After about five minutes of sitting on the ground and staring blankly at the others, I got up and went to explore the mansion Maggy and Jack once called home. I took the bag of food from Lisa and carried the box with me. The corridors were dark, but I didn't have a hard time seeing in the dim lighting. I found my way to the kitchen and put down the bag and box. I looked around in the cupboards for anything useful. I didn't dare open the fridge, knowing that everything in there would be rotten by now. I mean, it had been a month since the elderly couple had been back at their house.

I opened the drawer closest to the sink and found a bunch of knives and forks. In the next drawer, there were a bunch of spoons and cooking utensils. I found a pair of scissors and used them to open the box fully. It had been taped shut but the one side had been damaged, seeing how Lisa spotted the cans. I cut along the tape with the scissors, opening it up to look inside.

Inside the box was a bunch of newspapers. On top were two silver cans. Wrapped inside one of the newspapers was a framed photograph of what appeared to be a combined family. I brought it over to the window above the sink that was letting in some moonlight to look at the photo. They looked to be at some sort of beach in the middle of the day, all smiling and happy. They were all probably dead now, considering the one man standing next to a young girl looked like the infected guy from the vehicle.  I kinda felt bad, so I put the photo down on the counter and continued to look around inside the box.

I pulled out a box of granola bars. That was a good sign. At least they had put food more in here. I continued until I pulled out a little music box. Inside the music box was a beautiful gold bracelet with a quote on it. I held it out against the window so I could read it. Take what life gives you it read. I put the music box down and shoved the bracelet into my pocket. Maybe Lisa or Bev would like it.

I had failed to notice before that under the little music box was a bag of marshmallows. If only I could say thank you, I thought, to the people who packed this box. I threw them inside my backpack and looked back inside the box. Nothing else was in the box so I put the box down on the ground and grabbed the bag so I could sort out what we had.

The first thing I touch is wet. I gagged and pulled my hand away from the bag. I look inside holding my nose. Soggy brown lettuce. Yuck.

I grabbed tongs from one of the drawers and threw out the lettuce into the garbage that smelled even worse. When I found the tongs, I also found a working flashlight. I took stock of what else was in the bag, then counted it up to distribute it. Four cans of cream corn, a chocolate bar that I would probably take for myself, some gummy bears, three cans of vegetable soup and another box of six granola bars. I would give the vegetable soup to Jack, Maggy and Cindy, then the cream corn to Lisa, Bev and I. Then everyone would get two granola bars, and I would give Bev the gummy bears. It's not a lot, but it's a lot more than we had before. We would need to restock in about a couple days, but it's a big start to something we didn't have before and needed. I would search the rest of the kitchen in the morning. There had to be some other food here somewhere. I put all the food back into the bag and walked back to the living room where Bev and Lisa were.

I went back to the main entrance and everyone was gone, the house silent. They probably found rooms with a bed to sleep on for once. The house was dark now, so I turned on the flashlight. I continued through the house on the main floor, but all the rooms were empty. I walked up the stairs, carrying the bag in my left hand, the flashlight in my right.

I got up the stairs and found Jack and Maggy peacefully asleep in the first room to the left. I continued to the next where I found Beverly snuggling her teddy bear in a small greyish blue room. I walked in and opened her bag which sat on the dresser. I looked around the room quickly with the flashlight, seeing a little mermaid poster on the wall and some older dolls sitting on a shelf on the wall. I put the cream corn and one of the granola bars inside.

"I went through the food and picked out what you would like, so I separated it all. I'm going to go to everyone and give them stuff." I said and she nodded, half asleep. I walked over to her and placed the gummy bears next to her face so she could see them.

"I snagged the only chocolate bar, and kept these for you," I said, putting them down and she grabbed them with excitement, her eyes widening.

"Thanks Blake." She said, then got under the covers and pulled them up.

"Goodnight." I said, then left her room.

I continued down the hallway and found Cindy asleep in a king-sized bed. She was snoring really loudly and I just about laughed out loud. She was such a small lady, with a cantaloupe in her stomach. Her husband had died when it all happened and she had locked him in the house and stuck it out on the roof. She was brave for a pregnant lady, though I felt bad for her. I put all the food next to her bag and sighed. This baby was going to be really hard to take care of in this world. That is if it made it into the world alive.

I left her room and went to the rest of the rooms on the floor, looking for Lisa. She wasn't up on this floor, so I assumed she was asleep on the main floor somewhere. I went back to Maggy and Jack's room, and put their food on their shelf.

I walked down the stairs and looked around the main floor. Where could she be? I looked in every room and on every couch they had on the main floor. She was nowhere to be found. I went around a corner and opened what I thought had been a closet door, but it was a stairwell down into the basement. I walked down the stairs with the remaining food and flashlight. When I got to the bottom, I looked around, pointing the flashlight at everything. Three couches, a movie theatre sized screen, and four doors. I went into the first room, but she wasn't in there. The second room was empty as well. I went into the second last room and found her sitting on the ground in the corner, staring into the dark.

"Lisa?" I questioned and pointed the flashlight at her. She wiped at her eyes and looked at me. She had thrown her hair up into a twisted bun and had changed into a pair of sweats and a baggy shirt. Her left hand was clutching the chain attached to the locket that hung open. I kneeled down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" I questioned and she shook her head. I put the flashlight down and swung my bag off my back and put it on the ground. I pulled out the bag of marshmallows and ripped it open. I handed her one and she took it, smiling at me in the dim light. She put the chain around her neck and tucked the locked under her shirt.

"Thanks. Marshmallows have always been my comfort food." She said when I sat down next to her, my back against the wall. Our shoulders were touching which felt slightly awkward but right at the moment.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I questioned softly, and she shook her head.

"I can't really talk about it. I should just get over it and forget them." She said sniffling. She popped the marshmallow in her mouth and grabbed another one from the bag.

"But that goes against everything you've said. The past is what makes us who we are." I said and she smiled, shoving another marshmallow in her mouth, chewing on it for a few second then swallowing it. I pulled out the chocolate bar and handed it to her.

"Here. Take it." I said, and she shook her head.

"No, I couldn't. It's yours." She said and I smiled.

"You gave me your granola bar earlier, and I took it. Now you take the chocolate bar because I'm giving it to you." I said, and she did. I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out the bracelet. She stuffed another marshmallow into her mouth. I grabbed her wrist when she reached for another one and put the golden bracelet around her wrist.

She looked down at it and smiled at me. I pulled out the rest of the food and got up, helping her up.

"You should get some sleep," I said, shoving the bag of marshmallows back in my bag, keeping the flashlight out and on. I was about to leave when she grabbed my wrist.

"Stay. I don't want to be down here alone." She said and I shrugged.

"I'll be in the room next to you if you need me then," I said and she didn't let go of my wrist.

"No. Stay here, please. I don't want to be alone, and it'll be warmer." She said and let go of my wrist, getting into the bed under the covers. I put my bag down and got into bed next to her. I put the flashlight on the dresser beside the bed and let it face upwards so there was dim light around the room. I laid down next to her and she put her head on my chest.

"Do you ever think of the day it happened?" She questioned and I tensed under her.

"All the time," I said and she shifted her head on my chest, putting her left arm around me.

"Were you with anyone?" She questioned and I sighed.

"I was at work. I had just come home and found my older brother being eaten alive by our old neighbour. Our parents had died a few years back in a car crash, so it was just me and him. None of our family ever tried to contact us, so we kept the house and didn't have much. We both worked our asses off to keep our parents' house, and we fought for it. The bank wanted to put us in care, but since he was 23 at the time, he could take legal possession of me, so we could stay at the house. I finished my schooling and I was going to go take college classes, but never got the chance. We may have not had a great life, but we were alive and working hard for what we had." I said, then felt her left hand on my shoulder, gently caressing it.

"My mom had died giving birth to my sister, so it was just me, my dad and Kristy. He worked hard for us. He loved us enough to put us first before anything, even work. We cleaned and took care of cooking and laundry, and he would bring home the money to keep us alive. I was thankful that we had such a caring and kind man for a father. But now that they're both gone, I feel like a whole piece of me is missing." She said and I shifted under her, putting my right arm around her.

"I know how you feel. We should probably try to get some sleep." I said, and she nodded against my chest, snuggling into me. She was right, it would have been cold sleeping alone tonight, and she was warm. I turned off the flashlight and closed my eyes, trying to get some well-deserved rest in a real bed.