conversation, Lidia spoke again, "Do you plan on stayin' the night?"
Looking up from her own meal, Rose responded, "If you'll let us."
"'Course you can. Nothing's gettin' anywhere in this weather."
"So, where're you from?" Sidney spoke up from their spot next to Micheal.
"Well, I'm from Indiana, but I was raised most of my life in Texas; started out all alone. I decided to come to Michigan because I had some family up here, but, y'know, didn't find 'em."
"I'm sorry," Rose whispered. "I'm sure we've all lost someone by now."
"Yeah, we have; I shouldn't be broodin'."
"So, how did you find out about 'Phoenix'?"
"I hadn't heard of 'em until I joined this group a while ago; they told me all about what they had done to those close to them, and that they were plannin' to get 'em back someday. That happened a long time ago; most of 'em were killed, but I decided to stay behind, y'know, with the sick of our group and all. This other girl, who stayed behind with me, her husband, I think he was, he was one of 'em that was killed, and I guess she just couldn't handle it. Anyways, I was alone with the sick now, and, because I wasn't a doctor or anything, most of 'em succumbed to the cold."
"So, you decided to come after the Phoenix by yourself?" Rose finished.
"I don't have anythin' else to do."
"Even if it meant certain death?" Sidney asked.
"Someone's gotta do it." Finishing her soup and propping herself up with her hands, Lidia continued, "What about you guys?"
Rose decided to go first, "I first started out in college, alone, when this started. I didn't have family in South Carolina, and the only member I was ever close to was my aunt, who lived in North Dakota. I don't know whether she's fine or not, but, since it's usually pretty cold there, I like to think she is. Anyway, not long after, I was found in the middle of the street by these two siblings, who took me with them. Then, we found this girl named Natalie in the city. Long story short, all three of them are gone now, but Natalie.. I'm not sure if she's alright either; she went missing. When I was looking for her, I stumbled up on a house in the fields next to a road, and this little squirt," She looked lovingly at Sidney, "just so happened to be there. They offered to help me find Natalie, and we eventually got to an abandoned neighborhood.. But there were a dozen or so walkers fenced in somewhere that eventually got loose. During our run to get away from them, Sidney found Micheal alone in a house, and we decided to travel north to the cold."
Clearing their throat, Sidney spoke up, "I guess it's my turn, then. When this first started, I was with my dad and brother, and I hadn't even seen one of those things until about a month into it. I don't know how, but my dad managed to shield me from them that long. That was, until my brother left, and, when my dad figured out, he was pretty pissed. That's it."
Lidia slowly nodded. "What about your dad? What happened to him?"
"Oh, yeah.." Sidney paused in thought before speaking again, "One day he left for something and never came back."
"Damn, kid. I'm sorry."
Sidney shrugged and leaned their head against Micheal's shoulder, absently drawing invisible patterns on the cold floor with their fingers. "It's not your fault; if it's anyone's, it's his."
Lidia smiled. "You're a strong kid. Stay that way."
Sidney returned the smile two-fold, albeit a little pridefully. "I will."
Micheal smiled down at Sidney's wide grin and ruffled their dark hair in a loving manner.
Rose sighed and weakly heaved herself up on her feet with her hands. "Alright, Sidney, I think you should be getting to sleep."
Sidney groaned and rolled away from Micheal and onto their side. "Why?"
"Because you're thirteen, and we have to travel tomorrow."
"How far are we going, anyway?"
Rose stretched her arms, yawning as she did so. "I'm not sure. Far enough to get to a city." She then glanced at the kind stranger. "Do you have anywhere to go, Lidia?"
Lidia shook her head. "Nah, I still have to deal with the whole Phoenix thing."
"Are you sure you want to do this by yourself?" Sidney asked, propping their head up with their hand.
"I don't have anyone else, so might as well."
"Well.." Sidney trailed off, choosing their words carefully under the watchful eye of Rose. "We can help, right, Rose?"
The elder sighed once again and sat herself down on the edge of a broken stool. "How big is this group?"
Lidia stared at the ceiling in thought. "My group wasn't that big; only about six people went out, so I'd say about medium sized or a little small for an organization like that, if that makes sense."
"Alright," Rose whispered, drumming her fingers on the cold wood. "We certainly need more weapons. All we have is a hook and a gun." Rose motioned to her familiar hook that was attached to a hole in her jeans by a thick string where a belt would've been.
"After this snow lets up, I could take you to a city nearby. If the Phoenix or anyone else haven't raided it yet, there still might be some weapons." Pausing in a moment of remembrance, Lidia continued, "Are any of you good with knives?"
Rose chuckled. "I've only ever touched one twice; I was too afraid of them before this happened. Natalie really helped me with that."
"When I was younger, I used to poke trees with short sticks and pretend they were knives," Sidney remarked with a grin.
"You'll learn to use 'em. Knives have a helluva lot more uses than for poking trees," Lidia replied, smiling just as much.
"So, it's settled, then? In the morning, we'll go to the city, find weapons, and try to hunt down these Phoenix people," Rose confirmed and stood up from her stool, walking back to the rest of the group. "And, Sidney, I'm not kidding; go to sleep."
"Yeah, we should all rest up," Lidia agreed.
"Alright, alright, I'm going," Sidney said, curling up into a ball next to the extinguished flames of the fireplace.
        Micheal slept about a foot away from Sidney, and Rose and Lidia laid at the other side of the small room. However, even as Rose, Lidia, and Micheal drifted off to sleep, Sidney stayed up for a little while drawing random things that popped into their minds on Micheal's writing pad.