Thumbs

Trust

~The monsters were wearing the most strangest things on their faces. They looked like large rubber noses with giant glass eyes and two circular disks on each side of the dangling tip. Every few seconds, she could hear them hissing from under the masks. Maybe they were wild animals.

Suddenly, one of them stepped forward, with one hand extended towards the others as if they intended to hold them back from attack. Maurice tightened his grip on the staff as the monster stared at them. The one that had stepped forward lowered their gun slightly and stood up straight with a tiny tilt in their head in Jasons direction. The monster then reached under their chin and lifted the mask in one fluid motion, revealing a pale pink face.

“Jason?” The lady asked in a high voice.

Stupefied, Jason’s mouth turned in all sorts of forms, going from gaping to smiling in a few failed attempts at forming words. But when he finally got the words out, the lady was already walking towards him with an equally bright smile on her face.

“Maya?” He asked as she hugged him.

The girl had completely removed the strange mask, releasing her blonde hair that tumbled down to her hips in a tight braid. The other people had also lowered their guns, however they kept their weapons pointed in Maurice’s general direction. Maurice returned their cautionary postures with his own.

“What are you doing here? I thought that you’d be past the hills by now!” The lady snickered, pulling away from Jason and punching him playfully in the shoulder.

“Its only been a few months. . .” Jason groaned as he rubbed his arm.

“Five months. And thats exactly my point! What have you been doing this whole time?” Maya asked, her blue eyes shining and her smile making two little dimples around the corners.

“Well, I’ve been collecting sea shells, counting stars, making friends.” Jason said sardonically while subtly pointing towards Maurice and Katie.

Maya turned towards the two and her eyes widened slightly, as if she had just noticed them.

“I can see that.” She muttered and paused when her eyes found Katie’s. After a few moments of intense staring from both ends, Maya leaned back towards Jason without turning away from Katie.

“Is she. . .?” Maya asked over her shoulder to Jason, who nodded. “And is he. . ,” she continued.

Jason shook his head, “No. He’s not infected. He actually claims to be immuned.”

Maya looked up at the giant with a depreciating glance. Had she been expecting someone else? She then took a step towards them, making Katie retreat even further behind Maurice in order to avoid the strange woman. Maurice also reacted the the ladies advancement by turning his body so that he was squared with hers. His movement caused the other people to raise their weapons and take aim at Maurice.

“No, no its okay!” Jason said, leaping next to Maya and holding his hands up to the others. He then turned towards Maurice and attempted to explain himself.

“They live in the same camp as I do. They are good people. People who want to help.” He reassured while Maya stared at Katie with her piercing blue eyes. Katie did not want to be stared at. Maya’s gaze shifted from Katie to Maurice and she gave him a sweet little smile.

“Lets start over. Alright?” She asked as she held out her small pink hand.

“Hello, my name is Maya. And you are?” She said, almost too kindly.

Maurice just glared at the girls hand, giving no response and tightening his hold on the wooden staff. Maya frowned slightly and lowered her hand in an almost hurt manner. Jason stepped forward between the two and gestured towards his right.

“This is Maurice. He’s the one who has been taking care of Katie.” Jason explained in place of Maurice before gesturing to his left. “And like she said, this is Maya. She is a scout. And the others here are apart of her team.” He explained to Maurice, who was still glaring at Maya.

At this Jason turned back to Maya and sighed, “He doesn't say much.”

Maya moved her lips to one side of her face while she changed her focus from Maurice to Katie, “And this must be Katie.” She said in an annoyingly high tone of voice. Katie retreated behind Maurices leg again, making Maya disappear from view.

~Maya tried to peek her head around Maurice's leg, however the sound of Maurice’s gloves squeaking as he tightened his grip on his staff caused her to hesitate. She looked up from Katie to Maurice again with a smile that did not reach her eyes.

“Well, since you’re here now, we can escort you to camp.” She said with a slight pause. “If you’d like.”

When Maurice gave no response she saw it as though he needed further convincing.

“Its not all that far. Ten minutes tops.” Maya said with a reassuring grin.

Maurice squinted at her, but otherwise stayed perfectly still. Katie looked up at him and shook his bloodstained pant leg. He looked down at her without moving his head. She pressed her cheek against his calf with a wide eyed expression, and, without speaking, told him that she was nervous of their new company. Maurice seemed to get the message and looked back at Maya with a shake of his head. This seemed to catch Maya off guard, as her face went from cheerie to astounded in a matter of seconds. Jason walked up to Maurice so that they were only about a foot away from each other.

Maurice, being about two heads and a half taller than Jason, looked down at him with a tired scowl. Jason returned the frown as he began to speak.

“We walked for three days Maurice. Three. Days. And you want to turn back now?” He asked, staring into Maurice’s eyes with staunchness. Maurice looked from him to Maya before sighing and shaking his head half heartedly.

“I swear you are the most difficult person in the world. Not to mention the most erratic and subjective! You know what. Fine. Go. Get out of here. Have fun walking through the snow with no food or proper shoes you plank.” Jason then turned away with his hands in his pockets.

Maya turned away from Maurice as well, but only to stop Jason to talk with him out of earshot. Katie stepped forward slightly, now that Maya was no longer a danger, and absentmindedly touched the bandage through the hole in Maurice’s jeans. Maybe they had extra bandages too? The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that they needed to accept help from these strangers.

“Maurice?” Katie asked as she traced the tiny squares that covered his bandage. “I think. . . I think I want to go to Jason’s camp. We should go to Jason’s camp.” She said before looking up at his pale face. He seemed conflicted, with his worried expression and subtle sigh. She smiled up at him, “It might be fun. And then we won’t have to worry about snacks.”

~He glanced over at Jason and Maya, who seemed to be in small argument. Jason, who had a tendency to talk with his hands when he was angry, looked like an urked mime compared to Maya’s calm but steadfast expressions. Maurice abruptly lowered the butt end of his staff to the ground and walked over to them, not caring that they were still having their conversation. When his shadow casted itself over them, the two paused and turned their heads in his direction. Maurice looked at Maya with hesitant countenance before he sighed heavily and nodded. Maya smiled kindly while Jason looked away and shoved his hands back into his pockets again.

“Good, good! We are off then.” She said cheerily.

The other members of her group all lowered their weapons, as if her voice had a hidden signal that only they understood. She turned and tapped Jason on the elbow before turning away and walking through the small group. Maurice limped back to Katie, who latched onto his free hand the second it was within arms reach. He lead her towards the strange blonde lady and the faceless followers, but Katie was looking over her shoulder at Jason, who was still standing motionless for a few moments, staring at them all with downcast glance, woolgathering at the group from a distance. He seemed almost remorseful, but that was only for a few moments. As if snapped back into reality, Jason’s face resumed its slightly irritated expression before he followed them from behind.