Marc scoffs and draws his arms behind his back. “If you say so, Ky.” He nudges my arm. “Your brother would probably try to kill me if he knew about us.”
“Luke knows this, and you have his approval, which blows my mind because my brother likes no one.”
“Marc,” Sean calls from the opening to a path we’re passing by the rows of houses.
I take a step away from Marc, throwing off our intimate stroll. Marc pulls me back to him, wrapping his arm around my back. “What are you doing?” I ask before Sean makes it to us.
“You’re ashamed?” His arm falls as he takes a single step away from me. “You were cool when we were in Chicago, and it’s only my brother.”
“No, no.” I grab his arm and wrap it back around my waist. “I’m cool now, I didn’t want things to seem weird.”
“You are making things weird.”
With my hands behind my back, I step in front of him. And where we stand, I lean over and offer a little kiss.
His eyes widen a bit, and a small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. He grabs my arms and lifts me higher, kissing me before biting my bottom lip. “You made that look like it tasted good,” he says. I lean back, smiling. “But don’t do anything you think I’ll want you to do. If it’s something you don’t want, you can tell me, and I’m okay with that,” he says near my ear.
“What’s going on here?” Sean asks.
“Nothing. Kissing Ky.”
My cheeks flush.
“I see that.” Sean crosses his arms and glares at Marc. “What happened to you not breaking the rules?”
“She might be worth breaking them for.”
Those nerves again, they jitter faster through me, and I begin to feel uncomfortable. “I’ll let you and Sean talk,” I say. “I’ll see you later.”
“Everyone’s staying up in the rec hall tonight. A little teen loudness if you know what I mean,” Sean remarks with a devilish grin.
I pop up my eyebrows then run off.
“Where are you going so fast, Kylie?” Jord’s exiting his office, a small shack-like structure on the other side of the rec hall, far from the houses.
I slide to a stop, and joke, “I’m scared of the dark, sir. Trying to make it to the rec hall before it gets me.”
He laughs. “I thought you didn’t know fear.”
“I don’t. I was joking, sir,” I say, smiling.
“I heard your group did well today.”
I sober. “Yes, sir. That was good news.”
Jord crosses his arms. His smooth, chocolate skin causes the purple of his eyes to explode with color. “Would you like to know their time?”
“Of course, sir,” I answer too quickly.
“Less than five minutes. Would you like to know their stand-in leader?”
“Yes, sir.”
“No one.”
My jaw nearly hits the ground. “Really?”
“That is accurate.” He nods for me to walk with him. “That is a splendid improvement. Whatever you said to them prior to your departure made a change. You should express that you are proud of them but make it clear they need to keep it up.” He opens the door to the rec hall.
“I will, sir. Thank you, sir.”
I enter, searching for Luke, finding him sitting with Aden and Collins—sitting too close. Aden sits across from them on the other side of the table. Everyone relaxes, bulletproof vests, pistols and automatics forgotten, at least for now. I discard mine, laying them on the table, and squeeze between Luke and Collins.
She grumbles irritably.
“Is there a problem?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she states, rolling her eyes. “You’re blocking.”
I turn to Luke. “I don’t get it. Blocking what?”
“Cock blocking,” he informs, not in the same low toned I asked. “She wants me,” he says, with everyone hearing.
She reaches around me to punch him. I push her.
Luke laughs. “It’s not like you’re subtle about it, Collins.” Everyone sitting around us laughs, and she punches Luke again before stomping away.
“Cock blocking?” I question him. “Like cock? Cock, cock?” I ask, getting a laugh from everyone.
Luke rolls his eyes. “Yes, Ky, like, she wants my cock, and you are blocking it from her.”
That’s disgusting. I don’t want to think about Luke’s private areas. “Yuck.”
“Why are you guys over here discussing genitals?” Sean asks, taking a seat across from us.
Marc drops down next to me.
“Doesn’t matter,” Gia says, sitting on Marc’s other side. “It’s not like anyone wants yours.” Gia, taller than me and a kick ass in archery, pushes her curly brown hair behind her ears and eyes Sean.
“Is that right?” Sean responds.
“Yeah, that’s right,” she returns with a smile.
“That’s not what you say when you’re sitting on it,” Sean says with a quick tip of his head. “Or…” He makes a weird face, causing his right cheek to protrude out and back in with his tongue. Everyone laughs.
I don’t get it, but it’s not good because Gia rams her fist in his chest. He buckles over, communicating his pain with a grunt.
Luke whispers in my ear, explaining the action. My mouth falls open. I’d want to punch him too. That wasn’t nice of him to say. That’s equally, if not more disgusting than Collins wanting Luke.
Others join us, including Cory and his sister. I avoid Cory’s never-swerving gawk at Marc’s arm wrapped around my waist. Luke noticed when it happened, but he said nothing. He either really likes Marc or really hates Cory. Either way, I’m happy he’s shut up for once and stopped being so damn overprotective.
“I’m gonna put on the stereo,” Sean says. “Get some tunes blasting.” He jumps to his feet, grabbing Gia up with him. She shoves him away from her but continues at his side as they amble to the music.
“You’re going to start trouble,” Luke says in my ear after the music is turned on.
“In what way?” I ask.
“Even though you cut Cory off, he’s going to get jealous about seeing you with Marc.”
I frown. “But what if I like Marc and not Cory.”
Luke laughs. “That’s too bad. This is why you shouldn’t go around kissing people.” He pokes me in the throat, and I smack his hand away.
“Stop dweeb.”
Collins comes back and squeezes between Marc and me. I glare at her. “Is there a problem?” she asks with an attitude poorly hidden by a smile and kind tone. Her hair color is beginning to fade, and her roots are far darker than her ends.
A swell of anger burns my neck. “That’s childish.”
She smiles mischievously. “I’ll trade seats with you.”
Ooohh, she’s good.
I stand to move around her, and my arm is pulled backward, making me stumble over Zeke. “Sorry,” I tell him, trying to turn around to see who’s pulling me. The tables are pushed so closely together, it makes it hard to maneuver between them.
Zeke pushes me over. “Watch out, Ky, move your butt from my face.”
“I said sorry.” Fully turned around, Cory tugs my arm toward him, requesting I join him sitting on top of the table. To prevent myself from falling forward, I place my knee on the bench of the table he’s sitting on top of. “Just let me go.” I try to pull my arms from him in a way no one will see my discomfort.
Luke sits beside me in the tiny space and thumps Cory’s arm so hard he jerks away, resulting in his release of my arm. “Back off,” Luke warns quietly. “I told you that.”
He pushes me between Marc and Collins and sits next to her.
“I feel like a baby doll with everyone pulling me around,” I tell Marc.
“It’s just that the right person isn’t pulling you,” he says, tugging me closer to him. I blush, stifling my giggle. He’s right.
“Cool it,” Luke says around Collins. I stick my tongue out at him.
Affection in coupl
es is against the rules, and we are not allowed to be together. No one but me seems to think of it as a big deal. From the talk earlier, everyone’s accustomed to it. This entire time, I thought everyone felt the same way I did. There’s no breaking the rules; it’s against the laws to kiss or anything more. We are only here for one purpose, and it’s not boys, or girls, or engaging in relations. Especially with everything Luke used to say to me. Now to get here and find out he has been way more advanced than me. Everyone else is also doing more than kissing, and I thought that alone was too far. I hate being laughed at because I don’t get their banter, and I feel foolish finding out so late that all these actions are social norms for Creations too.
Jumping on the bandwagon, I lean against Marc. Others sit with their partner of choice, doing the same. “Separation is next week. Anyone not ready?” Grant asks with May in his lap.
Others who weren’t granted leadership, but hold a high enough ranking from their hometown sit among us too.
“Not ready?” Floyd asks, staggered.
Grant smiles. “Right, you know, we start training to go against whatever unknown out there they refuse to tell us about.”
“No matter what’s out there,” Floyd begins. “There’s nothing I’m not ready for.”
Feiney throws her fist into his stomach, and he falls off the table. “You weren’t ready for that, nerd,” she says, laughing.
“Ha ha,” Floyd grumbles, picking himself off the floor. “I don’t find that funny.”
Jord clears his throat, coming up behind us. We all straighten our spines, remaining seated but moving away from our buddies.
“At ease,” he orders, approaching an open spot. “If I didn’t have the best and such focused captains and chiefs as yourselves, I would feel otherwise. However, because I do, it’s ignored.”
Even with his blessing, we still don’t relax. It doesn’t feel right in front of him.
“Training will be extensive and quite exhausting over the next couple of days. Make sure you and your units are ready. Don’t stay up too late.” He looks us over. “Luke and Marc, I’d like to speak with you.”
They stand and follow him out of the rec hall. The rest of us chatter and speculate about why they were so special to be called out, and why they need to speak away from us. The conversation takes a turn when Collins asks, “What do you think is out there they aren’t telling us about yet?”
Floyd responds, “Another alien invasion.”
How ironic.
Marshal sits. “It probably is. Anything else, we would know of it. It’s not an early war. That we could handle. People coming to attack our country, that’s nothing for us.”
“Or what if it is people but more than in the past. They have been doing average training,” Collins says. “Nothing that’s teaching us anything different than before.”
“Like Grant said though,” I cut in, “they haven’t started training us for that yet. They won’t start until Separation starts next week.”
“Like I said,” Marshal cuts in. “It’s an alien invasion, and they’re going to teach us how to turn those aliens into green goo.”
“What makes you think aliens turn into goo?” I ask, taking offense to his statement. We do not turn into goo. I’ve never seen it. Maybe there’s a little runoff. Bleeding out like humans before the being falls over and dies or bursts. But there’s no goo, I’m sure. That would be vile.
“What else would they turn into after they explode?” he asks quizzically.
I twist my lips as I think of a Creation way to answer his question. “I’m not sure, maybe they die like everyone else.”
“Do you have a thing for aliens?” Collins teases.
I eye her. “No.” But you do.
Those of us who tended to Chicago stay quiet about what the threat actually is. I doubt they know aliens are behind said threat, but they do know there are Zombies, and we’re already prepared.
“What if it’s something supernatural, like werewolves?” Gia asks excitedly, smiling brighter than the moonlight.
“Werewolves don’t exist, you weirdo,” Zeke blurts, waving his hand as if to wipe her suggestion from the air.
“But aliens do,” she states with a nod.
“Duh. That’s been established for years. They live out there in space because they can’t take the oxygen on Earth,” Zeke convincingly explains as he moves from the bench to the tabletop. His hands move about as he points to the ceiling then to the floor.
“We know that’s not true,” Collins says. “How would they be able to come here when they have?”
“When have you known an alien to come here?” I snort, knowing she’s not wrong but wanting her to doubt herself. Aliens come here often, but no one would know that except the Guidance and the Premier. They monitor everything, from the cameras around the country to satellites that track entities entering Earth. Only one has ever gone unnoticed. People just made up stuff decades ago to scare the citizens before the destruction. They created these things called UFOs as a form of transportation for the aliens. Aliens don’t even travel in a contraption called a UFO or a contraption, period. Most travel by light or atoms. Then people said they saw round-headed, avocado-eyed, pencil-bodied creatures and tagged them as aliens. That’s not even how aliens look. The entire alien race should be insulted.
“I have never seen it, but I’ve heard stories like everyone else here. The ones that came before the destruction. But now all we know is they stay out there and haven’t come here since,” she says as she points toward the window that looks out to the night.
“They’re probably scared because people like us exist,” Floyd adds, chest swelling as he crosses his arms.
“Who’s scared?” Luke returns and sits between Collins and me.
“The aliens,” I tell him with a smirk. “They’re afraid of people like us.”
He chuckles. “They might not be yet, but if they ever came here again, they will be.”
My stomach rumbles, urging me to leave the group and grab a couple of pre-wrapped sandwiches. As I’m turning from the counter, food in hand, there’s a call. “Ky.” Cory’s right in front of me. He continues, “I thought…”
“You thought what?” Marc says from behind me. He wraps his arm around my waist, and I want to stuff one of these sandwiches into my mouth to give myself a reason not to talk.
“I thought you were gone,” Cory counters, his voice going deep.
“I’m not.”
Cory glowers at us and sucks his teeth before turning on his heels and marching out of the rec hall. I shrug and head back to the table, Marc coming up behind me. I settle in with the plate in my lap and set my soda on the floor.
“Told you,” Luke says in my ear.
I roll my eyes. He steals my sandwich.
Finishing the food in my mouth, I ask, “Why don’t you ever get your own food?”
“You come with yours,” he states, shoulders rising near his ears.
“For myself, not for you, you vulture.”
“I’ll get you some food if you want,” Collins says to him.
“Yes, Collins,” he says in a deep, toneless voice, “get me some food.” She jumps up and hurries to the counter. Luke shakes his head, watching her happily fetch his snack. He rolls his eyes when he looks back at me.
I sit my empty plate on the floor and pick up my soda. I show it to Marc. “Purple soda,” I state.
He shakes his head. “Grape pop.”
I turn the can over in my hand and look it over. “Do you have a name for everything?”
He hides his laugh, declaring, “It’s the name on it. I didn’t make it up. You like to identify things by color.”
I turn the can in my hand. “It looks purple to me.”
“Does it taste like grape?”
“Yes.”
“Point,” he announces like he’s right and has proven something.
I open it and drink. Before I can pull it away from my mouth, Luke snatches th
e can and downs it. Soda drips from my lip to my chin, and I catch what falls in my hand. But before I can scold him, Marc turns my head toward him and slowly trails his tongue from my chin up to my lip.
I close my eyes to keep everyone from seeing them roll back. Aww. I shiver.
I take in a breath as his lips close around my bottom lip. I kiss him once, feeling that thirsty sensation take me over again. My back stiffens, holding me back from falling into a deeper kiss.
“Yep.” Marc draws back slowly and meets my eyes. “Tastes like grape.”
The lights in the room have lowered, and other couples are engaging in their own quiet make-out sessions. Even though the soda’s gone, I lick my lip anyway. I bite it. He nods, and I smile as he looks away. I jerk away from someone pinching my side.
“Chill out, Ky,” Luke says.
“Or maybe you can make like Ky,” Collins croons, turning him to her.
Someone’s burning a hole through the back of my head, and it’s hard to ignore. Marc gently pinches my arm, trying to grab my attention. I take Marc’s hand, tugging him with me as I stand, and we leave to a corner of the rec hall where there are minimal people and little light. No one appears to be going to their rooms tonight, and whatever this bug is, it has everyone…I know this word…closely acquainted.
I back into the corner, Marc tight in my clutch. He crowds my space, and I move my hands over his shoulders and fold them behind his neck. It’s hard to not gaze into his eyes. “You could touch me,” I suggest.
He tilts his head back and surveys me through his lashes. A thin line of purple slices through the slits of his lids. “Is that what you want me to do? Touch you?” Heat spreads through my neck and chest. I nod, hiding my gasp. “Tell me,” he says, voice so raspy it scratches when entering my ears.
I feel him under my touch, his hair curtaining my hand. The pressure builds from my stomach and charges to my chest. Anticipation. “Come closer and touch me,” I breathe.
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