When I Die

Ch.6

Perry

The smell of pancakes woke me from a deep sleep and I couldn't decide whether to be happy or pissed off. 

Yawning, I got out of bed and looked over to the tiny kitchen to see Keith already dressed and making the sweet smelling pancakes. 

"Morning," He greeted without looking at me. Creep.

"Good morning," I said with another yawn. I don't remember ever being this tired before. I slowly walked over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt. This time, I made sure to grab a bra. That perv wasn't getting another show. 

I waddled to the bathroom, my muscles sore and my skin feeling tight. 

It look longer then usual to change and put my shoes on. My body was screaming in pain the whole time. 

After about fifteen minutes I left the bathroom and took a seat at the table next to Keith. He didn't look up from his plate as he devoured the pancakes. 

I loved pancakes but I didn't feel up to eating. I settled for a bottle of water and sat silently as Keith ate. 

"You need to eat. You missed out last night and I didn't see you eat at all yesterday." He sounded like a fucking parent. 

"I can handle myself, Thank you." I took a gulp of the water and sat back in the chair. My head was pounding. 

"I have no doubt. But you still need to eat. Not to mention, these pancakes, are the best." He winked at me and once again, I rolled my eyes. I found myself doing that a lot with him. 

I grabbed a pancake and sat it on the plate. It only took a minute before it was gone. I hated to admit it but I was starving. Whether I cared to eat or not, He was right.

"See, They're the best." Keith said and sat back in his chair. I smiled and nodded. They weren't as good as my mom's but they were delicious. 

We sat at the table and finished off the rest. I was stuffed and ready to go back to sleep.

"You need to eat more then two next time," Keith said and took the plates off the table and placed in the sink. 

"We'll see." I said and stood, pushing in both of our chairs. The hallway outside the door began to fill with chatter and footsteps.

I backed away and kept my eyes on the door. I began to remember being at school. The kids being afraid. The chatter and the sound of the sneakers squeaking against the floors. The girl in the hallway being devoured by the principal. 

"Breathe. Its okay. Its just the soldiers switching shifts." Keith was crouched in front of me, both hands on my knees. When did I sit down?

"Its not the things?" I asked, my voice shaky. I was pathetic. Why was I scared of them?

"No and even if it was, I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He tightened his hold on my knees and I nodded. 

Keith stood and held out his hand, I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"Let's go see what this place looks like with some sunlight." Keith grabbed something off of the table and lead me to the door, his hand still in mine. He opened it  and locked the knob. I guess since they gave us a key, we could lock up. 

They were quite trusting.

Keith kept his hand intertwined with mine as we walked down the halls. He stayed in front of me the whole time. Slowing when we saw people. I couldn't stop looking down at our hands. I had never held hands with someone before. 

He probably has. I shook my head. Why did I care?

"Hey," A boy stopped us. He looked to be around our age. Keith moved more in front of me and nodded at the boy.

"Im Tommy. You guys are new here, right?" He asked, smiling at the both of us. I pulled my hand from Keith's and stepped out from behind him.

"New here? Have you been here a while?" I asked. This all started yesterday.

"Well technically, I suppose. My parents are both military so I've always lived on this base." Tommy spoke with confidence. He seemed proud of his parents.

"Cool. We better get going. Keith placed a hand on my lower back. I looked up at him and back at Tommy.

"Im Perry and the social butterfly to my right is Keith. We came here late last night." I smiled and placed my hand over Keith's pulling it off of my back. But instead of him letting it go, he held it again. 

I felt butterflies flying around in my stomach. Why was he holding my hand?

"Well, My partner is waiting so I'll be seeing you guys." Tommy waved and went down the hall, the same way we came from. Keith began leading me again.

"What was that about?" I asked, slightly frustrated at his actions. He was acting weird as hell.

"Don't worry about it." He said, sounding annoyed. I just shut my mouth and followed close to him. 

After a few more hallways and lots of turns, We ended up outside in some courtyard. Men were in lines doing what looked like a workout.

Keith finally dropped my hand and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"Ah, Keith and Perry. How was your night?" The boss from last night approached us with a big smile. 

"Good. Thank you for the room." I said cheerfully. Maybe my positivity would outweigh Keith's negativity.

"We will be needing that second room." Keith said and I turned to look at him. He wouldn't look at me though. 

"Absolutely. I'll have Private Ruben bring you the key. Was there an issue?" The boss asked and looked between us.

"No. I just want a separate room." Keith was back to his alpha male personality. I should have known he was just like every other guy.

I rolled my eyes and walked off towards a group of soldiers who were quietly discussing something. I could feel Keith's eyes on me but I didn't care. He could go be a dick to someone else. 

"Hey," I said with a smile. All of the men went quiet and only one returned that smile.

"Hey doll," The one who smiled greeted me. He reminded me of a character in a movie I had watched. He had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a sharp facial feature.

"Where did all of the supplies come from?" I asked sweetly. I tried my best to sound dumb, which honestly wasn't hard. 

"We stocked them a few weeks ago-" He was cut off when the man to his left smacked his arm. 

"Oh," I bounced on my tip toes, "Gotcha. Do you think there will be enough for everyone?" I asked in the same annoying tone.

"Most definitely." Another one spoke, "But we will be going on a run for more around quarter to one." They were all glaring at each other. I'm glad they weren't in charge of keeping this whole virus thing under wraps. They would have failed terribly.

The whole 'going on a run' thing peaked my interest, "Do you take volunteers to help you on this run?" Couldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Why, You interested in going, Doll?" Mr Smiles asked.

"She's not." Keith's voice boomed from behind me and I jumped. Ive said it once but I will say it again, Fucking creep. 

"Actually I am." I said crossing my arms over my chest. 

"Okay, well lets get you geared up then." Mr Smiles smirked at Keith and I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

"Im going too." Keith said and followed us. Mr Smiles, well smile, faded but he didn't say anything. 

This was going to be a dick measuring contest. Maybe they'd make a game out of this 'run'. Who can kill more biters, Who can snatch more food, or whatever else is up for competition. 

I just wanted a breather. A chance to process.