BARGHEST

Chapter Six: The Learners

There were a few things that had to be worked out that night, and nobody slept much. The ones who Mick predicted would stay behind put up little resistance to his logic, and surprisingly they were not the only ones to stay. Lindy and Jake offered to hang back to help Wolf hunt and protect the house if need be.

Grace looked a little peeved at first, but her face quickly softened. Forty figured she was thinking the same thing as her, that those two had seen enough in their travels. From the anecdotes Grace would sometimes share, Forty could understand why her companions weren't eager to return back to the city.

"First things first, we need to get new clothes," Grace says on the morning of the second day.

It had been almost unanimous to put her in charge of the logistics of this trip. After all, only half of them had been to a city before, let alone intricately hunted it for years.

"Clean, coordinated clothes are important to humans. We also have to get some sort of face covering. Some use respirator masks, or face shields and cloth masks. It's not just important to have your mouth covered because it hides your fangs, but it makes humans think you're trying to stay clean."

"Is it even airborne?" Mick asks, cocking his brow.

Forty thinks of when Andres first explained the human perspective on the virus to them. Like an STD.

"Not necessarily. Sure, if I spit, cough, or sneeze straight into your mouth it could infect you, but biting and infected blood is the main method."

"Humans have grown to use it as a bit of a safety blanket. It reminds them of how they stopped a previous pandemic. Don't fix what hasn't been broken, and all," Cade explains.

"Which works for us, because it can hide some of the more turned parts of our faces," Grace says, wrenching Alex's jaw open to show her gnarled teeth. Alex slaps her hand away.

"We can get our stuff a few ways. We could raid a donation station, go dumpster diving, or we can steal it. In my experience, though it's risky, the third option usually helps you blend in more," Grace says. "Makes sure you have things on trend."

"There's a department store just about twenty miles from here. We could get there in a day easily," Cade says. "But while we're getting to that store, wear clothes that look like they go together, and make sure they're extra clean."

"Another thing we have to get on the way to the city is a cooler, even better if it's one we can use like a backpack."

Grace palms the general shape and size of the cooler in the air. "If we want this trip to be worthwhile, especially for the people at home, we have to keep the blood fresh."

"If we're going to the store I'm thinking of, there should be some there. Maybe not backpacks, but portable ones," Andres offers. "Or we could use a few lunchboxes."

Grace snaps her fingers, pointing at him. "That could work," she says. "The main thing we have to think about when getting this stuff is that it has to look plain. You never want to draw attention to yourself as a human, even if you aren't infected."

"Now that we have our shopping list, let's talk about some behavioral changes." Kimi looks pointedly at Mick, Forty, Alex, and Quinn. "Weird behavior will make people suspicious of you, even if it's harmless."

Forty recalls Kimi opening up to her when her and Mick stayed in their camp for the first time. She could see why the girl put so much effort into not only her physical appearance, but also her presentation of self. Forty watches her intently, silently proud that she's confident enough to speak up instead of just playing with her chickens where no one can find her.