Surviving the S.T.R.I.P. (ON HOLD)

Chapter Eleven

Brynn

      I had just finished making some leftover food for the four of us when Gwen and Drew tumbled into the house. Micah lay on a bed, staring at the ceiling and refusing to help me prepare for dinner.

      “Hello,” Micah said plainly from the bed. “What’s up?”

      Gwen replied while trying to catch her breath.

      “We were out… hunting and then we… we saw a few kids so… so we wanted to kill them since… since they looked lost…” her face was a deep red color, trying to turn back to normal. 

      “But then some of their friends came…” Drew picked up, “and we almost died, so we ran and now we’re home.”

      “Does that mean there’s no meat?” Micah groaned.

      “Get over it Micah, we’re having leftovers anyway.” I snapped at him, annoyed. 

      I set out the food on the table and we sat and ate. Since we had found the tree house, we made it homier. We also discovered some helpful things like a wood burning stove to cook on, some silverware and dishes in the cupboards, and even a box lined with Heliofoam, a kind of material that cools things inside it like a refrigerator, but without electricity.

      Drew explained the full story over dinner. Gwen added a side note here and there; things like “I swear I’m gonna kill her,” and, “messing with the wrong people.” Finally she spoke up.

      “We’re going back there. All four of us.” Everyone stared at her. Silence filled the room.

      “Are you crazy? We’ll all get killed!” Drew replied loudly. “We barely made it out alive ten minutes ago!”

      “Yeah, if there’s really that many people, I don’t see how we could stand a chance,” I added. “Unless…”

      “Unless what?” Drew snapped.

      “Unless we teamed up with other people,” Micah said slowly, catching onto my train of thought.

      “Exactly. With more people, it’ll be more evenly matched. We could have a chance.”

      “I don’t care if I live, I just want to see that chick dead!” Gwen suddenly jumped up and shouted. Drew patted her on the shoulder and sat her back down.

      “We will, Gwen,” Micah said. “Does anyone know of any other groups around here that could help us?”

      “There’s a group Gwen and I pass on the way to get water every day. We’ve never really said anything to them, but they’ve never tried to hurt us. Maybe they’d be willing to help?” I offered. Micah nodded. A small smile crept up on his lips.

      “It’s settled then. You’ll get us allies and day after tomorrow, we attack!”

      Gwen walked with me to get water, just as we did every morning. It’s over an hour walking distance round trip, so having someone else to protect you and help you carry the water is helpful.

      I tipped the edge of a bucket into the flowing water. Downstream, the three kids we passed every day also knelt and filled their buckets. When they looked at me, I smiled and waved.

      It took a moment for them to realize what I did. A girl with long, white-blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail waved back timidly and managed a smile. Gwen stood up next to me and set her bucket at her feet. The three kids did the same.