Gory Glory // l.t au

3 - Leila

Leila

“Come on, Stripes! It's not that difficult! Put that last pole into the ground and place the material over it,” I instructed Louis.

We were setting up a tent for the night. I normally just stay in the Jeep when it's only me, but there's not enough room in it for two. I keep the tent for scenarios similar to this. Louis has been my first companion in months, it feels weird to talk to someone. He's so lost as to what to do, although I don't really blame him. He was in a coma when all of this started, he's not prepared for it at all. And I feel like it's my responsibility to take care of him.

Louis stabbed the pole into the ground with all the strength he could muster. It remained upright for a minute before tipping up and falling over onto the grass. His satisfied grin vanished and he frowned.

I sighed in frustration, tugging my hair band out of my hair and letting it fall loose. I untied the bandanna scraping it back and used it to mop the beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

“Let me do it,” I told him, grabbing the pole and piercing it into the ground. It stayed put. We both pulled the material over the poles and pegged it into the ground. After about quarter of an hour, it was set up.

By then, it was night time. The crescent moon lurking above in the dark sky resembled an evil grin.

“How's this gonna work?” Louis asked, “Like, is one of us keeping watch whilst the other sleeps or what?”

“Nah, I think it's safe for both of us to sleep. Breathers often sense Living from sound. Their vision's far from adequate, and their stench most definitely overpowers ours. So they rely entirely on listening for us. That's why I like sleeping nowadays. It's the only time I feel safe”.

“Makes sense. I'll...um...you got anything I can change into?” he asked. I could hear the embarrassment in his tone. It was amusing.

“I've got some grey sweatpants in one of the bags. Hang on, I'll get them,” I approached the Jeep and pulled one of the bags out. I searched through it until I found the sweatpants. I removed them from the bag and tossed them to Louis. He thanked me appreciatively.

He hid behind a tree and emerged moments later in nothing but the sweatpants. His hair was still quite damp from the wash he had in the river a few hours ago. While he had been behind the tree, I had removed the majority of my weapons from my body and changed into a dark blue vest top and black boy shorts. My hair was cascading in messy waves down to my elbows. I grabbed my revolver from my bag and crawled inside the tent, placing it beside my head just in case of an emergency. I rolled over so my back was to the entrance of the tent.

A few minutes later, I heard the zip open and shut, and the weight of another body sit beside me.

“Leila?” Louis questioned.

“Yeah?”

“Why do you have so many clothes belonging to guys? First the swimming trunks, now the sweatpants”.

I hesitated before speaking. “They're my brother's old clothes”.

“You have a brother?” he asked curiously.

I paused. “Had”.

“Oh,” was his only response for a while, until he spoke up again nervously, “Mind if I ask what happened?”

I turned over so I was facing him and propped myself up with my elbow. “When I still lived in California, the Breathers invaded our home. There was no way of escaping unless they were...momentarily distracted. Beau knew this. He told me he was going to sacrifice himself so I would get a chance to leave the house. Of course I argued, but he was having none of it. Before I could stop him, he jumped out and-” my voice caught in my throat. I couldn't finish the sentence. Besides, it's pretty obvious how it ended. I didn't need to conclude it.

“It's okay,” Louis reassured, “Your brother obviously loved you very much”.

“He did,” I whispered, “As I did him”.

There was silence for a while, but it was a more comfortable silence rather than an awkward one. I rolled over once again, so my back was to him.

“Night, Leila,” Louis muttered.

“Night, Stripes”.

***

For the first time in weeks, I was unable to sleep. I sat there wide awake, thinking over the future. I haven't thought about the future in a long time. I normally just live in the present, take on the many obstacles life throws at me as I go.

What would happen once I got my hands on the antidote?

Would I even make it that far?

Would civilisation be able to rebuild the tattered remains of planet Earth?

Many more deeper questions floated around in my mind like irritating flies I couldn't swat away. But soon, my thoughts were interrupted by a low whisper, breaking the dead silence.

“Leila?”

“Yeah?”

“I'm scared”.

I laughed softly through my nose. “What?”

“Before all of this, my little sister Bubbles used to have nightmares and I'd cuddle her to make her feel better. Although, funny thing is, it made me feel better too. It was comforting”.

“That's sweet. But what's your point?”

“Can I...can I cuddle you please?”

I hated people touching me. I hated it. Intimate contact means you grow attached to people and those people will just leave you. You are left hurt, pained. Lonely. Scared. But I've learnt to hide those emotions. Fear means weakness.

“Please...?” Louis' voice, once again, snapped me out of my thoughts.

He sounded desperate. He sounded like he could break down any minute. This must be really taking its toll on him. He doesn't seem like the crying type, but this is taking emotional stability to a whole new level. To be able to keep calm and casual in the middle of a zombie apocalypse is...inhumane.

Louis needed me right now.

“Sure,” I whispered.

I heard shuffling behind me and a few seconds later, a pair of arms wrap around my waist, his bare chest pressed to my back. My body stiffened, every muscle tense with unease. But I gradually relaxed, allowing his body to mould against mine.

“Thank you, Leila,” he whispered, hot breath tickling the back of my neck.

“No problem, Stripes. Goodnight”.

“Night”.

And just like that, the earlier mild insomnia I suffered from vanished, and I immediately drifted off into a perfect paradise, with no Breathers and more people like Stripes.