Day 9 began with the smell of waffles and the sound of Nana arguing with a crow.
Carl blinked awake to the faint voice outside his window:
"No, you can't have the tomatoes, you flying garbage thief!"
From his bed, he could already tell today was going to be something. Birds were louder than usual, the sunlight was overly aggressive, and a squirrel had taken up residence on the windowsill with what Carl assumed used to be part of a Snickers bar.
Ellie stirred beside him in the guest bed, mumbling something about space hamsters before rolling over and drooling a bit more onto her dino plush.
Downstairs, the table was set for a chaotic breakfast: waffles with antique syrup, peanut butter in a jar labeled "DO NOT OPEN (unless you're brave)", and pickled radishes for… reasons.
Toby was at the counter, soldering something suspiciously loud. "It's a directional resonance dish disguised as a colander," he said, without being asked.
Carl poured coffee. "You mean it's a colander?"
Toby didn't answer. The sparks did.
Ellie joined them in a half-awake shuffle, her apocalypse boots (purple and covered in duct tape decals) dragging across the tile. "Are we going?"
Carl nodded. "Station Ember's signal is strongest west. Today, we find Node Point."
Nana appeared from the pantry, holding a spatula like a microphone. "Or you find bandits and regret. Either way, pack snacks."
---
Packing List for Operation: Node Point Recon
The duct-taped radio (now mounted in an empty breadbox for "shock resistance")
Folded topographical map labeled "Probably Accurate-ish"
Flashlight (barely works but gives comforting vibes)
Binoculars
Blueberry pie wrapped in three layers of plastic and bubble wrap
Two notebooks (one for notes, one for doodles of zombie possums)
Three walkie-talkies, only one fully functional
Emergency plushies (Ellie's was mandatory)
One wrench boomerang (Toby's "experimental")
Carl wore his lucky flannel. Ellie wore her sarcasm and purple boots. Toby wore goggles. Again. It was 78°F.
---
Setting Off: The Neighborhood Stretch
They left Nana's house just past 9:00 AM. Carl pulled the wagon, which now had a squeaky wheel that only squeaked on dramatic hills.
Ellie marched ahead, notebook in hand. Toby brought up the rear, muttering about "seismic pings" and "satellite betrayal."
The streets were eerily familiar. Lawns were overgrown, mailboxes dented, and silence hung thick—broken only by a pair of doves fighting over a breadstick near a tipped-over tricycle.
Ellie stopped in front of a house with rainbow chalk drawings on the sidewalk: hearts, suns, stick people waving.
"Feels like ghosts," she murmured.
Carl gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Good ghosts, maybe."
"Hope they got somewhere safe."
Toby added, "Or at least somewhere with indoor plumbing."
---
Obstacle #1: The Grocery Store Ambush
They took a shortcut through an old grocery store lot. The windows were shattered, and inside, someone—or something—had definitely redecorated. Badly.
Carl peered through the broken doors.
Zombies. Three of them. Shuffling slowly between aisles. One wore a shopping apron that said "Smiles Are Free!" Another had a single roller skate on one foot and nothing on the other.
Ellie whispered, "We could sneak through."
Toby grinned. "Or…"
He pulled out his latest invention: a plastic bag filled with crinkly chips, tied to a balloon, attached to two tiny propellers.
"Behold: ChipBag-1."
Carl sighed. "This is going to end with a raccoon attack, isn't it?"
Five minutes later, the chip-drone floated into the store, buzzing and crinkling. The zombies, attracted by the sound, staggered toward aisle seven.
Team Wagon tiptoed behind shelves, avoiding the broken glass and occasional can of pineapple juice that rolled like a trip hazard.
At the exit, Ellie grabbed gummy worms from the impulse rack. "We deserve these."
Carl nodded. "Victory snack."
Toby whispered, "We were never here."
---
Checkpoint: The Collapsing Overpass
Next stop was the old highway overpass, half-collapsed but still passable if you believed in physics and prayed quietly.
Carl hoisted the wagon over debris while Toby mapped weak radio signal clusters with his Echo Tracker 9000 (aka: an old Game Boy stuck to a coat hanger).
Ellie pointed to the west. "Smoke. By those trees. Could be a camp."
Carl squinted. "Or someone who thinks roasting squirrels is gourmet."
They advanced cautiously. No one spoke for a few minutes. Even the wind seemed to tiptoe.
Then came laughter.
Real laughter. Human. Not crazed or desperate—just… normal.
Carl froze. "That's not static. That's people."
Ellie grinned. "We're not alone."
Toby whispered, "Unless it's siren zombies."
Ellie blinked. "That's not a thing."
Toby shrugged. "Not yet."
---
A New Soundtrack: Closer to Ember
The closer they got to the source, the stronger the radio signal became. Carl adjusted the antenna mounted in the wagon.
The breadbox-radio crackled, then came alive:
> "—Node Point is operational. Food. Shelter. Clean water. Broadcasting from coordinates at dawn and dusk. Ember out."
"Holy crap," Ellie said, stunned.
Carl stopped walking. "That was clear. Not static. Not fragmented. A full message."
Toby danced a victory jig. "We're not chasing ghosts. We're chasing people."
Carl smiled. "That's what hope sounds like."
Then the wagon hit a pothole and the pie exploded.
---
Disaster Pie: The Second Coming
A sticky, gooey cherry-blueberry hybrid mess leaked through the breadbox vent and across Carl's arm.
Ellie gasped. "Nooooo! Not the pie!"
Toby solemnly saluted. "Rest in pastry."
Carl stared at his arm. "Why does every trip involve dessert-related trauma?"
Ellie handed him a wet wipe. "Apocalypse Rule #19: Never trust crust under pressure."
---
Node Point in Sight?
They stopped at the base of the ridge. Smoke curled lazily from a clearing above. Voices—human ones—carried down the slope. Laughter. Music? A ukulele?
They couldn't see who or what was up there yet.
Carl crouched behind a boulder. "If they're good, we say hi. If they're trouble, we quietly walk away and pretend we're squirrels."
Toby held up binoculars. "Three tents. Solar panel. No visible weapons. Someone's flying a kite shaped like a cow."
Ellie blinked. "That's either the friendliest apocalypse base ever… or the weirdest."
Carl pulled out the map. "Node Point. It might really be here."
They looked at each other.
The world hadn't made sense for over a week. But maybe—just maybe—this part would.
---
They took their time approaching the clearing.
Not because they were afraid—okay, a little because they were afraid—but mostly because Carl insisted on observing before jumping into a possible cult, commune, or aggressively enthusiastic ukulele circle.
Ellie peeked from behind a log. "There's a dog!"
Toby adjusted his goggles. "It's wearing a tiny vest. That means it's either trained... or royalty."
Carl glanced through binoculars. "Three tents. A couple hammocks. A camp stove. And yeah, someone is 100% playing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' on a ukulele."
"This feels illegal," Ellie said.
"Existing in peace?" Carl replied.
"Exactly."
---
First Contact
They stepped into the clearing slowly, arms raised in the international sign of "please don't shoot, we brought wet wipes."
The music stopped. A group of five people turned.
One of them, a tall woman with braided hair and a Node Point armband, raised an eyebrow. "Travelers?"
Carl nodded. "Or wandering snack enthusiasts. Depends on the hour."
The woman grinned. "I'm Rhea. Welcome to Ember Node Point."
Toby whispered, "Oh no. They're organized."
Rhea waved them over. "You're just in time. Pie day."
Carl blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
A guy by the camp stove waved a spatula. "Every eighth day, we make all the leftover fruit into pie. It's weirdly sacred now."
Ellie sat down without asking. "You're my people."
---
The Camp
Node Point wasn't large—just eight people, a big tarp shelter, solar panels, a shortwave radio tower made of duct tape and recycled trampoline parts, and a small dog named Muffin who growled only at inanimate objects.
There was also a chalkboard. It read:
> NODE POINT: STATUS
FOOD: STABLE (BREAD IS DUBIOUS) WATER: CLEAN (BOILED & BLESSED) MOOD: OPTIMISTIC (UKULELE ACTIVE) ZOMBIES: 0 (AND STAY THAT WAY)
Ellie stared at it. "Can we move in?"
Carl asked the important question: "How'd you set all this up?"
Rhea poured him coffee. "We were med students, engineers, and some guy who used to run a survival YouTube channel. He didn't make it past week one. Ironically, not because of zombies."
Toby leaned forward. "How do you broadcast?"
"Solar repeaters and a rigged antenna up on that ridge. And a whole lotta luck."
---
Pie and Planning
That night, they shared pie under string lights made from old fairy lights and car batteries. It felt unreal. There was laughter, music, stories of old lives and new routines.
Carl watched Ellie play cards with two teenagers from the camp.
"She's okay here," Rhea said beside him.
"She hasn't slept through the night since Day 1," Carl replied. "Tonight she might."
Rhea sipped tea. "You too, maybe."
Toby, scribbling in his notebook, looked up. "Can I name the tower?"
"Sure."
"Beacon Prime."
Everyone approved.
---
Departure
They didn't stay the night.
Not yet.
Carl wanted to think. Talk to Nana. Make a plan. They left with a bag of supplies, a hug from Muffin, and a promise to return tomorrow.
Ellie whispered, "It felt like a dream."
Carl smiled. "It still counts."
---
Evening Debrief
Back at Nana's house, the group huddled around the kitchen table. The lantern cast a soft glow over mugs of tea, the map, and everyone's faces, still glowing from the surreal encounter.
Carl tapped a pen against the map. "They're about four miles southeast. Good ground, good people, good defenses."
Nana sipped from her mug. "And no one tried to convert you to a weird fungus cult?"
"Not that I noticed," Carl said.
Ellie grinned. "They had pie. That's my cult now."
Toby nodded. "They had infrastructure. Tower strength at 65% efficiency. Decent security sweep pattern. One of them is a licensed electrician."
Nana raised an eyebrow. "Fancy."
Carl looked at her. "I think it's worth building a link. They want to expand the signal range. We have the parts."
Nana looked at the floor, then back at Carl. "Then we help. Carefully."
---
The Next Morning
The sun rose over Nana's hill. Carl stood in the garage sorting through buckets of screws, cables, and unlabeled gadgets that may or may not be toaster parts. Ellie packed snacks. Toby took weather measurements. Nana loaded a shotgun.
"Just in case," she said, patting it like a pet. "Rule #23: Say hi with caution."
They left Nana to her home eating some pudding, shotgun in hand.
The wagon was filled again—this time with wires, batteries, coffee, and yes, another pie.
When they arrived at Node Point again, the reception was warmer. Literally. Muffin jumped into Ellie's arms. Someone had hot chocolate ready.
"Welcome back," Rhea said. "We hoped you weren't a dream."
Carl shook her hand. "Let's make something permanent."
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End of Chapter 8 - Node Point Detour
> "The world wasn't healed. But somewhere past the static, there were waffles, string lights, and people still making pie. That was enough."
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