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A board. A long, dusted, sawed off plank was used to mark Olivia's grave. It's surface rough and blank sat atop her burial place, taunting Vada as she crawled beside it. Her head was hung low, her body slumped as she stared at the piece of wood. Her breaths were slow and empty as she leaned her weight against the marker, balancing her forehead to the side of it. Pebbles and dirt were lodged underneath her long nails, her hands layered with dust and soil. Slivers and tiny cuts on her palms bled, only to be smeared as she rubbed them together and over her cheeks.
Footsteps came from behind her. She turned her head, lips parted, as she stared up at her father. He had left after lowering Olivia's body into the grave. With the help of others, he had covered her and left the girl to mourn by herself. She couldn't bear seeing the lifeless body of her friend, so she had taken on the job of digging it rather than filling it.
"How are you feeling?" He lifted his head, holding Judith in his arms. Vada's eyes flickered down to her baby sister, a frown on her lips.
"Better than yesterday," she breathed, looking down at the dirt. She ran her fingers through the soil, sketching unsystematic patterns. Rick sighed, his head twitching as he looked towards the rusted mahogany gates.
"He should be here any minute now." Rick's head fell to the ground.
Sprawling her legs out, the girl responded, "yeah. I know."
His eyes bore into the girl, jaw tightened. "We're gonna fix this. I, we're-"
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. A quiet, pathetic chuckle escaped her lips. "No. Don't even think about trying anything." She looked up, meeting the eyes of her father. "That's what Carl did, and look where that got us." She felt Olivia's grave pushed against her shoulder. Leaning her head against it, she shut her eyes.
"We can't, we can-" her father stuttered. Vada opened her eyes, twisting her jaw.
"For now, we need to accept that this is who we are." Vada's stare went blank. A hint of shock flashed through her father's eyes before he tightened his grip on Judith. "Or else somebody else dies."
A rumble came from outside the walls. Both eyes shot over to the gates as a loud banging came from the other side, numerous trucks pulling up near the dividers. Rick's eyes darkened. He handed Judith off to his daughter and swallowed the lump in his throat, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He then held his hand out and inhaled sharply, spinning on his toe. "Stay here. I'll try and stall."
