Savor
It was a Tuesday, a hot summer evening. That was all Ellie remembered about the last time she put a cold, clear glass of water to her lips. It wasn’t something she would normally remember, except that twenty-four hours later she was running for her life.

Pulling the scratchy blanket tighter around her shoulders, she took another sip, enjoying the clean taste on her tongue. Watching as the sun set through the leafless trees, Ellie took heart at the weather report. The sudden temperature drop would freeze the dead in their tracks. For a little while, they could all rest.

Grain
Stacey watched Sam lift the pot lid, then drop it in disgust.

“Rice, rice, rice. Ugh.”

The men seemed quickest to complain, and Stacey did her best to keep things quiet.

“I know, hon. It’s gonna be a long winter.” Reaching into a box under the makeshift counter, she pulled out a hidden treasure. “Here, you take this, but be stingy with it. It’s all I’ve got left.”

The man hugged the package and dashed off to hide the treat. He brushed past another man on his way in.

The newcomer lifted the lid, sighing. “Rice again?”

Stacey smiled and reached into the box.

Dish

The empty place setting made Denise uneasy. Her discomfort grew when Marie started filling the plate with food. It was a ritual now, but someone had to do something before it started effecting morale.

“Marie,” Denise put a hand on the woman’s arm. “Tom isn’t here, sweetie.”

“Oh, I know,” the other woman replied. “But he’ll be back soon and he’ll want something ready and waiting.”

“He’s gone, Marie, remember? They got him and then he came back. He came after Little Tom and” Unprepared for Marie’s reaction, Denise put up no defense when the widow’s hand flew up and slapped her face.

Plump

Blinding spotlights panned across the open field surrounding the fortified structure. Gary smiled; the solar panels had been worth the effort to install. He hadn’t minded the night watch before now, but the ability to see the undead approach a hundred yards in advance sure made things easier.

Rubbing his hands together to warm them, Gary found himself inspecting his chilled digits more closely. Only that past summer he could barely remove his wedding ring from his finger, the fit was so tight. Now it lived on a chain around his neck so it wouldn’t slip off into the snow somewhere.

Dredge

Children gathered at the shore, watching as massive trucks pulled up to the edges of the frozen lake. Men and women in uniform, dozens of them, worked to free heavy equiptment from the flatbeds before returning to their personnel carriers to retreive rifles, machine guns and ammunition.

When the winches started pulling the heavy steel nets from the water, mothers and fathers called the children back from the shore. The seargant nodded in approval as the civilians sequestered themselves. The undead may be frozen solid, but there was no telling how quickly they would thaw once released from the icy water.