“I apologize Eva, I just didn’t want to watch you die.” Lee confirms, and holds his arms open for a hug.
I go to him, Xavier releasing me. We hug for a moment before I hear the pealing of a bell through the hallways. I pull back and look questioning to Idris, who shrugs.
“I have no idea, shall we investigate?”
We head to the noise quickly, smelling something good before we see what it is. Avyanna is standing in the front hall when we come up the side, and she is holding a bell.
“Found it in an old cabinet, guess they used it to call attention while in the cafeteria?” Avyanna inspects the bell, it dings gently as she moves it around. “Figured it could be a meal bell, after all, it doesn’t cost electricity and sounds pretty damn loud.”
“I like it, so it shall be!” Idris declares, and Violet gently punches his shoulder.
“Geez, give him some leader duties and he is immediately on a power trip!”
“Make me stop.” He says, a wanting tone in his voice.
Violet regards him for a moment, before bursting out laughing. “You are about as scary as a baby bird.”
Xavier whistles like a bird as he walks past, and we look at the food spread for tonight’s meal. Avyanna has out done herself again, with a roast and some veggies spread around it. James digs in and begins to carve the roast, handing everyone a slice of the rich meat. Quiyl serves the vegetables, and we gather at the table again. We eat quickly, hungry from the hard days work, and quiet conversation echoes between a few people.
Chapter 41
“Another long day complete.” Idris rings his glass with his spoon, and the conversation dies down. “Anthony says the wall is done for the back fence, great job you guys! Dainan has offered to take a group out on an expedition tomorrow, and I think that might be a good idea. Maybe we should do another group too…get a lot of ground covered.”
“You guys mentioned keeping farm animals, I should be on one of them if you want to actually retrieve some tomorrow.” James volunteers, and Idris nods.
“We should grab them now, before raiders slaughter or steal all from around here. The only issue is the fact we already took up one fenced in area with the horses, where are we going to keep the others?”
"That yard is big enough we can divide it an at least thirds. We can keep cattle in one, pigs, sheep and chickens in another, finally horses in the last. Plenty of room if we don't get a ridiculous number of animals. Between all of us we should be able to rig a shelter together as well, might just require taking down some of the orchards around us for the wood."
"Not too many though, we will be thankful for the fresh produce that they give off. Its a valuable resource." I protest, and James nods.
"I agree, we can map out shelter plans for the animal’s tomorrow morning maybe? I don't think its an immediate priority as the animals have lots of overhead shade from trees, should be done before mid-summer though, so they have somewhere to go when it gets hot." James explains. "Between Anthony and I drawing up a plan should only take a little bit, two, three hours?"
Anthony nods, and sighs.
"If you need a break man, we can trade out leadership roles too. I am sure you want some time with Avyanna?" Idris offers, and Anthony shrugs.
"I'll rest when I feel like we are safe, right now I much prefer working until everything has settled a bit."
"You can take breaks emotionally too." I say, and the corner of Anthony's mouth quirks up.
"I can grieve when I am resting, working is helping me right now." It's my turn to shrug, making a promise to myself to drag him aside and question him later.
"Tonight, if everyone helps, I am sure we can drag the mattresses out of here and up to the second floor, get settled in tonight." Idris says, and multiple groans sound. "Means you all get privacy tonight to do whatever you want to each other, or just sit in silence and ignore us couples."
Liam laughs and fist bumps James, who voices an agreement to the last statement.
"Excluding Liam and Quiyl, I want at least one more full night of rest before you two do anything too strenuous." Xavier instructs, and they both protests, and he cuts them off with a glare. "Everyone take their own besides those two, I can help move them."
"I'll give a hand with Quiyl’s, so you can just help Liam, two trips for each." I volunteer, before standing, stretching my arms above my head. "Sooner we do it, sooner it is done."
Everyone else stands and Quiyl and Liam begin to clear plates, Xavier rolling his eyes.
"Is this too strenuous, Doctor?" Liam teases, and Xavier waves him off.
Everyone pairs up and begin to pile their personal belongings somewhere away from their mattress, some people already on their way to the stairs. Over the next hour we move all the mattresses into their assigned rooms. Between all the hands we have no issue, the personal belongings follow as everyone finishes moving into their assigned rooms. Liam and Quiyl follow they finish cleaning up from dinner, hauling backpacks into their rooms.
As we finish we gather towards the middle of the hall, Violet already holding a clipboard. I slide down to where Xavier is sitting against some lockers, and Idris waits until everyone looks to him.
"We need to set up a night watch again, we can always switch around shifts for some variety week to week." Idris's voice echoes down the hall as he explains. "Eva, Violet already ran the observations on the plants, so you and Xavier are going to be slated for an early morning slot. You need some rest after today."
“We are doing two-hour blocks again?" Xavier asks, and Idris nods. "I say we do one hour at each station then, be a lot easier to handle those blocks with arranging times, less time for people to be awake too. Between the thirteen of us, we would have plenty of people."
Everyone began to claim spots, leaving myself and Xavier with the early morning slot, 6am to 8am. We said our good nights and walk hand in hand to our room, an old English classroom filled with books of varying ages and genres. As the door shuts Xavier surprises me by pinning me against it, his lips pressed to mine before I could even register. I kiss him back as he pushes me harder against the door, his hands going to my upper thighs and picking me up. My legs part around his hips and he continues to kiss me, moving his lips down to just below my ear, and a feeling of pleasure sweeps over me.
Xavier's hands guide me to wrap mine around his neck, and he walks over to the mattress. He lets me fall onto it and I land softly on it, my mind going a million miles a minute as this man causes sensations I didn't know were possible. He crawls on top of me, his legs nudging mine apart as his darkened eyes reach mine, and he smiles. My face heats as I return the smile, and he kisses me again, deeply this time. My body heats as his tongue tangles with mine, his body firm and warm against mine.
Just as the heat starts again, he pulls back, and I whine without realizing. Once I do I feel my face flush and he smirk, his hand cupping the side of my face.
"Feeling good, love?" He teases, and my face grows hotter. "Are you okay with this level of physical love?"
I nod, not trusting my voice.
"Good, because as much as I want to ravish you, I want to know you are comfortable and we will take it the pace you want, fast or slow."
"Thank you." My voice is rough with emotion, and some tears start to seep from my eye.
"What's wrong?"
"Just...this high of emotion brought up some feelings I have been repressing about my parents..." I roll over to my side, and he spoons me from behind, his hand propping his head up, so he can still hear me.
"Shhhhh lovely, I got you, just let it out." He says, and I roll over and bury my face in his chest, he moves his body to accommodate my sudden movement.
My body shakes as I let my grief out, and Xavier rubs my back, and something wet drips on my forehead. I look up and he has some tears in his eyes, and I wipe them away with my thumb.
"If you need to cry, I will not judge you." I say, and he breaks down.
Long into the night we cud
dle each other, not able to sleep as we deal with what has been bottled up. Finally, around 3am his breathe evens out, and I look at him while he sleeps. His hair is spread out across the pillow, curly and a darker red in the dark. I run my hands through it and sigh, no more tears left but also no sense of tiredness. Xavier stirs slightly and rolls over as I slip out of his embrace, walking over to the door and opening it. My feet begin to walk in a direction, many thoughts clouding my mind, none of them being where I am going.
Chapter 43
My feet cross the doorway to the horticulture class before I realize what has happened, and I sit down at one of the tables in there. My eyes gaze at the board where some of the old school work is visible and I sigh, how had things changed so quickly. The markers rattle as I find the box of them, getting up to go stand in front of the board. The cap pops off and I begin to write the answers to some of the old questions, lost in the memories of high school. It was only a week ago, but it feels like a lifetime.
Suppose it was, my teenage lifetime ended then, and now I had to face a world that had suddenly changed.
The marker squeaks as my hand lowers, the thought of what I was doing left my mind as my mind clouded with these terrible thoughts. My fingers release the marker and it drops with a plastic sound on the ground, and my head leans into the board.
"You okay, Eva?" Anthony's voice cuts through my thoughts, and I start. His form fills my peripheral view as I lean back from the board, staring at the words that have little weight anymore.
"Just thinking about how the world has changed. The words written here were from a lifetime ago, one where our concern was tests and assignments." My voice sounds so down, and Anthony side-hugs me, something surprising from him as he is usually more of a handshake guy.
I lean into him and look over, seeing his face as he looks at the words.
"Even though we can wish and wish, things will never be the same. We have to move forward now." His deep voice comforts me, even though we haven't been friends that long there is something about his presence that is calming. "To quote one of your favourite shows, 'Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs. So, get up and use them. You're strong enough to make your own path.'"
"Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood?" I say, a smile on my face. "I still can't believe you watched it and remember that much."
"You forced me to watch."
"For like ten episodes." I accuse, and he smirks. "You watched the other fifty yourself."
"True." He says, and then grabs an eraser. "Think we should get rid of reminders of the past, we need to focus on the future now. We might be in our old high school; doesn't mean we cannot make it our place to be and survive. We need to make new, good memories here. Not reminiscing about what used to be, after all, we cannot change it."
The words get erased with a certain finality to his actions, and as he places it on the shelf below the board I place my hand on his, we had separated while he erased what felt like my thoughts.
"Are you okay? I know you and your Mom were close." I ask, and his eyes cloud over a bit as he shakes his head.
"No. I am not okay. But I also know she would have wanted this, not to infect others. So however, she died, she did it happily knowing she won't hurt anyone else."
"So, would your Dad. I know how much it hurts though." I sympathize. "How did you know I was here?"
"Avyanna and I were on watch at the front and saw you walk past. You seemed out of it, just as I got up to check on you Dainan and James walked up to take over the watch. I offered to come check while Avyanna turned in, figured you would want to talk to one person over two. Have you slept yet?"
I shake my head and he tsk's. "Eva..."
"I know, I know. You sound like my mother." I comment sadly. "Too many thoughts running through my mind and I just ended up here. I am still not really tired though..."
"At least go back to your room and lay down? You never know, emotions can sometimes damper how tired you are."
I nod, and we walk back to the second floor together, waving to James and Dainan who are talking quietly. Anthony gives me another hug and then goes to his room, leaving me to walk down the hall by myself. The school has three sets of stairs, two along the main halls and we took the back one, further from our room. The door creaks as I push it open and Xavier stirs a bit, before his regular breathing starts again. The books along the wall call to me, and I walk slowly past, reading the spines as I brush them with my finger. Dracula, the original, stands out to me and I pull it out, finding a bookmark laying on one of the shelves.
The book lands with a soft thud as I drop it on the teacher’s desk, adjusting the seat so its comfortable. Sleep still eludes me, so I do what I always do when I can't sleep, read.
Chapter 44
The hours pass with no change, sleep not even crossing my mind once as I devour the book, happy to be lost in something else other than my thoughts. A soft knock comes from the door and I mark where I left off, opening the door slowly so it creaks less. Lynx is standing there, a slight smile on her face. "Heard you were up, want to join a fellow nocturnal for a watch time? Sonji looked like she needed more sleep and Dainan told me you might still be awake."
"What time is it?"
"Around 4am."
"Don't think I am sleeping tonight so sounds good. Let me grab my knife." I walk back into the room and pull the blankets back over Xavier.
The moonlight glints off my knife from where it is hanging on the wall, off one o the hooks that we used to hang coats on. I strap it to my thigh and walk back to the door, closing it softly behind me. We walk in a comfortable silence towards the front stairs, looking out the windows as we walk downstairs. We sit down in the two chairs facing the front doors of the school, and settle in.
"What was your old school like?" I ask, and Lynx shrugs.
"I mean, it was a pretty bad one for people like Sonji and I, who weren't prissy city girls or jocks. Once we found each other things got a lot better." She says, a small smile on her face. "As much as I am a pessimistic bitch sometimes, she balances it out by always finding the bright side. When I was a kid I thought I would never find a good relationship. My parents split when I was six, my dad is a drug-addicted asshole who abused my Mom. She finally had enough and left him, moving us two hours away from him. When I was eight she found my step-dad, and they have been together ever since. My Dad left both physical and mental scars on all of us though, and I had a lot of mental health issues for a while, some still now. I thought I was aromantic and asexual, never attracted to anyone. But Sonji changed a lot of that, we got paired up in one class via seating arrangement and as they say, the rest is history."
"That's awesome. Having friends is awesome, something special about having someone who knows everything about you and is still not scared of you." I laugh, and she chuckles. "If you ever need to talk though, all of us have dealt or have mental illnesses, and we are good listeners."
She nods, and I smile.
"I am glad you guys came along to be honest, I wasn't sure how long we were going to survive by ourselves." She says seriously.
"Maybe we will gain some new people soon, who knows what we will find on those raiding parties in the morning." I sigh, dreading going the day without sleep. "I should ask Xavier when he wakes whether we have any sleeping medicine. My anxiety issues keep me up late into the night sometimes and it's annoying to deal with."
"I get that, I am sure you will be able to catch a nap or something tomorrow. I can go on the raiding party in your place if you are too tired. We will probably scatter the times we need anyways, need enough people to defend here and be strong enough to take care of themselves out there."
"Thanks for the offer, I am sure it will be fine." My eyes catch something moving in the darkness at the front door, and I gestured for Lynx to look.
We both stand quietly, each holding our knives in our right hands. The form moves closer to the window, and I gesture for Lynx to stay where she is a
s I move closer, she slips a flashlight out of her pocket and holds it out to me. Another silhouette joins the first, and I click the flashlight on, shining it directly at them. They both recoil with a grimace, and as my eyes focus I notice no blackened veins, I let the hand holding the flashlight drop down so its not in their faces. Lynx flips on the hall light, and two girls come into focus.
One of them is tall and slim, with long, curly red hair. She has bright blue eyes, and a scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The other is a shorter girl, who is stocky and beautiful, a darker skin tone with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes.
"Who are you guys?" I ask, and they seem startled by Lynx appearing beside me. "Never mind, let's do the introductions inside where we don't have to worry about infected."
"Wait." Lynx stops me from opening the door wider and inspects them closely. "Only if you two show me you are not infected."
"We aren't." The redhead speaks up, leaning closer to show us her eyes. "We are just two people who were travelling through town, trying to find a place to hole up. We noticed the hordes of infected have poor eyesight, so we chose to travel at night and quietly when we can."
"Are you guys on foot?" I ask, letting the door open a bit more and letting the two strangers in, Lynx still eyeing them suspiciously. "And what do you mean, 'hordes'?"
"They travel in groups, or have you not encountered that yet?" The brunette said, her voice a bit deeper but still lovely. "We did have a car, but it ran out of gas about a kilometer away and we were searching cars for gas, but they are all cleared out. Suppose that was you guys, you seem to have a good set up happening here."
"There's thirteen of us so don't get any ideas." Lynx threatens, and I glare at her.
"Woah, we aren't trying to steal anything. Just a bit of gas and we will be out of your hair." The redhead puts her hunting knife away and holds both hands up in a surrender in front of her chest. "We are from Toronto and figured here might be a good place to hole up, my companion has some relatives down here and we were coming to see whether they survived or not."
Friends Against The World (Book 1): Bite Me Page 18
