"Elena, wake up," Damian whispered, shaking her.
She opened her eyes and glanced out the bus window. They were stopped at a cluster of buildings covered in thick vines. Through the vines, she could see the sign over top of the doorway of one of the buildings. She could make out a few letters from where she was sitting- Q-U-I-C-K-I-E (A/N: If you are Quebecois like me, replace it with Couche-Tard, and for all you USAians you can replace it with whatever convenience stores you might find at a gas station in the states)
She followed the rest of the boys out of the bus, Levi winking at her along the way. Damian pulled her away, jealously obvious on his face. They stepped out onto the cold soil, wet from the rainfall.
They wandered over towards the store while the others nabbed as many things as they could find on the ground. Damian pulled out a pocket knife and worked his way through the tangle of vines, chopping them in half one by one. He pushed a cluster of broken vines to the side, freeing the door. He yanked at it with all his might until it gave in, swinging open.
They climbed into the store, which on the inside, was still pretty decent, considering the fact that it hadn't been used for hundreds of years. Despite the layers of dust, foil packages lined the shelves, still intact.
She wandered up to a shelf, blowing off a couple of layers of dust before grabbing one of the foil packages. It was a faded red with letters she couldn't make out. She ripped open the package, revealing numerous crumbly discs that filled the bag halfway. She pulled one out, her fingers coated in salt and grease. She bit into it, filling her mouth with a salty, stale taste. They weren't the best, but they would have to do. She grabbed the whole container and walked over to the case where Damian was standing, plastic bottle in hand.
"Check it out! I haven't seen one of these in forever!" Damian exclaimed.
"What is it?" Elena asked, glancing at the bright orange liquid.
"It's a really sweet liquid, sort of like cold, sugary tea," he explained.
She scrunched up her face in disgust at the sound of it.
"It's actually really good, try some," he said, thrusting the bottle into her hands. She reluctantly took a small swig, instantly regretting it. She puckered her lips from the intense sweetness, barely managing to keep it down. (A/N: Am I the only one who hates juice here? I literally only drink water and tea, @vacaverde would know)
"I guess it's not for everyone," he said, embarrassed.
"I'll stick to water for now, we should probably get this back to the bus," she said, gesturing to the loads in both of their arms.
They climbed over toppled shelves as the made their way to the exit. Other boys emerged from the different shops with armloads of food and blankets, loading them onto the bus.
"Damian, Elena, come check this out!" Tyson called from the opposite side of the clearing. He stood in front of a large building with many doors. The letters on the sign spelt M-O-T-E-L, something Elena had seen before in old the photos her teachers showed her of life before the War.
"Every door leads to a bedroom, the keys are all at the front office. I figured this would be the perfect place to spend the night, instead of sleeping in the bus," he explained.
Damian nodded in agreement, "Go tell the others, I'll make arrangements for dinner." he said.
Tyson hurried off, eager to tell the others. Damian took Elena by the hand and lead her into the front door of the building. Sure enough, fifty some pairs of keys sat on the counter, ready to use. They peeked through doors, finding bathrooms and laundry rooms, before finding a small kitchen. Damian and Elena began checking cupboards with no luck of any type of food leftover whatsoever.
A faint knock sounded a the door. The two looked over at a small, frail boy standing in the doorway. he was tan with thick dark hair that framed his face, falling down to his chin.
"W-why are you in my house?" he asked, tears welling up. He cowered into the corner as Elena approached him.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was yours. If you'd like we can leave," she said.
"No, it's okay, I just don't see very many people around here, other than the scavengers," he said, relaxing a bit.
"I'll be right back with some cooking supplies," Damian said, closing the las cupboard. He hurried out of the building.
"I'm Elena," she said, offering him a hand as she had noticed the other boys doing.
"Max," he replied, smiling.
She began to pull out pots and pans as they chatted.
"So, Max, do you live with anyone else?" she asked.
"Nope, it's just me. My sister Mabel lives in a Camp," he replied, "Why are you here?"
"We're going to the Palace, just passing through," she replied, trying not to sound suspicious.
Thankfully, Max didn't catch on and proceeded to babble on about his imaginary family.
Someone cleared their throat, making Elena jump.She turned to see a smirking Levi standing in the doorway. He wandered over to where she was standing and wrapped his dirty arms around her waist.
"D-don't touch me," she stuttered. He didn't listen, trailing one of his hands slowly up her pant leg, the other keeping a firm grip on her waist. Tears streamed down her face, Damian was right about him, and now it was too late to stop him.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!?!" an angry voice yelled from the doorway. Damian charged at Levi, who had released his grip on Elena. Damian threw a few punches and kicks at Levi, the last one landing square in the face, knocking him out.
He rushed over to Elena, enveloping her sobbing body in a hug. This hug felt different from Levi's. Rather than intimidating and rough, it was a happy feeling, and she never wanted it to end. She buried her face into his shoulder as he rubbed her back soothingly. He pulled away, wiping her tears away with his thumb.
Tyson walked into the room, but instantly turned around, not wanting to invade their space.
"It's fine Ty, mind helping me get him out of here?" Damian asked.
"Sure thing," he replied.
They lifted Levi's limp body out of the room and Elena got to work peeling potatoes.
---
After a dinner of pulled pork and potatoes, the group was finally settling down into their rooms, all except for Levi, of course, who had been left outside.
Elena grabbed a room key, and Damian went to grab one as well, but Elena stopped him.
"We took over Max's house, I think he deserves to have a room," she said, grabbing the key and handing it to the boy who ran off happily.
"Besides," she said, "With Levi just outside, I don't think I would sleep at all."
He nodded and walked her to their rooms, carrying both of their duffel bags upon his insist. Exhausted, they both changed into a pair of pyjamas before crawling into bed, falling asleep instantly.
Hey guys, hope you liked it! Word count for the #JustWriteIt competition is 5296 total!
-Kat
