The farm has, for the most part, been hospitable during our stay these past five or so weeks. Since the shocking discovery of Dani's immunity - or at least tolerance - to the infection, she's been recovering well, though she wasn't thrilled with the news we shared about our discovery, and she was rather angry when I decided to force her to stay in bed for at least one more week after her symptoms subsided as a precaution. 

Now, as the snow starts to fall nearly every night, we've all been restless with boredom. Though I've slowed down on hunting since we had plenty of dried and cured meats to last us if we needed to hit the road in a hurry, I've only hunted to give us fresh meat for the day. At least, that's the excuse I use. 

To be honest, I want to get moving. Ever since the disappearing act of the stranger we saw in the barn, we've been on edge but agreed to stay put and build defenses in case they were from a larger group. There have been no signs of other people or Ferals in the area the whole time since, and even the cabin a few miles out has remained devoid of any sign of others besides me. 

My ankle has also been doing a lot better as well, with only the occasional offshoot of pain when I step wrong, and once she was allowed out of bed, Dani had taken up morning patrols. Even though my hunt this morning wasn't terribly successful, I break the treeline midmorning heading back to the farm house feeling a little lighter. Dani spots me immediately and makes a bee-line toward me, eager to do something other than walk. 

"How was the hunt?" she greets as she approaches. 

I pat the bottom of a snow goose I have over my shoulder, offering her a small smile. "It was minimal, but at least we'll get some white meat for a change, and I can use the feathers for more arrows." 

"Want some help with that?" She asks, eyeing the goose and looking antsy. 

"Sure, here," I heft the bird into her arms, which she takes, glad to be helpful. "How are you feeling?" 

Dani sighs as we walk toward the house. "Restless. Ever since I recovered, I've had so much energy to do something, but there's not much that needs doing besides basic maintenance for the house. How is it with a house this big this far into the apocalypse, the generator is still viable, and the water still runs?" 

"It is weird," I note. "But I used to live in the country before all of this. The house probably had a well it draws on for water." 

"And the power?" 

I shrug. We haven't been able to find a generator, windmill, or solar panels since we've been here, but we've concluded that it might be in the Atlas bunker under the barn. Since none of us want to even try to check what might be inside, we've parked the truck on top of the false floor and removed the tires so the vehicle sits immovable, blocking the entrance in case anyone wanted to come out and say hello. How we've found two Atlas bunkers so close together in such a short time is lost on me, though Felix may have had a point. 

Atlas was a rather large, privately owned company back in the day, and if what Leon said about my uncle and David when we first met was true, it's possible Atlas had other branches and built bunkers, too. My siblings and I avoided going underground in our travels since there would be fewer exits to flee from if it ever came to it. Texas soil is typically too soft for a basement or bunker anyway. It makes sense that we have never encountered them on our travels until now. However, the closer we get to our destination, the more I feel we'll see more of Atlas's products.

"The bunker's blocked, and we won't be here long," I tell her. "We just have to wait for the snow to let up, and we can be on our way." 

Dani groans, uncharacteristically impatient. "I hate sitting around doing nothing." 

It has been an uneventful few weeks. Since the stranger incident, the most exciting thing that's happened is discovering the lights still work in the farmhouse. 

"I know what you mean," I grumble. 

"Least you get to go out and hunt, though." 

"Yeah, but then I'm left stuck inside the house with my moody sister, Sparrow, and Josh's obnoxious sex jokes, and Felix trying to play therapist." 

"Well, Sparrow's taken to try and pick the lock on the liquor cabinet in the pantry as his new project, so at least one of us is having fun, it seems." 

"Does Sparrow even know how to pick a lock?" 

"Nope." 

"Does Sparrow know we can remove the cabinet's hinges and call it a day? I'm sure there's a screwdriver in the kitchen somewhere." 

"I asked him about that earlier. His response?" Dani furrows her brows and deepens her voice to imitate him, making a mock-serious face. "Where's the fun in that?" 

We both chuckle at Dani's horrible imitation as we walk up the steps to the house and step inside through the back door, Dani setting the goose on the kitchen island as Octavia walks past. 

"Ugh, goose, Cass?" Octavia pouts. "Really?" 

"You can either have the goose, dry ration meat, or spam," I retort. "Take your pick." 

She rolls her eyes as she plops on the couch with another book, ignoring me. She's been a lot more sour lately, and asking her what her deal is has only led to her shutting down or giving me the silent treatment. 

Deciding to leave her to her stormcloud, I start working on plucking the goose before it gets too cold as Sparrow pokes his head out of the pantry with a grin, proudly announcing, "Someday soon, we're gonna have some wine with dinner!" 

"I didn't know you were a connoisseur, Sparrow," Dani teases. 

"Listen, there is some Pinot Noir in this cabinet, and I've got dibs on it, that bottle will be mine," Sparrow proclaims as he dips back into the pantry to keep trying the lock. "Why didn't these guys leave their wine keys behind?!" 

As I pluck the goose with Dani, still teasing Sparrow about being a budding alcoholic, I notice that Felix and Josh still aren't back from their morning scouting. "Hey, where are the boys? Weren't they supposed to be back by now?" 

"Ask Sassy," Sparrow calls from the pantry. "She's the one with the walkie." 

I glance at Dani, who rolls her eyes and points a thumb at Octavia, who ignores the exchange. 

"Tavia," I call from the kitchen. "Where are the boys?" 

She ignores me still. Annoyed, I wad up the damp towel I'd been using to clean the goose and toss it at her, the towel landing on her head. 

"What?!" She snaps, ripping the towel off of her and throwing it back to me, but it falls short. 

"Where are the boys?" 

"Who?" 

"Um, our brother and Dani's? They're about this tall, one pale as hell, the other built like a linebacker?"

"I don't fuckin' know, it's only been twenty minutes since they last radioed back." 

"Tavia!" 

"They're adults, I'm sure they're fine. It's not like anything's happened for the past month we've been stuck here anyway. They mentioned something about checking out a cabin or something." 

'If God truly exists and He is watching me from above, I hope He grants me patience because if He grants me strength, I'm going to kill my sister.' 

"You have to tell me these things, Octavia," I scold, wiping my hands as I dump the feathers in a bag to use for fletching later. "Finish cleaning this goose, I'm going out to find them." 

Dani straightens. "I'll go with you," she offers. 

Sparrow pokes his head out of the pantry seconds after, frowning. "Aww, you beat me to it! I wanted to go!"

"Stay here and make sure my sister doesn't do anything stupid," I tell him. "I was hoping she was mature enough to handle that responsibility, but I guess I can't always be right." 

Octavia snaps her book closed and slams it on the coffee table as I sling my bow over my shoulder again. 

"Stop treating me like a fucking kid!" She erupts. "I didn't say anything because their last report was an all-clear, like every other fucking report they've given!" 

"Then stop acting like a kid," I replied coolly. "You told me you could handle responsibility, and I've been sharing the locket with you and Felix. That went well, so I put you in charge of communicating with the boys when they scout. They were supposed to be back an hour ago, and you didn't think to tell me when I got back from hunting?" 

"What do you want from me?!" 

I slam my hand on the counter, glaring at Octavia, and Dani jumps as Sparrow slowly inches away back into the safety of the pantry. "I want you to take this seriously. We stopped here so Dani could recover, Sparrow could heal, and I could take care of my ankle without making the damage any worse, not so you can take a vacation. Just because we haven't been attacked yet doesn't mean we won't be." 

Dani steps in, looking at Octavia with a sympathetic expression. "There's also that person your sister saw a few weeks back. We don't know anything about them or if they're scouting us. Sure, Josh and Felix could be fine, but they could also be in trouble. We just don't know yet." 

Octavia rolls her eyes as she storms into the kitchen to aggressively finish dressing the goose, muttering, "Of course you'd take her fucking side..." 

Dani winces at her comment as I roll my eyes. "There aren't any sides, Octavia," I quip. "You should have told me as soon as I got back that the boys weren't here yet." 

"Well, now you know," she growls. 

'I swear, I'm going to hit her.'

"Give me the damn walkie," I demand, snatching it from my sister. "Felix, Josh, come in, this is Cass. Where are you?" 

Static. 

"Felix. Josh. Where are you two? I need a report." 

Silence. 

I glare at Octavia and speak into the walkie once more. “I’m coming to get you two, you better be alive.”

"Maybe their battery died,” Octavia suggests. “These walkies are shit anyway." 

Dani gently steers me away from smacking my sister - luckily for Octavia - and urges me to the back door. 

Snatching my quiver back up and clipping the walkie on my belt, I glare back at my sister and tell her, "That goose better be plucked, cleaned, and gutted by the time we get back with the boys." 

Octavia scoffs. "What are you gonna do? Ground me? I'm twenty-five, and it's the fucking apocalypse." 

My nose flares with a barely contained growl as I point at her and the goose. "I'll put your ass on gut duty for the rest of the foreseeable future, that's what." 

She gives me an indignant glare, her 'you wouldn't dare' look before Dani opens the door and all but yanks me outside, slamming the door shut behind her. 

I let out a frustrated shout that nearly makes Dani's head hit the porch cover as I stomp down the stairs and back into the snow. "What the fuck is her deal today?! I swear, every time I give that girl a crumb of responsibility, she does shit like this! I thought we were over this when I agreed to take turns holding the locket with her and Felix!"

"I mean," Dani says slowly. "In her defense, if the boys haven't reported anything out of the ordinary, so long as their last report was all clear, I wouldn't be too terribly worried about it." 

I stop, glaring at Dani. "So, what, I'm overreacting?" 

Dani pauses, biting her lip, her eyes wide as she glances up, taking a breath. "Well, no, you're also right in that danger is present everywhere..." 

I cross my arms, glaring harder. "But..?" 

She sighs. "Look, if you want my honest opinion, I think we're all just a little tense and eager to get back on the road. I mean, the most exciting thing that's happened so far is Sparrow discovering the wine cabinet, and he's been at that thing for a week now." 

"It's no excuse. The boys could be in danger, and she's acting like a brat." 

"I'm not excusing her behavior; she is acting like a brat. I'm just saying that it might be beneficial to..." she rubs the back of her neck, considering her words carefully. "Slow down?" 

Rolling my eyes, I stalk off, and Dani has to hurry to catch up. "You think I'm overreacting." 

"I think you forgot how to relax," Dani iterates, patting my shoulder and urging me to slow down. "You've been 'on' and tense since we've met. Hell, you broke my nose when we first met." 

I snort. "You say that like you didn't deserve it." 

"Oh, I one hundred percent deserved it. My point is that despite us being..." She pauses, glancing away. "Friendly, you still try to do everything for everyone. Octavia's behavior is appalling, don't get me wrong, we've all been tense and restless. I think we just need something to do to relieve that restlessness. At least until the snow stops." 

"What, like, board games?" 

Dani shrugs. "Just something to keep our minds occupied. It's not like we have the internet or social media anymore to keep ourselves entertained. We're stuck with each other." 

I sigh, rubbing my eyes. I know she's right, but it doesn't make my sister's attitude any less infuriating. Ever since Dani got bit, Octavia's been acting like a spoiled, moody teen again, and I've been in no mood to deal with a moody Octavia. Even though I've been able to go out and hunt every morning, even if I come back empty-handed, I've been able to clear my head and get some alone time from everything at last. 

"You're right," I grumble. "I'm just... not used to staying somewhere for this long, especially knowing that there's an Atlas bunker in our front yard." 

"Well, if it makes you feel better, we've scouted all over this area and haven't found any other hatches or doors or bunker entrances, so even if there is someone inside of it, they won't be coming out to greet us anytime soon," Dani reasons. "Even if they do, we'll have plenty of warning before we even see who it might be. I'm not going to say we're safe here, but the snow is working in our favor." 

I nod, knowing my paranoia has only grown the longer we stay here, but I'm glad that Dani at least seems to have kept her head clear. In fact, she's been different since the bite. Not relaxed per say, but more open and understanding. I can't say that I don't like seeing her being like this - even if her being reasonable can be a little annoying sometimes - but I certainly don't hate it, either. It almost feels like getting to know the real Dani, though she still keeps quite a bit about herself hidden. 

"I get it," I mutter, calmed enough to keep my head on track again. "Let's just find the boys and make sure they haven't gotten into too much trouble."