World's End

Chapter Nine

Marissa was in that state of where time seemed to blur together. She didn't remember falling asleep and she didn't remember waking up. Being below the surface meant that it was dark until the lights were turned on. Her eyes were adjusted to the darkness and could faintly see her surroundings.

She blinked blearily at the roof and rubbed her eyes, not quite feeling like being awake or being the one to get everyone out of bed. She lay there for a moment, the hammock swinging lightly beneath her as she yawned and allowed her mind to stay blank as she slowly rolled her muscles, loosening her aches and pains. If this is what she had to look forward to in old age, she'd rather not.

Gradually, she maneuvered herself so she could get out of the hammock and stretched her arms above her head, relishing in the morning stretch as her shoulders popped. She dropped to the floor beside her boots and put them on, using the hammock to steady her. It was going to be a long day, she thought as she quietly went to the bathroom and did her business in there, finishing with combing her fingers through her hair and shoving it into a messy bun and putting on some deodorant that she had left in there the day before. She wished she could properly wash her hair.

"Alright! Up and at-em!" She called with faux enthusiasm as she exited the bathroom and made for the light switch just by Jax's bed and started flicking it on and off, causing her three friends to stir and groan.

"Go away." Jax grumbled and pulled the pillow from under his head and put it over his head. Marissa shook her head at him and left the lights on. She leaned down and grabbed the pillow, attempting to remove it from his face. Jax grumbled and fought to hold on to it but gave up reluctantly, letting Marissa pull it away. Now armed with the pillow, Marissa chucked it across the room, hitting Ellie Rae who was just starting to wake up, in the face. Lincoln was stirring as well, looking partially zombified as he sat up and swung his legs over the hammock and stared at the floor blankly, blinking at the floor. His hair stuck up at odd angles, making him look like a cartoon character.

"E.R, pass me that boot." Jax grumbled, half asleep but he was sitting up now and slowly getting his shoes and sock on. Like the rest of them, he had slept in the clothes he had worn the previous day and was sniffing at his shirt in disgust.

"We need to get some clean clothes." Marissa grimaced as she took a small sniff at her own clothes. Ellie Rae looked down to the ground where a steel capped boot was sitting below her hammock. It was almost graceful, the following movements. She draped one arm over the edge of the hammock and allowed herself to roll out of it, falling to the ground, not even wincing when she smacked her left palm into the ground so that she would not hit the hard floor. Ellie Rae grabbed the boot and launched it, with some mild aggression, in Jax's direction, the latter only just managing to duck out of the way to avoid being hit in the face with his shoe. Marissa snorted and moved away from Jax, who was glaring at Ellie Rae. She was more awake now and grinned innocently at him as she got to her feet.

"Was that entirely necessary?"

"Everything is necessary when it comes to throwing things." Ellie Rae stretched.

It took them all of twenty minutes to get ready to go, Marissa being the one to make sure they were awake and prepared. She had to roll Lincoln out of the hammock because he had decided he clearly wanted to be left behind.

"I need to check the dressing on your leg." Ellie Rae came over to Lincoln and where he was on the floor. He groaned and rolled up his pant leg so that she could inspect it and when she saw there was no breakthrough bleeding, she grinned.

"Do you need to change it?"

"Not right now but I'll need to check it later, okay? I'll grab you some painkillers before we go." Lincoln grumbled something back that Marissa didn't hear but Ellie Rae whacked him hard on the back of the head. He scowled and rubbed the spot she had smacked him.