Nina cautiously opened the door to what lead to a bedroom. The room was dark and musty, covered a thick layer of dust that almost made it hard for her to breathe. There was a bed that sat on a rusted metal bed frame; it's blankets floral design barely visible through the gray layer of dust that sat atop it. Two pillows, sat neatly on the bed just where whoever had previously fixed them, left them. Nina walked further into the room, doing a full turn to make sure she'd covered all the space. "Huh?" She spotted another door in the room. Presumably a closet. She reached for the knob and swung the door open. Nothing but two very old dresses hung on old wire hangers.
"On to the next room." Nina whispered to herself, walking across the small hall and to the next door. It was cracked just enough for her to peek inside before fully nudging the door open. She gasped, seeing a small mouse run out of the room and into the next. "Good lord." She sighed, almost laughing at herself for being afraid. Inside the room was a dirty white toilet and a rusty broken sink. The shower had no curtain and the tub was fill of mouse droppings.
The sound of thunder and rain echoed throughout the house. It was time to get the others before the storm arrived with all of it's fury. "Clear." She said as she walked back into the living room of the cabin.

I pushed open the screen door with my foot, moving out onto the old porch that wrapped around the cabin. From what I could see, there was nothing here. No one here. The bush of the forest came right up to the handrails where various plants wrapped themselves onto the cabin.
I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Suddenly I realised there was rain coming down, not heavy, but I knew it would increase soon.
"Nina, get the others. We're all good." I called out to her as I made my way back inside. We really needed to do something about the dust. I could see Nina's footprints from where she had gone to check out the other rooms.
"Did you find anything?" She said to me as she popped her head out of the bathroom.
"No, just dust. Lots of it." I tucked my gun into it's holster and began dropping my packs onto the floor.
"I'll grab the others." She said and I nodded, rolling my shoulders as she darted out the door.

Joe was the first one to see Nina sprinting back towards them. He held Daisy in his arms, just like he had for majority of the day. "Is it clear?" He yelled.
"It's clear." Nina breathed. "Hurry up. It's about to get bad out here." Nina jogged back towards the cabin, leaving her siblings to make it back at their own pace.
"You got her?" Em asked, Joe. He nodded, trying to keep the rain from his eyes.
"The rain is really starting to come down. Hurry up!" Spencer yelled above the thunder. Em and Spencer ran towards the cabin as fast as they could, while Joe went at a good enough pace to not shake Daisy up as he half-jogged, half-walked towards the group.
"I'm glad you guys made it in." Nina was stood in the doorway as her siblings walked up the creaking wooden steps onto the porch. Spencer walked by Nina and walked straight into the cabin, eager to explore the ancient place. Em flashed a goofy smile at her sister before walking through the door. Joe took one step inside and immediately, his nose started tickling him.
"Oh man. It's- it's really-" He inhaled. "Dusty." He squeaked, holding in a sneeze. "I don't want to sneeze on her." He scrunched his nose up. "Gotta fight it." He inhaled again.
Thunder boomed outside of the cabin and the storm had finally arrived with all of it's might. Rain poured onto the roof of the cabin and began drenching everything in it's path. Everyone was visibly relieved that they didn't get caught in the storm.

I had only opened up a few of the windows to air the place out a bit when the others came rushing inside.
"Good timing." I said, noticing Joe as he tried to fight his allergies. "Sorry, Joe. Nina said you wouldn't be pleased."
"There's a bedroom in there you can put Daisy in. Looks better than that horrible thing." Nina gestured to the couch and I had to agree, I frankly would rather sit on the floor.
Joe nodded and moved into the small hallway, setting Daisy down on the bed. "Everything is so dusty. God, Spence. Couldn't you have spotted something more clean?" He said as he came back in the the main room, rubbing his nose.
Spencer rolled his eyes and started snooping through the kitchen cabinets.
"At least we're dry." Em was setting down her bags beside the couch. "If only we could actually use the fireplace." She said looking at it sadly.
"No chance. There's probably some blankets or towels here that can help us warm up?" I looked at Nina, wondering if she'd found anything of the sort while she was checking the other rooms.

"They're probably all dusty or infested with little bugs. You sure we should put Daisy on that bed?" Em asked, from the other room. She was watching as Daisy slept. "Or, at least let me air that blanket out she's lying on. Wouldn't want her to wake up covered in bug bites." She gestured Joe to come back inside to pick Daisy up once more. He put a finger in the air as if to tell her to hold on a moment. He went onto the porch and sneezed. And sneezed. And then sneezed some more.
"Alright, I'm good. Let's do this." Joe's voice was a little congested. He went into the room, carefully scooped Daisy in his arms once more, and watched as Em tore the blankets from the bed. She stepped onto the porch and beat them against the wind, trying to get rid of as much dust as she could.
"That's a little better." She said, satisfied with herself. She remade the bed and Joe lay Daisy back down.
"She's out like a light. Sure she'll wake back up?" A bit of worry lingered in Joe's voice as they both walked back into the room with the others.
"She'll be fine, Joseph." Em rolled her eyes at her brother. She rarely ever used his full name. "And stop being some rude to Spencer." She hit him on the back of the head. It didn't seem to phase him.
"So, Plan Man? You did good. Spencer, you too." Nina said to her brother and Sam. "What's our next move, Smart Guy?" She ran a hand through her hair.

"Thanks." I sighed and then shrugged, scanning the four siblings as they stared at me. "Well, I guess we wait." I said looking out the window at the rain that was literally bucketing down. I picked up one of the chairs that lay beside the table, brushed off the immediate dust and sat down.
"Anyone find any-" Em was interrupted by Joe as he sneezed, not once, but four times in a row. "...cards?"
Joe breathed heavily and ran a hand down his face. "I'm going to stand outside for a bit." He said, his eyes watering as he moved towards the front door.
"Poor Joe. It really is a horrible allergy." Nina said watching him leave.
Spencer walked across my vision and started rummaging through the items on the bookshelves.
"Spence, should you really be doing that? This was somebody's home once." Em said warily.
"Yeah, well it doesn't look like they're coming back, does it? I'm sure they took everything that they cared about." Spencer said pulling out books and reading the blurbs on the backs.
I rested my elbow on the table beside me, listening to the rain pound down on the mossy tin roof. It didn't sound quite right, the moss stopped the tapping sound you would usually hear on a normal tin roof, it was much more muted.
I watched the others as they eventually settled in.
Joe ended up sitting on the porch outside, Nina gave him an extra jacket in case he got too cold. Though he said he preferred the cold to the dust.
Spencer had chosen a book and had sat down on the floor, leaning against the couch everyone avoided.
Em simply hovered between Daisy and one particular window she seemed to like the view out of.

Hours seemed to go by before the storm began to calm down. The heavy rain was now a light sprinkle of whatever water the storm clouds had left in them. The loud thunderous crashing of the sky seemed to slow to a low stomach growl of thunder. The lightening wasn't as powerful as it was at the beginning. It was just a few flashes that lit up the cabin every now and then.

"You're cheating!" A faded, or loud -I couldn't tell- voice seeped into my ears.
"I'm not. Nina, you're just upset you're losing." I could hear the shuffling of paper.. Or something. Cards? Then sneezing. Loud, continuous sneezing.
"I'm going back outside." A deeper voice spoke up. Joe's voice.
I had yet to open my eyes. I couldn't find the strength. They were still so heavy. I was so tired and I couldn't remember why. I wanted to roll over onto my stomach, but I knew that wasn't a good idea. Half of me was insanely tired, while the other half struggled to fully wake me up.
"Hello?" I croaked. "Sam? Somebody?" I could hear the commotion come to a stop. Murmurs and whispers filled the air, but I wasn't sure what they were saying.

It was tough not to laugh at Joe every time he sneezed like that. I felt bad for the guy but after what we'd been through, it was something that kept making me smile to myself and that was something.
Em perked her head up from the game of cards she was playing against Nina. "You've already lost anyway." She said to Nina as she dumped her cards and stood up from her chair.
Nina frowned and scoffed. "You mean you got caught cheating and now you're copping out cause you're a sore loser." She started gathering the cards as she spoke, but Em had already headed in to check on Daisy.
I heard murmuring and assumed Daisy was awake, I decided I would give them a moment before I went to see how she was.
"Spencer." Nina said looking over at her younger brother who was almost finished the book he'd picked up earlier. "Spence!"
"What?" He looked up slowly, clearly unimpressed with being interrupted by his sister.
"Do you want to verse me? I need practice before Em comes back."
"No." He looked back down at his book.
Nina scoffed and looked over at me. I had a map spread out over the table. Someone had previously marked an 'x' on the map lines, I had yet to figure out whether it was the cabin we had found or something else.

I opened my eyes to see Em hovering over me. She smiled and sat down on the bed beside me.
"How're you feeling?" She asked, tiling her head to the side.
"Better than I was earlier. Where are we? How long have I been out?" I questioned, rubbing my eyes with my free hands. "And whose bed is this?"
"We found a cabin in the woods." Em replied. "Sounds a bit scary in that phrase. But it's safe. Its been abandoned for what looks like years. You weren't out as long as you were the first time though. Almost, but not quite."
"Oh." I groaned, readjusting myself in the bed. "Where's everyone else? Sam and Joe and them?"
"They're all here. Spread about. Joe is on the porch, sneezing his brains out. Spence is readin' a book. We're all just waiting for the storm to pass."

"Getting anywhere with that?" Nina asked me and I shook my head.
"Not really. I managed to grab those maps from the base, but I figured since this one was already here, we would definitely be somewhere on it." I said, smoothing the map out. I had found it underneath a bunch of books on that shelf Spencer had been rummaging through. "If you look here, where this cross is, I think that's where we are. But there's nothing to say it is or isn't. It's not very helpful." I tapped the map for her to see.
"It must be old." Nina said getting up to have a proper look. "There's no building symbols on it. Nothing that suggests there's an army base within the surrounding hundred miles at all. It's probably from back when they could go hunting out in this forest and the only remotely terrifying was a deer. No enemy soldiers to contend with."

"Can I have something eat? I'm starving." I asked after a few moments of silence. Em nodded, getting up from her spot on the bed and returning to the others. I could hear her asking Spencer which bag the food was in, then rummaging around. "Thanks." She said. Someone must have handed her an apple or something.
"Feeling better in there?" I heard Joe call from wherever he was.
"She's fine!" Em answered for me as she entered the room. "Here you go. I found a pear. Hope you like pears." She handed it to me.
"Thanks, I appreciate it. All of this. For carrying me hear and dealing with me in all my drama." I took a bite of the fruit and savored the taste.
"Hey, don't thank me. You guys helped us escape that camp. It's the least I could do." She smiled.

"You can have a look at this, Nina." I said as I pushed out my chair and stood up. "Maybe a new pair of eyes is what I need."
I let Nina sit down and walked away as she started pouring over the map. Maybe she could make more sense of it than I could.
I moved through the creaky cabin to the old bedroom Daisy and Em were in. Despite the door being open I knocked carefully, not wanting to barge in rudely.
"It's me, Sam." I said as I waited by the door. "Am I okay to come in?"

"Hey, c'mon in." I gave him a small wave and smile. "Long time no see."
"Yeah, just a few hours. I'll let you two chat. I need to go make a plan. Or at least try to figure out some of those maps we've got. Can't sit here forever." Em pushed off the bed and walked by Sam, nudging him in the arm as she exited the room.

I watched Em go then turned to Daisy, giving her a smile.
She looked tired, which was fair enough considering what she'd just gone through. "We found maps." I told her as I stepped inside moving to sit on the end of the bed. "Nothing too different to what we found at the base but hopefully we can try to figure out where this cabin is, and then where to go from here."
I glanced out the window at the rain that continued to fall from the grumbling sky. "How are you feeling anyway? Good sleep?"

"Decent sleep." I replied. "I don't really remember falling asleep. Or too much before that." I sighed, mostly from still being tired. Tired of being immobile and just... Tired. I wanted to get up and walk out of here. I hated being the one slowing everyone down. "How're you feeling?" I asked in return. "I'm pretty sure the walk here was tedious." I looked up, my eyes meeting Sam's for a moment."And maps? Are you sure they're maps of the land we're on or is it just a guess?" I asked curiously.

"Possibly they're not, but it's hard to tell. They're quite old, all before the war. There's no markings that we'd usually see that tell us where the bases are." I said and realised I hadn't considered they might not have even been from this area, but what would the markings on the map be of?
"But yeah, I'm okay. We managed. Joe was the one who carried you, I think he thought I was too weak. Which is probably true." I said with a smile. "He's currently outside getting away from the dust. Turns out he's incredibly allergic." I laughed, it still amused me. After everything we'd been through, Joe just couldn't stop sneezing. "It's been good to stop here. Though, I don't feel completely at ease, it's nice to have a roof over our heads, that's for sure."

"So that's whose been sneezing." I whispered to myself. "Well I bet I could figure those maps out. Or maybe give it a try. An extra set of eyes on those things wouldn't hurt. After all, we're kind of sitting ducks until the rain stops. Something to do besides sitting on my ass for the rest of the day would be nice." I admitted. "Oh. And are we hidden well? This cabin we're in?"

"Yeah. Well, I think so. We almost went straight past it, it blends right into the landscape. Spencer was actually the one that spotted it." I said. "I've got Nina having a look at the maps now. I was felt like I was just staring at the same spot waiting for it to tell me what it was."
It was good to see Daisy chatting more. She definitely looked much better and you could tell her energy was creeping back.
"Spencer's found a bookshelf, he's currently motoring through something called Lord of the Flies? I don't know. I think it's old."

"Lord of the Flies." I repeated. "Yeah, I read that book once. It's a bunch of kids stuck on an island. Then they start killing each other. They're at war... Or something like that." I tried to remember. "Good book." I nodded.

"I think I found something!" Nina called from the other room. "Or figured something out." The ruffling of the maps could be heard as she gathered them together. "Doesn't look like we're too far from another base. Maybe about 20 miles from the next base. That is, if I'm correct." She huffed. Joe started sneezing again so I assumed he came back inside the cabin. Probably to take a look at the maps.

I looked towards the door as Nina spoke. "Want to come and check it out?" I asked her as I stood up, resisting the urge to dust myself off, Daisy had been sleeping in the bed after all. We could hear the others as they shifted the maps about the place, and then a 'bless you' from Em after Joe sneezed- again.