PART ONE

THE DEAD

"Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I have tasted of desire,

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice is also great

And would suffice."

By the time the light of the morning began to rise over the quiet city, Adelaide was already awake. She couldn't sleep; every time she closed her eyes, she would be reminded of the things she'd done to survive – the people she had left behind. Their screams and cries for help rang in her ears and echoed inside her mind, driving her insane.

She knew she needed to sleep at some point but sleep would just have to wait until another time. Perhaps she would tire herself out to the point of blacking out, just to get out of those thoughts that came into her mind every time her eyes closed. The coward's route.

Adelaide couldn't think about that now; she had a job to do. Everyone had a job to do, that was how they survived. Jordan – their unvoted leader – assigned everyone a job and they needed to complete that job to ensure the survival of everyone in the group. Those who refused to do their job was sent out onto the streets and left to fend for themselves, never allowed to return – a harsh punishment that ultimately seemed fair.

Her job was to make sure that all the remaining boys were fed and keep tabs on their food supply – a rather simple job that came out of a compromise. Since Adelaide was a girl – and "crucial" to the survival of humanity according to the boys – it was decided that she wasn't allowed to be on guard duty or do anything that would cause her harm – leaving her to do nothing but sit around and watch. In the beginning, Adelaide agreed to this statement but she quickly began to grow tired of being seen as weak and helpless within the eyes of the group.

After a fierce debate between her and Jordan which left him with a mark on his cheek after Adelaide slapped him across the face; they came to an agreement that she would be in charge of food and would be allowed to have a weapon in case the time came where she would need to defend herself. She wasn't happy about it, but she understood that the agreement was Jordan's last offer before she would be thrown out.

Sighing heavily, Adelaide reluctantly crawled out of her makeshift bed and stretched out her limbs. She grabbed her dirty and worn-in leather boots and began to place them on her feet and tied them as tightly as they would go without being too painful. She then grabbed her jacket before leaving the room to begin her routine of checking on the food supply, making sure they had enough to survive.

She kept quiet as she walked through the dark halls, being careful not to wake any of the sleeping kids as she went, knowing how angry they would get if they were woken up early for no reason. On her way towards the make-shift kitchen (which was really just the café), she bumped into DogNut – one of the "guards" and Jordan's right hand man.

Flushing, Adelaide looked down at her feet before looking back up at him. "Sorry, DogBrain, I take it you'll want your usual at breakfast."

DogNut laughed, shaking his head to himself as he playfully nudged Adelaide's shoulder. "You know me, princess, I will always want my usual. Couldn't sleep?"

His playful demeanour dropped when he asked her that question, his arm resting on the wall behind her head. Adelaide sighed, resting against the wall, staring down at her feet as her smile dropped, shaking her head. "No, not this time."

DogNut sighed, not quite sure how to continue the conversation without making it awkward. "You need to sleep, y'know. This whole thing isn't just gonna go away if you stop sleeping."

"I know I need to sleep, you sound just like my mum." Adelaide forced herself to smile before pushing herself off the wall and continued to walk towards the café. "Oh, and don't call me princess; I've told you that every fucking day, DogShit."

"I do remember, princess. But that still won't stop me from doing it!"

Rolling her eyes, Adelaide gave him the finger as she continued to walk until she turned a corner that ended up being the café, then began looking through the various tins of food that were piled up against the wall. Using a notepad and a pen she'd found behind the desk, she began to write down things they were running low on and things the team needed more of.

Adelaide still remembered the day she met DogNut. She was in the middle of a fight to the death with three grown-ups, and she was losing. Her sword was falling apart, she couldn't feel her feet and worst of all; she knew she was going to die. But just as she was about to give up and allow the grown-ups to kill her, a loud battle cry distracted the grown-ups and a boy's voice brought her back. "Come with me if you want to live."

How bloody typical.

Admittedly, Adelaide had thought DogNut was kind of cute. Nothing more, and nothing less. But unfortunately for her, that small crush didn't seem to go away and only seemed to grow as the days went on – but she wouldn't tell him that, he'd probably mock her and brag about it to the entire group then she would die of embarrassment. So she had decided that she would keep it to herself until further notice – that further notice being until the day she died. It's like that movie she used to watch with her mum – Titanic – when she was feeling sad, "a woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets". She pushed those thoughts back – they would only make herself upset and there was nobody's shoulder she could cry on, not anymore. She was alone in this world and that wasn't likely to chance any time soon.

By the time the rest of the group were awake, Adelaide had already sorted through the tins of food and had begun to make everyone's breakfasts, making sure that the food she used was enough for just one helping and that there was enough to go around. Breakfast was slightly stale bread with peanut butter, a small helping of tinned baked beans then a small cup of flat Coca-Cola to wash it down. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough to keep them going until they would be able to go out and get more supplies.

She handed each member their breakfasts with the best smile she could give them – giving Jordan the list in the process – before she sat down beside them to begin eating her own. Just as she was half way through her meal, three boys came towards her, complimenting her and telling her they enjoyed their meals.

A normal teenager would take the compliments and do whatever they wanted her to, but Adelaide knew exactly what their plan was, they'd pulled it over a hundred times and it never worked. They would tell her how pretty she looked that day and how much they enjoyed their food then ask if they could have some more – an obvious rule break.

Sighing, Adelaide took a small sip of her drink before speaking. "Boys, you know the rules; no second helpings. Flirt with me all you like, I'm still not giving you anymore. Now clear off before I shove you all off the roof."

Obviously, she was joking about shoving them off the roof, but it was enough to make them leave her alone and allow her to finish her meal in peace. After finishing, she placed all the leftover plates into a small bucket to be washed later before walking off back to bed.

She felt almost on the verge of passing out, which was a good thing since perhaps she would finally be able to have a peaceful sleep after what felt like an eternity of disturbed sleep.

Arriving back in her room, Adelaide kicked off her boots and shrugged out of her jacket before collapsing onto her bed, her eyes closing as she fell into a deep slumber, free from any of the horrors she had seen over the past few weeks.

She must have only been asleep for around an hour or two before she heard shouting and shuffling outside before one of the boys came into the room. "We got company, Addie, and Jordan wants you to be at the front of it."

Note

Short and crap, I know but this was kind of an introduction to Adelaide's character and her life at the museum so next chapter we can get into the proper story and have her meet Ed and the rest of the group.

Until next time;

Lorna.