Survivor { R5 fanfiction}

Chapter 61

RYDEL

"Ellington! Wait!" I run after my friend, after I left Riker on the spot behind. He doesn't stop, but I notice he does slow down. This is an improvement, he is receptive. I eventually grab his arm, the most gentle way I can. He lets me do. I try to make eye contact, but he turns away. It appears I'm the only one who can approach him without him to get insane, and yet, he seems so far away from here.

"What was that? Heather didn't do anything to you." Silence reponds. My exasperation grows more and more, anger slowly boils inside my veins.

"So what? You open your mouth only to yell incomprehensible things at your friends? This is very mature, really. We just wanna help!" I shout at him. My reproach doesn't make any impression. He stares down at my hand, gripping his forearm.

"Listen, I know this is hard, I've been through that as well. It'll be better if you let out what's on your chest, believe me."

Ratliff plunges his red and swollen eyes into mines, briefly. Not an ounce of feelings, whatever they could have been, seen in them. The few tears still welling up became rare, from how hard he tries making them stop streaming down his face. He looks away, frees himself from my grip, and continue walking straight forward.

"Please, talk to me!" Ratliff keeps going, keeps ignoring me, keeps avoiding the serious discussion we should have. I huff loudly in protest, and throw my hands in the air in a dramatic way.

"Fine! You won't talk, I won't talk!"

Once again, he won't listen, or react. And once again, he won and I follow behind. I can't let him go by himself, he is too upset for now. God knows what he could do. Besides, it's terryfing to be outside, even more after what occured. We're now two lonely figures roaming among the deserted, but unsafe streets. I hoped  the awkwardness of the situation and the silence would make him react, let out just a single word. Eventually, I understand that it's all he wants, for now. Silence. I'm
disturbing him by trying to confort him. I'm only half mad at him to tell the truth, each handle a loss differently. It's been really hard for Ryland and I, about Mom and Dad's death. It took time before we got over it completely. For Rocky, I quickly moved on to something else. This is horrible to say such a thing, especially about your own brother, but our new way of life changed us, toughened us up . I don't feel like I used to.
I made a fool of myself in the middle of the street because of him though. Sure, no one was here to see me make a scene, Riker and Heather at worst, but still.
Speaking of the devil, I turn around when I hear foot steps flapping on the concrete damp from the rain. Riker is running, Heather on his trail. The poor girl is breathless, while my brother doesn't seem affected by as much efforts. He grins widely when he passes by us.

"Heather, what's happening?" The dark- haired girl turns around.

"I don't know, we were walking, he mumbled something, and he started running for no reason. Just... Just follow us the best you can, the shelter we're in isn't that far now. This is a big warehouse, you can't miss it. Go forward."

With that, Heather speeds up and continue pursuing Riker, who's out of sight now. Too bad, she could have keep me compagny. I appreciate Ratliff, but right now, he isn't really the best mate you can be with. This constant silence is driving me crazy.

I scamper as well, so that we'll arrive as soon as possible. The heavy clouds above us darken the sky, and it started raining again. The water gently hit my skin, and I would enjoy it if it wasn't for the urgence of the situation. We must shelter, and fast. Hopefully, Ratliff would imitate me. He reluctantly hurries behind, still in silence.

Heather wasn't lying. We confront a huge building made of wood and metal after a minute or so. No wonder why they chose this shelter, I would have voted for. The noises I hear inside confirm we came to the right place. We look around, searching for the entrance, until we find it, wooden plancks hiding a little passage. Someone's monitoring behind. They're taking their job very seriously, and don't let us through.