Beautiful Remains

“...so make friends with one of them real quick and ask them to go with you.”

I snapped back as the word “go” reached my ears.

“Wait, go?”

“Yes, go. Weren’t listening?” Dylan sighed, facing me head on.

“Sorry…”

“You know what? Don’t start. I’ll make it quick and simple for your short attention span. You are going out to scavenge for first-aid kits, clothing and canned foods. Take someone you can trust with you. Be back by sun-down. Got it?”

Wha-

“Ahem.” Jinx cleared his throat, making me peek out from underneath my bangs.

We had an audience. Everyone’s eyes were on us.

“Fine.” I responded blankly.

Pushing past Dylan, I scooped up a knapsack, threw my water bottle into it and headed up to the roof.

“Wait…” Dylan meekly voiced.

“Send up whoever you wanna send,” I commented before scaling the building to my place of solitude.

I felt safe up here on the roof, even if it provided the least shelter from enemies, it made me feel bigger than them.

“Hey.” came a low voice.

Jinx crawled over the last bit of wall and straightened himself once he had both feet safely over the edge. He was wearing a bulky jacket and Lees jeans, but on his back was a knapsack.

“You came fast.” I observed.

“Eh, I volunteered,” he explained,”and Dylan didn’t seem to have a problem with me.”

I stopped at his last remark.

“Who did he have a problem with?”

“Ashley,” he laughed,”and with good reason. Don’t think he hasn’t been watching you. He’s a protective brother, underneath all the ‘Ba-humbug’.”

Despite an urge to hold it, I let a few chuckles slip and I’m glad I did. The merriment quickly seemed to disarm Jinx’s tension.

“Should we head out?” I breathed.

A grinning Jinx nodded, pointing in the direction of a barely standing apartment. Its red, brick walls bulged outward from the heavy weight it was holding up. Soulless windows dotted its exterior, giving me only a glance into the abandoned inside.

“I guess so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andrea was a good scavenger. She would check corners I hadn’t even noticed, she would stop when she needed to listen and she darted when she needed to run. Her timing was flawless, something I couldn’t say about myself. Leaves would crunch under my feet and my clumsy steps made it hard to navigate the shattered streets. Thankfully, patience was one of Andrea’s virtues, though her face never wavered away from that vacant stare. It was almost as if her face was frozen in that dull expression, observant and knowing, but at the same time, her eyes held a raging fire.

Any of the guys could agree, CC included, that she looked determined, though we argued about why she was so fervent.

“This way.” her normally hushed voice fell to an even quieter tone.

The world around sounded frighteningly calm, as if something was lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce. As if the apartment in front of us offered only hostility, I felt unwelcome and lonely standing below the withered buildings.

My hand wrapped around the knob of the back door. Faded, red wallpaper and an empty lobby met us as the door inched open.

“You take the lower floors and I’ll take the upper floors?” I suggested.

“It would be better if we stick together…” She countered.

I just nodded.

Notes

oooohhh, siblings quarrel?