Crazies

Chapter Thirty-Six

~Chapter 36~

Sparring with Raven created this adrenaline high that stayed with me the rest of the day. Keeping this dorky half-smile on my face while I helped out around the camp and just enjoyed my time with the others.

Even my nightmares didn't stand a chance against the resilience of hope taking root inside again.

Standing on that pinnacle moment before jumping, that aspiring need radiated through the dream and I finally stepped back. Confronting the zombified visions of my boys as that feeling of hope was strengthened by Phil's words and Raven's actions that inspired me to stand my ground. The imagery of them sick still jarred me awake, but it didn't leave this rotting feeling of failure that's been slowly tearing me down over the last few months.

Giving me a small chunk of confidence back as I face whatever comes at me.

But, that satisfied high dimmed within a few hours of waking up as I followed through on my promise with Micah and talked with the others about him and the twins joining us on the outing today.

Concern now chews on the edges of that hope as I slide into the driver's seat of North's black Jeep.

I nervously bite the inside of my cheek as I look up to the rearview mirror to see the reflective scene of Micah and the twins excitedly talking together in the back seat. The contrast between the three still makes me pause after all this time and just watch them interact with each other.

All three are dressed similar to me in a black bulletproof vest paired with a neutral t-shirt and dark pants. All meant to blend in with the places we're going to today.

Micah has put his long dark hair up in some kind of messy half-ponytail and it shows off that energetic spark shining in his dark brown eyes. The overall look makes him look older than his newly turned fourteen years of age.

Which surprisingly matches the strong personality he's built for himself during this apocalypse we've been living through lately. It took some time for that courage to grow but when he met the twins it seemed to just skyrocket.

Then came the overly protective nature that could nearly rival North's, which appeared in force when Harper had her first asthma attack around him.

He loves to treat her as if she's this delicate little girl, but Harper is anything but delicate.

With her blue fire eyes and a challenge-driven personality, the girl is a spitfire that clashes with Micah's hard stubborn attitude.

Recently, Harper saw Erica doing the chop thing my boys like to do and she wields it against Micah anytime he makes comments that irritate her.

Right on cue, I see her reach over her brother, Jacob, to land a forceful chop on the side of Micah's head. He glares over at her and it leads to her flipping him off before ignoring him completely to tie her long white-blonde hair up in a tight knot.

I fight off my rising laugh as Jacob comes to the rescue like always with his calm nature and defuses what would have been another explosive fight between his sister and best friend.

I swear if it wasn't for him those two might have killed each other by now.

The passenger door jerks open as Karen joins us in the Jeep with a dramatic huff before slamming the door.

"You okay?" I ask as I begin backing the Jeep out of the garage. She doesn't answer right away so I peek at her as I'm switching gears to see her lips pinched together. Karen's go-to expression when she's pissed and I knew right away what happened. "What did Derrick do this time?"