by Laurèn Lee
Still maturing, Lexa liked the idea of having an audience for her lessons. The more attention, the better. Maybe once she learned, then she could teach Rocky. She always wanted to be better than the boys in the camp. She didn’t want to be judged based on the gender she was born with. She was fierce and independent, at least until her parents told her to come in for the night after playing outside. But when time permitted, she pretended she was a warrior princess, with no rules to follow and no parents to listen to. Only, after her parents’ disappearance, Lexa really didn’t have anyone to listen to anymore.
During Lexa’s lesson with her father, he tried to show her the basics. First, he taught her about safety, and Lexa couldn’t help but yawn.
“Safety is important, Lex,” Mason reminded her. “You can’t protect yourself if you’re harming yourself in the process.”
Lexa nodded and stifled an eye roll.
After the safety part, Lexa’s dad taught her how to jab and dodge. They practiced with sticks at first, and Lexa got poked every single time.
“Patience, Lex. You need to watch your opponent or attacker and think about their next move.”
“I don’t want to be on the defense, Daddy. I want to be on offense!”
Rocky watched intently, staring with a concentration he never possessed before. He watched Lexa’s dad and studied his every move.
“Can I try?” he asked.
“Rocky, I told you, this is my time. I’ll show you some tricks later.”
“Honey, don’t be rude,” Mason said, his forehead scrunched as he scolded his eldest.
“But, Dad!” Lexa whined and pursed her lips.
Around camp, the people roamed about, collecting berries that were saturated with only purified water, washing clothes, talking about the weather and more. Lexa wanted one-on-one time with her dad, and now Rocky wanted to butt in.
“C’mon, Rocky. You watched the part of safety first, right?”
Rocky nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay, let’s give it a try. We’ll start with the sticks first until you get used to it.”
Lexa whined on the sidelines as her father and best friend dueled each other. Rocky ended up being pretty good, and Mason only poked him once with the stick. Lexa eyed him with streaks of envy coasting through her bloodstream.
“Is it my turn?” she asked.
“Sure, Lex. Just a few more minutes with Rocky.”
Lexa stuck out her tongue when Rocky looked back to apologize.
“You should try to be more patient, Lex. Like Rocky,” Mason suggested.
After that, Lexa truly tried to be more patient, but she could never measure up to Rocky. He was steady and sturdy like, well, a rock.
Lexa stepped out of the tent, fully aware she looked like a psychopath. Large bags shined under her eyes from lack of sleep, her hair in a messy ponytail, and she hadn’t changed her clothes since yesterday.
“What’s up?” Lexa asked.
“I want to come with you,” Rocky said without warning.
“What is going on with you people? First, Ivie wants to come with me and now you?”
Lexa strode a few paces away, and Rocky followed. Campers around them glared without shame.
“You can’t come,” Lexa said.
“I want to. I can help.”
Lexa stopped and turned around abruptly. “You’re not coming, Rocky. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on things while I’m gone.”
“You don’t have to do everything yourself, you know.” He ran his long fingers through his hair. Lexa looked at him closely and wondered when he grew up. She wondered when they both grew up. Rocky, once tall, skinny and awkward, grew into his body and appeared more rugged than ever. His shoulders were broad, and Lexa noticed new stubble around his chin. A beard? Rocky?
They were kids once, young and adventurous. But they grew up, and Lexa realized that now. She was about to embark on a potentially fatal mission to save the camp, and Rocky stood before her, begging her to let him come.
“I know. But I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. Don’t you get that?”
“You’re putting yourself in danger if you go alone.” He pulled her close, and they stood nearly nose to nose. “You and me forever, remember?”
A year after Mason taught the kids how to wield a dagger and fight with the weapon, Rocky and Lexa went hunting for berries and nuts in the forest. They fooled around and played hide and go seek along the way. While Lexa hid in a rotted log covered in vines, her instincts told her she wasn’t alone. And, no, Rocky wasn’t in there with her. A ten-foot yellow and black boa constrictor slithered inside the log, and its tongue greeted her with a malicious wave. The snake wrapped itself around Lexa’s legs, and she shrieked with sheer terror.
Rocky ran to her aid and used a dagger Mason had given him, slightly smaller than Lexa’s, to stab the snake in its middle. The snake hissed and seized. It managed to slither away, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
“You saved me!” Lexa cried.
“I’ll always be there for you, Lex. Forever.” It became their “thing” after that. No matter what, it would be the two of them together, forever. And Ivie, of course, but that was a given.
“Rocky,” Lexa huffed. “There won’t be a me and you forever if you get hurt.”
“And if you get hurt? Then what?” His deep voice boomed louder than he expected, and a flock of robins took flight.
“You want to help me, Rocky? Huh? Then I need you to stay here to watch over camp and take care of my sister. That’s what is going to help me, to know my sister is safe while I’m gone.”
Rocky bit his lip and thought for a moment. “What if you don’t come back?”
“I can’t afford to think like that right now and neither can you. Will you please promise me you’ll stay with Ivie and protect her?”
“Why can’t she stay here, and I can come with you?” Rocky asked.
Lexa shuffled and rubbed her temples. “I don’t know if I trust the camp to keep her safe. You never know who might want to retaliate against me.”
“You can’t honestly think like that! This is your family,” Rocky said.
“Yeah, and half of them will die because of me. I know I’d want revenge if someone hurt Ivie.” Lexa bit her lip.
Rocky, deflated, hung his head. “Fine. I promise to stay with her.”
“Thank you,” Lexa said and went to retrieve her bag from the tent.
It was time to go.
11
The vibe of the camp after Kiki’s funeral was beyond somber. It was past devastated. It was no longer home; it was hell.
Twelve people, to be exact, were tied to the trees outside of the main camp area. There’d been thirteen yesterday, but one person already fell victim to the contamination, and the infection ate away at the person’s mind, body and soul.
Virginia could have very well been a stranger; when she turned, well, she wasn’t Virginia anymore. Her eyes gave it away first. They lacked humanity; they lacked life, no longer a window into her soul. They were a reflection of everything the infection stood for: death and destruction. Soon, she’d lose nearly all her senses, even her ability to speak.
She howled at the moon that night, like a wolf, like a werewolf. Her husband, Oswald, no older than Mason before he left camp and disappeared, knew his wife was practically dead. The part of her he loved would never come back. He did what he had to do and killed her.
Seeing the one you love after they’ve changed was more heartbreaking than losing them altogether. Oswald couldn’t stand to see his Virginia in a state of murderous lust. He took a knife, often used to cut meat, and stabbed it into her frontal lobe. She screeched in horror at first, and then her eyes went still. Once and for all.
The second funeral ceremony was upon them. All the more reason for Lexa to leave. She knew in her heart, she wouldn’t have the strength to say proper goodbyes to her sister, Rocky and Harry. She had to leave cold. She couldn’t have any distractions
. At dinner, Lexa slipped away to use the restroom. Instead of going to the outhouse, she stalked to her tent where her knapsack waited for her.
She looked over both her shoulders and told herself the coast looked clear. Lexa took a deep breath, picked up her bag, slung it onto her back and exhaled. She wasn’t ready for this, but her camp, her family, depended on her to make it right.
She heard the faint sound of dinner chatter, and while it wasn’t as rowdy and loud as meals often were, she knew no one would notice her absence. At least not at first. She’d have enough time to run without someone catching on. Hopefully.
She never told anyone when she was leaving but promised it’d be soon. She needed it to be this way. If she took one more second to think about the quest ahead of her, she may have folded and lost the will to go. Shame and self-deprecation riddled her mind and infected her brain.
Lexa snuck out of the tent and whirled around. No one in sight. She had her chance; it was now or never. Lexa took off in the opposite direction of those eating dinner. She winced as she passed the camp boundary and felt a piece of her heart break off in her chest. She missed Ivie already, but she knew she was doing the right thing. She’d never have been able to leave if she and Ivie said goodbye. It would hurt too damn much.
Lexa ran for over a mile, then slowed her pace to a jog and finally a run. She had one single liter water bottle left with clean H2O. She couldn’t waste it because she wore herself out running away from camp. Lexa traveled on a paved, severely neglected road which lead to the City of Lightning. On either side of the road stood large pine trees, but they thinned out the farther she walked. Outside the City of Lightning was considered the suburbs, and inside was a fading metropolis, once the capital of the country back when the water wasn’t poisoned by the government.
While Lexa had never been to the City of Lightning before, she knew a few things about it. First, it sat in the eye of a storm which divided the country into the East and the West. Secondly, just outside the city, it rained with thunder and massive lightning every single day, all day long. And lastly, a few camp members who decided to circumnavigate the City of Lightning said there was some kind of dark force which protected the city and its borders. They wouldn’t say much more than that, but shivers snaked down her spine just thinking about it. Lexa remembered the look in their eyes when she asked more about that force, but their faces fell pale, and sweat pooled around their hairlines.
Soon enough, though, Lexa would find out for herself what kind of force loomed in the shadows of the City of Lightning, if she could even fight through the storm to get to it.
The sun lowered and storm clouds formed overhead. Lexa couldn’t help but wonder if the weather happened to be a metaphor for her life right now, or at least for her life choices. A massive rumble of thunder boomed, and Lexa jumped at the sound. She let out a squeak and quickly reprimanded herself for being such a scaredy-cat.
Get it together, Lex, she told herself.
Lexa caught the black storm clouds surrounding the City of Lightning in her peripherals, and it was more terrifying than she ever imagined. If she didn’t know any better, the sky looked like it constantly dumped a monsoon around the borders, like a moat to a castle. How would she ever get through that storm, into the city, and then out of the storm on the other side?
Dread filled her gut, and she feared her body would reject what little food she had in her belly from today. While Lexa’s consciousness became consumed with thoughts of what was to come, a single, large raindrop smacked the top of her head.
“Ouch!” she called out, rubbing her head. At first, she thought someone threw a stone at her from afar, but once a few more fist-sized drops landed atop her hair, she knew the sky was about to unleash its fury. She still stood several miles away from the City of Lightning, but its threat stretched across the sky.
I need to set up camp for the night, Lexa thought.
Lexa saw the storm ahead of her, but it was far too dangerous to test the limits of the skies overhead. Her forehead already itched and grew irritated by the second where the raindrops splashed against her skin. Tiny pus-filled pimples sprouted along her hairline, too. While the rash was increasingly bothersome, it would only last for a day or two, barring any additional exposure.
Stepping off the main road, Lexa ventured into a grove of thin trees to find a spot to set up her travel-sized tent. It was barely large enough for her as she neared adulthood, but as a child, both Lexa and Ivie could fit inside comfortably.
Lexa thought of Ivie and pined for her little sister’s touch. She wondered what Ivie was doing at this very moment. Had she realized Lexa left? Did she accept it? Was she crying? So many questions raced inside Lexa’s mind, she could barely keep up. She loved her baby sister more than life itself. She wished with all her being they’d be reunited soon.
Thunder and lightning erupted once more, and Lexa cringed. She tossed the hood of her jacket over her head, and the steady thud of drops against the fabric worried her. Could her jacket sustain the rain? She needed to set up her tent as fast as possible. She pulled the metal stakes out of her bag and retrieved her mini tool set as well. She hammered the stakes into the ground. She picked a spot under one of the more massive trees. More branches, more leaves, more shelter. After ten minutes, the flimsy tent stood well enough for habitation.
Lexa crawled inside, zipped the front of the tent and exhaled. She made it out of her camp and started her journey. Was this real life? Lexa pulled herself into the fetal position and closed her eyes. Suddenly, fatigue pulled at the wires in her brain and begged for a few minutes of rest. Not sleeping the previous night finally caught up to Lexa, and without warning, sleep took hold.
Lexa woke with a start when the sound of an animal cry filled the night. She lay stiffly in her sleeping bag, only moving her eyes from side to side. While she was passed out cold a few moments ago, now she was wide awake.
After processing what woke her, she realized a bear roared into the night.
Great. I’m alone miles away from the City of Lightning, and there’s a freaking bear nearby. Could things get any worse?
Lexa heard shuffling footsteps outside her tent and froze again. It couldn’t be the bear, could it? Its growl sounded like it was at least a mile away. Was someone out there? Did a gang member or an outlaw stumble upon her tent? Was she about to die before she’d even begun her journey?
A twig snapped, and the footsteps paused. Lexa held her breath and willed herself not to move a single inch. She should have used more camouflage; she could have gone deeper into the woods, but she was so damn tired after running and traveling down the main road. Her body wouldn’t let her stay awake one more minute.
A soft voice whispered into the darkness, “Lexa? Is that you?”
12
“Who-who’s there?” Lexa stammered.
The person outside tugged on the tent’s zipper, and Lexa swore her heart pounded loud enough for the bear a mile away to sense it. She backed into the corner of the tent, which was so small she practically clung to her sleeping bag, wielding her dagger that she kept under her pillow.
The tent opened slowly at first, then the intruder pulled the zipper to expose the entire opening. Lexa’s eyes bulged, and she saw the very last person she ever expected to see: Ivie.
“Holy shit, Ivie! What are you doing out here? You scared me half to death!” Lexa’s shoulders sank, and she clutched at her heaving chest.
“Sorry!” Ivie whispered while she climbed into the tent and zipped it closed.
“Seriously, sis! What are you doing? You’re supposed to be back at camp!”
“I realized you never came back to the dinner table. I went to our tent, and you were gone.” Ivie pouted her lip.
“I didn’t want to, you know, say goodbye.” Lexa shrugged.
Outside, crickets screeched into the night, and the bear’s growls grew more distant. A full moon hung in the sky and cast a soft buttery glow atop the tent. Enough light filt
ered through the worn fabric to just slightly illuminate the sisters’ faces.
“I was scared,” Ivie said. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Lexa hung her head and stared at her shoelaces, nearly black from dirt and debris. “I thought it would be easier that way. But, anyway, how did you find me?” Lexa’s eyes trained on Ivie, curious to know how her baby sister made it this far on her own.
“Well, I knew once I couldn’t find you that you probably left. Your bag was gone too. So, I followed your footprints in the mud leading to the main road and started walking.”
Lexa nodded her head in approval. “Smart kid. But how did you find my tent?”
“I saw the storm up ahead and knew I needed to seek shelter and that you probably had the same idea. I searched the area for a few hours until I found you.” Ivie frowned, and Lexa noticed a rash upon her forehead and along her cheeks. Ivie’s coat didn’t have a hood, and she wandered around in the rain, despite its effects, just to look for her big sister.
“You took a big risk, Ivie. You’re lucky you found me.”
“Now, you sound like Mom.” Ivie rolled her eyes.
Did Lexa sound like their mother? She didn’t think so, but even if she did, Ivie needed a parental figure, and clearly, Lexa wasn’t doing a great job. Ivie willingly disobeyed Lexa’s orders and put herself in danger just to find her in the woods.
“In the morning, I’m walking you halfway back to camp,” Lexa said.
“What? No way!”
“Shhhhh!” Lexa hissed. She put a finger to her lips and listened for any movement outside their tent. “You can’t be yelling like that!”
“Sorry,” Ivie said. “But I’m not going back. I want to help.”
“You’re not going to help me, Ivie. You’re going to distract me. I will be so worried about your well-being that I won’t be able to do the things I need to do.”
“A distraction, huh? That’s what I am to you?” Ivie’s gaze soured.
Lexa groaned. “Of course not. You’re taking my words out of context. I just want to be able to focus on helping our camp. I don’t want to make sure you’re safe twenty-four, seven.”