Fortune Favors the Brave

🩸 Chapter Two: The Girl 🩸

⚠️ TW: swearing, gore, blades, violence, drugs (OTC meds), depression, death, murder, ⚠️

We figured out that there was a small garden in the cafeteria that some of the cafeteria used for the lunches. It was growing vegetables like celery, broccoli, and lettuce. They grew some fruits like strawberries and blackberries but they don't thrive too well without natural sunlight. I creak the classroom door open quietly, guard up at all times.

Everything's quiet like normal. I hear distant fighting, probably D hall practicing in the gym again. We found out that the P.E kids practice using spears in the morning.

I walk down the hall quietly, being careful not to disturb the classes nearby.

I peak around the corner cautiously. The coast is clear. I climb the nearest locker to the right of the hall. The locker groans from the extra weight as I shuffle to the top. I crouch-walk to the end of the bank, where I gambol down.

I walk into the cafeteria. I immediately go to the lunch specials counter. I crouch down to the floor and trace the stains that linger on the floor. Blood stains.

I look to the middle of the cafeteria. People have moved the tables to make a circle. In the middle lay about 34 dead bodies, doggy-piled on top of each other. Some have weapons still in them. It's fucking sick.

I walk into the cafeteria and hear a choked whisper, "Anyone...please...hel.....p..." I grab my spear and enter the kitchen through the doors behind where the sound is coming from, so I don't get jumped.

I enter and see a girl, probably a 6th grader, laying on the floor speared. Not dead though.  Just like Jess and Lola.

I don't think before I do it. I slide my spear back into my bag and rush over to the girl. I lift her up. She moans as I steady her. "It's okay, it'll be okay." I feel the need to help her. I couldn't help Lola. This is my second chance.

We make our way down the hall back to my science class. We have medication that can help her, at least a little bit.

When we get back to the classroom, I kick the door three times with my foot. Connor rushes over and opens the door with a spear. He sees the bloody girl in my hands, "Oh shit," He mumbles leaving the door open. I rush in and lay the girl on what used to be Ms. Barlowe's desk.

I run back and close the door, locking it.

Connor shuffles through the desk drawers while Elena and Myley rummage through the medicine sinks. Jasper tends to the girl, "They barely missed her small intestine. She'll survive if we can stop the bleeding fast enough." I run over to our shower and dampen a small cloth. I ring it out and shuffle over to the girl.

"It's going to be a little cold," I slowly, carefully, begin to wipe at the blood on her face. She's beautiful. Her long, blonde hair is stained with dirt and blood and her soft, pink skin is now rugged with blood. "She's going to need a shower. Look at her hair." I tell Connor.

"I can handle it," Elena offers from the other end of the table. I nod and step to the side. "Hi, how old are you?" Elena asks the girl. The girl opens her eyes and whispers, "12". She is a 6th grader. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

She swallows, "Fernley," She lets out a hesitant breath, "I-I'm from A Hall." She closes her eyes again, and begins to doze off.

Her words hit me like a tank. We haven't heard from anyone in A Hall. Does that mean that West is alive?

I pick at a dried clump of blood on my jeans. I hear everyone around me inhale deeply. I look up at the girl. She's out cold, the medicine must have kicked in.

"What'd you give her?" I ask while standing to finish cleaning her face with the damp cloth. Connor looks at the medicine bottle, "Melatonin. It should keep her out for a few hours. It's the best we have. This and Benadryl." I re-dampen the cloth and gently wipe her face. Elena comes over to the shower and fills a bucket with water and adds some Dawn Dish Soap.

Jasper begins to clean her wound and stitch it closed.

I pull over a stool and balance the bucket on it. I lift Fern's head into the water carefully. As soon as I do, Elena begins to untangle her hair and wash it. "Go get me a towel, could you?" Elena's barks at me.

"Alright, alright. No need to get an attitude with me. Damn." I shuffle over to the  cabinet where I sleep and open it. There's a few towels rolled up, I grab the red one.

I gambol down and toss it to Myley, who catches it and throws it to Elena. She wraps Fern's head with the towel  and gently places her back on the table.

I stare at the girl and wonder who she was before the Dark Days, what she was like. She has on black Nike Pro shorts and a white tank top.  Although the tank top isn't so much white anymore. It's a dirty russet color with blood circling a hole in the middle where she'd been speared.

"I think we should give her new clothes," I say quietly. Elena and Connor look at me then back at Fern. "Her clothes are dirty and torn, and once she heals she can't risk getting the wound infected." Elena looks at Fern's clothes and sighs, "You have extras?" She asks. I nod and shrug to my backpack.

"Fine. If you have extras you can change her clothes," Elena doesn't finish her sentence before I start the shower and preparing her clothes. I pulled out a baggy, blue T-shirt with our schools logo on the front and a pair of black sweats with an embroidered logo on the ankle. I found some black crew socks and a pair of Nike running shoes. I had the extra Nikes on me for PE.

"We'll give her some privacy. We'll go scour the other science classrooms for life." They all head out and I lock the door.

I'm alone with a random girl.

Her eyes slowly flutter open.

"W-What's happening?" She asks, her eyes searching for an exit. She tries to sit up and winces in pain. Her hand reaches for her stomach but before her hand touches the skin, she pulls back. "Why am I b-bloody?" She looks at me, fear in her eyes.

"You were speared in the Cafeteria. I found you and brought you to our home. I gave you Melatonin to knock you out while we stitched you up and cleaned the wound," She looks at the shower running, "I was going to ask you if you would like to shower? I have fresh clothes you could wear after since yours are um, well, yknow, destroyed?"

She slips off the counter, wincing, and stumbles towards the shower. I help her up and close the tarp to give her privacy. "There's some clean clothes on the stool next to the shower and there should  be some baking soda you can mix with water. You can use that for your hair."

I walk back over to my bed and change my clothes. I slip off my dirty jeans and pull on red pajama bottoms. I keep my black tank top on but I add a gray hoodie.

The shower stops and a hand reaches out from behind the tarp to grab the towel and clothes I left. I hear shuffling as she dries off and slips on the clothes. The tarp opens and the girl steps out. She holds the socks in her hand as she hops down from the sink. "Thank you for the clothes," She swallows, "They're really nice."

I genuinely smile at her shyness. "Don't mention it," I take a breath. "If you don't mind, I would like to ask you some questions?"

She puts the socks on and looks up at me, "Yeah, of course." She trots over to me and hops up on the counter. "Can I stay with you guys?" She asks, opening the cabinet. "Yeah, there should be a pillow and sleeping bag in there you could use. If there's not then you could use some of my blankets."

She pulls out a balled-up sleeping bag and pillow. "Where can I lay this out?" She asks, looking around. I look below me, "You can lay it out under mine." She nods and begins to make her bed.

I gambol down after she's laid it out, "Okay, question one, what class were you in when the Dark Days started?" She sits criss-cross applesauce, "A8. Math."

West was in A9.

"Do you know anyone in A9?" Her diamond blue eyes lock with mine and become glossy. My heart sinks, my stomach churns. No, no, no. "W-We haven't... I.... A9 got wiped out by another class a few weeks ago. We haven't heard or seen them in weeks."