We, who Survived

Carly was at a planting box. The older boy was with her again, speaking softly as they made trenches in the ground and spaced out the seeds before burying them. The way she hung onto his every word made me smile. Not wanting to interrupt them, I snuck past to our meeting tree.

The meeting spot was empty, evidence of any recent activity bare. Without anyone there, it was peaceful, the scenery breath-taking. If I had any art supplies, I would have made sure to paint the clearing in as much detail as I could, bringing out all its beauty and warmth. The only music encouraging me would be the birds singing, the insects chirping and the rustle of leaves. The lulling thoughts of such a painting were interrupted as a chill abruptly ran up my spine.

The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck began to stand on end. The itch of being watched growing stronger as I stood there. Holding myself, I glanced around but nothing stood out to me. Shaking my head, I started to backtrack, careful that it was not Daniel and his crew snooping around. Stepping into a puddle of sunlight warmed me but then a branch snapped from outside of the thorny vine-tangled fence, snapping back into a shivering cold.

“Bookworm!” Jolting, I turned on my heel, almost unbalancing myself and causing me to fall. Charlie and Dean stood at the corner of the building. Charlie had his hands in his pockets while Dean had his arms crossed over his chest. The slight breeze had set his hair out of its normal wave. Glancing back at the vegetation, I chose not to risk it, and briskly walked towards them, trying to calm my racing heart.

“We’ve been looking all over for you,” Charlie said, exaggerating his words by placing his hands on his hips. “You missed breakfast, you idiot. We have food, eat! Then Onyx comes and tells us that Ming came into the library while you were asleep. You’re lucky he came when he did, that psycho knows no boundaries.”

“Stop being dramatic, jou doos. Ming knows better than to hurt him. Nate’s got too many people watching his back,” Dean muttered, rolling his eyes and giving a small smirk. “Don’t look at me, Field.”

“S-sorry.” Wringing my wrists, I turned my gaze to the ground before looking up again. “Where are the others? Jae said we were meeting here.”

“Small change in plans, we chose the other meeting area,” Charlie stated, a mischievous grin forming on his lips. “We should head back in and get you up to speed.”

Nodding, I knew inside meant secure doors and my hatchet and the disappearance of this itch of being watched. But the thought of the thorned bushes keeping out something that wanted to come in scared me.

“Let’s go then!” Charlie gestured for Dean to walk first so he could stay by my side. We were silent as we passed the four gardeners, allowing me to give a quick wave to Carly. Once we were inside, Charlie started talking to Dean who shrugged or mumbled a reply to many of the questions pelted his way. When we came to the meeting room, we had strolled past the empty kitchen and two large storage rooms.

“Found ’em,” Charlie stated, prodding my lower back as he pushed me in. I ended up sitting on a cold metal chair, Dean and Charlie on either side of me. Spark gave me a small smile.

“We have already agreed on shifts needed for squads. When you are strong enough, you will be a part of Jae’s hunting team. Groups with mixed specialized numbers will be working here with building, fixing and planting until everything is satisfactory. Max, as he is well-known amongst the defence, will take over guard duties here. Maria will be helping the younger nurses and looking for her medicinal plants. Charlie and Dean are in the kitchen and in charge of rations. That leaves you, Jae, Joon and I to take care of hunting and filling in when needed. We also came to the conclusion that the library is off limits and only goes under your charge.” Spark sat forward when he finished speaking, silently asking if I had questions.

“Last time I heard, we didn’t find any weapons or equipment for hunting,” I stated, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you found guns...”

“Not at all. We’re going primal but thought we would wait until you woke up to ask about a decent weapon to use since you’ll have the history back it up,” Joon said, pursing his lips.

“I guess but we can’t do anything fancy with the stuff we have. The best I could think of is really simple and targeted for fishing.” I tapped my chin in thought. “The river is not that far away, so that can work. Plus, if we want to hunt bigger game, we need practice.”

“Give me a print of what is needed and I will get my boys to work. Some of them are itching at the bridle already,” Spark said, standing up with a large confident grin. “Things are looking brighter than before. Maybe all the bad is behind us?”

Shaking his head, Spark left the room. I got up to follow when my vision spotted black, causing me to accidentally grab onto Dean’s arm. When my vision cleared, Charlie was in front of me and Maria on my other side, their expressions showing worry.

“I-I am fine, just hungry.” Letting go of Dean, I walked out the room and into the hallway, planning to go straight to the library. Rations could come later.

“Hey!” Maria’s voice caused me to grit my teeth. “I’m getting you food so you better stay in the library.” I nodded to her words and carried on.

In the library, I managed to find two books with the best diagrams of primal weaponry and was flipping through one when Maria came in with a steel bowl of sliced apples. She placed it on the table I stood next to before coming to peer over my shoulder at the book in my hands. Not being able to resist, I picked up a piece of cut apple and gnawed on it.

“Find anything?” Maria asked, watching me turn a page after drying my fingers on my jean leg.

“Yes and no. I have an idea for the fishing spear but still want to look for a big game one. No one wants to fish forever,” I answered after picking up another slice.

“Did you draw up the other one yet?”

“Not yet but you can.”

“Nate-”

“You’re here now so you might as well do it. Here is the spear, draw it. I need to finish these.”

I took the bowl and sat on the window seat, watching as Maria stopped gawking at me and began looking for the pencils and paper. Funny how everything in here was equally vacuumed packed in the drawer of the librarian’s desk.

“They are in the desk drawers.” I pointed to the desk with an apple slice in my hand. Maria glanced at me before following my directions. She found one of the packs, opened it and set to work. A comfortable silence settled over us thankfully.