Curls (10K fanfic) Z Nation

Chapter Nine: Rain to Come

We tried for a damn hour, but the signal that had been picked up was long gone. I was beginning to give up when 10K leaned over to me in his seat and took the radio out of my hands. It was probably a good thing, in all honesty, considering the fact that I was just about ready to cry out in frustration and smash the thing to pieces.

"Birdie, it'll be okay." he mused. "Maybe we'll pick it up tomorrow."

"It's gone, K. There's nothing we can do."

"Hey," his fingers moved under my jaw and lifted my head to look at him, though I instinctively avoided eye contact. "Birdie, please look at me."

I was holding back my tears at this point. Hearing him call me Birdie and feeling his touch comforted me some, but it also reinforced the idea that he was the only person I had left in this world.

I continued to keep my eyes away, resulting in a deep sigh from 10K. He didn't say another word after than. All that was exchanged between us was a few caresses of each other's skin as we settled back into bed for the rest of the night (or what was now early morning).

I woke up again alone in the back seat with the sun shining through the front window a few hours later. With a yawn and the rub of my eyes, I pulled myself up and hopped out of the truck.

"Good morning, Dorothy!" greeted Sean eagerly. He was sitting beside Tina who had her mouth full of some kind of food.

"Morning." I answered with a small smile. My expression was quickly wiped away when I met the gaze of Brighton. She was glaring furiously, her own breakfast still hot on her plate.

"Hey Birdie," 10K greeted from behind. I turned on my heels and looked up at him. "I've got Francis trying the radio right now. We haven't had any luck this morning but I'm checking the cars for anything we can use to connect to Citizen Z."

"That's good." I replied, seating myself in a fold out chair beside Tina.

"You want eat the beans?" she inquired through a mouthful of food.

"No thanks. I'm not hungry." I rejected kindly.

"Wouldn't count on her eating until at least tomorrow, Tina. Don't bother offering." Brighton commented. Tina squinted, as if he was trying to make out the meaning behind her cruel words. Sean looked at me kind of curiously but I guess he brushed any suspicion off.

"I'm gonna hike down a bit and see what the cars down the road have in them." Brighton announced, a disgusted look plastered over her face as she glanced my direction.

"You ought to be fit to take Dorothy with you, hun." Francis called towards her as he emerged from behind a silver Prius. "I don't like the idea of you going off on your own."

"I'm fine, dad. I don't need to be babysat." Brighton practically hissed at him.

"No, your dad's right there, dear. Go on and bring 'er just in case." Sean urged.

"If she's not comfortable with it-" I began.

"I don't care what she's comfortable with. I'd rather 'ave her pissed and alive than comfortable and dead. Now go on!" Francis cut off.

Walking down the road with Brighton was more than awkward. I didn't say a single word for a good five minutes, and her efforts to converse matched. We silently checked seperste cars, the only communication between us being eye contact and body language- dirty and aggressive on her part.

Now that I watched her standing from a distance, I had time to get a good look at her. She was tall, maybe 5'8 or 5'9, and she had short Chesnut hair that was cut to just above her breasts. Her eyes were dark hazel and she had sharp and almost sinister features. She was average weight, muscular in stature. She had a tough posterior, all in all.