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A breeze of cold bliss surged through her spine as the blue pill traveled down her throat. Her fingers grew colder with each passing second and so she hugged herself, burying her fists underneath her armpits in search of warmth. Her toes curled, and then she bent her legs and crossed them, the coolness encasing her body as she moaned and twisted fervently. Her skin flashed hues of pinks, blues and then purples, before she sealed her eyes shut and drifted into a bottomless pit of sleep. Nothing else matters now, Leah thought happily as her mind sank into endless dreams. She dreamed of a past life she had once lived; of simpler times when she lived in a house - not a colony; a time when she only had to worry about going to school and turning in her assignments; a time when the streets were safe, her mother was alive, and she wasn't a drug addict.
Warmth tickled her fingertips. It grew and shrank, advanced and retreated, like waves encroaching on her body. Her eyes fluttered open, and she felt life coursing through her veins once more. "Leah, wake up!". I'm already up, dad. She was too tired to say the words aloud. Her father's footsteps grew louder as he approached her room. The silver-haired girl stretched her arms and feet while she laid on the ground, arching her back and turning her neck like a lazy cat. Her hands stumbled upon the sea of Jellybeans that was scattered around her. Fuck! She panicked and got up on her knees to gather her stash, shoving every pill under her pillow frantically. "There you are! You ne- were you asleep? Its only two in the afternoon! Sarah and Maggie are looking for you". Oh right, the cows.
Oregon's summer sun greeted Leah Evans as soon as she stepped out of her cabin in the middle of the survivor camp, or 'colony', that her father had helped build when the world turned upside down. The camp served as a fortress against the hordes of zombies that roamed the streets and filled the woods. It was surrounded by electric fences that had repelled wandering zombies repeatedly in the past. The few dozen survivors grew and harvested their own produce, and kept livestock for meat, milk, eggs and fur. It was a safe haven for humans that still yearned for a society where people helped each other survive and prosper. Other colonies also existed throughout the state. Each one had its own set of rules, its own constitution at times, like micro-states that traded, negotiated, and sometimes even battled for domain and supplies as those without the resources had to resort to pillaging in order to survive.
Despite being the daughter of the colony's leader, Leah had to wet her brow to earn her place in the colony. While some in the camp had tasks like protection and hunting, Leah found herself handling more meager chores.
"Leah! We've been looking all over for you! I told John-"
"Yeah he told me already. Lets just get this over with"
She sat on a stool next to Maggie and Sarah Dilton, and the three women reached to the teats in front of them and started milking the cows.
Three Months Later..
"Where the fuck is Alec?!". Leah found herself audibly asking. She dipped her hands in her satchel for the tenth time that day alone. Her fingers roamed the insides of the fabric hopelessly searching for what she knew didn't exist. She was out of Jellybeans. Her sea of blue pills had dried out with nary a droplet left. She withdrew her fingers and cussed her luck. He's over a week late! Alec Mosby was the colony's trader. At the turn of each month he would ride out in a van to the nearby friendly colonies. His routes were direct but treacherous, and his mission was simple but often riddled with complications. He was to trade eggs and milk for gas and batteries from the colony in Culver, then ride out to Metolius for coal and ammunition in exchange of vegetables. Often times he would stop by Madras to barter for bread, giving away whatever extra supplies he had left, before he'd make his way back to Terrebone into John Evans' camp. Every few months whenever he would stop at Madras, Alec Mosby would make sure to pick up satchels of Jellybeans that he would sell to different teenagers residing in each of the survivor camps in Jefferson County in exchange for whatever money or food he desired.
Days passed and Leah couldn't handle the wait. Her body ached for her vice to the point that she couldn't sleep anymore at nights. She'd tried asking her father about Alec and he simply brushed it off, saying that it wasn't the first time Alec was late to arrive from his trip. When he noticed her stress, he tried to calm her by saying that their camp wasn't in dire need of supplies; that they had all the essentials they needed to survive the year. He must be so close. She kept telling herself, and after she'd asked him, John confirmed her suspicions even if only to mollify her. Little did he know that instead of suppressing her anxiety, he was fueling her flames.
At midnight Leah couldn't withstand her drought any longer. She told Jacob that John needed him by stables. She made up a lie that one of the mares was giving birth and they needed another set of hands to help placate the poor thing. The daughter then stole her father's shotgun, the keys to his jeep, and drove out of the then-unguarded gates heading northwards to Culver. If she had to drive the whole way to Culver it would take her a full hour but Leah hoped she would run into Alec's van on her way. Its been so long since I've been outside. I don't care what they think, I needed to get out of that cage even if it was only for Jellybeans. I haven't seen.. life.. in over a year.
After merely twenty minutes of driving, Leah heard a loud and sudden pop and her car immediately sank to one side. She slammed on the breaks and the vehicle swerved to the side of the road and onto a tree...
