Tess
So because we have eggs but no pan to fry them in, we have to try to break into a Wal-Mart, that's guarded by zombies. I lead Chloe to where it's located. We crouch down behind a bush as one of the brain-eaters rounds the corner. "Wal-Mart?," Chloe interrupts my observing.
"Things were destroyed. True. But not everything," I explain. She nods to indicate that she understands. Just then one of the zombies (I'm never going to get used to saying that) comes around the corner. Thankfully, Chloe knew enough not to just charge in.
It appears that they come around in thirty second intervals. So as soon as it rounds the corner we have to shoot out and run inside. By the way, things aren't locked anymore. So, it makes things easier on everyone. "On my mark...go!," I whisper.
We leap up in a forward motion to shorten the distance. Every second counts. And shoot for the door. We slip in and run right into someone.
"Hey!," yells a male voice. I slap my hand over his mouth In man attempt to silence him. "They're passing us right now. And unless you feel like dying you should stop talking, now." As my eyes adjust to the dimness I can begin to make out his shape. He's tall, husky. It's obvious he worked, or maybe even works, out. His hair is spiked. And judging by the way he's holding himself he's probably very cocky and extremely arrogant. "Fine. But, was the monologue really necessary?," he asks. Look at that, I was right.
I begin to make my way over to the light switch. "Were you able to find a light switch?," Chloe questions. Mr. Cocky and Arrogant replies, "Over here." At that I flip the switch. "You're not the only one that knows their way around here. "Oliver!" I furrow my brows. That doesn't make any sense.
I walk over to the aisle we were in. "Chloe! I haven't seen you in forever. I thought you might have, you know. Anyway, who you traveling with?," he asks. I round the corner. I catch sight of him. It is Oliver. Now I know I was right on the money with my presumed description.
A huge smile spreads across my face, not huge, actually. That'd be a huge exaggeration. But, it was big for me. "That would be me," I announce myself. His voice lowers to barely a whisper. "Mercy," he breathes. He walks over to me and grabs me. He holds me so close to him that I think I should be afraid of suffocating. But, I just can't find it in myself to care. Instead I pull him closer.
Crash
I roll my eyes and pull away. Just my luck. Chloe and I make eye contact and dive into the next aisle. Oliver, instinctively, follows. Fortunately, that was the aisle where the pans were kept. Chloe grabs one and receives a quizzical look from Oliver. Steadily, we make our way to the door. I turn to Chloe and we silently debate on who should check if it's safe.
Still silently, we resort to the go-to for every human being. Rock Paper Scissors. I decide to go with scissors and she plays paper. I smirk, she rolls her eyes and goes to check. So, basically, we reenact this morning. She's going to have to get better at this or she's going to end up doing everything.
One of the good things about our little group is that every single one of us can communicate through facial expressions. Like in this case, Oliver is asking me why I didn't let him go. I simply wave him off, not having time to debate with him.
Chloe waves us on. She seems to have discovered their pattern. I didn't even stop to consider that she wouldn't. Which could have been disastrous. I've got to start thinking before I send people into situations that they might not be able to handle. Luckily, it's Chloe, so I don't have to worry too much.
We run out the doors and dive into bushes. Thorn bushes, of course. Knowing Oliver's about to yell or at least say something loud enough to be heard, I slap my hand over his mouth, again. After a few moments I slowly lower my hand away from his mouth. I motion for them to follow.
After we are out of the things' earshot I break the silence. "Where have you been, Oliver?" I glance back. He comes up beside me and puts his arms around my shoulders. He tries to act casual about the gesture, but I see right through it. It's protective, almost instinctive. He wants to make sure I'm real, that I'm not going anywhere. I realize that no words will ease his fears, so I lean my head on to his chest. "Looking for you," he answers. He always was a romantic, at least, more of one than I am. You don't actually have to be much of a romantic to be more of one than me.
Of course my realization of reality has to ruin the perfect reunion moment. Chloe is right behind us. Unsure of what else to do I strike up a universal conversation. "We're heading back to our, Chloe and my, campsite." All of the affection and emotion gone from my voice because of pure embarrassment. Though, I don't pull away from his grasp. That would take away the security that the moment did give him.
The switch of topic does not disappoint him, I'm sure. He's used to this, at least he should be. If he's not, I can't imagine why he still loves me. Not that I'm even sure he still does. I never understood why he did in the first place. Ah, familiar insecurities that only seem to arise around him. Strangely, I also never feel more relaxed than when I'm near him. Ah, to be in love.
Luckily, Oliver understood what I was doing. He dropped his hand to my waist and moved over to allow Chloe room to walk alongside us. Consequently, he moved closer to me. "How'd you two meet up?," he questions.
Suddenly, I realize Chloe and I met up again only last night. It felt like we had been reunited months ago. While I'm trying to comprehend how long we had all been apart and the brevity of time we worked together again Chloe answers, "I fell into one of her traps last night and we stayed together. Tess has an old sewage vent that she stays in. This morning I accepted her offer of staying with her. We went out to find food and found a bird's nest. I got the eggs down. Only when we got back did we realize, we had nothing to cook them in. So...," she finishes as she holds up the pan. Oliver nods As if saying, well that explains the plan.
I lead them to my makeshift home. Chloe hasn't really gotten a chance to know this forest inside and out the way I do. We slip in through the brambles. They're still up for protection purposes. Everyone needs as much of that as they can get.
"Homey," Oliver says. I look over at him and shrug. "I try." Chloe laughs a little. I don't think anyone in the world has truly laughed hard in two years. Though, it's refreshing to see the humanity every once in a while. We can still have our banter. We can still laugh. And while it's not on the top of my priority list, it's enjoyable to see.
"Where do we all sleep?," Oliver asks. I again shrug my shoulders. "Anywhere," I reply. Chloe responds, "Yeah, that's what we did last night, anyway." "Works for me," he answers as he lowers himself to the ground.
I go to tend the fire. I grab the wood that I have stacked in the corner and feed it. "So, what have you been up to, Oliver?," Chloe asks. After I tend to the flames I walk over to where he Oliver is sitting and sit down next to him. He slings his arm protectively around me in a way that would have made anyone feel safe.
"Basically, running around. Trying to survive. Really, what everyone else is doing. I've also been trying to see if anyone else from our merry little band of heroes survived. Mainly," he nods his head towards me, "her." I feel myself blush to a beat red color, but I immediately regain my composure.
Later, out of pure boredom out of there simply being nothing else to do, we go to sleep. I'm curled up next to Oliver with his arms still around me. He feels a constant need to be near me. It's almost as if he's afraid I'll evaporate if he doesn't hold on to me at all times. I just wish there was a way to ease his fears. With these thoughts I drift off to sleep.