Vagabonds

Chapter 4

Chapter Song: Wiser by Old Man Canyon

ALEX'S POV

I put on a clean shirt and sling my weapons back on me then head out the restroom with Riley trailing behind me.

The others were busy stacking up the supplies I brought into the cabinets. But once they saw me they all stopped and gave me their attention.

"Okay first off, you need to barricade this place properly. I looked at your exits and probably the only reason why zombies haven't sniffed you out yet is because there's not much left of you anyway." Alex tries to stop themself from laughing at the sad sight in front of them. Not that they were any different. "In line with that, you're gonna have to get your hands dirty because I've found that the most effective way to hide our human scent is by covering it up with zombie stench. Hence, my blood and guts appearance earlier."

"We have to cover ourselves in blood? A boy in glasses, who surprisingly looks a lot like the girl in glasses earlier asks.

"No. Not yet at least. You just need to pile up some corpses along the perimeter and paint up the cracks with blood."

They all nod in unison as if what I just said was totally sane.

"Next, you need to gather some weapons. Whether you like it or not you're gonna need to fight or rather defend yourselves when you go on supply runs."

"You keep saying you. Are you not doing this with us?" I look at John. I remember him because he did a total one-eighty when I told them I'm non-binary and he didn't even try to hide it. So much for being a good youth leader.

I stare at him shortly and look around at the others who have hopeful looks on their faces. "Have any of you seen any zombie type of show?" I ask.

Random yeses sound about the room. "Good. Then you've got a gist of how to fight them off." I look back at John. "And to answer your question, no I'm not doing this with you. I'll just stay for a day or two to give you the basics but after that I'm leaving."

"What? Why?" Riley asks me, panicking. I swear this girl always panics when I leave.

"Because I only have enough energy to watch my own back." I tell her simply.

"Don't you think that's selfish of you?" John speaks up again.

"I think I'm more than making up for it by bringing you all these and teaching you what I learned." That shuts him up but I can see him trying to think of something else to say.

"Please stay. We won't survive without you." The guy who helped me with the bags steps forward and looks me in the eye. The fear in them is enough for me to believe what he said.

The others start saying their own pleas and arguments for me to stay. Wow, I've never felt so wanted in my whole life. Note the sarcasm.

I run a hand through my hair and breathe out. "I'll think about it. In the meantime let's fix your barricades before it gets dark."