The Cure Is The Curse

Chapter Two

It was an uneventful week with the new members.

. Every day was the same: wake up, eat, search for a safer place, eat, and sleep. We had to travel constantly because those creatures were good at tracking scents, especially scents of the ones who were clean.

Taveon and I led the group through the run down town. We needed to find a good building to stay in for the night. Niva, Celeste, and Quinna were behind us. Niva and Quinna made fast friends. They were a lot alike. Axton and Jax were behind them. I think there is something going on with those two.

We came across an abandoned school building. The windows seemed intact. We broke into the door and then locked it back once we got inside. My group stayed downstairs to check out the place and Taveon took his group upstairs. The bottom floor was clear and we met back up with Taveon's group at the staircase. Upstairs was clear as well.

"Let's stay downstairs. That way if the creatures break in we can get to them faster," Taveon said.

"No," I argued. "We need to stay upstairs that way if they break in we will be able to hear them and they won't be able to sneak up on us. They can't break in from up here."

"Then we won't be able to pin point where they broke in at."

"They move quickly. Even if we are able to pin point where they broke in at they will be long gone."

"Miri's right," Niva said.

"Niva!" Taveon said.

"She's right," Axton agreed.

Taveon glared at them and then at me. "Lead the way," He mumbled at me. I smiled triumphantly and walked up the steps in front of him. I placed us in the middle of the school in one of the classrooms.

"We have more food this time. Axton and Jax were able to kill two rabbits and three squirrels," Celeste said while she started making the fire. I sat down next to Celeste and Quinna and Niva sat down on the other side of me. Jax and Axton completed the circle around the fire and Taveon sat in a corner of the room.

"I'm glad Taveon has finally met someone that challenges his stubbornness," Niva said.

"You two are so much alike," Quinna added.

"I just wanted us to be safe," I said. I didn't know what they were expecting.

"You two would be cute together," Quinna whispered lowly. I gave her a weird look. "What? You can't tell me you haven't thought about it."

"Possible relationships are the farthest thing from my mind. I have six people to protect from the disease."

"We aren't your responsibility, Miri," Niva said.

"Yes you are. You are a part of my group now."

"You're more like Taveon than you know," Niva muttered.

I took a squirrel and started dressing it so that they wouldn't bother me about Taveon. I can't believe that they were thinking of such trivial things. What was the point of a relationship? I was constantly on the one trying to protect myself and others. A relationship would just hinder me from protecting my group. A relationship could never progress any further; marriage was a thing of the past and having kids was out of the question because 1) I would never want to bring a kid into this awful world and 2) it would slow the group down.

I started cooking the squirrel and once everything was cooked we cut up the meat and portioned it out equally for seven people. We sat it out on plates for everyone. I looked up and noticed that Taveon was still sitting in a corner. I got up and brought his plate over to him.