Akeldama | lrh

four - "Ok, Alexandra."

"I was raised feral, and I mostly stayed that way."

-unknown

•••

One thing is for sure: these people don't like talking. 

Everybody is silent as we walk through the wreckage, and it's incredibly unnerving. I don't know what else to do except let my eyes roam over the group, taking in their appearances.

Almost all of them are in tight black tank tops and camouflage cargo pants, with thick laced up boots. Even the girls. Speaking of which, there's about ten of them, a two to one ratio between the guys and them. Every single one of them looks like they'd snap you in half if you even breath a word in their presence. I keep my mouth shut.

Luke gave a brief introduction to the main people in the group before we set off, and it's hard to forget them. There's Michael, the crazy haired boy with the large black box that turns out to be some sort of smart computer that runs on satellite. He's a genius, could've gone to Harvard apparently, but he kept hacking into his schools speakers and playing porn audios so he was expelled. He's been in the artillery ever since.

There's Calum, a thin but stocky guy with a baby face and thick eyebrows. Tattoos liter his arms, and he's seems to have a permanent I will kick your ass expression on his face. The large assault rifle strapped to his back does nothing to lighten this factor. He seems the closest to Luke, and from what I can tell they somewhat grew up together.

And finally, there's Ivy. When I call her an amazon, it's almost an understatement. She's built like a warrior, with a long blonde ponytail that whips behind her like a ribbon. She's a whole head taller than me, and carries two samurai swords on her back. A single tattoo of a flame resides up the side of her neck. She's clearly one of the leaders of the group.

Considering our current direction, we're heading to Norfolk. I don't know how long it will take to get there.

"Pshht." I nudge Zay, who's been walking beside me in silence. "How long do you think this is going to take?"

He shrugs. "I don't know." There's a funny expression on his face, conflicted but relaxed at the same time. "Do you.." He pauses, biting his lip. He lowers his voice. "Don't you think there's something weird about this? We're just moving along by ourselves and then boom, here comes this mass of warrior people with pointy things and guns."

"Yeah, I know it's weird." I adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder. "But it's not like we had any other options."

"But we did, Alex, that's the thing." Zay grits his teeth. "We could have gone on by ourselves. Found help on our own. What if these people are really nukes and they're taking us to a torture camp or something?"

I shrug. "Doubt it. They would have killed us already."

Zay sighs. "How are you so calm about this."

"You do realize I was asking you the same thing last night, right?"

"Yeah, but that was when we were on our own. Now I'm afraid my manliness is being sucked out of me from being surrounded by all these buff guys. Even that girl looks like a fucking amazon. I feel like a pip squeak."

I snort, and shove his side. "You've always been a pip squeak."

"Not true."