by Weeks, Kris
Rue nodded in agreement. “She needs to be taken care of. These kids need a safe place to stay and that is here with me.” Rue requested.
Eric looked at Rue, knowing that her suggestion was for the best.
“I will take care of it.” He told her.
***
“Good morning ladies.” Mary called from behind the makeshift curtain they had put in the corner to get dressed away from each other.
“Good morning Ms. Mary!” Karlin belted out in the middle of a stretch.
The other two moaned a bit letting them know they were awake.
“Let’s get moving, we will make a tray of morning stuff and set out, I think I am going to try and make some tea today. If I can set it in the sun without some asshole taking it we will be good.”
Karlin got up and stretched a little seeing how she felt before moving. “I am good to go, let’s get at it.”
Mary moved the curtain aside and stepped out. Karlin pulled on her shoes and followed Mary into the hallway. She knocked on the door to where she knew the guys were sleeping and Karlin copied her and knocked three times. Mary giggled and both of them made their way into the breakroom. She handed Karlin three boxes and pointed to a table to take it to. Mary searched for the large platter she knew they had brought back and finally pulled it out.
“AHA!! Found it! Let’s take all of those out of the boxes and unwrap them and arrange them on the platter. Here is some of the powdered milk we will make.”
Karlin nodded and started at her instructions from Mary. Jennifer and Adrianna joined them by sitting at the table with their head in their hands still half asleep. “Good morning ladies!” Mary bellowed out.
Both of them wave and went back to being half asleep. Mary poured water into a large jug and dropped in a few tea bags. “Is there a back door to this place?” Mary asked.
She looked at everyone as they shrugged their shoulders. “Guess I will find out.”
Mary started off around through the lobby and down the small hall that led out to the warehouse, there was only so much she could see. She opened the door and looked out into the dark. A small window was the only light she had since they had closed the roll up door. She squinted her eyes and watched for a moment for anything moving. She stepped over the threshold and saw a small stream of light coming from what looked like a door to the side of the loading doors. She made her way to it, stepping over a few bricks that she was thankful that she saw. She ran her hand across the door and found the knob. She gave it a turn and pulled with no give of the door, she ran her hand over the knob to find the lock; the knob was smooth. She ran her hand up from the knob and hit a deadbolt lock. She turned the lock slowly and listened for the click. She was not sure what would be behind the door and quietly slid her hand back down to the knob, gave it a half turn, listened and then turned it the rest of the way. She pulled the door open just enough for her to put her eye up to it and look out. She could see the sun fighting for its way in so she pulled it open a little more. She could see the fence that surrounded the back and assumed that there would not be any zombies inside the fence line and started to open it the rest of the way when the door slammed shut. Mary jumped and turned ready to punch.
“There is not even one reason I can think of that you should be back here!” Eric’s voice roared through the warehouse.
“I am going to make some tea. You have to put it in the sun.” Mary filled him in.
“Well, sounds like your plan should have been run by me. I want no doors open unless I say so.”
Mary’s hands dropped to her side and she turned away from Eric and made her way back to the lobby. “Guess we will see if sun tea can be made inside.” Mary told the other girls.
Mary explained what had happened to the girls and tried to find a sunny spot near a window to put the tea. Willy and Andrew finally made their way to the breakroom and bee lined to the platter of sweetness that Karlin and Mary had set out for them as well as the milk.
“Hey Karlin, you look like you feel a lot better!” Andrew said with his mouthful.
Karlin nodded at him and handed him a napkin.
Eric stayed back in the warehouse and investigated the area since the guys had only been just inside the door of the warehouse to get the weapons and a few things from the shelf and had not gone back in since. He shined the small flashlight around that he kept with him and scanned the piles of bricks and tools that had been collected to run the company. The warehouse covered the whole width of the building and provided a lot of room for things. Eric ran across a lot of things that could be used for weapons as well as material they could use at another place if they could find one.
Back in the breakroom, half of the platter was gone before Mary had asked where Nate was to make sure that he got some of the food. Both Willy and Andrew shrugged still shoving food in their face. They all sat around the tray enjoying their feast and waited for Nate.
Nate came out of the bathroom bathed and dressed at the same time that Rue came from the back office and headed down the hall towards him.
“Good morning Rue, how are you. You look beautiful.” Nate greeted her.
Rue stared at him as she passed by him and disappeared from his sight into the bathroom. He contemplated waiting for her, but voted against it and moved on to drop his night clothes off to his room before joining the others that he could hear in the breakroom.
Nate closed the door to their office room and turned running into Rue again as she came out of the bathroom. He put his hands on her hips and swung her in a half circle to the other side of him.
“Have you been drinking? You sure are stumbly today.” Nate laughed.
Rue put her hands on Nate’s shoulders to catch herself and then pushed away from him. “I am not sure what your fascination is with me, but I would get rid of it.” She spat at him.
Nate let go of her. “Hell, I just think you are pretty and think you deserve this kind of goodness in your life.” Nate ran his palms down his torso to compete his joke.
Rue rolled her eyes as a small smile crept to the edges of her lips.
“See I make you smile. Does he?”
“Who?”
“Eric?”
“I am not sure that is your business what he does.” The smile disappeared and anger covered her face. “You have no idea of anything about Eric.”
“I know that you are probably his possession and you let that be.” Nate searched for answers.
“His? I am not his property! I am me, bottom line. No one owns me.”
Rue stared into his eyes and he into hers as he searched for the answer of why she was the way she was.
“Why do you jump at his every command?”
“You don’t need to worry about anything I jump to.”
“You deserve better than the way he treats you.”
“I deserve to be whatever I want to be.”
Nate leaned over and kissed her on the mouth and brought his hands to her face and held her steady as he stuck his tongue between her lips and she opened her lips to allow him in. Nate pulled back and let his hands drop from her smooth skin and walked down the hall away from her. He turned to the breakroom and stopped looking back at her. She stood staring at him in shock of his actions.
“Have a good one Rue.” Nate leaned out of the door and whispered down the hall to her.