Along came Reid

7. With Two Boys

Jamie found TJ and Courtney in one of the office rooms in the back near her makeshift bedroom. The boys commandeered a two person office and were in the process of transforming it into a bedroom. They busied themselves by arranging blankets and pillows on the floor, neither of them noticing Jamie who quietly observed the two.

The ten year old she’d encountered days prior set up his bed in the rear of the office beneath the boarded window while his older teenage  brother arranged his blankets in the front. The older sibling moved with a slight limp of hurt. The idea of an injury provided the necessary clue for Jamie to surmise their circumstances.

If one of them had been hurt, the deaders would have smelled the fresh blood. It completely explained why Jamie and Reid found so many of them banging on their door last Thursday.

“Are you alright?” Jamie asked, announcing her presence to the near oblivious boys. At the sound of her voice, both of them whirled around with the younger of the two stepping forward with a shovel in hand. Even after realizing she wasn’t a deader, neither boy let down their guard and the shovel remained raised.

“You’re that girl.” noted the lanky, younger boy. Mimicking Reid’s behavior, Jamie moved to sit on the ground outside of their office room in hopes to prove that she wasn’t a threat. 

“I’m Jamie.” she greeted, her eyes loosely on the raised shovel. A sense of deja vu passed. Was this how Reid felt when she first encountered him in the museum?

“I’m Courtney and this is my brother TJ.” announced the older teen. He looked similar to his brother in complexion, but where TJ had a hostility of mistrust to him, Courtney seemed more open. “Thanks for letting us stay here.”

Jamie wanted to say ‘no problem’, but the truth was, they were a problem. Even though she was warming to the idea of being around others again, Jamie wasn’t sure if she’d be able to survive mentally if another batch of people she cared about were slaughtered.

“How did you guys get out of that apartment?”

“Reid busted us out.” answered TJ, the younger of the two. He was the same boy who’d opened the door the first time they’d met. His cautiousness towards her hadn’t eased even a little despite him being in her home. His onyx eyes were stern and serious, and Jamie couldn’t tell if his personality was to blame or if the Collapse had scarred him. She suspected a little of both.

“When you guys found us, I had hurt myself.” Courtney explained. “The druggies smelled the blood and tried to swarm us.”

At the mention of deaders, Jamie’s interest piqued. “What did you do when night fell? Where was Reid?”

Both boys quieted, sharing uneasy glances that left Jamie frowning. She got a feeling she wasn’t going to like whatever they were about to tell her. “That guy's insane.” TJ answered after a bout of silence, with an expression of disbelief flashing across his bony cheeks. “He stayed out there the whole night and fought those things off.”

“He what!” Jamie shrilled, her eyes widening both in shock and fury. Neither of the boys met her eye; both of their attentions seemed to be elsewhere in the memory of Reid fighting.

“It was so weird.” Courtney added. “I didn’t believe TJ at first, but I took a look through the peephole; the guy was going at it with dozens of them.”

“He was laughing too, like it was fun.” TJ remarked. “It was like he was playing a game of whack-a-mole.”

“Except with druggies.” Courtney added.

“Big, nasty, overdosed, angry druggies.” TJ finished.

“Food’s ready!” announced Reid as he popped around a cubicle corner, walking towards them them.