Episode 2: The Normal World

Episode 2

"The Normal World"

(Samantha)

Night passed, and before I knew it, I was outside planting some crops with Kayla. It was noon, and her and I were trying to get some bonding time in. I knelt down and started digging a hole with a trowel, Kayla then placed some green bean seeds in the hole. I placed the dirt back on the seeds and patted it down. Kayla would then water the spot with a watering pail, then we would move onto the next spot, we would keep repeating this.

"You're a brave girl," I started, "through all we've been through, you don't look scared, do you?"

Kayla pursed her lips and nodded.

"I don't feel scared anymore." was all she said.

"You know what?" I asked, "do you want to hear some stories from when you were just a baby?"

Kayla looked at me with a big grin on her face, and nodded her head.

"Most nights, when your father and I put you in your crib, you would escape. We would be watching television, and we would hear patting sounds behind the couch. I would go look, and there you would be, crawling around. Almost like you wanted to join and watch the television with us."

Kayla laughed, and then asked me something that caught me off guard.

"What was life like before the apocalypse? I can't remember."

I almost teared up hearing that, I wanted Kayla to grow up in the real world, it wasn't fair that she had to live through this.

"Well," I said, trying not to cry, "Kids your age would go to school, come home and see their families. Adults would go to work, they would get paid, and buy things like food and clothes. Everyone was in a big community, we worked together to keep each other alive. Life wasn't as dangerous, there was no looking out for stranglers, and people didn't try to rob you every chance they got."

I stopped there, realizing that there were still bad people before the apocalypse. The people who kidnapped me and tried to sell me, were horrible people. They existed before the apocalypse, I think the whole reason I'm still alive is because of the apocalypse. It saved me from those people, but ripped away Kayla's normal life. It ripped away a normal life from everyone.

I saw Kayla looked sad, and that's another reason I decided to stop talking about the past world. She probably wished she got to live in it more, to experience it. It just goes to show what we took for granted, I never thought too much about how lucky I was when I was living the normal life with my family. I never thought that one day it would all be thrown away and I would have to live in this, constantly looking over my shoulder.

"Maybe one day, I can see the normal world again." Kayla said.

I nodded, wiped some tears from my face, I didn't even notice I was crying. The sad truth is, even if the stranglers die out, the world will never be the same again. We will have to start over again, and there will be so many messed up people in the world. Kayla won't be normal, she has been through so much. It will be a tough start if we do live through this. But we're still alive, that has to mean something. Maybe we will make it through this apocalypse.

(Jeff)

I sat on the roof of the mansion and watched over the tree line. I had no idea what I was looking for, I was scared. I think I was expecting to see Lockwood, marching over here with their huge army, ready to slaughter all of us. There was no way we could take Lockwood on in a head on fight, the only two options we have is to evacuate the mansion, or stay and hope we can build strong enough defences against them. I snickered to myself, who am I kidding? No amount of defences we build will be enough to stop that superpower of an army. The bandits were a difficult enough challenge for us, and they're nowhere near as well equipped or populated as Lockwood is. I don't want to leave the mansion, because it is very rough on the road, we might not make it. But I know it's not a good idea to stay here, because Lockwood will eventually attack again. I don't know what is taking them so long to do it, maybe they're planning something big, maybe not. Not knowing what they're gonna do is what is scaring me. All I know, is that Lockwood is coming.

(Kayla)

I was still planting with my mom. She stayed quiet shortly after telling me about the past world, I think it made her sad. It made me sad. Life seemed great back then, everything seemed so normal. I don't know how to word it, I just think it would be nice to live without being in constant fear. While I was planting some green beans, I was sure I noticed something in the corner of my eye, standing on the tree line. I looked up, and the figure moved behind some trees. It was so swift and subtle that I thought I was seeing things. I was not fully convinced yet though. I looked around me, mom didn't seem to notice, she was still planting the green beans. My dad was on the roof, facing the other way, looking off into Kingston. Bay was also doing some yard work, while it looked like Ned and Mark were building something. I wasn't sure what they were building though. They were tinkering with some empty beer bottles.

I looked back at the tree line, and nothing was there. This made me very confused, I simply got up and started walking towards the tree line. Mom got up and looked at me, I just kept walking.

"Kayla?" she asked, "where are you going?"

I kept walking, and soon my walking turned into a sprint. I started running towards the trees, trying to catch whoever was watching us. My mom started getting freaked out, because she started running after me yelling my name. I kept running, until I got to the tree line. Once I got there I started looking around, reaching for my gun and pointing it around the place. It looked empty in the forest, I didn't see a thing. Mom grabbed me from behind and pulled me away from the trees.

"What the hell are you doing?" she yelled at me.

"I saw something on the tree line, watching me!" I exclaimed.

She started walking back to the mansion, gripping my arm, dragging me with her.

"You can't be doing that! It's dangerous out here! Didn't I just tell you about much more dangerous this world is compared to the past world? All it takes is one mistake, one mess up, and it's over! Stop being so stupid!"

I tugged my arm away from her grip and glared her in the eyes.

"I'm stronger than you!" I yelled, "I know what I'm doing!"

I started running back to the mansion, leaving her behind.

I barged into the house and sat down at the dinner table, Bay was inside now, it looked like she was working on cooking dinner for everybody.

"You look pissed." she said, looking at me.

"My mom thinks she knows everything, when I've been surviving longer. She's just been secured in Lockwood for all this time. She doesn't know shit."

"Whoa Kayla," Bay said, looking startled, "you know she's still your mother, right? It doesn't matter who has been surviving longer, you need to listen to her."

"She treats me like a baby."

"She cares about you, you should stop being so hard on her. Honestly, she probably feels guilty for missing so much time with you, she probably wants to make it up. She doesn't want to lose you again."

I didn't say anything, I looked up to Bay. She was a true survivor, she's made it through so much. I'm just not sure if I agree with her on this. I know what I'm doing, I've survived this long. It's insulting that my mom walks back into my life and thinks she can take over again. I'm not a little girl anymore. She needs to see that.

Mom walked in, opening the door abruptly. She walked over to me, she looked angry. I looked over at Bay, who acted like she wasn't seeing this.

"What?" I asked.

"You need to go to your room!" she scolded, "think about what you've done!"

"No!"

She grabbed me by my arm, but I retaliated. I swung my other arm forward and smacked her in the face. My mom looked upset, she looked shocked. She just stood there, holding her face and looking at me in shock. She started tearing up and ran out of the house. I looked over at Bay, she looked just as shocked as my mom did. I sat back down and buried my face in my arms, too ashamed to even look up. I know what I did was wrong, and I probably disappointed Bay. Dammit.

(Samantha)

(Five Years Ago)

I sat on the couch, with Kayla in my arms. She was wrapped in her blanket, sleeping softly. She looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back at her. I was watching late night T.V. I peered over at the clock and noticed the time. It was already 10:30.

"Oh shoot!" I said, "we need to get you to bed Kayla."

I got up and carried Kayla in my arms to her room. I opened the door and walked over to the crib. The room was dark, and I could barely see anything. I pushed a button on her crib, a light lit up on the ceiling. Dimly lighting the room with patterns of stars and planets all over the place. Kayla looked up at the ceiling and her eyes lit up, she loved the lights. Whenever she was upset I would turn them on, they would calm her right down.

I smiled at her again, and left the room to return to the television. Jeff was now on the couch, he had switched the channel to sports. I went and sat down next to him.

"Sorry I'm late," he joked, "just got home. The construction company wanted me to stay longer tonight."

"That's fine, glad you're home now." I said.

"You put Kayla to bed?"

"Yeah, she'll be sleeping soundly in no time."

I heard the sounds of shuffling behind me, then giggling. I turned around to see Kayla crawling over to the couch with a huge grin on her face. She was laughing at us. That made me start laughing, then Jeff. I got off the couch and picked her up, I sat down with her in my arms.

"I guess she can watch T.V for a little bit longer."

(Present Day)

I was sitting on the porch curled up into a ball, crying. I couldn't believe what had just happened. My own daughter had struck me, slapped me right in the face. My innocent daughter has definitely changed, this world shaped her into a emotionless, killer. It wasn't fair! She doesn't even respect me. She thinks I'm weak, and I'm not worth her time. My own daughter thinks that. That hurt. Maybe I am in the wrong for trying to boss her around, she knows what she's doing, I probably don't have to baby her. But I still like to treat her like my daughter, because that's what she is. I don't want to lose that. Is it too late?