Normally I would say that the eldest children have the best chance of surviving in a disaster situation, but in this world I’m not so sure.

Our four oldest kids can remember, like Simone and I do, the fun and easy world of America. A world where we spoiled our kids with tons of toys, took them to the lake and the beach, went on hikes, played games on the computer, or just sat and watched movies at the theatre.

We still have a good amount of food stored, so we don’t starve, but there are no longer the visits to Subway for sandwiches or IHOP for some pancakes and eggs. And no more trips to the toy store to pick up the latest plastic toy made in China. The world we were accustomed to changed, and we are constantly struggling to deal with it.

Our youngest, Benjamin, however, will only know this world. We will do our best to teach him what things used to be like, but he will never have the longing for what he once had as the rest of us do. I think that will make him stronger. All of us have the here and now to deal with and for our kids, the brief moments of entertainment, like reading or singing songs, are small parts of their day if we can fit them in, rather than being the rule of the day in the world for us before the collapse.

*

The infected with their steady lumbering pace are finally shuffling past where we are hiding. They were probably trying to follow us but didn’t see us hide, because Benjamin saw them before they got too close and told us the infected were coming, in his own way. Benjamin is our one year old, and when he sees an infected, he gives a growl. So when we heard him say, “GRRRR,” in his baby tone, we all turned to see where he was looking. Far off down the road shambled two infected. We would normally be able to outpace them, but are moving slower due to the supplies we are carrying on our bikes and trailers. Fortunately it is just two, so it's better to kill them now than have to deal with them later.

Back to our present situation, the two infected have finally walked by the front door of the store we are hiding in, and it is time to deal with them. My job is to walk out behind them and kill them before they have a chance to turn to kill me. It is a basic ambush tactic we successfully use regularly when we are out. We would use our guns, but I’d rather not attract other infected, or other survivors for that matter, with us moving so slowly and loaded with these supplies.

“I love you, Simone! I love you kids. You know what to do if I don’t make it?” I ask.

“We know what to do, Eddie,” my wife replies. “Just be careful and quick. We are right here watching.”

So I glance one more time at my wife and kids, a few of them give me little smiles, and I step out the door. I normally use my mini-sword for close up ambushes like this. It is actually a sixteen inch blade machete. It is great for hacking, and I ground the tip into a point so it can also do some stabbing. I take four quick strides to catch up to the slower infected and give a good swing with the long blade. I strike him perfectly, right on the back of the head, just at the bottom of the ear, chopping through his cerebellum and spinal cord, and sending him on his way down.

The infected in front, a woman, starts turning to face me, but her slow shuffling movements prevent her from even getting her arms up in an attempt to grab at me before I start my swing.