Metamorphosis

-Chapter Five-

The next morning, everyone was up and early to work. From fishing to checking supplies, everyone had a chore. Even us kids. Glenn assigned Peter and me to picking up starter wood for the fires. Branches, sticks, leaves, anything that could be lit on fire easily. Papa used to have a lot of backyard fires, so it wasn't a challenge filling my arms full of materials.

Peter and I spent about thirty minutes carrying supplies back and forth until our legs gave in and we could barely stand another moment. Peter and I rested in the shade under one of the nearest trees, sweat rolling down our foreheads as the sun ate away our comfort.

"I feel like I'm melting..." Peter turned his head slightly so his green eyes mirrored mine. "I'm going to die."
I shake my head. "We won't die. I don't think." I looked back at the adults, all of their foreheads shining and exhaustion clear on their minds, but they continued to push forward. Someday, I hope I can be as big and strong as they are. Then I won't get tired of carrying sticks. Carrying sticks is hard work.

"Do you think we're going to eat soon?"

I shrugged. "I hope so."

Every day after that started out with chores. We weren't given a whole lot to do, but it was hard work after a while for us. Thankfully, we didn't have to work all day as the adults did. We got to play with our friends. Edith had some issues with playing nicely with Greg, It took her a while to get used to him, but eventually, she came around. Greg and Sam were getting better adapted to our people. Greg was the nicest boy I had met. He always shared his toys.

He and Peter got along great as well. They became close friends right away. They played a lot of games together when Edith and I were preoccupied with our own activities. Sam, Greg's sister, was pretty nice as well. Once in a while, she would come and play with Edith and me. She was quieter though. Edith was always the loudest. She was always starting some trouble.

Recently, the adults had begun to worry about food. They suggested Glenn run back to the city to scavenge would he could. I don't want him to go to the city. What if he doesn't come back? What will Peter and I do? We can't lose Glenn as well. The people in the city may never let him come back to get us.

That afternoon, Glenn was helping cut Peter's hair when I asked him,

"Will you have to go to the city?"

"I may have to. We need food."

Peter says, "Daryl can hunt."

"But we need more than what he can find," Glenn reminds us. I frowned at my feet and drew circles in the dirt.

I ask, "What if the people in the city keep you there?" Glenn hesitated for a moment before he smiled down at me.

"I don't think that is going to be an issue. I will be okay, I promise." I rested my head on his thigh and watched him continue his attempt at controlling Peter's hair. Lori had to step in to help out.

Within a few days, Glenn, Andrea, T-Dog, Merle, Jacqui, and a man whose name I have forgotten were sent to the city. Glenn said a long goodbye to Peter and me and I couldn't stop the tears that were falling down my cheeks. I didn't want the people to keep Glenn away from us. What scared me the most, however, was the fear in Glenn's eyes. He knew there was something more to going into the city than we did. We were too young to grasp the true danger of Atlanta.

"He will come back," Peter assured me.

I hugged my twin and nodded. "I hope so."

"Do you want to go play with Edith, Greg, Danny, and Carl?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go get my dolls." I ran over to our tent and I received my nesting dolls. I stopped outside of my tent when I heard odd noises coming from the forest. I did my best to look out into the trees without moving, but the woods were too thick. I walked towards the noises, holding my dolls to my chest.

I wandered a ways into the trees before noticing movement ahead. I hid behind a tree and I looked out at the movement. Shane and Lori were hugging on the ground. Naked. What a weird way of cuddling. I went back to my group of friends and sat down on a rock next to Peter.

"I saw Lori and Shane cuddling naked in the woods," I say.

"They were having the sex." Edith looked at me.

Greg asks, "What's seggs?"

"Sex," Edith corrects him. "Adults d it to have a baby or feel happy."

Peter questions, "How do they do the seggz?" His Russian accent was thicker on the new word and it took a moment for Edith to understand.

"Papa says that boys put their "penis" with a girl's "vagina" and they do stuff. He told me we were too young to do that."

I say, "But boys pee with that. I don't want their privates near mine."

"Me neither," Edith agreed.

"Can we play something?" Greg asked. We all agreed on Tag. A harmless game. 

(Sorry to catch all of you off guard this early with mature content. But the warning is on there for a reason. Hahaha!)