[ WP ] What will the apocalypse be like ?

**Wrote this on my mobile, so please forgive any funny formatting. ** 
 
 **I'm using the same characters in my prompts, because I'm treating these prompts as small parts of the characters' over-all story. Not doing it in chronological order, for the added challenge. One day imma have to try get them all to fit together, which will be fun! ** 
 
 Adelaide crouched beneath the low branches of a gum-tree, studying the farmhouse. It was the first intact building she'd seen in months, which either meant it was sturdy or someone had fixed it. Either way, the odds were high she'd encounter another human being inside. 
 
 It was strange, she thought, to see such a habitable looking place so poorly fortified. Perhaps it was a trap. Maybe it was like that to lure potential prey for some cannibal family. Adelaide shuddered at the thought, but she'd heard stories. 
 
 But Adelaide was hungry. Hungry enough to risk it. She took a pistol out of her bag and psyched herself up, then crouch-ran clumsily through the long grass. She kept a close eye on the windows and doors, and as she got close she felt her heart pounding heavily and realised just how scared she was. 
 
 `` Do n't move!'' Someone said, and Adelaide yelped and jumped back, dropping the pistol. She looked around for the source of the voice, and was confused when a young girl wielding a scoped rifle stepped out from behind a large rainwater tank. `` Who are you?'' The girl asked. 
 
 `` M m m my name is Adelaide.'' The girl raised an eyebrow. 
 
 ``... Like the city?'' 
 
 Adelaide nodded, but her eyes stayed focused on the barrel of the rifle. Her mind was telling her she could easily leap forward and take the rifle from the girl, but her body was frozen in fear. 
 
 ``... What are you doing here?'' 
 
 `` I... I was just... Looking for some food...'' The girl cocked her head slightly and studied Adelaide's eyes, then finally lowered her rifle. 
 
 `` Tell you what...'' She said, stepping over to Adelaide's gun and picking it up. ``... You tell me what's going on out there and help me around the farm, and I'll share some food with you.'' 
 
 The interior of the house was refreshingly cool and chimes softly rang as the breeze passed through. The girl produced a glass of clean water and a plate with sliced damper, a type of bread baked by being buried with hot coals. 
 
 `` Thank you.'' Adelaide said shyly. She was feeling slightly embarrassed over her poor first impression. After five months of struggling and fighting to survive, she felt like this level of civility was way above her class. ``... I'm sorry, what was your name again?'' 
 
 `` Skye'' the girl replied with a mouthful of damper. She noted Adelaide's seeming reluctance to eat, then realised she was probably from the city and therefore not used to having so much dirt in her food. 
 
 `` It's cooked in a hole in the ground, so there's a few bits of sand in it, but it's fine.'' She held out a jar of jam. `` Maybe some if this will help?'' 
 
 `` It's not that.'' Adelaide smiled. `` I'm just... Not used to... All this...'' 
 
 `` What is happening out there?'' 
 
 Adelaide sighed. She did n't know where to start. The took a small bite of damper and chewed it thoroughly, then swallowed. 
 
 `` It's not good... I was in the city when the'quake hit... I used to work at a café, waiting tables... The whole city just... Shook and collapsed... Then there were waves... So many people were dead...'' 
 
 Skye took a long sip of water and finished her damper. 
 
 `` We had the'quake too, but the only place that broke was the old stone homestead...'' 
 
 Adelaide nodded. `` Everywhere had the'quake. I met some people that were heading south and they said Darwin was destroyed... So was Broome and Port Headland.'' 
 
 `` What happened to the Moon?'' 
 
 `` I do n't know. Some people think something smashed into it, and when it broke it caused the'quakes, but others say the moon broke up a few minutes after... I was unconscious... I did n't see... But those theories do n't explain the'ferals'.'' 
 
 `` What are the'ferals'?'' Skye squinted in confusion. Adelaide was surprised Skye did n't know, since she had passed through town before ending up on the farm, and saw five'ferals' roaming the streets. 
 
 `` They....'' Adelaide started. ``... Sometimes some of the dead people get up and... Frenzy... They attack everyone.'' 
 
 `` Like a zombie?'' Skye said with a sort of indifference that made Adelaide uncomfortable. 
 
 `` Yes... Except you do n't turn into one if they bite you.'' Adelaide pointed out a scar on her left arm. `` It just hurts a lot.'' Skye studied the scar with great interest. Then she sat back down and her expression changed to one of slight sorrow. 
 
 `` My brothers went into town about a month after the'quake.'' She said plainly. `` They took guns and said they needed to help defend it... Told me to stay put and look after the farm.'' Adelaide looked down at her damper. 
 
 `` I'm sorry'' was the only words she could offer. `` Have any'ferals' come this far?'' 
 
 `` No.'' Skye replied, looking out the window at a bamboo chime. ``... You're the first person I've seen since my brothers left.'' 
 
 They sat in silence for a few minutes, while Adelaide finished her damper. 
 
 `` Thank you, very much'' she said sincerely, and collected Skye's empty plate. She still felt slightly hungry, but also felt as though she had to start earning the hospitality she was receiving. Skye stood up and took the plates from her. 
 
 `` I can handle that... Besides, we need to light the fire under the boiler before we get any hot water.'' 
 
 `` Hot water?'' Adelaide repeated, unable to disguise the longing in her words. Skye smiled. 
 
 `` Help me collect some firewood and you can have the first turn in the shower.'' 
 

