Paradise

Chapter Four

I ended up dozing in and out of sleep until the morning. I was paranoid we'd have to get up and run again, but Aiden assured me he'd wake me up if anything were to happen. Liam and Aiden never went back to bed, which comforted me enough to get some rest.

I ended up waking to Aiden tapping my shoulder lightly, "We're about to head out." He said.

I nodded and sat up, wincing. My arms were more sore than they were the night before and I had a headache. My knees and ribs hurt from the impact. I grabbed my backpack I'd been using it as a pillow. I hadn't bothered with taking out my sleeping bag, I just left it in my backpack.

I pulled my other apple out of my backpack, that now had a large dent in it from when Liam threw my bag. I wiped it on my shirt and took a bite and approached Liam and Aiden.

"Are you ready to go?" Aiden asked.

I nodded and noticed Liam had just finished his apple. Aiden snapped his fingers and held his hand out, palm up, and Liam placed the apple in his hand. Aiden walked up to the edge of the building and threw the apple. It went spiraling through the air and hit a skin eater in the back.

It snarled and spun around, spotting us and screeching. It limped towards us abnormally fast and ended up walking right off the roof. It plummeted to the ground below. I peaked over the side and saw it laying mangled in a pile of twisted metal and concrete.

"You try." Aiden laughed.

"Me?" I asked.

"No, the skin eater over there." Liam halfheartedly pointed across the gap to the other roof.

I took one last bite of my apple and stood on the edge. I threw the apple across as hard as I could. It hit a skin eater in the back of the head with a wet thump. The apple stuck to the scalp of the creature before rolling off taking slimy, gray skin off and a tuft of hair and rolling away. The skin eater didn't react.

"Okay, that was gross." Liam said.

I made a face and Aiden laughed, "Let's go."

We left the roof through a stairwell similar to the one in the building next door. We were spit out onto the street. Just as we stepped out there was a loud screeching growl. Liam turned his just as a skin eater came out of no where. The skin eater gripped his arm and went in to take a bite. I stood and watched, frozen with horror, everything was happening so fast.

Liam pulled his arm out of it's grasp and reached for his gun, but with the force of the skin eater pushing on him he stumbled backwards and fell. He landed on his back and the skin eater came down on top of him. He didn't have enough time to brace it's fall and it came down right on his chest, snapping at his neck.

Suddenly Aiden came out of no where. He grabbed the skin eaters deteriorating shirt and lifted it's face. He kneed it's head and blood splattered the concrete around us, leaving a stain on Aiden's jeans. He dropped it's shirt and kicked it off of Liam, firing two shots from his revolver into it's head. Aiden turned to Liam and held out a helping hand. Liam took it and Aiden pulled him up.

"You okay?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah," Liam wiped blood off his face, "Thanks."

Aiden laughed, "Isn't that just a great way to start the day, huh?"

"Yeah...sure." I muttered.

Liam pulled a map out, "Okay, if we take this route we'll be able to get to Montana by traveling around 1600 miles." Liam pointed to a red line drawn on a map, starting where we were, Little Rock, Arkansas and ending at our destination, Butte, Montana, "It'll take us a while to get there."

"28 days," I said in awe, "It'll take us 28 days to get there if we travel at 3 mph and don't stop to eat or sleep."

"Geez," Aiden said, "How'd you figure that out?"

"I, uh, used math?" I didn't know what to say.

"No shit you did." Liam said.

"Well, it's gonna take us 50 days if you two keep chatting it up." Aiden laughed and started off in one direction, "Come on, let's get moving!"

I was about to follow him when Liam said, "Aiden, buddy it's this way."

Aiden blushed, "Pfft, I knew that."

We walked for most of the day, making occasional stops to eat and rest, as well as to loot houses. We ran into a group of four skin eaters. Aiden and Liam took care of them as if they were nothing. I just stood cowering in the doorway incase we needed to run, but we never did.

We stopped five times the entire day, and honestly I think it was the most I'd walked in ages. My feet ached and by the time we finished I was in dire need of sleep. We found a house and swept through it twice, checking for anything that may be hiding.

The house was clean, besides an owl Liam ended up shooting and slow roasting on the floor in the kitchen. Aiden pushed a couch in front of the front door and put a chair under the handle of a door in the kitchen. He pulled the curtains together and what ever window wasn't covered he laid a blanket over it. I laid my sleeping bag out in the farthest corner after I finished my owl, which wasn't very good, but I was good enough. Liam took the couch and Aiden laid on the floor next to him.

As soon as my head hit my makeshift pillow exhaustion took over. I gave in and let my heavy eyelids fall shut as I plummeted into a deep sleep.