Fever Dream Red

7

Eli turned around to face us. His eyes pointed to Matt and he made circular motions on the side of his head with his hands. In other words, he was calling Matt cuckoo. It only made Sunny laugh harder, unlike me. I was keeping my lips sealed. I didn't want to be the subject of Matt's distaste.

Matt caught sight and rolled his eyes.

Skye soon followed.

"As I was saying," Matt resumed, glaring at Eli, "we could probably make a move in about a week or so. I, for one, am not hanging around here." They looked at the rest of us, gauging our reaction, as Eli actually turned to listen.

Skye continued. "We'd have to go via the causeway, obviously. Someone will have to keep a lookout there and check out what time the tide comes in. After we've crossed it we can go to the city and see what supplies we can get. Then, we can get out of this dump forever."

Eli pinched the space between his eyebrows.

Nobody moved.

"Something wrong?" Skye challenged, crossing their arms in return and angling their head up slightly.

"We can't move Zoe now. It was hard enough getting her here in the first place."

"You'll just have to stay here then." Skye shrugged.
Eli's expression turned blank. "I guess we will." His voice was on the floor and Mimi took a break from biting her lip to rest a warning arm on his shoulder.
"Everything sorted then?" Matt finished, looking at all of us with a wide smile.

With a cheery little wave Skye tossed their pen on the table and flounced out leaving a breeze in their wake as they passed me and Sunny.

"Where do you think they've gone to?" I murmured to Sunny.
Probably to wake up Zack."

Zack was much like what Danny and Inez were to me. Zack had taken care of Skye for as long as I could remember. They were virtually inseparable, but Skye was really the smart one. Zack tagged along with what they said. They were usually right.

I guess Zack must've been both a late and a heavy sleeper. I hadn't seen him since the night before, where he was having heated debates with Skye over the plan.

The scene in front of me had descended into chaos. Everyone was arguing; everyone wanted their word. Me and Sunny were in the eye of it all, taking it in, pretty wallflowers entangled in an ugly brawl.

"Wanna get out of here?" I asked Sunny.
"Sure." She grinned at me.

We skipped along happily away from the chaos. We reached the end of the hallway.

"What should we do?"

I thought for a while. I had already been to the beach, and it was about early morning. I had only just realised my stomach was growling lowly, much like a car engine.

"I haven't eaten today." I stated simply. I wondered if Sunny would come up with some magic solution to cure me. But, alas, she didn't. After all, she was just a teenager too.

"At all?" Sunny asked, as if she couldn't possibly fathom the fact. She was shook.

I just nodded in response.

"We better fix that then. What do you want?" Sunny started the sentence with a sigh and ended it with an enthusiastic stride.

"Toast." I answered.
"Oh, come on Finny. That's boring as hell."
"Deal with it." I said, shrugging.

Sunny just rolled her eyes.

"Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? Look around Sunny. The. World. Is. Ending."
"You know what I mean."
"I do."
"So...?"

Sunny found my eyes, which were pointed at the floor. She touched her trainers against mine and I blushed. I wasn't sure why.

She sighed, telling me I was a lost cause.

She took my hand and pulled me to the lift.

"Sunny!"

She just giggled in response.

Her laugh made me laugh. It was one of those contagious ones.

"Where are you taking me?"
"Where I always go when I'm upset."
"I'm not-"
"Yes you are. Don't lie, Finny."

She pulled me into the lift. I never really liked lifts, the sudden jolts of the mechanism scared me a little. Your life really depended on the machine in that instant. It always does.

I told her as much.

She held my hand and told me I would be fine. My pulse just quickened. Words never helped anyone calm down.

And there was the roof. The view was beautiful. All the peachy pinks and melodramatic purples and deep sea blues marbled together to create a blinding sunrise, stars glittering like sequins on a dress.

I sat there on the concrete, and realised that right here, right then, I was living. Properly, this time. The one silver lining that had come out of this whole thing was that now I was actually significant in some way.

At least I could say I never had to work a boring office job for all my life. Money would never matter me. I was living in the wild west; there were no laws anymore. At least, no one was enforcing them.

Sunny interrupted my thoughts.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked me.

I nodded.

Sunny continued. "I think that if I wanted to die anywhere, I would want to die here. It would be like the skies were waiting for you, guiding you upwards. So if I get that virus, you know exactly where to carry me to, don't you?" In fact, I wouldn't even mind if you stabbed me or shot me in the chest or something slow. Then I could watch the colours of the sky slowly blend together as my eyes shifted out of focus. I wonder what shade of awesome it would be become."

Sunny beamed at me.

Strangely, when she talked about death like that, it made me desperately want to experience it for myself.

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Thanks to dojacant for doing so. It is appreciated :)