'Same here,' muttered Frankie sleepily.
'I'll keep watch,' announced Finn.
I had no idea how he did it, he still looked like he was going to keel over at any moment. He was pale and thin, more so than any of us.
'You've kept watch enough ,you need sleep,' Delilah told him sternly. 'I agree, Kyle will take watch tonight. You're going straight to sleep, even if I have to knock you out to do it!' Jade chimed in.
Finn started to protest but Jade gave him that look which said, 'I will drag you kicking and screaming if I have to.'
Finn held his hands up in defeat and marched grumpily over to his sleeping bag.
'You don't mind keeping watch do you?' She asked me nicely.
'I don't mind,' I replied feeling a little annoyed that she hadn't actually asked me first, but I chose to look at this as a way to make peace with them. I sat by the window nearest to the back door while the others slept, I felt really tired but to be fair Finn needed his sleep. We didn't want him to get sick, I knew he just wanted to do his part to keep us safe, but he was going overboard. I honestly didn't know how much longer he could go on like that, I mean I know he wanted to do be useful but still he had to be careful. I stifled a yawn as Rowena came and sat next to me, she handed me another carton of juice.
'The sugar will help you stay awake,' she said pleasantly.
'Cheers,' I replied cheerfully.
'I don't know how Finn has been able to function lately with all the watches he's been doing,' she told me sympathetically.
'Me neither, but he needs to be careful. If he gets sick it'll put a strain on the rest of us,' I replied sternly.
'Do you always think so negatively?' She asked softly.
'I'm just a realist, we need strong healthy people to stay alive. We're not exactly in the best place to care for sick or injured people,' I told her softly. 'I get what you mean, but if we become cold and heartless then there's no point in being alive. Despite how the world is, there is more to life than just surviving. We should take each moment as it comes and enjoy the little things,' she smiled happily.
Rowena had a point, though I hadn't been able to feel that way in such a long time. Still her optimism was refreshing, she was kind in a way that made her stronger. She kept her emotions below the surface and never let them interfere with making important decisions, which made her all the more amazing.
She kept me company for a while, it was nice to speak to her without her mum watching me like a hawk. She was good fun to be around and I hoped that once we saved the world maybe just maybe I would get the chance to take her out. Her laugh was so cute and sexy, she had the voice of an angel and the face to match. Her reddish brown hair flowed down to the bottom of her back, she had often said that she should cut it so that walkers couldn't grab it but she never quite plucked up the courage. Her eyes shone like stars in the moonlight, the pale pink scar across her face made her look wild and fierce.
I looked for a moment at everyone else, Frankie and Jensen slept in each others arms. Despite his dislike of them, I felt envious of what they had. I shook my head as the other voice in my mind told me to stop being stupid, love was for the weak.
Still, there was something about her. He loved her, yet he couldn't bear the fact that she reminded him of Lilly. The girl he'd loved, the one who died so very long ago. All he could do was remember the lessons those awful men had taught him, but I knew while these people were kind and caring if he pushed them too hard he'd end up dead.
Most of the others I already had figured out, Brooke was weak, emotional, scared. She wouldn't last two minutes on her own. That wasn't him thinking, she was just so timid. I felt sorry for her.
Jade, well what could I say about her? She was the boss, the one they all turned to, but even she had a weakness. Losing anyone of the others would be enough to send her over the edge, he loathed her but I, I had a lot of respect for her. I had to keep the demon in me at bay, because if he wanted to cripple Jade, he'd kill Violet and I would not let him harm that sweet, innocent little girl.
Finn was a clever one, he'd be hard to trick or kill. He'd thought about it more than once, I felt a pang of sadness. He'd envisioned killing all of them more than once. I wouldn't let it happen, I'd protect these people with my life, even if it meant ending my own. I liked Finn, he was my age and he was the kind of guy I could only dream of being.
Marcel, he was too kind for this world, but he knew not to mess with him. There was a dragon hidden beneath his kind exterior that I did not want to wake. I felt guilty that my demonic side had caused the death of his brother, I would not attempt to outwardly try and make amends. While I wanted to make things up to these people, I couldn't let them find out about the demon within, the one they'd actually been dealing with all this time.
Jensen, was just a boy. While he was good at combat, I felt that he clung to Frankie and Jade a little too much. Though I loved seeing them together, if he could have real love in this world then maybe it was possible for me. He clearly doted on Frankie and I could only hope that one day, some one would love me that way.
The sun started to rise in the morning sky, it had been a while since I'd seen the sunrise. I looked on watching with each passing moment as the sky turned from the darkest blue to a warm orange colour. It was mesmerising, I was in awe of the beauty of nature. While I watched the sunrise I forgot the worlds troubles for a few moments, if only things could stay this peaceful.
Chapter 24
Frankie
We had long since left the school, after three weeks we were now approaching the little village of Whitmore. While I wanted to believe that we would find Marcel's family alive, I didn't dare give him false hope. Odds are we would find nothing but the dead, I looked at him as we walked and I could see both the fear and excitement in his face. He had not spoken in some time, his brooding eyes just stared ahead. I held Jensen's hand as we walked, he had completely recovered from the explosion back in Manchester. Though I had become filled with trepidation that if he sustained one more knock to the head then he wouldn't survive.
We had spent the last few days in a place call Springpool Wood, it was a forest not too far from Whitmore. I was relieved when we had arrived here to find that there weren't many walkers about, we made camp and set up the tents. It had been nice to relax for a few days, though I could tell that Marcel had been getting restless. I understood his anxiety but surely he should comprehend our wanting to chill out for a bit, but I had to think if it was me in his shoes I'd be wanting to hurry up too.
In the last few weeks things between the group had gotten a bit better, Kyle hadn't been so stupid and reckless and Jade had loosened her grip on Rowena. Though I knew that she didn't like the fact that Kyle and Rowena spent so much time together, they had become quite close recently. I wondered if there was anything going on between them, it would be weird if there were as Kyle had recently turned fifteen and Rowena was now twenty-six. Though as there were no laws any more its not like she could get in trouble.
Still I hoped for her sake that there wasn't, he may have been nicer lately but I still didn't trust him. I made a mental note to speak to her about it soon, as I didn't want to see her get hurt. Finn had still insisted on keeping watch most nights, it wasn't until we all ordered him to sleep that he actually did. Marcel and I had spoken to him about this, the conversation had ended with me hugging the crap out of him.
'I just feel bad you know, about losing Dom and the others. I can't help but think I could have done something different, that I could have stopped it,' he told us sadly.
'Finn, you don't need to feel bad. It wasn't your fault, look my brother died in that explosion but I don't blame you,' Marcel replied kindly.
'I wish I felt the same. Keeping watch is just my way of protecting everyone, I don't want to lose anyone else, ever again,' he said quietly.
I flung my arms around him, 'You're such an idiot boy, now stop feeling guilty and get some sleep.'
Finn laughed, f
or the first time in a while.
'Thank you,' he smiled.
'Dude, you don't need to thank us. We're a family, right,' Marcel told him. 'That we are,' Finn agreed.
I squeezed him tightly, he was such a good kid. He had a heart of gold and just wanted to protect everyone, if only all guys his age were as good and kind as he was. We all sat down to eat that morning, morale was good but I sensed that people were getting worried about the food supply. We hadn't managed to find a whole lot of food on our way here and we were running pretty low, our daily rations had reduced dramatically in order to conserve what we had. We were once again going to bed hungry, we all needed a few good hot meals in us, but I doubted that we would get that any time soon.
I sat and ate my energy bar with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, I looked around at everyone to see the forced smiles upon their faces. Kyle broke his bar in half and gave it to Rowena, she tried to refuse but he wouldn't let her. I could see Jade watching him closely, she had a face like thunder and I could tell that she was seething inside. If it were a cartoon she would have had steam coming out of her ears, yet she kept calm and polite though I had no idea how.
'So what's the plan for today?' I asked Jade.
At the mention of plans Marcel turned his head sharply to listen, I felt sorry for him I really did.
'We've been here for almost a week, I think its time to head to Whitmore,' she replied giving Marcel a reassuring smile.
'I agree,' Delilah said smiling.
'Same here,' Kyle chimed in.
The others all agreed as well, I could see the look of relief cross Marcel's face.
'Alright then, lets get packed up,' I said strongly. We all packed up our things, Marcel was the first to be ready, he stood impatiently taping his foot on small rock. I really hoped that he found what he was looking for, our group could do with some good news. According to the map Whitmore was only an hours walk from here, I could almost feel Marcel's angst.
As we set off for the small village, I wondered what would lay ahead. It seemed that with each place we came across there was always something to be found, whether it be food or something within ourselves. I loathed the long walks and wished we could find somewhere to stay for a while, Jade was determined to save the country and while I to wanted to help people I wondered whether it was all worth it.
Our journey had already cost us three members, how many more would die for the sake of humanity? I had never voiced this to anyone not even Jensen, but I had thought about leaving. Even though most of the people here I thought of as family, I couldn't bear the thought of watching them die. I, like many others I had lost so much.
If anything happened to Jade or Jensen I knew I wouldn't survive, though in my moments of weakness I had wondered whether it would be better to leave and be alone. While being alone would be far more dangerous, it would also mean not losing anyone else and not having to face the heartbreak. I shook away these thoughts, I could never abandon my family no matter how great my fears were.
After walking for what felt like an eternity in the blistering July heat, we came across a farm. Most farms we had seen on our way here had been empty of supplies or full of the dead. This one was strange, something inside me said that we would find salvation here. I stared as we got closer, there was a giant metal fence surrounding the farm like the kind of fence that you'd find at a prison. I tried to think back as to whether we had seen a prison near here, the answer was no. Where could they have gotten such a thing from? I was not filled with fear or worry as we neared the farm, instead I felt as if a huge weight was lifting from my shoulders. I looked up to a watchtower next to the big gate, as we all stood looking through the fence a man appeared out of the bottom of the watchtower.
He was a short burly man, he looked about sixty with white hair and a long white beard. His skin was white as snow and his eyes were the palest blue I had ever seen, it occurred to me after staring at him for a moment that he was probably an Albino.
'What do you want?' He called with a lack of warmth in his voice.
'We are just passing through, on our way to Whitmore,' replied Jade cautiously.
'What do you want to go there for, there's nothing left but rotting corpses,' he answered coming closer to the fence.
'My family is from there, I need to know if their still alive,' Marcel hollered back with a sense of urgency in his voice.
'And who might you be?' The man asked trying to get a good look at Marcel.
'My name is Marcel Abbot,' he replied once more.
'You Gina's son?'
'Yes I am, is she with you?!' He cried nervously.
'Hold on, stay where you are.'
The man turned to walk away, Marcel cried out begging the man to tell him if his mum was alive but he carried on walking without answering. I went over to Marcel who had slumped on the floor, with his hands in his head he sobbed like a little boy. It seemed rather cruel for the man to just leave like that, but maybe he had his reasons for doing so, I felt my heart beating through my chest. I prayed silently with all my soul that his mother would be alive, he needed to find his family.
'I just need to know,' he sobbed. 'I know you do, the man will be back soon then you'll have your answer,' I held him as he cried, my jacket soon became wet with his tears.
Jade looked at him with a softness that I had not seen for so long, I don't know about the others but that day my heart truly went out to him. Delilah came to my side and knelt by Marcel, she rubbed his shoulders gently.
'Don't worry, it'll be alright,' she said gently. It felt like sometime later when the man returned, he came with a woman who at first I had thought was Marcel's mother but at a closer inspection I could see that she was far too young. Marcel looked up and I swear his face became drained of all colour, he stood up and walked towards the gate.
'Angelina? Is that really you?' He asked seeming puzzled. The girl could not have been more than sixteen, she was not mix-raced like Marcel but she did have a dark complexion. Her auburn hair was short and spiky, her jade eyes seemed to glow in the sun. She was tall for her age maybe five nine in height. They did not look related so wondered how they knew each other.
'Yes,' the young girl replied quietly.
The man opened the gate to let us in, Marcel ran straight up to Angelina and hugged her so tightly that I thought she going to pop. She smiled at him and started to talk.
'Tell me later, I just want to get these people inside,' even in his current turmoil he thought about us. As I walked up to the house with the others I hear them oohing and ahhing at the farm and its lands. I had not seen such a well kept place since Sanctuary, I could see the crop fields and the many things that grew here. I had been right in thinking that this place WAS our salvation. We reached the house a little while later to find that there were many people here, at least thirty. Despite the man's strange and slightly cold reception, I still felt like this place was going to be home.
As we were introduced to them I felt a warmth from these people that I had not known from strangers in quite some time. The man who met us at the gate was called Rob he was the leader and I could see that while he was civil to us he was also wary. The other people were kind-hearted towards us and offered us food and shelter, it turned out that Angelina had lived next door to Marcel's parents. It seemed surprising that she had remembered him, it became obvious that Marcel's family was not here after a few hours he plucked up the courage to ask Angelina about them.
She sat him down at the table and braced herself for what I imagine would be a difficult conversation. 'Your dad died not long after everything started, he went out on a food run and got trapped in the supermarket. Your mum found him a few weeks later and had to put him down, your mum died a few weeks ago. She was ill for many months but even with our resources we could not save her, she gave me this letter to give to you if you ever came home,' she told the story of his mother's fate tearfully, I could tell it was hard on her.
'Thank you,' was all
he could say through his own tears.
He took the letter and went outside, neither I nor anyone else followed him we knew that he needed to read it alone.
'Where's Lex?' Angelina asked Jade as she wiped away her tears.
Jade told her what happened I looked over at Kyle, even with his recent attitude change, I was surprised to see such sadness on his face. Rob told us to make our tents outside as the house was more than full, we graciously accepted his hospitality as we went outside to pitch our tents up. I helped Jensen put our tent up, then went to talk to Jade. We had found people so we should tell them about the vaccine, I had secretly hoped that we would stay here for a while before continuing our journey.
'I know what your going to say, and as soon as I've finished putting this god forsaken thing up I'll tell them,' she said irritably, Jade never could stand the hassle of putting up tents. I laughed at her as I gave her a hand putting it up, once we had finished we went back into the house. Violet was inside playing with their dog, huh wait a minute-dog? It took a moment to register the fact that I was actually looking a dog. It was a pretty cute dog too, I wasn't good with dog breeds but I think it was a border collie. Longish black and white hair cute blue eyes, it came up to my waist. Upon seeing me the dog ran over and jumped all over me, I was too gleeful at the moment to be annoyed with it.
'That's Rex, we found him here when we first came to the farm,' said Lottie, one of the older women we had met here. I liked Lottie she was like a typical grandmother, she was a dumpy little woman with short greying red hair and dark brown eyes. She had a bright smile on a face full of age lines, I guessed her to be about sixty.
'He's a cutie,' I replied playfully as I stroked him. By the time Jade had finished speaking and I had shown them my bite, thirty pairs of eyes stared at us in shock. I had come to realise that while everyone hoped for a cure, many people would find the concept hard to believe.
'What do you want in return for this vaccine,' Rob was the first to speak, and he sounded a bit pissed off.
Dead World Rising (Book 3): The Cure Page 25