If We Survive

Chapter 14

The next morning I wake up soaking wet. It snowed in the night, and water cndensed on the tent, which then dripped on to my clothes and face. 

I recall my father telling me a story about his one experience in winter backpacking. He never wanted to go again, after that. 

Dee told me he had fun with it,  but then again, Dee was never very normal. 

Either that, or he was trying to impress me. 

I roll myself out of my sleeping bag. I've borrowed some of Jenna's clothes, all of which are too small or too tight. She tells me that they're the biggest things she has. I can hardly strech out my arms for fear of splitting a seam. 

End-of-the-world problems. 

Outside the tent, I tkae my unobtursive seat at the edge of the fire. I wake up later than everybody els, for some reason. It makes me look like a lazy idiot. 

It's sort of funny to watch Jose and Jenna interact. It's painfully clear that Jose likes Jenna, and it's clear that she oblivous. 

Like, we could be off wondering how the hell we're going to survive the night, but, no, let's go and fall in love with someone. 

Perfectly logical, I think. 

Or maybe I'm just being a two-faced hypocryte. 

"Hungry?" My mother asks, handing me a bowl of stew. It smells delightful, like, well stew. I smile, nodding a thanks. It's the end of the world and my mother is still feeding me. That's probubly because she still is afraid I'll go pyro on her and burn down Rocky Mountian National Park. The woman wouldn't let me have markers until I was eight, and that was only because  that was when they appeared on the school supply list. 

I wolf down my stew. I was always the fastest eater in my house, which always sucked during the summers that I spent at home, because my mother would always make me stay at the table until everybody was finished. 

Before-the-world-ended problems. 

My brother stands up. I never saw him as the leader type, but now I can't see him any differently. He belongs standing in front of people, telling them what to do and such. He was like that when were kids, too.

Prepare yourself to hear about my terribly tradgic past. 

To start with, there this thing that happens when you have very, errk, traditional parents and your friends are majority-male as a child. It's called your mother-thinks-that-if-you-can't-sit-around-the-house-doing-womanish-stuff-then-you're-not-her-child. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother, but we can't agree on shit. 

She honestly thinks that women shouldn't be cops. Cops. Don't ask her opinion on woman in the military. Don't do it. 

But as soon as I hit twelve, it pretty much became my duty to clean up after Jacob. Jacob never did his homework, dispite him being like a supe genius. Cassy worked late into the night to maintain steright As. Jacob never tried at sports. Cassy always tried her hardest to get a stating spot on whatever team. 

Yeah, kids, you got that right- I was perfect. But honestly, it doesn't matter who I was before this whole thing- perfect Mary-Sue or not, we're all thrown into this pot together, so-to-speak.

I'm not like the other girls. 

"We're moving out today," Announces my brother, jarring me out of la-la land. I frown a little. I can still walk, but my wounds give me trouble. 

"Where are we going?" I blurt. 

"Where do you want to go?" My brother replies. 

Back to the cabin, which was in the valley, which would be south from here. 

How do I even know that?

"Back into the valley." I reply bluntly. He won't ask questions, because he's a smart kid. At least, I hope he is.  

He just nods, going off to help Jose pack up the tent. I will never, in all my limited years of life, understand you. Jenna smiles at me. Her light green eyes sparkle in the morning sun. Like seriously, those suckers sparkle. 

Let's take a moment to appericate eyes. When I was younger, I could not properly draw a single thing aside from the human eye. I ended up drawing eyes on every avalible peice of paper that I could. 

 I haven't drawn for a while, not since... July? Yeah, all that time ago in the cabin, I drew that little girl. 

You know, that sounds really creepy. 

My mother hands off my share of supplies that I am to carry. I open my mouth to complain about how much it weighs, but I don't. I fall into old habits quick. 

We used to go on backpacking trips a lot, back before I started going to boarding school, and even though I recived the lightest pack, and my father essentally carried all of my stuff, I complained my ass off. 

I wish I didn't always have such tunnel vision. 

Like, how I could definiatively say if something is "right" or "wrong". There's a line, but that line moves. Like now, with the changed kids- is it right to kill them? Is it considered self-defence? The world changes, and so do the peole with it. 

"Oi! Perkie! Are you coming with us or staying there forever?" Shouts Jose. 

I hike up my pack, and begen to walk a ways behind them. Jose calls me "Perkie" because I'm, well Perkie. At summer camp, at least. 

There's just something about being around a whole bunch of people my age who don't go to my school makes me hyperactive. It's probubly because I'm an attention-sucking leech. 

Good God, that's disgusting. 

There's just something disgusting about an animal that lives off of your blood. Do leeches even live off of blood? Do leeches live in Colorado? I rmeeber there being something in Little House on the Prarie about that, and that was in like, what, the midwest? 

I probubly should just avoid crossing streams from now on.