Jack's Sister (The Tribe)

3

I woke up to hear Lex rattling the cage and shouting. Sighing, I get out of bed and put by boots on before walking out over to where the cage is.

"This would be a lot better and easier for both of us if you'd just SHUT UP!" I shout at him.

His two companions, Zandra and Ryan start trying to quiet him down as I start walking away. I go up the stairs and into the cafe looking for some fruit I can eat as breakfast. I find an apple and start eating it as I go into the room the rest of the kids were in to wake them up. Once they're all awake I walk out and go over to Jack and Amber who are leaning on the railing watching the three in the cage, as I walk over, I finish my apple and through it in one of the bins.

"What are we going to do about those three?" I ask Amber.

"Were going to give them two options, be let out on the streets, or join us on our terms" she replies

They end up being let out, and not long after, we hear creaking and footsteps coming from the sewers. Amber and Dal went to go check it out and nothing could have prepared me for who came with them when they came back a few minutes later...

It was my crush/exboyfriend, Bray.

What I mean by crush/exboyfriend is that I was dating him a while before the virus, and another girl in my year, by the name of Ebony, moved to my school and ended up taking him away from me. In the end he grew colder towards me while he was with Ebony, but as soon as she left him for his brother, Martin who now goes by Zoot, he went onto the girl that Martin got pregnant by accident. Martin and I had been good friends, and after his parents passed away, I could sense him changing. And what he became horrified me. But in a sense, I knew why he had done what he has. He wanted to feel loved, and to stop being the second choice to his brother. He ended up being the only person I could trust, other than Jack, but left me for Ebony. And I started to know how he felt, being second best.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, we were having dinner and Bray was amusing the little ones with a coin trick. You easily tell that he was good with kids, and that was part of the reason I loved him so much, and also part of the reason that I find it so hard to believe he left Trudy, the pregnant girl, when she could be having a baby anyway now since she only got pregnant around the time that the evacuations started. Quite honestly, I don't think he had even noticed that I was there, for which I was glad.

Lex and Ryan came up the stairs, and Lex didn't particularly look happy that everyone liked him.

"Why are you all trusting him so easily? How do we know he's not going to steal from us or that he's not with the Locos?" He whined.

I decided I should speak up, and try to be the peacemaker.

"Because he has given us no reason not to" I tell Lex. It is only then that Bray notices that I'm here, but he doesn't say anything.

Figures.

"So, Bray" he spat, "Do you think we're a bunch of dummies?"

"Well, I don't shoot my mouth of Lex, unlike you, do you call that dumb?" Bray says with a hint of sarcasm. I taught him well.

Even I had to hold back a laugh at that one.

"Lex leave him alone, he's done nothing wrong" I tell Lex.

"Yet" Lex spat. After that I told the kids that it was bed time and said to everyone that I would clear up. All of them went to their rooms.

Well except Bray.

"Lani?"

"What do you want Bray?"

As I said this, I started picking up plates.

"I just want to talk, here let me get that for you" he says helping me with dishes. I give him a small smile as thanks and start filling up the sink in the cafe.

"There is nothing to talk about really. Oh, let's talk about the way you cheated on me with Ebony at that disco and then turned into a cold hearted bastard and broke my heart into millions of pieces, is that what you want to talk about?!" I shot at him, on the verge of breaking down.

"I guess I deserve that. Look, if I could turn back time I would, and I would never have fallen for Ebony's tricks" he said "I am disgusted in myself at the way I treated you and what I did to you. I understand if you don't want me here" he told me, looking like he was about to cry himself.

"No it's okay, I'm sorry, I guess I just don't want something like that to happen again. But last i saw you, you were looking after Trudy. Why isn't she with you?" I asked him.

He seemed to freeze, before telling me something in a hushed tone.

"You remember those old train tunnels that were abandoned that we used to take walks through, right?" After I nodded, he continued, "I left her there, promising that I would come back with more food, as we're nearly out" as soon as he finished I wacked him on the arm.

"You left a heavily pregnant girl alone, with no means of defence?! Are you really that stupid?" I scolded him.

"Look, I know it's not my best decision, but can I bring her here? This is the safest place I've seen in a long time" he asked me, looking almost desperate.

"Okay but don't leave until early tomorrow morning, take a couple of cans, but be as quick as you can. Lex will go mad, parading around saying 'I told you so' and I don't know how long I'm going to last before knocking him out with a baseball bat" I tell him, running out of breath. At my last comment, Bray lets out a laugh, and soon we were both laughing, but trying to stay quiet as people were trying to sleep. I walked with him downstairs and took him to the old clothing shop next to my room as it had a hammock tied up, and told him to get a few hours rest before he left. He thanked me and gave me a hug and said goodnight before I turned and went to bed myself.

As i turned in for the night, I couldn't help the smile on my face as all my feelings for him suddenly came rushing back. But the smile soon left my face as I wondered what would happen when Trudy was here. She always had a liking for him in school. I cleared my mind and soon drifted off to sleep.