Shelter

Chapter Two

          I felt groggy when I woke up with the sun on my face. Again. "Morning, sleeping beauty. If you don't mind, I took some of your granola bars." Jared said, grinning. I looked at the backs here all three of them were sound asleep.
          I stretched before relaxing back into my seat. All of this sitting was making my legs and butt sore. "When did you stop? And by the way they are called power bars. One can replace a whole meal." I yawned and rubbed my eyes. How can Jared look so awake this early?
          "We stopped an hour after you fell asleep and I started driving about two hours ago. You want one of your power bars? They taste pretty bland but they certainly do the job." He handed me one and I accepted it. I opened it and took a small bite. I could see the truth in his words now that he mentioned it. "So how long have you been in the Lab?" I chewed more slowly so I could have time to think. It felt like I've been with the Lab from the start but I knew that wasn't quite right.
          "I think since I was ten, maybe." It was uncomfortable to talk about it. I avoided the subject like scientist avoided the sun. They were so pale it was creepy. Jared frowned and I knew he wanted to ask more questions than I was willing to answer. Still, it couldn't hurt to answer a few questions.
          "You've been with them since before the Turn?" The troubled look on his face made me self-cautious. "What exactly did they have you do?"
          I shrugged. "Lab rat stuff. Made us run mazes with Walkers, trained us for survival, and took blood samples after each trial. The maze was my earliest memory. I woke up with Kim and the next thing we knew we were running from Walkers." I frowned. "Wait, it couldn't have been before the Turn. We were running from Walkers for sure."
          "You're what? Fourteen? Fifteen?"
          I glared at him. "I'm sixteen."
          He grinned nervously. "Sorry. Well anyway, the Turn happened five years ago. It only makes sense that the Lab started the zombie apocalypse. They probably created some monster on accident, decided to experiment with it, and next thing you know, everything is out of hand. So, what? Are they trying to find a cure?" I shrugged again. They might have spoken freely around us but they always erased out memories.
          "So what exactly is Blue Waters like?" U didn't feel like talking anymore so I would let him do it for me. Thankfully Jared was perfectly fine with changing the subject and talking.
          "Well, Blue Waters is the one quarantined area that didn't become complete anarchy within a year. It's a small town with probably no more than fifty people. Everyone has a job and as long as you do your part you get food and shelter. Mostly we rely on the land for food but we still have to go on supply runs." He gave me a grin. "Sadly, not a lot of them are girls."
          I raised a brow at him. Instantly he became nervous again. It this time it was different. He cleared his throat before he continued. "I've been with them since I was fourteen, three years ago. I joined up with this guy and his younger cousin on the first year. Jackson does supply runs and his little cousin  Xavier is only nine so he spends time with a tutor all day." The names he gave sounded awfully familiar but I couldn't figure out why." I wasn't expecting him to go personal with his taking however.
          "Before this whole mess, I had a pretty good life. Middle class family, stay at home mom, cool dad, and a cool older brother. My brother had a lot going for him. He was going to attend Harvard and become a Lawyer." He sounded up effected but I could sense his sadness. He lost his family and clearly remembered the details.
          "I'm sorry for your loss." I didn't feel right saying it but I didn't know what else to say. At least he could remember good times with them. I couldn't even come close to remembering who they even were. Kim was my cousin and surely I must have parents. I would never know if I looked like them, or what they were like. I wouldn't even be able to find out if I had a sibling or not.
          He shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it now. Except make the Lab pay for it. But enough about me. What about you. What was your life like before the Turn?" I hadn't realized I was warming up to him until he asked me that. I instantly closed off again. I moved slightly away.
          When I didn't say anything he got the hint that I was done talking. We drove in silence until the others woke up. It didn't take long for the three of them to start up a conversation. Last night it had been about Walkers, today it was about Chris and Daniel's backstory. The two blonde twins were already orphaned when they were five and just when they were about to be adopted they ran away. They were with Blue Waters from the start but they didn't specify how they got there.
          "That's so sad but at least you had each other. Like Tia and I. At least I think so. I'm pretty sure." Kim said after hearing their story.
          "What do you mean, you think?" Chris asked. I turned in my seat as though I was going to nap. I already knew what she would say. Even do I didn't try to stop her.
          "Tia and I can't remember anything before the Lab. If we had a family we don't know about them. For all we know Kim and Tia aren't even our real name. I'm pretty sure those names were given to us by the scientist. But we're cousins! It's all good." She sounded so perky about it, anyone would think it didn't bother them. I knew better. I turned completely so my back was to Jared. He's so easy to read, I could tell he was looking at me. I didn't want sympathy.
          After an hour or so we finally left the forest and soon we entered a small town. I sat up and looked around feeling interested. Then after a minute I began to hate it. I knew what things were and what they did but I didn't know how I knew. It frustrated me to no end.
          My gaze landed on a mall and my frustration became less. "Can we go to the mall?" I asked without thinking. Jared looked over and shook his head but still turned in its direction.
          "I swear girls are complete aliens and malls are their motherships." I frowned at him. I remembered several things but I didn't recall aliens or what're a mothership was. For some odd reason Jared found my confusion amusing. "Never mind. I just meant malls are to girls as honey is to bees."
          "Girls make malls? I thought that the majority of contraction workers were males despite the fact that more and more females had joined the work field. Would males have built the malls instead?" He laughed at that. When he realized I was being completely serious he stopped laughing.
          He looked almost saddened. "How much of your mind have they messed up?" I shrugged but when he kept looking at me, I sighed.
          "I know what most words mean and what most things are but that's about it." He parked in the parking lot. I was about to get off but hesitated.  "How do we know there aren't any walkers in there?" When they all got out of the truck, I decided it was safe enough to get out as well and finally stretch. The guys pulled out guns that they had brought.
          "We don't know but we're pretty sure there are several of them in there." I was pretty sure it was Chris speaking. He had the red shirt on.
          "Chris and I will go in first and you two walk close to Jared. We don't want you two getting too scared." Daniel teased. Kim and I looked at each other and we both grabbed our guns from our cloaks and pointed them at their heads, safety off, finger on trigger. We had not intention to shoot but it frightened them enough.
          Jared snickered at them. "I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves. Now when we go in there you girls can fill s bag with clothes and anything else you need. I'll stay with you and Chris will go with Daniel to go look for some gas. We will give you guys an hour to return." He looked at out guns and frowned. "Those are too loud. Do you have anything more quiet?"
          I grabbed my bow from my cloak pocket and grabbed my quiver from the back. Kim grabbed her sword and Jared looked at us with approval. Jared grabbed a riffle and a silencer. The twins left in the truck to find gas. "Okay, so I'm thinking that Kim, you open the door on my count of three. Tia and I will be standing off at a distance so we can shoot them down as they come out. We will shoot the ones closer to you so you can move back okay?" It sounded risky for akin but she agreed.
            Kim went up to the the door that had been closed off with a lead pipe between the handles. I prepared my arrow, waiting for the signal. When Jared said three she pulled it out and opened the door. The Walkers flooded out and I shot the closest one to Kim. We had to shoot down five in order for Kim to get out. She cut off some heads as she moved toward us and we focused on the ones walking toward us. There were like fifty of them and I had to work quickly. Shooting without hesitation. Kim didn't hold back a bit and Jared worked quickly.
           By the time we finished the entrance was covered in rotting bodies. I wasn't sure I wanted to go into the mall so badly to walk over them. "Is there another way in?" I plucked the arrows out of them and held it from the end. Hopefully there was running water close by.
           "We can go in through the back." Jared led us in through the back door. He helped me clean the arrows in the water fountain in the middle of the mall and I returned them to my quiver when I dried them.
            The mall looked smaller in the inside then it did in the outside. It had only a few stores. First, we went to a store called Nike. We grabbed a duffle bag each. "Okay, so we're going to go to Sears and you girls can go get some clothes or whatever you need. I'll be in the tool section getting some things. We'll meet in the front of the mall in thirty minutes okay?" We nodded and went to the clothes part of the store.
          Kim grabbed random comfy looking clothes but I took my time. I couldn't believe that there could be so many options of clothing. The scientist all wore lab coats and all we got to wear was gray sweats. I got some cute jeans, tops, shorts, and some shoes. Just a pair of leather boots and sneakers. We went to get some undergarments which was awkward even if Jared wasn't with us.
          When we finished we went to go get changed out of our dirty sweats. Kim got s pair of jeans and a t-shirt, along with blue sneakers. I changed into a pair of black shorts that reached mid-thigh and a purple tank top. I put on my leather boots and was ready. We met up with Jared. He looked at me making me feel self-conscious. I was more used to the scientist watching me.
           "You know, you look a lot better outside those sweats." He said, clearly trying to sound casual. I shrugged as though I could care less.
          "It's hot outside and those sweats were dirty." I shifted his bag so it would stop bumping into my bow. Seeing me struggle he grabbed my bag. "I can carry it on my own, Jared." He ignored me and walked ahead to the truck as the twins pulled up. With him in front I got to really watch him.  
           He was tall, dark skinned, strong, and his hair was in small braids. He was interesting to look at for sure. We put our stuff away and we got in the truck. We left the small town behind.
           With the sun up higher as we drove, it became hotter and the heat became unbearable even with the windows down. Jared decided to roll up the windows and turn the AC up high. It fell really good to have the cold air hit us full blast. Unfortunately it was a lot colder up front then in the back. I didn't say anything about it but I was starting to freeze. Jared must have noticed and he handed me his black hoodie.
          "Should have packed a sweater huh?" I rolled my eyes as he made fun of me but I gladly accepted the sweater. With me being so short and him being tall, his sweater was big on me but it covered me very well and felt a lot warmer.
           When it was just Kim and I, we would talk for hours together. But now she had the twins and she entertained herself by talking to them. They had new stories that she has never heard after all. I stayed quiet for a while until Jared tried to get me talking again.
            "Are you up for a game? It's called twenty questions and you can decide which of us goes first." I took off my boots so I could sit with my legs crossed on my seat and I pulled the sweater over them.
           "Questions about what?" He grinned at me.
           "You can ask about anything. And I'm counting that as one question. You have nineteen left." I arched a brow at him and he laughed making me tilt my my head.
            "What's so funny?" That just made him laugh more and I didn't even know what he found so funny.
             He held up two fingers. "That's your second question. What's funny is how much you remind me of someone else. I only know one other person who can arch their brow the way you do. Sorry but when you do it it's adorable." I felt my cheeks heat up.
            "Who's that person?"
            He smiled. "Jackson. You remind me a lot of him but I'm not sure why despite the eyebrow thing and stuff."
           Interested, I sat up straighter. "What stuff?" His face changed but just for a split second.
          He thought for a minute. "Well you both have the same dark hair color, you know, almost black both of you don't like talking much about yourselves, and both of you definitely have trust issues." He shrugged. "That's pretty much it though. He's a lot taller than you."
           Those few things reminded him of only one person? "What's your favorite color?" I didn't know what else to ask and it seemed a simple question enough. Jared glanced at me.
           "That's how your last question?"
           "I thought I had twenty?" He smirked at me.
           "Now it's five." I crossed my arms and pouted. Not on purpose. I always poured when I upset. Although why him changing the rules upset me, I'm not sure. Or perhaps I was just tired. I closed my eyes to rest them and the minute I did I realized my headache is was why I was upset. I got them so often sometimes I didn't even. It iced them until I was cranky.
           After a minute Jared spoke up. "May favorite color is black." It was barely a whisper but I still heard of.