New World Order

3)

Isa Romain

It wasn't a good idea to allow Noah to follow Tara. She's pretty on edge now and his presence definitely won't help ease her mind. But... there was something different about him when he first caught a glimpse of Tara.

His voice seemed to vanish without a trace, no cocky phrase to offend our newcomers, or even a pick-up line to woo Tara. His eyes also softened. As if she was his long-lost puppy. It was a side of Noah I definitely haven't seen before. 

I glance over to where Zack is sitting next to Courtney. He has draped his adidas jacket over her shoulders in an attempt to keep her body heat in. Zack's selflessness astounds me. He is wearing a simple t-shirt, but the cool spring air is chilling to everyone, even those with multiple layers.

Glancing at Courtney's side, I see that the stitches, although ragged and rough, seem to be keeping the gash together. I make a note to ask Tara how she knows so much about wounds.

Lucy, Luke, and Finn are sitting in a corner, far away from Zack and Courtney, talking in hushed voices. 

They're afraid of them, or at least Lucy is. I see why they could be intimidating. Especially Tara, with her choice of weapons. As if on cue, Tara marches through the door, Noah following a few paces behind. She walks straight over to Courtney and kneels down to check her pulse. 

Her shoulders slump in relief as she looks to Zack. "Her pulse is stronger. She should be good to walk and go again in a few days," she murmurs. A slight smile lights up Zack's face. They really are a close knit group. Tara looks to me. "Do you have a watch schedule?" I nod. "Sign me up, then. I don't sleep much nowadays anyway." I'm about to agree when Finn stands up from where he was sitting. 

"Whoah, whoah, whoah, wait. How the hell do we know that we can trust you to watch our backs? Especially when you threatened Isa with your sword!" I shoot Finn a warning look, but before I can intervene, Tara jumps in. 

"First off, it's not a sword. It's a scimitar and, luckily for Isa, I know how to wield it properly. Secondly, you don't know that you can trust us, Finn. But would you rather Isa stay up all night to cover your lazy butts all because she believes you need sleep more than she does? Because that is how she sees things. Wake up. This is not the 'normal world'. You're no longer safe. It's time to accept that. Oh, and, another reason I want to take watch? I don't trust you enough to believe that you won't slit our throats while we sleep," Tara responds, cooly. 

Lucy huddles behind Luke. She really needs to learn how to handle herself. Cowards don't survive too long in this world. Tara sees where I'm looking and she walks over toward Lucy. 

"And you. Lucy. You need to stop cowering behind someone else's back while all of your friends kill for you because you're too afraid to do it yourself. Need some advice? Get over it because one day, your friends aren't going to be here to protect you, and you're going to have to decide between killing or being killed. I'm guessing you don't want the latter." She doesn't say it cruelly. It sound like she's just stating the truth, which she is. 

Luke pushed himself to his feet, standing in between Tara and Lucy. Fire burns in his eyes. Zack stands up as well, moving next to Tara. 

"Back off of her, Tara. You have no idea what she has been through. What she has had to do." I see Tara clench her fists. Zack must notice it too, because he places a calming hand on her shoulder. "She had to put down her own sister when she found her claimed by the virus," Luke hisses. 

We all feel it. The livid tension that follows. Tara's eyes burn with anger, sadness, and... regret? Everyone knows when the feeling in the room changes. Something snaps inside of Tara. Zack feels it first, and comforting grip on her shoulder turns into one of support. 

Support of whatever she is about to say. 

"We've all lost someone we loved. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. Do you see us curling in on our selves, relying solely on others? Do you see us refusing to kill to protect the people we love who are left? I didn't think so. In all honesty, it is pathetic that one death has this effect on you, Lucy. You'd better hope that you can get over it, and soon. Especially if you want to live to be older than fifteen." Tara brushes off Zack's hand, flashing him an appreciative look. Before she has the chance to walk out, Luke snarls at her. 

"If her experiences aren't traumatizing then what experiences are? What could you have possibly experienced that is worse than what Lucy has witnessed?" Tara goes deathly still. I decide that I'd better step in before it gets even more out of hand. 

"Luke," I growl. "Back off. This is not worth arguing about. In time, Lucy will learn to get over what has happened. That doesn't mean that you can disre-" Tara cuts me off, her soft voice making everyone suck in a breath in anticipation. 

"You have no idea what I have been through. None of you do." Unshed tears shine in here eyes. "You had to put your zombified sister down. I had to watch as my brother died from his stomach being ripped open. I had to watch, helpless, as he bled out, not able to do a thing about it. Everything on me was caked in blood. In his blood. And he begged me, begged, to kill him. To put him out of his misery. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it because I was too much of a coward. So because of me and my own cowardice, my brother died in pain and I had to watch as the light left his eyes. Then I had to walk away. Just walk away and leave him there and walk away, my body, my clothes, my hair, my skin all covered in his blood." She shakes her head, tears pouring down her cheeks. 

"If you think that my life has been so easy up until this point, you're wrong. Because now, every time I see blood, every time my hands are covered in it, it just reminds me of him. Of how I failed him." Her voice turns eerily emotionless. "So, don't you dare say that her experiences are the worst because you have no idea what the others around you have been through." Tara spins back on her heel, bolting towards the door. 

Luke stands there, speechless. Zack's face is contorted in sadness and anger. Noah is the first to speak.

"I'll go after her," he states, looking at Zack. Zack bobs his head once and Noah walks out of the cabin. Everyone else is silent for a long, long while. Lucy has her head buried in her hands. Luke is standing in the exact same place as before. Zack is sitting down next to Courtney again. Finn is standing at the door, an incredulous look on his face. 

"I didn't know," Luke breathes. "I didn't know how rough she had it." Luke doesn't really think before  he speaks. His first instinct is to defend the ones he cares about, which isn't necessarily bad, but in this case, he ended up hurting Tara. Zack casts him a forlorn look. 

"None of us knew," he murmurs. She hadn't told anyone of what had happened to her, then. Not even Zack or Courtney. My head spins. Noah seems to care about her... She's very secretive...All of them are... This makes me wonder... 

Who are these people really?