All That Remains

Deserter?

I hammered on the huge iron bars furiously, as the hoard approached us. Two of Lang's cronies, armed with guns, heaved open the gate before we could be chewed up by the throng that was lingering behind us. As the gate clanked shut, I strode up to Lang determinedly. "There." I said tossing my satchel at her feet. Owen, Misty and Lexi placed their rucksacks along side mine. "Four times the original amount. I also got you more soldiers. You happy?" I spat at her feet.

Her two bodyguards stepped forwards aggressively but she called them off. One of the bodyguards, a girl with a brown bob, stared at me with a hostile, threatening glare. "Michelle, Ezekiel calm down." She commanded calmly.

"It's Zeke!" The boy complained irritably. Lang looked uninterested.

"You have done well... Considering you were alone."

Suddenly I realized that I hadn't seen my friends yet. I ran to the dorm, gesturing the Halls to follow me. I pushed open the door to find the small room empty. "Where are they!" I shouted worriedly.

"Who? Your family?" Lexi asked. Nodding quickly, I ran out of the room and smacked into Ash. "Ufff... What was that for?" He asked dazed, rubbing his head. "Where are they ?!?" I asked panicked. Ash looked at me for a couple of seconds then realization crossed his face. "Oh, follow me." I sighed in relief, who knows what Lang could have done to them? As the five of us left the building I saw a fenced off concrete area, probably used for drills when this place was working. The younger ones seemed to have found some other kids and were playing with them. I ran over to them. Olivia shouted my name and sprinted over. I enveloped her and Max in a warm hug. "I knew you hadn't deserted us Zoey!"

"Wait, What? Who told you I had deserted?" Olivia thought for a second, then remembered. "Umm, I think her name was Michelle." Michelle! The girl who had been looking at me weirdly! At that moment, Justin and Ben came over. Justin grinned. "You shouldn't run off like that." He joked. Starla bounded up to me and I patted her head.

I had introduced Owen and his sisters to the children and now Misty was happily playing tag with the others and Lexi and Owen were chatting to Clea and Ash. I noticed a blonde boy sitting on the ground watching the game. I recognised him from the night we were found. Dale was his name. I went over and sat down. "You came back then." He said solemnly. I explained what had happened . Dale "I came here with my sister, Hannah." He pointed to a young blonde girl who was playing with Olivia. "We were among the first people to arrive. When we found this place there was plenty of food and medicine, but many people were injured. Lang said before you arrived that we were going to have to send out scavenging parties if we wanted to create a community. I guess you were the first, huh?"

I spoke to Dale for a bit, but he seemed like a quiet, solemn kind of guy. I decided to ask Justin about him later. I left him sitting on the floor, to go talk to the others. As I approached, Ash seemed to be joking around and and attempting to lighten the mood. Lexi and Owen had, unsurprisingly, unamused expressions on their faces. I walked over and Clea squeezed my shoulder supportively. "You did good today." I smiled gratefully, it had been difficult.

I wasn't too sure whether I trusted Lang and her group. It was hard to trust anyone anymore. At that moment the bodyguard called Zeke called for everyone to return to their dorms as the sun had completely disappeared behind the trees. As we were walking back, I sidled up to Justin and asked him about the people here. "Ash is upbeat and optimistic, but he is hiding something dark behind that grin. Clea is... Loving. She has someone who she is searching for, or misses dearly. She is a trustworthy person. Dale is kindly, if quiet. He loves his sister very, very much. That Michelle girl? She is a cruel girl, probably was one of those girls that had a gang that worshipped her and went round bullying kids. Lilly acts like a soldier, but really, she is just a scared little girl. Lexi, definitely a tricky one. She is a good liar, and looks innocent. Misty is stubborn and determined, once she makes her mind up nothing can change her. Owen... Protective, strong and gentle. He is like a father figure to his sisters. But you, I still don't understand." He sighed tiredly, I guess it was really bugging him that he couldn't 'read' me.

"Justin, you are a bloody genius."

He grinned."I know."

I left the others in the dorm and hastily made my way to the infirmary. Bursting open the door, I strode noisily into the hospital bay. It was a wide, clean room with a few injured people lying in beds separated by blue curtains. There were people with a stump for an arm or a large, empty hole where an eye should be. The doctor, Laila, rushed over and flapped around me like an irritating bird in a blue medical dress. "There are sleeping patients in here! Why did you come? What do you want?" She squeaked exasperatedly.

"I want to see Ryan. Where is he?" I demanded. She looked slightly taken aback at my rudeness but she hurried me along the room. "This way, this way, honey." I scowled, I hated people calling me pet names.

Ryan was at the end of the row, with his foot in a cast. He had dark rings around his eyes and he looked like he had been crying. When he saw me his entire face lit up with joy and surprise. "They told me you'd ran!"

I hugged him. "Not today mate!" I grinned.

I explained everything that had happened to him. I told him about Owen, about the hoard that chased us, everything. I told him I would come to see him everyday, and he said that soon he would be out of bed and on crutches. Then Laila fluttered over and complained that I was disturbing the patients and that Ryan should rest. I hugged him quickly and left before the bluebird could say anything else.

That night I lay on the floor, as there were only six beds in the room. Owen was asleep next to me and I stared up at the ceiling. I was exhausted but I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinking about the little girl having her guts pulled from her body...