Gory Glory // l.t au

11 - Leila

Leila

“Get up, loser, we're going soon,” I called to Louis as I was lacing up my combat boots. I swiped my fingers through the mud and ran two horizontal stripes on either side of my face. Helen was currently combing through her apricot hair with my brush and Rob was attempting to attach a gun strap onto his torso. Emphasis on the word attempting. After a few more minutes of watching him struggle, I assisted him with strapping up the buckle and patted his back. He smiled sheepishly and thanked me.

Louis emerged moments later wearing nothing but beige basketball shorts with his hair swept over his forehead, covering his aqua eyes. He groaned like a Breather as he knelt down in front of the river and cupped his hands, pouring water over his face. He raked his fingertips through his hair so it stuck up in all directions. I snorted lightly and approached him, pushing his hair back off his face with my hand. We locked eyes for a moment before I shattered the awkward tension by sticking my tongue out and blowing a raspberry at him. He bubbled out a laugh before rolling his eyes and lumbering over to the tent again, where he slipped on a plain white shirt, originally belonging to my brother. No, I'm not going to think of him. Now is not the time.

I took a deep breath and kept my thoughts to myself, absent-mindedly securing a rifle onto Rob's back. Because we had been through this process several times, Louis understood the routine and so I left him to set himself and Helen up.

After no more than twenty minutes, we were ready to set off into the city. I climbed into the seat behind the wheel of the Jeep and started the engine. A gentle roar arose from it as I set my feet up on the dashboard. I became impatient as the trio were still standing by the river, double checking they had everything. I beeped the horn, startling them briefly. They staggered over and Louis slipped into the seat beside me, whilst Helen and Rob sat in the back, empty duffel bags on their laps. As I began driving down the cracked, dirt road, Helen leaned forward in her seat.

“How in the world do you have a car this far into the...well, the end of the world?” she asked as awe seeped into her expression and tone.

“What do you mean?”

“Well for starters where do you get gas?”

“I know places,” I responded flatly. These people have only been staying with us for a day – I have every reason not to trust them yet. Just because they didn't slit my throat in my sleep, by no means did that mean they were here for reasonable intentions.

“Could you be any more specific?” she asked, her voice borderline irritated.

“Yes, yes I could”.

Silence dominated the Jeep for a few seconds as they waited for me to respond. Once they realized I wasn't going to, Helen spoke up again. “Well?”

“I could. Doesn't mean I will”. She sighed but made the right decision as to not irritate me and to let it slide.

“Leila...” Louis warned, his voice lowering.

“Don't try to sound threatening, Stripes, it doesn't suit you,” I fired back.

“Why are you being so cranky today, Leila? Is everything alright?” Louis asked.

“Everything's fine. I just don't appreciate all the questions they're throwing at me,” I answered. I wasn't even going to quieten my voice on their behalf. I'm not going to pretend I trust them. I'm practically always honest – even if it hurts people in the process, I say it how it is. And if people don't like it then, well...that's their problem, to be honest. I'm not going to change for them.