Life After Death

Chapter 27

After I had explained what had happened, and the women in the cap seemed to confirm it to be true, there was a period of silence. One which felt longer than it probably was, but one of suspense, nonetheless.

Without much being said at all, we were pulled back up to our feet, and lead into a bare looking room - one which seemed like it was a town hall of some sorts. One by one, our hands were untied, though our ankles were not, and we all rubbed them together. Enjoying the release of the tight friction. And much to our thankful surprise, a man and a women entered the room, holding trays of what we almost didn't believe to be food. Real, proper, food.

Bread, eggs, and even a few rashers of bacon, even bottles of water. Foods we hadn't had in what could've been a century as far as we were concerned.

No one said anything for a short while again, we didn't even speak to each other, to occupied on filling our mouths with food. The girl who seemed to be the leader, and the rest, seemed to leave us be. All bar one guy on the door, who didn't seem to think us a threat, but was there as security anyway.

"You guys came back for us?" Jade asked, smiling at the thought, each one of them making eye contact with who they came back for in particular.

"Yeah, you guys did too," Jace said, lacing it with sarcasm. Like he didn't want his sister to tease him for being a softie to his core.

"Well," Nathaniel said, looking at them all before our gaze rested on each other's, and then laughing, "We couldn't very well leave you to be the Lurkers lunch."

Everyone smiled at the sentiment, the idea we wouldn't be able to abandon each other, before resuming eating as much as we could get out of the food given to us. Still, no one back to talk to us.

Perhaps they were giving us time to eat, which did not take long at all as we shovelled it down as though we'd never tried bread before. Or, more likely, they had gone off to try and decide what to do with us.

We almost didn't realise when they did re-enter minutes later, focused on the food and water given to us, thinking we could never have enough of it. Trying to save the crumbs we had left.

"Why did they capture you guys? The Reapers," The girl said, almost bluntly, "They see you as a threat or something?"

"To try and keep people away, we spray painted their scythe around the area," Javon answered, the only one without a mouth full of food or water, "We thought that if people thought they occupied it, the only threat would be the Lurkers."

"And it was, until they saw it themselves," Nathaniel finished, "And realised we were basically impersonating them."

"So, they tortured you for that?" The man who seemed to be like a right-hand man, asked.

"Not just for that... We've had rumbles with them in the past let's say," Jade said, before Jace interrupted.

"They cost her her eye."

"And that's how they recognised us. You don't see someone with a scar like that every day."

There was another pause as they seemed to try and work out the ins and outs of our story, whether they believed and trusted us, and what to do next. All of us sat like a duck, looking up at them wondering what was going through their heads as they examined us.

"You say you were staying at a hotel, got burnt down?" The man asked now, "How far away?"

"Yeah, we were. I don't know, it can't be too far I wouldn't have thought," Axel said, "but we have no recollection of the direction we were taken."

"I think I know the place," One of the guys situated slightly behind them said, "I drove through a place like it about two weeks ago. It's not too far away, an hour, give or take."