The Ruins Of Tomorrow

11. Guts

There was light rain pouring over the towering trees and Terrenceville. It didn't help the workers that the wind was rough, blowing away some of the crops and fire pits. The gardeners had to place blue tarps over the plants, hoping to save the produce before the harsh weather tore it to shreds. It was Saturday, according to those who kept count.

I was fixing a stack of cans that I'd accidentally tipped over when Ashley poked me on the shoulder and told me she had an errand to run that Dean ordered her to. She had a piece of paper sticking out from the back pocket of her jeans. I could tell she was in a rush and anxious from the sweat on her forehead. I didn't want to hold her back or argue, so I didn't bother opening my mouth.

The atmosphere was tense, and it wasn't just Ashley who seemed to be affected by it. Dean had a system in Terrenceville where he would send out groups of people on supply runs every week. I could feel the anxiety in the air as I saw him and Noah's restless hands, which only confirmed that something was not right.

As time passed, their level of concern only increased. The group which Dean claimed to have sent out, had not yet come back yet.

According to a family, wherever Dean sent them wasn't too far from Terrenceville, as I've heard. After doing the necessary calculations, he determined that the exact time was two hours and fifteen minutes.

"Something must have gone wrong," a lady mentioned to some others. "They left early in the morning, so why aren't they back?"

I was about to go meet up with Noah to deliver a paper to him. He instructed me to give him the tally of our rations every time I finished writing it down. He needed it to make calculations and adjustments for the upcoming month, as well as to decide how the meals would be distributed.

To be completely honest, I had no idea where Noah was. He always managed to find me somehow, before I could find him. The group of strangers I spoke to had no knowledge of his whereabouts either. It wasn't helpful when they said his place was next to Dean's. He checked in on me a couple of hours ago and I haven't seen him since.

I turned quickly at the sound of laughter and saw a kid's face being pushed against the wall. I noticed a small crack in the wall and then heard snarling from the other side. I looked down and saw the kid's knees horribly bruised and scratched from the group of older boys, who yelled out nasty words as he whimpered.

The kids' face was pushed down further until a drop of blood hit their cheek and the walls shook a bit. When I glanced at the tiny crevice, I saw a towering figure with smooth eyes pounding its fists. The sound of the little kid asking for help made my chest thump. As soon as they saw me standing nearby, the bullies turned their attention to me.

"Who's this fucking chick?" The boy questioned, his tone came off as aggressive. 

The sticky yet cold breeze filled my lungs with moisture when I took a deep breath. "What the hell are you guys doing to him? You need to let him go," I firmly said.

The poor kid couldn't stop shaking while the group of boys snickered and looked at him. "None of your business. We also don't follow orders from outsiders."

As soon as I stepped forward, the laughter from everyone ceased. It was obvious, but I caught a pocketknife in one of the boys' hand. I noticed that they were all wearing hoodies except for the little kid they were picking on, who had shorts and sneakers. The kid looked me in the eyes.

"I'm going to ask you one more time to let him go," I said, flexing my hands.

"I-I'm alright-" the little kid choked out.

I lifted an eyebrow, feeling confused. "This just isn't right, guys. You're risking everyone's lives inside these walls. If you keep provoking one of the dead, then more of them are going to make their way here. And who's fault will that be?"