Re-ans

Re-ans Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Klepto

"I have no idea what I'm even looking for." Luke said in frustration, throwing the rag he'd had in his hand, he sighed. They'd been traveling for about three weeks now. It was a slow process, having to divert practically every other day, and now the car was overheating. Being their resident know it all didn't help much, seeing as Luke didn't know a damned thing about mechanics, other than the steam coming from the front of the car was definitely not a good thing.

"Well it's shot, the question is what do we do now?" Denis asked, stepping away from the steaming useless thing. They'd just managed to fill it up too. Of course that was the way things worked. Jess walked up and pulled him away from the car, he had to resist the urge to kick it.

"We can't just put everything from the trunk in the back of the truck, if we didn't have all this stuff you five could easily fit in the back, but as is..." Levi shrugged, he was right. There was absolutely no way for all their stuff, and them, to fit in the truck.

"We'll have to go on foot for a while then, but we'll have to leave some stuff behind, there's no way we can drag it all along and defend ourselves." Denis said with a sigh, Luke nodded. It was a shame to leave so much behind, but in reality, they didn't need it. They'd had six rifles, eight shotguns, about thirteen handguns, and the guns they'd been able to get a hold of when they left the camp.

There was no use keeping all the rifles and shotguns anyway. They'd all tried their hand at the rifles while in the apartments. Only Levi showed any promise. His aim was deadly. Luke handed him the one that he always gravitated toward and he nodded before slinging it over his shoulder. The boys had all shot the shotguns as well, including him despite everyone's concerns. He'd regretted it too. Still he didn't feel right leaving them all behind and slung one over his shoulder before sighing and piling all the others on top of their useless vehicle. They kept all the handguns just in case, but left behind the weapons from the camp, they didn't have much ammo left in them anyway. Maybe someone would find this stuff someday, and maybe it would save their lives, he hoped so anyway.

They took all the food and water they had left, which wasn't a lot, and siphoned the gas from both vehicles in case they ran into a viable replacement. "Hopefully we'll find something soon." He said as they began trudging up the road. The car had broken down that morning, and it was nearing dark before they encountered any trouble. There was a group of about a dozen re-ans staggering in the road up ahead. Denis motioned for them to divert into the woods and go around. Everyone was exhausted, and he didn't think they were gonna find a place to rest before dark. He turned to say something to Jess and shooed a bee off her shoulder.

"Thanks." She said breathing heavily. They needed a break, but he wasn't in charge anymore. Still when it came to Jess he would make the suggestion. He opened his mouth to suggest they take a break but Denis stopped suddenly.

"Ouch." He said looking down at his arm.

"Probably a bee, I've seen a few, we must be near a hive or something." He opened his mouth to suggest they stop for a rest when Merideth interrupted.

"Did you say bee?!" She yelled as she ran over to Denis's side, she grabbed his hand and examined his arm. She looked utterly panicked.

"Yea, it's..." He'd started to say it was just a bee, and ask what the big deal was, but he realized what was going on pretty quickly when Denis reached up and grabbed his throat. He was turning red already, and looked to be choking, trying to get in air and failing.

"He's allergic to bees!" Meredith yelled out as he fell to his knees. Tavish rushed forward.

"What do we do?!" He yelled out in panic as he went to his knee beside him. Denis fell back to the ground. Jess had such a tight grip on his arm that he was losing circulation

"There isn't anything we can do." Gavin said in anguish, wrapping his arms around Alissa. Gavin's mom had been allergic to peanuts, he'd seen anaphylactic shock before. Luke's head got fuzzy for a brief moment, but before the headache could even take hold he knew what he had to do.

He dropped everything from his shoulders to the ground and unzipped his bag, dumping it on the forest floor. He grunted when he found what he was looking for. Thankful suddenly for his apparent kleptomania. He rushed forward, going down beside Tavish.

"Help me get his pants down to his knees!" He commanded and Tavish stared at him in confusion for a split second before listening. He slammed the epinephrine injector straight into Denis's thigh, then fell back and watched. After a while his color started to change back to normal, or at least close to it, and Luke could tell his friend could get his breath again, but his eyes still didn't open.

"We need to get him away from these bees." Luke said and Tavish lifted him by the legs while Luke took his shoulders. Everyone else picked up the stuff Luke had dropped before following them. They found what they hoped was an abandoned tent and placed him inside. Meredith and Tavish stayed inside with him.

"This is about as good as we're gonna get for the night. We need to set up sound traps. Luckily there's a lot of crap laying around." He said regarding the garbage and pieces of metal strewn about the camp site. This place must have been a dumping ground of some kind before the fall. "Be careful not to cut yourself." He said as he took his bag from Jess and pulled out the rope he always carried.

"Did you know he was allergic?" Jess asked as she brought over some hubcaps and dumped them at his feet. He pulled her into his arms for a brief moment.

"Not a clue, just one of those things, I saw it the other day and before I knew it, I put it in my bag." He said with a sigh and she kissed him.

"You saved his life, you know." He just shook his head. He hated being a freak, but moments like this he couldn't help but be thankful for it. The only other option they'd had would have been a tracheostomy. He knew the technicals of how to perform one, but he didn't think he had it in him to do that.

They managed to secure a square area for themselves around the trees. They'd have to be extra careful with their watch that night. The tent was made to hold six people, but would fit seven of them easily as thin as everyone was. It was lucky, this way no one but the one on watch had to be outside, not that the tent would offer much protection.

Luke checked in on Denis while Jess was getting everyone's dinner together. He had his eyes open. He was pale, drenched in sweat, and his arm where the bee had stung him was the size of a tree trunk. Thankfully they had stuff to give him in the medical kit to bring it down, but still they really needed a doctor.

"I've been through this before, I'll be okay." He got out as Tavish stood.

"Gonna go get some air." He said walking out. Luke took his place by Denis's side. The other boy turned to Meredith.

"Give us a minute Mer." She nodded and walked out.

"All the re-ans out there, and I almost get taken out by a bee, I owe you." Luke shook his head.

"We take care of each other, remember. Don't worry yourself, and rest up. I'll take care of things for now, but just till you get back on your feet." He still wasn't ready to be in charge again.

"Can you go check on Tavish, he didn't look too good." Luke patted his unswollen arm.

"He's just worried about you." That thought made Denis smile. His eyes slipped closed and Luke panicked for a moment before realizing that he was still breathing. He walked out and Meredith went back in to watch over him. Luke found Tavish making a sweep around the area.

"How's he doin?" He asked casually, though Luke could tell he was worried.

"I think he'll be okay, he needs a hospital, but..." He shrugged. "He's strong, this won't beat him." Tavish wouldn't meet his eyes.

"That scared the hell out of me Luke. I don't get it. He's almost as skinny as you, and yet..." Luke laughed and clapped his friend on the back.

"You know you think he's sexy." Luke said, nudging Tavish, his friend laughed a minute before sighing. "Come on, let's go get some dinner and sit with him.