The Night that never Ends

Around the Fire

The flames had Ryan's eyes in a trance; nothing around him caught his eyes, just the amber ashes and the stagnated orange fire. He was warm, quite warm. He could feel his body heat returning to him after a long night of cold.

Ryan didn't notice a figure standing over him, it wasn't a creature, it was Elijah Webb, our weapon's expert, he dabbled in weaponry manufacturing and designed some of our most effective arsenal,

"You alright Ryan?" He asked with arms folded against his chest,

"No." Ryan replied,

"What's wrong?" Eli asked,

To Ryan it was a stupid question, to Eli it was a serious one,

"It's always dark out." Ryan murmured and didn't even look up at him,

"Yea, the night that never ends."

Eli reported back and sat on a tree stump in front of the fire, and adjacent to Ryan. The flames quickly took ahold of Eli's vision, the orange florescent glow stole his conscious, but it was so warm and inviting.

He, like Ryan, didn't notice the three remaining members of the surviving team walk out into the cold and to the fire. They stood in the space between Eli and Ryan, from left to right, Jacob Mohler, Lexi Daum, and Emily Manuk. They were quick to follow our lead once the virus had broken out in the United States.

Lexi and Emily were cold, they huddle together, their breath could be seen as they exhaled. Jacob stood still, layered with thermal shirts and a snow cap atop his head, he breathed in and out through his nose, arms crossed, and stared into the fire.

By this time; everyone's eyes were on the fire, it still burned brightly, and it provided warmth from the cold. Ashes and embers flew from atop the tips of the fire and landed near everyone, but they took no notice; they just stared.

Jacob's tone was low-pitched, but it broke the silence,

"Where's Dom?" He inquired,

"Patrol." Ryan followed back, his arms were now crossed like that of Jacob,

"He hasn't reported back?"

"No, no; he likes to take his time, he's very overprotective of the shelter, he takes his time, he takes his time."

Ryan seemed distant, he looked tired to Jacob, he looked sleep deprived. To Jacob, he seemed to sleep with his eyes open but Jacob never dared to question,

"I'm cold." Emily murmured and huddled with Lexi,

"Eli, do me a solid and add another log to the fire." Ryan spoke,

Eli reached over to his left where a stockpile of about five medium sized timber logs laid stacked in a pyramid-esque shape. Eli took the one on the top and threw it into the group of burning logs. The fire grew immensely, it burned more, it produced more heat, everyone was now content.

Everyone else was silent, letting the night sky make way for the light. The clouds were always overhead before the sun made its way up. Color could be seen, but everything seemed pale; it seemed like a wasted world.

Lexi turned the cold side of her face in the direction of the fire so she would receive warmth, and then she heard a noise. The sound of footsteps over frozen grass. It made an ominous crunching sound, it was obvious, just like the creatures in the area. She gasped and turned to her left fully facing the direction of the ominous sound. There was just enough light to make out a figure. Emily looked at her friend and then to the direction she was facing. Ryan too now took deep interest.