The pace picks up as everyone is filled with motivation at the sight of the small rebel base. The black dots in the distance soon advance into a clearer view and we can see that the small buildings are made out of some sort of metal and the camp is very minimalistic. As we get nearer again to the camp we can see people emerging from the doorways of the tiny can homes and approaching us. Leading the group of emerging rebels are two men, they must be the Destroyer and the Mourner if Ali’s stories are anything to go by; and they seem to have been pretty accurate so far. Ashley unwraps his arm from my shoulder and I run ahead to find Aaron as Andy, Ashley and Jinxx greet the other two men with huge man hugs. After a quick talk they separate from their group, Jinxx and the Mourner coming our way while Andy and the others depart in the opposite direction and disappear through the doorway of the biggest metal building, which was still looking small with one floor and two visible windows.

Jinxx speaks to our small group first, “We’re going to separate and introduce you into the groups you will be essentially living with. This is Jake, he leads The Wild Ones along with Andy, Ashley, CC - the Destroyer and I.” Jake proceeds to nod and raise a hand at this, he looks friendly and when he smiles broadly a little Aaron it only confirms this further. Jinxx and Jake lead people away one by one until Aaron and I are the only people left. When Jinxx goes to lead Aaron away from me I panic, “Are you sure he’ll be okay?” I ask. Jinxx looks at me reassuringly and nods decisively, Aaron looking excited at his new home while Jake confirms this saying, “He’ll love it where he’s going. All the children are taken into homes with various couples and looked after together. They grow up alongside each other and become a sort of family.” I can’t help but smile back at Jake’s calming smile and wave goodbye to Aaron, knowing I’ll still see him around the camp every day.

Taking my hand, Jake leads me through the camp to my own living quarters. The camp is larger than it looks. Small metal buildings are everywhere and I can’t help but love the rusted look of the old copper and tin. The base has character and purpose and as I walk along the sandy floor I know I’ll fit in perfectly as we pass people who smile reassuringly or greet Jake and I. Gradually we reach one of the smallest buildings, right next to the biggest one where the Jake and the others lived. A woman in her late sixties, I’d guess, greets us with a beaming smile knowingly as Jake explains that this is where I will be staying and introduces her as Marge. Marge invites me into her small tin home, happily showing me around. It consists of four rooms. The biggest room is immediately inside the house and includes a make do kitchen and living room, where some worn down rags serve as a seat and a table makes up the kitchen. The smallest room is a bathroom, which is very basic but it doesn’t sound like many of the buildings have their own bathroom so I am grateful. The final two rooms are bedrooms, one where Marge sleeps and the other one where I will sleep. I enter the room and inhale a thick scent of hay as a small bed has been made up from the dried grass and some more rags. I am grateful for the obvious effort that has gone into preparing the living quarters. However, I couldn’t get the nagging sense of something being different for me than it was for everyone else as they were all in living quarters where four or five people slept in the same room and they had shared bathrooms that were on either side of the camp. I wanted to ask one of the guys about it, but I knew I needed and wanted to properly introduce myself to Marge.

Entering the small living room Marge was sat on her little seat with two steaming cups laid out in front of her. “Hello love, I thought you might be thirsty so I thought we could both use a cup of tea before heading to bed.” I gratefully accepted the warm cup and we got along straight away. She asked me about my family and feeling so comfortable with her I told her about how my parents had neglected Ali and I and how Ali looked after me after they left and had never stopped putting me first. Giving me a cup of water after the tea, she told me to wash my face, as we still had to use the shared showers and to settle down for the night. She hugged me goodnight like a grandmother, a gesture which I gratefully returned and after washing my face and changing out of my clothes I settled into the hay bed and slept immediately, realising just how tired my body was.

I wake up in a cold and clammy sweat, the screams inside my head haunting me once again. Yet the noticeable presence of someone else inside the room made me question if the screams were in my head or if they were my own cries piercing the silence of the night. Hearing voices from another room I hear people speaking sharply to one another. I search for the source of the noise confused, but the person in the room starts to speak distracting me, “Kiera, it’s okay. Go back to sleep.” Hearing the soft voice, I know that the person in my room is Ashley. “But I can’t,” I cry, frustrated at my body’s determination to keep me awake.
“I know,” he soothes, “This is the third time you’ve woken up screaming tonight.”
“Really?” I ask. I feel him shake his head as he squeezes my hand and takes me into his arms. “Do you want me to stay here tonight?” He asks, I can’t explain it but something about Ashley makes me feel safe and keeps me calm and keeps the nightmares from getting to me; just like the night of the attack when he stayed with me after my nightmare and last night after Mandy’s death. “Please stay with me.” I confirm as I curl into a ball in Ashley’s safe hold as he manoeuvres onto my hay bed under the rag covers. I quickly fall back asleep to the sound of his heartbeat and the feeling of the peaceful rise and fall of his chest with each breath.

Notes

Sorry I haven't updated in ages I thought I wanted to change something but I think it'll only need a little editing now. Any feedback appreciates as always and I hope everyone is having a great day:)