The double doors on Jane's left swung open and Ross, Nate, Alex and Annie made their way through. They had plastic bags in their hands and the sound of tins clanging against one another let Jane know what was inside.
Alex's cheeks had gained some colour and in the light, Jane could see just how pale Annie looked. Her skin sagged on her face and her red freckles were like dots of blood across her nose. The buttons at the top of her shirt were gone, possibly from when she'd ripped it open for more air.
They lay their bags down by the wall, some cans rolled free but nobody bothered to try and catch them. Annie, Nate and Ross sat down opposite Courtney and Jane. Drew left the classroom, carrying everyone's bags into the hall and dropping them, stepping back to close the door.
"So what now?" Alex asked, standing beside Drew. The rain was louder now, it echoed up the hall, reminding them that it was still there. He looked down the hall, the light allowed him to actually see the end of it.
Courtney sat in thought for a moment, biting her lower lip. She stood up and made her way to the bags. "How much did you find?" She asked, opening one and peering inside.
"A lot. Enough food to last for days, water too." Ross replied, watching her sift though the contents.
"What time is it?" She asked, letting go of the bag's handles and standing up straight. Annie looked down at her watch.
"Almost five." The girl answered, lowering her hand and looking back to Courtney.
Courtney nodded to herself and turned around, looking up the hall. "I say we move to the top floor and eat." She recommended, turning around to face them. They looked sick, each and every one of them looked like the living dead. Her head tilted in sympathy. "I know we probably can't keep anything down but we need to try."
They sat around a table in a chemistry classroom on the top floor, bunsen burners alit. They had just finished about 7 tins of beans, 4 tins of soup and were now onto a tin of peaches each. For just a moment they all forgot about the end of the world as they devoured their food.
At first, they felt sick at the smell of it all but as soon as they took a bite, they realised how hungry they really were.
Ross sat beside Courtney constantly looking down and seeing her somewhat cheerful face, Drew sat with Jane chatting about anything that they could think of and finding out they had more in common than they thought.
They decided it would be best to turn the rest of the lights off in the school, in order not to draw attention to themselves. The only lights in the room were a few bunsen burners dotted around on each table. The had managed to block out the heavy rain and focus on other things, it was hard but they were actually able to smile.
Annie scraped the bottom of her tin, her smile falling when she saw that she'd eaten all her peaches. She looked down and placed the empty tin on the table staring at it with sadness. A can was pushed into her line of sight and she looked up to see Alex sliding his tin across the table to her. She smiled thankfully at him and picked it up, shoving her spoon eagerly back inside.
"Alright." Courtney's voice interrupted their conversations. She had just caught sight of Annie's watch and noticed how dark it was outside. "I think its time we got some sleep, we may have a big day tomorrow." She said, hoping to persuade them to call it a night. She was shattered, she'd been pushing the idea of sleep away for so long but she couldn't do it anymore.
"What do you mean?" Annie asked curiously, dropping her spoon in the tin. She placed the half empty can on the table and turned her body around so see Courtney more clearly.
YOU ARE READING
The Rain (Book 1 - The Unprotected)
Action**DISCONTINUED** Rain in the UK is common, an everyday thing. So, when it rains one afternoon, no one is shocked or surprised. But when that rain burns the skin off peoples bones and causes their flesh to dissolve, it's no longer looked at the same...
