Together

Intruder

Luke and I walk down the street, the leaves crunching beneath our feet. Five blocks away, a tall building stands alone and deserted. The windows like black holes, sucking the soul from its visitors. The building’s lifeless, just like the rest of the world. We reach the front entrance and enter the old hotel.

“Wow, this place is…. its a-”

“It’s a piece of shit, but what else could you ask for?” I say with no care at all. It was the best we could find, but it still sucks. We climbed up the billion or whatever stairs until we reached the 7th floor. It used to be a dining room; a once perfect, untouched, crystal chandelier lay on its side with shattered glass surrounding it. The tables still perfectly organized, with their silverware and platters all in place. We walked across the floor, to the opposite corner of the room. I knocked on a door 3 times in quick motion, then 5 times, but more paced out. It was a special knock so that Ryker and I knew it was one of us. Luke kept his distance and was observing the fallen chandelier. Ryker opened the door and engulfed me in a hug.

“Did you find anything?” He asks me with much excitement. I nod and reach into my bag and pull out the granola bars. I was disappointed to discover that only a few had made it into my bag. Stupid Screechers.

“Oh my God I’m starving!” He yells a little bit too loud. I take one before he could snatch them all up.

“Luke." I hollered over to him. "Com’on!” I wave for him to follow us into the hallway that awaits behind a large set of french doors. Along the walls, wallpaper is peeling, doors are broken, and everything looks ancient.

“Who’s the guy?” Ryker asks me in a whisper so only I could hear. He was holding my hand, leading me towards our room.

“I ran into a Screecher an-”

“You call those things Screechers?” Interrupted Luke.

I turned my head to look back at him. “Yeah, Ryker started calling them that. Gotta problem with it?” I asked.

“No, it’s just kind of funny. Like you think they would be named something cool and official. You know?” Luke responds.

“Well it’s not like there’s many people to agree on an official name.” I respond. Luke just looks at me and laughs. Should I even trust him?

I turned my attention back to Ryker. “So, as I was saying, I ran into a Screecher down at the 7/11 and Luke came in and shot it. It was the least I could do.” I say as I put my arm around Ryker, he was about an inch shorter than me, yet we were five years apart. I really hated being short. We reached the end of the hall and entered the last room on the right.

There wasn’t much for an old hotel. At least there were two beds and a bathroom that doesn't work. I turned to Luke and step in front of him.

“So, you can stay here if you’d like.” I say in a low whisper, then I realize he could barely hear me. He nodded and smiled, he heard me. I turned around to face the rest of the room and saw Ryker lounging across the first bed, eating his granola bar .It was getting dark, so I took out my flashlight and walked over to the nightstand between the two beds, balanced it on its end, so that the light was shining at the ceiling. I plopped my bag down on the floor and took off my shoes. Luke was still by the door, his hands in his pockets.

“You can come in you know.” I informed, only to realize that Ryker wouldn't want to share a bed with a stranger.

“Oh, umm… I can sleep on the floor if you want.” I suggested but he shook his head.

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” He walked over to the end of my bed. ”Just hand me a pillow.” I tossed him a pillow and it hit him in the face, I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Luke. His eyes met mine and we sat like that for a while. Him sitting and propping himself up with his hands on the floor and me sitting on the bed. I’ve been staring too long. I look away and check on my brother. He was out cold.

“There was a group of survivors down in Seattle. They were smart, able to get radio signals after all the electricity was shut down. Seattle was the destination for my brother and I, until we got stuck here. It was only a few hours ago that Ryker and I had a radio signal connected to our friend Andrea back up in Seattle. I was in the middle of talking to Andrea when we could hear screeches from outside. There’s no official name for the things, so Ryker came up with Screechers, and it’s stuck ever since. But we had to hide in here until they left. After that I went to go get food, and then I ran into you.” I breathed out. Tears started to burn in my eyes. I couldn’t cry in front of him. A tear fell down my cheek and then the tears came. I bursted out sobbing, not even knowing why. Luke got up and walked over to me.

It was weird to have another person touch me, other than my brother. to feel another one's warmth reminded me that this was all real, that this is what our world has come to. I was reluctant at first, having an attractive stranger hug you isn't exactly romantic, expescialy when youre getting his shirt all gross with youre tears. 

“Hey, hey it’s okay. Shh it’s okay. “ Luke whispered as he kissed the top of my head. I wiped my tears and broke the hug. I got up and started to take off my jacket while walking to the head of the bed. 

“Sorry, I'm just, um goodnight Luke.” I said without looking at him. I crawled into the bed and pulled the covers over my head.

“Goodnight.” Luke whispered, then the darkness took over me as i turned the flashlight off, and I was wisped away  into a deep sleep.

THANK YOU for reading :) I know its going kind of fast and everything, but I'm trying my best to work it out :) I'm sorry it took forever for me to update haha I procrastinated... A LOT 

Anyways, please like and comment and all that fun jazz :)

Xx Vanessa