After a while, Claude was getting tired, and we all decided it was a good time to go to bed. Sam goes to tuck them into bed while me and Jane go into our rooms. I put away my sewing kit and the almost finished rag, and say good night to Jane as I slip into the bed.

Although we had to change our schedule a bit, tomorrow Sam and Jane would be leaving the house extra early, so that they could come home sooner. When I would leave for the meeting, I had to make sure all entrances in the house were boarded, and make sure to hide away our food.

We had also debated on whether I should bring the kids to me, since leaving them alone in the house could give us an uncertain risk factor. But in the end, we agreed I would take them, since it had also been a while since they'd gone outside.

I thought that with the thoughts of what we would discuss in the meeting, I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, yet, when I felt sunlight hit my face, I realized I slept soundly yesterday.

I looked outside the window, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky, which meant that I still had plenty of time until the meeting. It would be at 2 pm in the afternoon, and we all had watches to make sure none of us would be late.

I quickly got started for today, first checking to make sure if Charlotte or Claude was awake. It was 9:23 in the morning, so it was ok for them to sleep in.

I looked at the note left behind by Jane. I just had to resupply all the water bins and then boil some water today, and there isn't much work other than that. I quickly went to work, pulling out all the empty buckets and pouring half empty containers into others.

Then, I went to the kitchen and out the side door, to the fire pit. I grabbed the tinder and put them in the center of the fire pit, and then put the firewood to look like a teepee and set it on fire.

Then, I set the grill on top of the fire pit, and grabbed one of the stockpots on the side and put it on top of the grill. I grabbed a big bucket, and poured all of the water into the pot, before covering the lid.

I was about to go, carrying 4 buckets in my arms and a bucket in the middle, with stuff on the inside, when I thought about the kids. I put down everything and quickly grabbed a notepad and a pen, writing down that I was going to the lake.

Claude didn’t know words, but Charlotte did, so she would be able to read this. Reassured, I grabbed the buckets again and went out the door and down to the lake, remembering the events from yesterday night.

The trip to the lake was uneventful, but at least I didn’t encounter any hostile groups. I quickly put everything in the hidden recess that me, Sam, and Jane made, just to be sure nobody could steal our buckets. Who knows.

I grabbed 2 of the buckets, and pushed one of them into the lake, making sure it was full before hauling it up. After sealing it with the lid, I did the same with the second bucket, and then I started half dragging half bringing the 2 buckets home.

The trip back obviously took much longer, and I felt like I was sweating buckets by the time I arrived home. After I put away the 2 buckets in the garage, I noticed that Charlotte was awake. “Good morning Charlotte!” I called out to her cheerily.

Her hair was disheveled, but she looked awake, so it meant she must’ve been waiting for me. She turned to me, and a smile slowly spread from her face as she lit up. “Good morning El!”

I smiled in return, and sat next to her. “Do you want me to style and braid your hair?” I questioned, and she nodded her head. I went to her room and grabbed her comb and some hair ties before coming down.

But I made a detour to the living room, and went inside the storage room instead. I remembered watching a video on the internet a year ago, and I wanted to try that hairstyle out on Charlotte’s hair. I grabbed 2 white butterfly hair clips before coming back into the living room.

I flopped down on the couch again, and slowly began combing her hair gently. Then, after her hair was fully combed and straight, I split her hair into 2 and started twisting a part away from her face, until I reached the end and then twisted it into a bun in the back and secured it in place with a clip.

Then, I did the same thing with the other part, before getting a mirror to show Charlotte. “Tada! Do you like it?” I inquired. I wasn’t the best at hairstyles, but her hair looked really nice right now, and I wondered what she thought about it.

She nodded, touching her hair. “Thanks El! I really like it.” She smiled, and I patted her head before giving her a hug.

“Ok, well I’m going to start preparing for boarding up the house, so please wake Claude up and help him get ready, then I’ll get your snacks ready.” I instructed her, before going to the storage room and started bringing out the materials needed.

Then, I setted them in the back of the house, so that after Charlotte got Claude up and we ate our snacks, then they could help me put the pieces of plywood on and board up the house.

When I finished, I went into the kitchen and grabbed 3 goose eggs, before going out the side door. I checked on the stockpot first, before putting down the goose eggs. Then I grabbed another pot from the ground, and put it on the grill, and the goose eggs inside.

I grabbed one of the jugs in the kitchen and poured water in the pot, and put the 3 goose eggs in. While it was boiling, I went into the kitchen, got some salt, and put it in the pot. Then I came back and grabbed plates and saucers, and put them on the table.

I put salt and pepper in the saucer, then grabbed 2 apples and cut them up into pieces and put them on the plates. By then, Claude was ready, and he and Charlotte came into the kitchen.

“Good morning Claude, sleepyhead.” I ruffled his hair as I greeted him, and he gave me a hug in response. They got in their seats and started eating their apples while I told them to wait a while for the goose eggs.

Then, I went into the bathroom and grabbed the empty containers and put them outside, before taking the stockpot and putting it on the ground to cool for a little bit until I put it in the containers.

I checked my watch, and enough time had passed for the goose eggs to finish being boiled. I brought the pot inside the house, and quickly drained it before soaking the eggs in water for a few minutes.

After that, I poured some apple juice for them and then starting eating my apples, while occasionally talking with Charlotte and Claude. “Can we eat the eggs now, El?” Claude complained, and I laughed.

“Sure, I think it’ll have cooled down by now.” I grabbed the eggs out of the water, and gave one to each of us respectively.

“When we finish, you’ll have to help me board up the house, and then we’ll go to the square for the meeting.” I informed them, and they gave me a thumbs up. After we finished, I put everything in the sink and put the shells in a box, before putting it in the storage room and moving to the back of the house.

Time passed as we went around the house, boarding every possible place that they could enter from. Once we were done, I checked my watch. It was almost 1 o’clock, so it was a good time to get ready and go since it would take about 20-30 minutes to get to the square, which left us quite a lot of time.

I got them to wash their hands, and then made sure we were ready for the meeting. We had sealed every entrance and exit, except for a window on the back of the house on the 2nd floor.

We went on to the second floor and into me and Jane’s room, which was where the window was. The roof was sloped, so I could stand on it safely to some degree before falling off.

I got Charlotte and Claude to stand next to me, before repeating what we were supposed to do. “I’m going to jump down first, and when I say ‘all clear', you’ll hang down and jump,” I looked at Charlotte, before continuing. “Then you will go next,” I pointed at Claude.

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you guys, ok?” When they said yes and confirmed, I took a look around my area. I eyed the tree and the bush around it, before taking a deep breath. Then, I got to the edge and hung down, and began swinging myself so that I had a better chance of getting to the tree.