[ WP ] Its the zombie apocalypse . You are completely oblivious to everything about it , although its been going on for 2 years now . Your routine the past 2 years has not changed at all .

The alarm woke Zeke from a deep sleep. He lay quietly on his back, untroubled by its insistent noise. He was trying to remember what he had been dreaming about. `` Was a bad one,'' he said to himself. `` Do n't remember what. Well daddy always said do n't trouble yourself trying to think about bad things when good things is hard enough for you.'' He smiled and forgot about the dream, turned off the alarm, sat up and stretched. 
 
 It was dark outside still, but Zeke knew his job had to start bright and early even when it was n't bright out. He put on his slippers and turned on his flashlight. The room's light did n't work anymore, he wished Stu would come by, Stu would fix it, he could fix anything. He went out, stopped in the small bathroom to do `` numma one'' and went into the kitchen where the light still worked. `` What is IN the fridge this morning?'' he asked himself in a singsong voice. `` Some fish and some string beans, mm hm, my favorite.'' He ate some of both with his fingers, standing in front of the open fridge, then took his glass to the sink to get some water to wash them down. `` Almost out, today's gon na be a boat day after chores, got ta get some more.'' 
 
 Zeke went back to his bedroom, remembering to close the refrigerator door on the way, and dressed in his work clothes. He sure wished he knew how to fix them up better, he should n't be out there with holes and stains in his Ranger clothes. Stu said they were Ranger clothes when he gave them to Zeke, but Zeke knew he was really just being nice, they were the same color as the Ranger clothes but there were n't any patches or that stripe on the pants leg. But they were his Ranger clothes anyway and he was proud to wear them when he did his work. 
 
 Zeke went to the tool room between his little house and the lighthouse and got his broom and dust rags and went out into the lighthouse foyer. `` Museum gon na be open soon,'' he whispered into to the cool, dark, echoing space, `` Just got to tidy up first.'' He always whispered in the museum. Stu got it, he understood everything, and he whispered too when he was in there with Zeke. But today Zeke was by himself, just like yesterdays, and he took his broom all the way to the top of the steps. He looked up the ladder at the top and wanted to go up there where the big light was, but he was n't supposed to. 
 
 Zeke swept the steps one at a time. `` Dust goes downhill, start at the top,'' he said to himself as he started. `` Sometimes visitors drop things, you never know what you'll find, but there was n't no visitors yesterday or days. I wonder what they'll drop next.'' He had n't added anything to lost and found for days and days and days. Stu told him he could have that shiny green keyring after it had been there a year, but he never said when it was a year. Zeke could n't wait for that year to come. He swept all the way to the bottom, carefully swept up all of the dust on the main floor, and dusted and shined up the display cases arrayed along the circular wall. `` Looking mighty sharp,'' he whispered as Stu might have if he had come in early. 
 
 Zeke put away his tools and his Ranger clothes. He thought he should wear them if he went outside in case there were visitors, but Stu or the other Rangers were n't here to let the visitors in the gate and if they came and they saw him they might think he was a Park Ranger and ask him to open the gate and he was n't supposed to open it. So he went out into the day in his old work clothes, ones he knew how to patch up because they were the same material his mother had taught him how to cut up from the old to patch up the new. 
 
 The sun was up and shining on the big bean patch. Zeke wanted to show Stu how he had planted the beans there so they would get early light but the lighthouse would protect them from the hot afternoon sun. He could n't wait for Stu to come and see what he did. He walked carefully among the plants and turned over some of the leaves. `` Nope not ready yet,'' he remarked, `` but there's plenty in the fridge still. Wish it would grow potatoes,'' he continued, his mouth watering, `` or corn or squash or peas or some cabbages or carrots...'' He had tried planting other things from the last vegetables Stu had brought him, but only the beans had taken. `` Stu needs to bring some new veggies, that's for sure.'' 
 
 Zeke looked up at the tall white tower of the lighthouse and was proud of his work there. He looked at the outside shed and thought about the push mower. The grass was getting long, but it was too wet to cut today. He thought about the man who had come to the chain link fence when he mowed the grass the last time. How the man banged himself against the fence and made those choking noises. The man did that all day, following Zeke back and forth at the fence. He would n't say anything, even when Zeke asked him if he wanted a new shirt, Zeke had a lot of shirts, but the man did n't answer. That man stayed out there all day and he smelled like he needed a bath. Zeke would have let him use his shower but he was n't supposed to open the gate. 
 
 `` Boat day,'' Zeke suddenly remembered. He snapped his fingers and walked toward the water. `` Almost out of fish, got ta hook some and cook some like grandaddy said.'' He sure did like to go fishing, and grandaddy had taught him all about it. The fish were bigger in this big pond than in grandaddy's pond but mostly they tasted good except those ones with all the spines on them, he always threw those back. Zeke stooped to dig up some worms and wished so bad he knew what day it was. `` Only on Sundays,'' Stu had told him about fishing, he was n't to go fishing the other days. But Stu was n't here and Zeke did n't know what day it was, but he did n't have much fish left and he did n't want to be hungry, he remembered being hungry before the beans came in and he did n't like that at all. 
 
 `` Stu I wish you would come over,'' he said as he looked toward the gate again. A flash of light from that big rectangle almost blinded him. The solar panel, Stu called it. He said it caught the sun and made power for the light and for Zeke's little house and for the museum. But the sun stayed in the sky every day so Zeke did n't know how it caught anything. He went down to his rowboat and untied it and got it into the water. 
 
 It was so easy fishing without boats all around him, big white boats that rocked him and scared the fish. `` Where are the boats today? There were n't boats yesterday or days, neither. All them people must be visiting somewhere. I wonder if it's another lighthouse they went to see. I wish our lighthouse had some visitors today. Then Stu would have to come back and bring some veggies. And mail! Maybe mama sent me a picture, sometimes she does that. And Stu could help me send one back.'' Zeke's thoughts were interrupted by a wiggle in his line. `` Oh boy here we go!'' he said, and started working the reel.
