Chapter 51 "Bonding"
Day 151; Group A&B
An alarm clock buzzed, annoyingly loud, but effective. A slender, wrinkled arm reached out from underneath the thick blanket and hit the snooze button. After a few moments, the sheets rustled and Patricia peeked her head out from the cover, glancing out the window. The rain had barely let up since last night. If it wasn't for the alarm clock, she would think it was still nighttime.
Slowly, she rose from the bed and stretched. The old blonde slid her feet into her slippers and went to the closet, trying to find something to wear for the day. As she looked through her clothes, she realized there was a pair she hadn't even touched since packing them away in the drawers when she first moved in. As she lifted the shirt, a necklace fell out and hit the ground. Her heart sank as she realized which necklace it was.
She covered her mouth as she bent down and picked it up. Just as she had suspected, it was the necklace Otis had given to her for their anniversary the year before. There was a locket on it, with two heart-shaped diamonds on either side of it. Engraved on the back of the locket read, "our love is eternal."Slowly, holding her breath, she put it on.
When it was clasped on, she groped the locket. It felt unfamiliar around her neck, and a part of her wanted to take it off. She knew for her mental health, she should try to forget about Otis; to move on, and to keep herself sane. She had Mike now, who had been such a good distraction. Was that all he was, though? She didn't know.
The elder sighed and turned, tucking the locket into her gown as she undressed and put on fresh clothes for the new day.
It was about an hour before noon, according to Caleb's watch, and the rain was finally beginning to let down, much to his relief. They were going on a run with the new people today, and he didn't want to have to train them while yelling over rain.
He stood below the wall with Roger, Shawn, and Greyson, who were going on the run today. They were waiting for four more people had to show up, and then they would be ready to go.
"It's supposed to be the new ones, Andy, and Tavis today, right?" Greyson asked, slightly impatient.
"No," Roger shook his head. "Andy cancelled, so we asked Liam to step in."
"Why?" Caleb joked to Greyson, "Can't wait to get back to your husband already?"
The three men chuckled, but Greyson blushed in slight aggravation. "Firstly, he's not my husband. Secondly, you can't tell me you wouldn't want to come back to your significant other, if you had one," the boy dug at them, "as soon as possible. Lastly, I just don't want to be trudging out in the mud getting trenchfoot for any longer than I have to."
"Someone's on their period," Caleb laughed, and Greyson wanted to punch him in the face. He looked to Shawn, who gave him a lighthearted smile in understanding, and Greyson understood: 'I get it, but try to just let it go.'
Greyson did not want to be there. They always did this when it was just one of the couple. The only time he actually got to enjoy his job was when Robert was there or he was paired up with one of the girls because no one said anything, and because he got to spend time outside the walls with his boyfriend.
After a few more minutes of waiting, the two new recruits showed up in the now-light drizzle. Mark was much shorter than expected, but his face was weathered and hardened more than it should be for someone as young as he appeared to be. It was clear through his clothes that he was quite built, and it was easy to assume he did most of the heavy lifting in his group. Karen was about the same height, with olive skin and mid-length black hair.
They went down the line, shaking hands with the newcomers. Caleb lifted a brow as his hand grasped Karen's, sensing something strange he'd never felt from just a handshake before.
Mark spoke with a gruff, serious voice, as if he was angry about everything. "Nice to meet you all," he said, though it certainly did not sound like he thought as much.
Karen's voice was just as serious, but much softer. "Are we ready to go?"
"No," Roger responded. "We've got two more coming, then we can head out."
Karen nodded and looked to Mark. Karen contemplated leaning against the wall as the others were doing, but they remained standing, looking face-to-face at the four males.
After an awkward extra thirty minutes of waiting, everyone was ready to set out. They loaded into a muddy, nasty-looking van and set out southward to hunt in the woods.
Before long, they arrived at the edge of the land they hunted in last time. The hunters filed out and armed themselves with hunting knives and silenced rifles, as well as their own personal pistols they carried at all times and other hunting gear, such as fishing poles and nets.
Greyson and Liam set out with the fishing gear, hoping to find a nice watering hole with aquatic life. Roger decided to take Tavis and Mark with him, and Caleb and Shawn took Karen. They parked the van in the woods, camouflaged from the road, and went their separate ways as the rain finally died.
Runae sat in a large room with blankets, cushions, and toys of all sorts scattered across the ground. Two young boys sat in a corner, playing with plastic dinosaurs.
"Be careful, Alexander," Runae warned the oldest-looking one.
"Yes ma'am," the young boy dutifully responded.
Runae looked down to her lap, reading a book in silence as light children's music played in the background. The book was titled Fleece Navidad, by Maggie Sefton. "There's no way it's Claudia," Runae said to herself.
The creaky door began to open a few feet away from her, and she moved the book to her side as she rose, expecting it to be one of the boys' parents to pick them up. Instead, Alexandra walked in looking stressed and upset, followed by Lizzie, Julia, Mia, and her own son, John.
"Hello," Runae greeted kindly.
"Hi, Runae," Alexandra spat quickly. "I'm sorry to do this to ya, but you gotta watch these kids; I can't take it anymore."
"Of course," Runae said, ushering the four kids inside.
"Thank you so much," the blonde sighed, relief filling her voice.
"Is there anything else I can-" the door closed as Alexandra rushed out of the room, "...do?"
Runae frowned and looked back to her book, then to the kids in the room.
"Alright everyone," she announced, joy filling her voice. Even if it was tough, she loved the kids. She loved taking care of them, and it showed. Her only wish was that the others would show her more appreciation. "It's storytime."
She moved across the room and disregarded her open book, opting for a more child-friendly one.
"You guys often hunt?" Roger asked Mark, attempting to make smalltalk.
"Mila, Karen, and I usually hunt every other day. The most reliable way to get food anymore," he said in his usual serious tone.
"Don't know about that," Tavis laughed. "Most reliable way's to scavenge in the city."
"Sure," Mark scoffed. "If you want to lose half your group."
"No, no," Tavis and Roger shook their heads. "You just have to know how to do it right."
Mark shook his head as well. "No. It doesn't matter how 'right' you are; things happen, and an ideal situation can become a worst-case scenario much easier than you think."
Roger looked to Tavis nervously, then back to Mark, and they locked eyes. Mark didn't look away, his gaze serious and intense. "I'm sorry, man," Roger begged. "I didn't know."
Mark didn't reply and simply turned his focus back on his surroundings. His eyes were keen for prey, like a starving cougar. A rustle came from their right and Mark instantly turned and shot it. Before their eyes lay a large, fat, dead rabbit.
Roger and Tavis stared at the man in astonishment. "Great job, dude," Roger said holding out his hand for a high-five, but getting nothing in return. The leader awkwardly put his hand back at its side and they moved to collect the rabbit.
Betty sat in an open room. The curtains were wide open and the whole room seemed to give off a good vibe and positive energy. The was a single chair, which Betty sat in, behind a desk, as well as bookshelves lining the walls and a long, Grecian half-couch, which was currently occupied by a frail black woman who has just sat down. She was quiet and reserved, and Betty was trying her hardest to get something out of her.
Gale had her arms crossed in front of her, clearly uncomfortable. She seemed frightened and worried.
"How are you doing today, Gale?" Betty asked kindly.
The frail woman stared forward, looking to one of the bookcases. They sat in silence for nearly three minutes, and the elder woman kept a straight face, this not being her first time with a silent patient.
"That's perfectly fine," Betty said warmly. "You don't have to talk at all, we can go at your own pace. There's no rush."
Uncharacteristically silent, Caleb led the way to the traps they had set for rabbits and other small game. Karen occasionally took the opportunity to study the backside of the robust man. As she looked at him, she realized how well-off the community must be. She laughed under her breath, louder than intended, as she thought about how undeveloped a survivor most of them must be.
He looked back at the new girl, having heard her laugh. "You makin' fun of me?" he joked.
"What if I am?"
He looked her up and down and smiled. "Then I'll have to kill you."
Shawn rolled his eyes at the banter and kept his nose out of the odd flirting.
"You better put up a damn good fight, then."
"You think I can't?"
"Probably not," she laughed and made Shawn smile.
"I could-" Caleb began, but was interrupted by a walker stumbling out from a tree in front of him. "Fuck!" he yelled instinctively, pushing it down onto the ground sideways. He quickly grabbed his knife and rammed it into the walker's brain.
He looked up just as Karen and Shawn lowered their guns, which were trained on the walker's head. "You could fuck?" she joked once more after a short pause of silence, causing Shawn to finally laugh.
Caleb smiled and wiped sweat off of his brow. "I sure could."
Greyson and Liam trudged through the woods, silent as they scanned the area for a source of water. All they could find was puddles and mud, so they did their best to keep their eyes out for animals as they continued their journey for a pond.
"You alright?" Liam asked after a long while.
Greyson, taken aback by the sudden question, stuttered. "M-Me? Uh, yeah. I'm fine. What about you?"
Liam smiled, doing his best to keep a conversation going. "I'm doing pretty good. Wish we didn't have to be out here after that storm, though."
The younger boy smiled at his companion, a muscular brunet white man with an oval-shaped face. Greyson hadn't seen Liam around much since he had moved in, but they were always cordial to each other. "That's exactly how I feel."
"Wish you could be back at home with your friends and keep warm?"
"Pretty much," Greyson grinned. "Wish I could be home listen to my boyfriend go on and on about how much he loves the rain, and how happy he is to be surrounded by loved ones in such beautiful weather."
"At least he's happy," Liam chuckled.
Greyson met the older man's eyes, and was delighted to see that he held no malice, no hidden meaning with his acceptance of his relationship. So many of the people in the community seemed to be put off by it. He blamed the fact they were in the south.
"You have someone special?" Greyson asked.
"Nah," Liam replied. "Haven't in a few years, actually."
"Do you want someone?"
"Doesn't everyone?" the older man laughed.
"Not really."
"Right," Liam corrected. "Well, you know what I mean, don't you?"
"Of course." Greyson met his eyes once more and adjusted the strap around his shoulder, which was beginning to hurt. "It's hard, not having someone. I wish you luck."
"Thanks, man," Liam replied.
"Thank you for being friendly."
The older man looked to Greyson, who now had his attention focused on a faint splash sound that Liam hadn't noticed. "It's all good. Don't listen to those other guys, they just talk a lot of shit. Like to mess with the younger or newer ones."
"Except when Robert's around," Greyson pointed out, causing Liam to frown.
"It's alright, though. You've got a nice, loving boyfriend to go home to. They're just jealous. That's what I think."
"You think so?" Greyson turned around, a knowing grin on his face. "Well, they're about to be real jealous."
Liam lifted a brow in confusion as the younger man turned back to the woods before them. Greyson led them through a thick brush, and they came out on the other end to a huge pond, rippling and thriving with life.
Seth stood in the cafeteria of the registration building, eating lunch alone as everyone else seemed to be busy. Lyrik handed him a plate and gave him a suggestive smile, to which Seth playfully rolled his eyes. He turned to find a place to sit. There were four long tables in the room, each with about ten seats on either side.
Mike and his daughters sat together at a table, noisily slurping down their soup like sloppy pigs at a trough. A large, dark-skinned man sat at a table with Boyd, and their conversation seemed to be quite serious, as they were both whispering closely in the center of the table. At another table, many children and teenagers sat, loudly discussing trivial things only the youth seemed to be concerned with.
The large, long-haired man sighed and sat down at the empty table in the far corner. He looked down at his food and recognized that the raviolis and green beans were canned. He didn't know why he expected them to be better, or more organic.
After a few bites, Seth became lost in his thoughts and was startled when the seat across from him was taken up by a familiar face.
"Howdy," Kevin said in his trademark southern accent.
"Hi," Seth smiled.
"Hope ya' don't mind me sittin' here. I don't wanna intrude on Boyd and Kyle's conversation. And if I sat at one of the other two tables, I'd feel like I'm in an animal farm."
"It's totally cool," Seth laughed. "I felt the same way."
Kevin ate a forkful of his raviolis and the sauce got in his mustache.
"That happen often?"
"What?" Kevin asked indignantly, his mouth full.
Seth gestured to his own upper lip. "Flavor-saver."
"Oh!" Kevin grabbed a napkin and wiped off his facial hair. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Seth chuckled. "I just thought it was funny."
"Ya' think that's funny?" Kevin gave the larger man a questioning look. "I forget to wipe that thing down after every bite, I end up chewin' on it in my sleep." Seth bursted into laughter at the absurdity of the man. "It's true!" Kevin claimed, beginning to laugh, as well.
As his laughter subsided, Seth pointed a finger at the cowboy. "You're a strange, funny old cowboy."
"Why, thank ya'," Kevin grinned and shoveled another ravioli into his mouth, following it up with another wipe of his impressive mustache. "Well, what kinda man are you?"
"What do you mean?" Seth asked, still smiling from the joke.
"Ya' said I'm funny. What're you? Other than strong, of course."
"That's pretty much it," Seth chuckled. "There's not much time to be funny anymore. Comedy's kinda foreign to me now."
"You were out there just three months. It wasn't that bad, was it?"
Seth shrugged. "I lost my whole family in the first week. Dad, girlfriend...daughter."
Kevin's eyes went wide, not realizing how hard Seth could have been hit. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know. Ya' seemed too young to have kids to me." Seth smiled slightly, accepting the compliment. "If it makes ya' feel better, I lost all my family, too. 'Cept I didn't have any kids."
"It's a harsh world."
Seth carried on eating the food, and eventually came up with a remedy to the resulting silence, which had been prominent for about five minutes.
"I never got to ask you," Seth began, "I've just heard rumors. What's up with you jumping from job to job?"
Kevin grinned. "I'm kinda Jim's right-hand man. And some would say I'm a jack of all trades, y'know? I ken do just about anything."
"Like fly a plane?" Seth joked.
"It's funny ya' say that. Before all this, I was an airplane repo-man."
"You're kidding," the strong man bewilderedly said.
"I swear on my life. In fact," Kevin leaned in and whispered, "I found an airplane the other day when I was with the scavengers a few towns south. I think I'm gonna talk to Jim, ask him if he'll let me go out and fix 'er up. Maybe start finding gas fer her."
Seth stared at the man in shock and disbelief. He considered the possibilities; what this could do for him and everyone else in the group. Everyone in the world. "What slap do you plan to do with it?"
Kevin shrugged. "Last I heard, Russia had it mostly under control. A lotta Europe was doin' well. I think France was really well-off."
"You think we should use it to go to Europe?" Seth said out loud, earning an annoyed expression from Kevin.
"Shhh!" Kevin whispered. "We gotta keep this a secret for now."
"Why?"
"In case things go wrong," Kevin said ominously. "That plane could be the difference between life and death fer some of us."
Seth's head was reeling, and he didn't know what to make of what he had just heard. Could it be possible? Might they be able to leave the country; the continent? They might even be able to find a place completely untouched by any of this. That plane will save lives, Seth determined.