Watercolour Dreams

»»------(Chapter 2)------»»

   It wasn't long before I was carrying a sleeping Lance. He had obviously been up all night again, thinking that he had to keep an eye on us. It was concerning; he did this often, and then he'd be too tired to continue on after a few days.
   Pidge said it was probably the result of trauma, and that he'd probably take a while to grow out of it. How long was a while, though?
And how long till we find proper food in this city? I'm starving!
   Lance mumbled as I had him rest against Pidge, prying open a door that he was too small to open himself. It looked like an old meat locker, but the metal latch had been broken.
   "Hunk, be careful- there might be a rotter in there." Pidge whispered, moving Lance onto his back so he could run, if need be.
   "Here, give me your knife-" he handed it to me, and I slipped it into my hand, jamming it into the latch as I struggled to slide it open. After a moment of fighting the door, I managed to open it. I almost threw up on the floor, though.
   "Fucking hell man, that's strong!" Pidge started to gag, his knees hitting the ground as Lance fell with him. It wasn't soon before what little food he'd consumed was up on the ground.
   A rotter groaned, half of it's face caved in and it's eyes, well, I presumed they had decayed in it's face. A grayish-green sludge oozed from the sockets as it dropped it's own arm- half eaten- to the ground.
I slammed the door shut, kneeling next to Pidge as he continued to gag. Nothing came up other than stomach bile though; it had been too long since our last proper meal for there to actually be anything.
   "Come on bud- it's okay, deep breaths-" Pidge gasped ruggedly, gurgling sounds escaping from the back of his throat. Lance was stirring behind him, mumbling in his sleep. I was surprised he hadn't awaken from the stench.
   "I'm good-" he breathed out shakily, wiping his mouth off on his sleeve. I handed him my bottle of water, helping him take a drink to rinse out the foul taste and left overs before he chugged down a few gulps, trying to get something into his stomach. He handed it back, standing up after he'd calmed down. "Let's find a place to camp out. Lance needs to get some proper sleep." I nodded, putting the bottle back in my bag before lifting Lance up once more.
   Pidge started off one way, making his way towards the edge of the city. Lance groaned slightly, his grip around my neck tightening as he tugged himself closer. Honestly, he was like a giant baby.

»»---««

   "Wait-" I held my hand out to her, eyes flicking across the street before I tugged her from the alley. We bolted to the next building as the voices wafted through the streets.
   "Are they also survivors?" She whispered, eyes wide as she surveyed the street. I gave a nod, helping her climb up onto the fire escape ladder.
   "We don't know what their motive is yet though-" she grunted in response, tugging herself up over the side of the rail as I followed with ease. My prosthetic clanked against the metal rungs, echoing throughout the city. The voices died down, but footsteps started to make their way towards us. They obviously weren't far.
   We kneeled down on the escape, ready to run if need be. Time seemed to draw out as the steps got louder. Suddenly there was the sound of tired grumbling, a large man appearing in the street as he shook another awake. A smaller boy followed, a dagger ready in his hand as he surveyed the scene.
   "They're just children-!" She gasped, covering her mouth. I nodded in return, keeping a close eye on the leaner of the three as he let go of the bulkier one, rubbing his eyes childishly as he tried to wake up. The largest of the three had a fighting stance ready, placing himself in front of him.
   "There's no one here. It must have been rubble falling." The short one observed, but didn't relax his stance.
   "What's going on...?" The lean one asked, already fully awake. He had a gun out from his belt, so naturally that I never caught the movement.
   "Pidge heard a noise. It must have been a cat or something." The bulky one sighed, rubbing his neck.
   "Hunk, when have you even last seen a cat? I haven't seen one for seven months now." The smaller one- Pidge- observed, his stance more prepared as he raised his knife in front of his face. "Lance, mind sweeping the area real quick? It might have been a rotter." The lean one nodded as he held his gun to his side, slipping between two buildings as he started his search.
   "Hunk, stay here. I'm going to check the buildings on that other steet for supplies and stuff."
   "See if you can find a pharmacy, okay? Lance probably needs some of those sleeping pill things again." Is that why he had been clinging to Hunk moments ago? It wasn't all that suprising though. Allura had issues with sleeping in the first few months as well, but she quickly grew out of it.
   We waited a long time before we heard grunts from the shattered window next to us. I pressed Allura to the wall next to the window and hovered next to the shattered glass pane, watching as the boy pulled himself up to the second floor with ease. He clicked a flashlight on his short rifle on, sweeping it around before it rested on the window. I had moved back from it before he had reached it, but something caught his attention.
   Allura's eyes widened as she looked at her hand, a red laser point now trained on it.
   "Who's there?" The boy asked, hardly above a whisper.
   I looked to Allura once more, and she gave a slight nod.
   "Please don't shoot-" I replied, my voice calm as the laser pointer turned off; or the gun was only lowered.
   "Who's there?" He repeated once more, a hint of fear lapping at the back of his throat.
   "It's just me and my friend. We don't have weapons with us right now."
   "That's unlikely. This is the end of the world, of course you have a weapon." There was a pause before he continued, his feet shifting loudly. "Stand up and keep your hands behind your head."
   I did as told, my arm creaking as the plastic and metal rubbed together. Allura followed hesitantly, her eyes wide and watchful as she kept her gaze on the one they called Lance.
   "How long have you been watching us?" He asked, gun up once again. He took a step back, keeping his distance.
   "Since you woke up- your friends were quite loud." Allura finally spoke, her face calm as she gave a small smile. The boy snorted, lowering his gun after a moment.
   "I honestly don't know what I'm supposed to do if I find humans. I can't kill you like a rotter-" There was a huff as the flashlight flicked off. He slung his gun over his shoulder, turning around; he gave a gesture to signal we follow, whistling softly as he jumped back down to the first floor. Allura turned to me with a shrug, giggling as she leapt down after.
   A few minutes had passes as we continued to walk, the boy in front of us keeping conversation with idle chatter and jokes.
   "How rude of me-" he chuckled, turning around and suddenly stopped."I don't even know your names! Lance, Lance Mcclain- it's nice to meet ya'-" he gave a lustrious bow before winking.
   "I'm Allura, and this is Shiro." Allura smiled softly, turning her eyes up to me as I smiled back. Even if the world was in horrible times, this boy still somehow managed to crack a smile. It was quite inspiring, few people actually smiled so comfortably with a stranger anymore. Or rather, no one was loyal enough to properly judge one.
   "Lance-!" A voice called, the small boy freezing as he layed gaze upon us.
   "Hey Pidge! Don't worry, they're cool! Where's Hunk?" Pidge kept a wary eye on us as he handed Lance a small box. There was a moment of silence before Lance was trying to hand the box back, his face paling. "Pidge, you know I don't need these anymore- I'm fine- I don't need it." He mumbled, his eyes flicking back from us to Pidge.
   "Lance, you haven't slept for two days, take it. You're not helping anyone if you can't share watch." They were silent before Pidge forced the box in his hands, his gaze sharp and demanding. "Take them, Lance. I worked hard to get them." They shared a look before Lance shoved the box into his backpack, his gaze bashful as it flicked to us.
   "Hunk is on the other street. Go get him, I found a place to stay for the night." Lance gave a small nod as he turned back yo us again, motioning for us to follow.
   "I still don't know what to do with you two- like, do we interrogate you? Or let you go? I know that in zombie movies they like, form a miraculous bond instantly and just join. Oh, this is awkward-" Lance started to mumble before picking up a rock.
   He turned to us, his eyes glittering as he gave a shush. He then threw the rock around the corner before ducking back, giggling slightly.
   "Oh god- oh, oh man- Lance, is that you? C'mon man, not again-" the bulky one, Hunk, started to nervously mumble as he gazed in our direction. Lance covered his mouth as he dragged his feet against the ground, grunting like one of the walkers.
   "Oh man, Lance knock it off- you know what Pidge said last time- he'll totally get you man- ohhhh god-" Soon enough, Lance burst out laughing, turning the corner.
   "C'mon Hunk, you know it was funny- I totally had you!"
   "Lance, I almost died-"
   "Then you'll die at this; here, Shiro, Allura, come meet Hunk!" Allura was the first to step up to Lance's side, smiling softly once again. I sighed and followed suit, giving Hunk a curt nod as Lance beamed. Hunk seemed confused, even a little fearful as Lance continued to chatter away. I took the chance to observe him and find that he was less fat and more muscle, his arms and legs well toned. It was obvious that before the walkers had appeared, he had once been a well fed Teddy Bear, the type of friend that you'd snuggle up to as you all watched movies and stuff. Cliché teenager stuff.
   "C'mon, let's go find Pidge and this camp out he found." Lance finally stated, grinning as he punched Hunk's arm playfully. He started to joke around with Hunk, Allura and I following behind in an awkward silence.