London had been without zombies since Christmas. Not that it was as great a victory as the Party would like to have you think. A lot of people died in the process, and it just about took every last drop out of Britain just to keep us going for a little bit longer. Still, less zombies meant happy days for everyone, so it was all about the tradeoff.
This year though, it was shaping out to be a dismal holiday season. I’d been looking forwards to spending some time at Uncle Jamie’s this year, but he wasn’t around anymore, so I was more than just a little miffed about that. New Year’s just wouldn’t be the same. He was a really good guy, so I’m going to kind of miss him.
The first time I met Jamie was back when the crisis was reaching its peak so there was a general panic in Britain. Ma (God bless her soul) got her brother to move from Leicester to London with us so that she wouldn’t have to worry about him dying. Ma was all about family. Every day she would make me and Tia recite our family motto: “There are only three things in life that truly matter: breakfast, God and family.” She was big on breakfast. When every meal could be your last, it was important that you had some eggs and toast in your stomach before going out into the open.
Anyways, when I first met Jamie, he was kind of in a rough patch. A sudden outbreak had seen a lot of his friends (including his wife) die, so we didn’t blame Jamie for being kind of sad. Even Tia was getting depressed, and she was just 12. Tia was usually happier, but at the time, she just couldn’t find it in her. She hates the zombies, even more than I do. They scare her. Ever since she saw the way Ma died, Tia’s been quiet. It doesn’t get any easier running all the time. The scariest thing is seeing the people you know just shambling around with the others. It was still the same person staring out at you from behind that face. I don’t like killing zombies. Jamie didn’t either, but he was a braver guy than me. That’s probably why he’s gone though, so I like to think I have him beat in terms of self-preservation skills.
Tia’s voice brings me out of my brief moments of reminiscence on Uncle Jamie.
“NIIICK!!! WE’RE OUT OF MILK!!!”
Sometimes, I think I hate my sister. There was something about her pushy nature and bratty attitude that made me wish she had at least finished school before the whole crisis happened. Still, Ma had instilled within us a love of all things dairy, so it definitely gave me a sense of dread thinking about how we were going to get by for the next couple weeks. Milk was a hot commodity these days, so it wasn’t even worth checking the Waitrose over on the next block. The good stuff’s probably been bought out months in advance already.
“FIGURE IT OUT!!!”
I always feel bad shouting at Tia. At 17 years old, she was still basically a kid. She didn’t have any friends either. At least I had Tyler and Stephen from uni to keep me company, she was really all alone. Thinking about it, I sigh a bit, and turn off the telly. I walk out of the bedroom over to the kitchen, where Tia stares at me with a look of pure hatred. I barely open my mouth before she starts talking. “C’mon. Let’s go buy some milk.”
Something about seeing her infuriates me. I want to shout at her. Tell her that she’s being stupid. Tell her there’s not going to be a single drop of milk left in London. I want to scream at her, blame her for everything that’s happened. Still, I stop myself, remembering what I promised myself yesterday. It was a new year, and I was going to be nice now. Plus, “breakfast, God, and family” still meant something to me. So I smile. “Yeah, sure. It’s worth a shot.”
We go out, making sure to lock the door behind us. Not that there was anything worth locking up anyways- the fancy family heirlooms had been traded for extra rations long ago. Plus, no one even bothered stealing anymore. At this point, locking doors was just habit, a little thing that we did to try to keep sane.
The air’s the same cold and damp London air as always, so I don’t really have anything to complain about. It’s quiet, so that’s another plus. For a long time, we just walk next to each other, side by side, not saying a word. We don’t need to. Everything was already out there. Suddenly, I hear Tia speak.
“Nick?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you.”
Life was never going to be the same ever again, but that was okay. At least me and Tia had each other left, so that was as good a start as any.