Revolution

Grace

“Hey. What are you doing?” I asked Todd, as I leaned against the door frame to the kitchen.

“I found this duffle bag in their closet. I figured I would pack up any food I could find. We don’t know what all is out there. I’d rather have too much than not enough. Plus, you did say that we were going to meet others, and they would join us on our mission. We all will need to eat.”

I was astonished. I’d only ever seen the selfish side of him before. I didn’t know he had it in him. Well, except for in bed. He was never selfish in that aspect. I’ve been around enough to know the difference. There were a couple jocks in school that I spent time with, once upon a time. They never lasted long and left once they were satisfied. Hence why our time together never lasted long either.

“That’s a good idea. Did you find any other bags?”

“No, just this one. And our backpacks of course. They probably took all the rest.” He paused and turned to me. “Do you think they made it out?”

“No. I think everything is happening the same in each city. They were all given one plan and are doing it repeatedly. We should pack our clothes in our backpacks. We won’t need much, but it would be nice to clean up once in a while.”

He nodded and I turned to pack what I had.

I only made it a few minutes before I crumpled on my bed crying, the fear and the reality of our situation setting in.

When I was first put into the foster system, I ran away as often as I could. I purposely caused problems. I just wanted my freedom. Now I was getting ready to sacrifice my freedom to help others get theirs. I had no idea if I would even survive all this. I wasn’t ready to be the grown up. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be the kid that got to hide behind strong parents, someone to protect them from the evil that was headed our way. But that wasn’t my lot in life. Ever.

I wasn’t aware Todd had come into the room until he was kneeling in front of me, holding me while I cried. I pulled away a few minutes later, embarrassed. I wiped my eyes and tried to clear my throat.

“Sorry. It just got to me for a minute.”

“You’re allowed to be human, Gracey. We all are. And what we’re doing isn’t easy. If it makes you feel any better, I already had my breakdown while you were sleeping. That’s why I started packing, I needed to move. I needed to do something. What we’re doing may be wrong on so many levels, but I’d rather be trying to help end this, then hiding in a corner hoping someone else was brave enough to do it.”

I nodded and lowered my forehead to his shoulder, using him as my crutch. He kissed the side of my head softly.

“We got this. As long as we have each other, we got this. That guy last night talked like we were a prize together. So, we stick with that. We work together. We find the group meant to help us and we all work together. But it’s you and me, babe. All the way until the end.”

I sniffed. “You and me.” That’s what the first vision showed. Me and Todd. “Partners.” I leaned back and stared at him.

He winked, the cocky side coming back.

“Partners in every way. Now, I don’t know about you. But if we are going to be successful, we need practice.” I giggled as he pushed me backwards, kissing wherever he could reach. “Lots and lots of practice.”

“You do know that means you will also need to practice the guy stuff too, right? When we find our people, we will all need to practice together. We have to know what we are doing if we want to make it to Curtis. If we want him to accept us. We have to be able to distract them, so they don’t realize we are listening.”

Todd was moving fast, already having both our pants moved. “Don’t care. I’ll get used to it. We need to, or it will be the death of us all.” My eyes rolled back. He did have an efficient scratcher. “When this is over, I will take you somewhere far away. Just you and me.”

“What makes you think I want to go anywhere with you after this? Maybe I’ll be tired of you by then.” I yelled out as his hand hit the side of my butt.

“You will never get tired of this, Gracey. You are already getting attached to me.” He didn’t let me retort, which I totally would have.

By the time we had both relieved the stress, I had let the topic go. Having a plan for the future just might help me stay focused. A goal. And who else would ever understand what I was about to do, or why, better than the one man who chose to walk the path with me?

We stood at the front door an hour later, staring back at the inside of the house. It wasn’t home, it had never felt like a place we wanted to be. But it was safer than what we were about to do. We both had our backpacks on, and Todd had the duffle in his left hand. He held his right up for me and I took it.

Together we walked out of the house and into the unknown.

The street we lived on was quiet. Eerily quiet. We stopped at a few houses, checking them out, the doors and windows broken.

Everyone had been slaughtered. Parents, grandparents, kids… babies. I ran out of the first house and lost what little breakfast I had had in a bush. I dropped onto the porch steps of our neighbor’s house, the ones we had heard screaming the night before. The swing on the playset in the front yard was moving in the soft breeze, the screeching of the rusty metal was the only sound that could be heard.

Todd left me after a minute, then went to their kitchen and grabbed more supplies. After four houses, we stopped going inside.

We turned off our street, headed for the main road. A few blocks later, we found a house that had not been broken into yet. Todd looked at me and I nodded, I was mostly sure it was safe. We knocked on the door and waited. No one came.

“The sun is up. The vampires are gone. We are looking for anyone else alive. You can join us if you want. Safety in numbers.” I called through the door.

We heard small movements and waited. A curtain moved in the window, and then the door opened.

The little girl was no more than ten. Her long black braids were pulled into a ponytail, the pink beads laid quietly on her back. I got down on my knees and smiled softly. “Hi, sweetie. Are your mom and dad home?”

A tear came down her eyes as she stepped back and pointed to the floor in front of the couch. Where her dad laid, two holes in his neck.

“Mommy made me hide under the bed. She’s in her room. She screamed a lot and then she didn’t anymore.”

My heart broke for this little girl. Todd knelt next to me and picked up her hand. “Do you have a bag you can pack some clothes in? You can come with us. We don’t have parents anymore either.”

We followed her inside and to her room. It was covered in unicorns and ponies. I helped her pack some of her warmer clothes, just in case. I knew there was no way this was going to be ending any time soon.

We were back on the road ten minutes later. The little girl insisted on bringing her stuffed pink unicorn with her. If it made her feel better, then so be it.

We picked up a few more strays as we walked; one elderly woman, two pre-teens, a toddler, a middle-aged couple, and a baby. I had no idea why some of them were left alive, while others weren’t. But all of them, even the adults, followed us.

We spotted cop cars near our high school and headed that way. An officer was standing outside as we approached.

“You folks looking for shelter?”

“No, we’re looking for somewhere safe. We all had shelter. But it wasn’t safe.” I snapped.

I was tired already. On a normal day, this walk would have taken ten or fifteen minutes. It took nearly two hours this time.

“Well, we are turning this school into a shelter. You all are welcome to stay. We have officers being assigned to live in each one, and they will do their best to protect you. Are you all family?” He seemed a little confused, and stupid apparently. We had all races in this group. Obviously we weren’t related.

“No. My girlfriend and I gathered anyone we could find while we walked.” Todd answered.

I opened my mouth to argue the girlfriend part, but he squeezed my hand to shut me up. I decided to let it go for now, but he was going to get a piece of my mind later.

“I’m glad you did. We haven’t made it to every neighborhood yet. Yours seems to have gotten the worst of it for last night.” He stepped out of the way and pointed toward the gym. “Go on in that way. There are people in there who will help you get settled. The local Red Cross has been dropping off supplies to each of the shelters. We only have what our city has stored, so take it easy. We don’t know when supplies will come again.”

We nodded our thanks and passed him.

The gym looked the same as it always did. The only difference was a table blocking the entrance to the room. We were greeted by a perky woman and a man who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. She gave us the rundown, telling us we could pick a spot anywhere in the gym, and they would bring us blankets, and such. Cots were already laid out throughout the room. They were still folded, but semi-organized.

Todd and I walked to the farthest corner, tucked into the right. The bleachers were pulled against the wall, locked in tight to give more room. We grabbed a few of the closest cots and pulled them over.

Where we chose would give us just a touch of privacy. Which was good. We would need space to plan.

A few minutes later, the man came and dropped, literally, the supplies on the floor. The woman was right behind him. The only time he didn’t glare, was when his eyes were roaming over me. Something I should probably get used to.

For now, we decided to keep our stash of food a secret, making it our emergency stash. Todd set up our two cots next to each other in the corner. He spread out the blankets like we were sharing a bed. I was too tired to argue. The other cots he left folded near us.

The middle-aged couple we found kept the baby, and the toddler with them. The elderly woman took the others. Both groups were grateful we helped them, but neither wanted the surly teenagers close by. Not that we invited them to join us either.

As the day wore on, more people trickled in. Some came on their own, looking for help, and were ushered this way. Just like we had. Some were found by the cops as they searched for survivors. Part of me wanted to ask what would happen to all those that had been killed. The bigger part of me didn’t want to know.

The bigger part won.

A couple teenagers came in without any parentals and we subtly waved them over. Whether they became part of our plan or not was yet to be decided. If anyone was going to be near us though, I would rather it be kids our own age.

By the end of the day, we were joined by sixteen-year-old Native American twin sisters, an eighteen-year-old boy, who was a mix of probably white and black, and two fifteen year olds, a boy and a girl. The boy was similar in coloring as Todd, but the girl was dark as night. That made seven of us altogether, three boys and four girls. We had just enough cots for all of us.

We all talked a little on and off, whether we all started out the same or not, we were all homeless orphans now. None of us had anything left to lose, except our lives.

The next two days dragged on. We were bored. More people came in, no more teenagers alone. We were the only ones who could disappear and not be missed.

The second night, when the lights were turned down low, Todd decided he wanted to play. The others were still awake and talking, but all in their own beds. They had set them up in a semi-circle, somewhat facing ours. It closed our group off, making our own little area separate from the rest of the room. Todd’s hand slid to my pants and started pushing them down.

“What do you think you are doing?” I hissed at him, grabbing his hand to keep it from going further.

“What do you think I am doing?” He laughed softly, going in to start kissing my neck as he spoke. “This place is sucking the life out of us already. You said we would need to practice, so why not break the ice this way? Tomorrow we can start talking… planning…” his hand slid out of mine, “and practicing. If we aren’t willing to do it in a room full of strangers, why should they be?” He made a good point, so I let him get on with it.

By the time we finished, more than one of our new friends was watching. Todd just winked at them. I covered my mouth to hold the laugh in. Such a cocky idiot.

The next morning, the guys were high fiving Todd. I noticed the twins, Raya, and Layla, eyeing the oldest boy, Scott.

After we had all gone to collect our breakfast from the cafeteria, Todd led us to the outdoor basketball courts.

“We have gathered you all here today for a reason.” Todd started out, trying to sound like a judge or a preacher. I hit him in the gut with the back of my hand and he laughed. “No, seriously. We did. And before you all flip and start freaking out on us, hear us out. And please. Never tell this to anyone, whether you decide to join us or not.”

“Join you with what?” Rachel, one of the fifteen-year-olds, asked warily.

“Join our mission to get close to the head vamps.” Todd just laid it right out there.

“Say what, now?” Justin, the other fifteen-year-old, asked incredulously.

I rolled my eyes at the idiot next to me. “Look, the adults have no idea what they are doing, they just react and clean up. No one knows what to expect. We want this nightmare over sooner, rather than later, and we are in the prime spot to do something about it.”

I told them what happened the other night, all but my visions. I wasn’t ready for that. I just made it sound like Todd and I were already getting busy when we heard them.

“So, you see, this Curtis guy and his little puppets, all have harems. They hear the big stuff, the stuff that could help us end this.” Todd added.

“What does this have to do with us?” Scott asked cautiously. I think he knew where we were headed.

“We are going to start our own harem and find a vamp to take us on. Eventually we will move up until we find the head vamp himself.”

“But how will we know if the vamp we chose will actually have access to higher up ones?” I loved that the twins were already talking like this was a done deal.

Todd tilted his head to me and shrugged. He said from the beginning that I would probably have to tell them. I sighed and gave up.

“Because I get visions. They give me the path each choice will take me. That’s how I knew to basically jump Todd the other night. That’s why we came here instead of staying where Ryley could find us. He would have been a very bad pet owner. My vision also said we would find a group that would go with us. This is going to be a long war. We can all see this shelter thing is not going to last for long. Many of the men already argue. How long before more breakout?”

“Um... I’m just going to be blunt here. I’m still a virgin. I have no idea what to even do.” Rachel didn’t even blush as she said it. I had a feeling I was going to like this girl.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure how I feel about the guy-on-guy thing.” Scott was wary.

“I’ll be honest. It hurts like hell at first and is completely uncomfortable after that.” Todd made the others laugh with the face he made. He picked up my hand and held it, giving me a soft look. “I probably would have caved and let him kill me if Grace hadn’t been part of it.” He turned back to the others. “We are going to teach you. Grace and I were both little hoebags.” I pulled my hand away and slapped him on the back of the head. He just laughed and took my hand back. “We are all going to get to know each other really well. And when the time is right, Grace will let us know.”

“Where exactly are we going to do this?” Layla, I think, asked, looking at Todd with a hungry look. “We can’t all fit in your cot at night.” We all laughed with her.

“We can sneak into classrooms for now. As you get comfortable with it, we should start doing some in the gym, just hand things mostly. We got the feeling the other night that vamps prefer for people to watch, or at least they don’t care if they do.” Todd checked her out, but not in the same way she was doing to him.

His hand held mine tighter when he noticed the way the other two boys were looking at me. I had a feeling someone was getting a little jealous. Sweet, but very bad for business.

Scott licked his lips, his eyes on me. “When are we starting? It’s been a little longer than I would like. And that vision could come in any day now.”

It really said a lot about our situation that everyone was willing to help and accept my visions like it was just another day. Rachel looked the most concerned, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

“You believe me about the visions, then?” I had to be positive. We couldn’t risk someone doubting later, it could get dangerous.

“A few days ago, I,” Raya looked at her sister, “we probably wouldn’t have believed you. But we had someone with us before we came here. She had an extra sense too. It saved our lives, but it cost hers.” Raya wiped a tear from her eye. “So, yeah. We believe you.”

“All the unbelievable crap is real now anyway, why not psychics too?” Justin added, the rest nodded along.

“Well, then.” I said as I looked around the grounds, thinking about where we could go from here. To get to a classroom, we would have to steal keys from the office.

Todd reached into his pocket and pulled a set of keys out. I just laughed and shook my head. We cleaned up our mess, not wanting to leave a trace of where we had all been. Or run the risk of them banning us from eating outside again.

Todd led us to the nearest classroom and opened the door. We spent the next two hours locked in that room together. By the end of it, nobody could claim innocence anymore. We broke for lunch and gave Raya and Rachel a chance to work out the soreness they were both new to.

Then we went back in and, to the boy’s dismay, went over different things. Todd was the only one who was able to sit when we got back to the gym.

The next week went by in a similar fashion. We spent most of our time in that classroom. Todd had been smart enough when we were raiding some houses and pocketed a boat load of condoms and birth control pills. The other girls started on the pills. We saved the wrap for emergencies.

During the down times, the boys started working out in the weight room. The lock just mysteriously came unlocked one night. Nobody complained. People needed to do more than just sit on their cots.

By the end of the week, we were already practicing the hand stuff in the gym. We were far enough away that no one seemed to notice. Or at least didn’t care. I noticed a few of the younger couples slipping into the bathrooms in the middle of the night, or just trying to be really quiet under their blankets.

I hoped they were being careful, or they would be adding another body to the shelter soon.

No matter who we were with throughout the day, or what we did, Todd still insisted we sleep together. And he didn’t always want to sleep. I was starting to believe that I was his security blanket.