Survivors

Chapter 4

I woke up the next day still tired and sore from the bed spring poking me in the ribs all night long. I squinted as sunlight streamed through the only window in my room and my eyes quickly glanced at the alarm clock. 7:56 AM

I groaned as I shifted and my bed squeaked in protest. We needed new bed frames. I needed it. I could hear the happy chatter of girls in the crowded bathroom and smelled burnt bread, as usual. I quickly dressed and left the house once I made sure a fire wasn't about to erupt.

I made my way to HQ and headed to the bathrooms there. It was easier to take a shower there then at home. I stripped and stepped into the warm shower basking in it for 5 seconds only. There was a sign in each showed that read 'Showers No Longer Than 5 Minutes. Thank You.'

I showered quickly and turned the water off suddenly hearing chatter of other agents including the voice of Nelsom. I dreaded bumping into her since I knew she was still sore from last nights argument. Once I heard the shower water turn on I for out and dressed.

As soon as I stood up from putting my boots on I was eye to eye with Nelson who was only wrapped in a towel, her blonde hair dripping water on the floor.

"What are you doing here, Burns?" She regarded me with hard resentful eyes.

"Taking a shower,what else? My bathroom is crowded with teenage girls." I said not wanting to argue with her and not wanting her to know she was intimidating me right now. She made a 'humph' sound but nothing more for the time being.

I grabbed detergent and a sponge and cleaned the shower that I used. It was another one of the rules. Once I finished I put it in the closet in the bathroom and turned around only to be slammed against the bathroom wall by Nelson.

"Don't think for one second I forgot your insubordination last night. Just know when I strike you will be VERY sorry you ever spoke to me like that." Nelson hisses through clenched teeth which quickly turned into a fake smile and she kissed my cheek.

"Now run along and you better not tell anyone what happened."

I only nodded and quickly got out of there wiping my cheek. When Nelsom was like this I hated ever being around her and now I was even more scared then ever about her retaliation.

"Burns, are you okay?" Garcia asked as I passed her by while she headed inside the bathroom.

"I'm fine. See you later." I said quickly and almost ran to the training grounds.

All agents-in-training got trained by two or three different agents each day. Today it was my turn to train them with my mentor Bailey Jones. She was an older woman of about thirty with short brunette hair and dark skin and I think she told me she came from Georgia.

Jones was a good person and had been my mentor when I was younger. I stepped inside the warehouse that served as the training ground. All around us wee boxing bags, archery targets, gun targets, weights, knife throwing targets, and mats to spar on with each other. Outside was a maze to help home in on an agents strengths and weaknesses.

The girls that I boarded with weed here training. JJ and Annie were soaring with each other, Hope was practicing her archery, and Faye was busy perfecting her shooting skills.

"Hello Burns, decided to come I see." Jones said jokingly and hugged me. She knew I had to come whether I liked it or not but the joke was nice all the same.

"Yeah it beat sitting at home alone all day. How have you been?"

"I've been alright. Violet lost her first tooth yesterday." Jones said proudly. Five years ago, Jones went through the insemnination process and gave birth to her first and last child, Violet. The little girl looked a lot like her mother except her brunette hair was curly and untamed.

"Awe, that's sweet. Congratulations." I said sincerely and yelled to a trainee a tip for sparring.

"So how have you been?" Jones asked staring at me intently.

"I dunno. Yesterday an uninflected man was dropped at our doorsteps." I proceeded to tell her all that I knew about the man. Jones nodded and made sounds of agreement once in awhile.

When my story was finished she spoke,

"Well the way I see it he's a blessing in disguise."

"How so?"

"Well look at us. How many girls do you know that has turned lesbian because of our lack of men?" Jones said waving her hand about herself as if we could see the whole nation and count each one.

"Too many to count. We need men back in our lives. God put them, there for a reason and it wasn't to just ignore them. When He made Adam and Eve He made it that way not so Eve could find Susie and leave Adam but so the oppsofie genders could be together like He intended." Jones said with passion. She told me before that she was a Catholic and believed in God. It wasn't like I never heard him before, in fact, I remember the Sunday School stokes but with everything that has happened, I don't think I believe in him anymore.

"Agreed but we can't talk too much or we'll be seen as heretics." I whispered. Last year a woman came to Donavan complaining about what life was forcing people to do and said it was a setup. She even said she had information that would bring this town to its knees and face reality. She said that there were fewer men infected now days and that Donavan was keeping us here for her own game. That night she was found dead in her room.

Donavan had said it was suicide and that the woman was taking drugs and going crazy. Everyone knew her though and we knew it wasn't true. We all had our suspicions but any talk of a uprising was immediately squashed. Jones and I said no more about it as she told me tales of her Violet and how her little girl was doing. I don't know what I would do without the moral support of Jones. She was like a mother to ,e and I'm not sure how I would go on in life without her.