Fight for your life

Chapter Eleven

Scout was no doubt happiest about the showers. She carried her pink bag tightly and half-jogged down the hallway, Donnie close behind, telling her 'not to run,' and to 'slow down a little.' Barrett was close behind them, and David and Murdoc both walk at a steady pace on either side of me. I'm eager yet hesitant to restart our conversation, but Davids lingering is definitely annoying me. "They're excited, aren't they?" He asks, smiling.
"Yeah, it's been awhile since any of us have had a real shower. We've made do with what we've had, which hasn't been much." I say, holding my bag tightly.
"Well, here you have us," he says, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I suppose so," I say, nodding and walking a bit faster, so his hand slides off my shoulder. "Scout," I call out, looking for an excuse. "Slow down a little."
"I can't, I'm excited!" She sang, twirling to face me as she jogged.
"Don't let your guard down," Barrett grumbled. She stuck her tongue out in response before twirling back around. When we finally got to the top floor, Scout was flat out running.
"Boys locker room!" David shouted to her, laughing at her enthusiasm. "And the water shuts off after 10 minutes!" Once I reach the room, Donnie and Scout have already stripped down to their bras and underwear, and Barrett was taking his shirt off. "W-woah!" David said, quickly shielding his eyes from the girls. "U-um-"
Scout rolls her eyes, pulling off her socks. "It's the apocalypse, sweetie. I know you've maintained a pretty decent, somewhat normal life the past few months, but when you're living on the streets running from the dead daily, the important things come out quick, and not seeing each other naked isn't really a priority." Donnie nodded in agreement, and I smirk at her lecture. "But, lucky for you, the showers are separated by stalls!" She says, tossing off her bra and wrapping herself in a towel provided in a small stack. She drags her pink bag inside and closes the stall door, and a minute later, the water starts. Donnie mimics her, jogging into the stall to her left, and then Barrett on her right. I sit down next to the towels and begin to untie my boots, and Murdoc joins me, doing the same.
David lingered for a moment, and I could feel his eyes on my back as I began to strip. He watched me remove a knife from my boot, garter, waist band, back pocket, and bra, along with the rifle on my back, and a gun from my waist. Apparently, Murdoc also noticed his stare. "So if we need you, where can we find you?" He asks, pulling his jacket off and tossing it on my head.
I smirk and pull it off, and David says, "Oh, probably in the kitchen, it's almost lunch time."
"Okay, we'll meet you there when we're finished." He says, nodding as he pulls off his shirt. I dig through my bag, pulling out a somewhat clean sports bra, underwear, and a slightly torn up dark green tank top and grey sweatpants. I quickly strip the rest of my clothes off and wrap myself in a towel before going into the stall and turning the water on, and it is heaven. The hot water is immediate bliss, and I wish it could last forever. I stand under the water for a moment, watching the layers of dirt, blood, and whatever else was on me swirl down the drain. "This is so gross," Donnie whines from the stall next to me.
"It's amazing," Scout says happily as I squirt a large amount of shampoo into my hand and being rubbing it in vigorously, watching the suds turn brown and then rinse away entirely.
After about ten minutes, like predicted, the water shut off, and we were forced by the cold air to dry off and get dressed. Scout pouted as she towel dried her hair, complaining about not being able to grab the rollers before we had to leave the neighborhood. "You should really let me cut your hair again, Ricky," She says, coming over to comb through it.
I hold a strand out from my forehead and bite my cheek- it is getting pretty long. "Maybe," I say, shrugging.
Barrett smirks and ruffles my wet hair. "I kinda like it long. You look more like a girl."
I fake puke, making Donnie giggle, before saying, "Okay, too many people messing with my hair." I stand up and smile, putting my boots back on and replacing most of my weapons. Once we're all dressed in various layers, we grab out bags and make our way down the stairs, straight to the kitchen door. "Alright everyone," I say, turning to face them. "Just be on high alert, okay? Whether it's them or something else..."
"We can never be too cautious," Scout agrees, backing me up. Everyone nods in agreement and I open the door, to find everyone waiting for us.
"Ah, welcome, welcome!" A woman with long red hair and green eyes, matching David's, greets us. "I'm Joan! You must be Ricky, right?" She holds out a perfectly manicured hand.
I shake it once and pull away, nodding. "I'm Ricky, this is Scout and Donnie," I gesture to the two, then to the boys, "and Barrett and Murdoc."
"I'm so glad to meet you all!" She says happily, waving us in. "Come, sit!" We follow her instructions and all come to sit at the large table- or collection of tables pushed together, so I'm sitting in the middle, with Donnie and Scout to my right, and Murdoc then Barrett to my left.
Once settled, I scan the table. Directly in front of me, a woman with light blonde hair beams at me, and her little girl eyes Scout with wide eyes. "You must be Liz, and Lily, right?" I ask, tilting my head.
"Yes!" She says happily, holding out her hand. "I'm Liz! I'm a nurse, so if you have any worries, please come see me! My room number is 23!" She smiles at everyone and introduces herself and then Lily.
After a few minutes, once everyone has been introduced, we all seem to chat freely amongst us all- well everyone but Murdoc, who continues to scan the table and our surroundings, and occasionally gives David a bitter scowl if he gets 'too friendly,' as Murdoc puts it when he leans in to whisper to me.
"Well I'm sorry, Mudz, but some people are just friendly." I say, getting locked into his intense gaze. He looks... a little worried. I sigh and smile. "I know you're just worried about our safety," I say, wondering silently if he cared much for Donnie or Scout. He probably did, deep down.
After a few minutes of chatting with a girl named Ashley about living in the 'outside world,' I can see Murdoc is getting visibly uncomfortable and antsy. "Mudz," I say in a normal tone of voice, so the others could hear me. He turned quickly to face me, looking horrified, like I would make him join my conversation. "Will you go feed Puck? I feel bad leaving him cooped up in the room all alone."
Relief floods his entire body as he nods. "Of course," he says, very happy to have a reason to leave. He grabs his bag and stands, quickly going to the stairs.
As soon as the door closes behind him, Ashley asks, "so what's his deal?" The question earns her a sharp elbow to the ribs by Janet. "Ow," she whines, rubbing her abdomen.
"It's okay," Scout says, amused. "He's just really weird. I think the whole apocalypse really fucked up his brai-" Lily gasps and tugs her moms sleeve at her language, and I pound the table my fist, turning to her.
"Scout," I scold, silencing her with my glare before turning to the others. "They don't get along great," I say, annoyed with how she's making him look. "He's not f-" I look at Lily and pause. "Messed up, he's just not very social."
"He only talks to Barrett and Ricky-" Donnie starts, and Scout adds,
"His true love," she sings, and I glare at her again.
"We've known each other since the beginning," I say, annoyed. "He isn't in love with me."
"He does seem pretty protective-"
"Protective," I say, looking to Barrett for help. "I'm protective of everyone here."
"But he's extra protective of you," Scout says, and I groan.
"This conversation is over," I say, rolling my eyes.
After a few more minutes of chatting, the door at the opposite end of the room bursts open loudly. Donnie, Barrett, Scout and I all immediately jump up, wielding our weapons, until we realize it's just a boy with shaggy brown hair, holding a large pot of something steaming. "Woah," he says, eyes wide.
We all quickly replace our weapons, looking at each other slowly as the others express their various feelings on our action.
"That was a little much," Brad complains, looking annoyed.
"Where did they come from?" Riley asks, eyes wide.
"They're so fast!" Ashley gasps. Janet and Lily are both in awe while Liz looks alarmed and a little disgusted. Noel, who sits on the edge of the table, scribbles in a notebook, a small smile on her face.
"It's nice to see new faces!" The boy says happily, setting the pot down on the breakfast bar. "Especially such lively ones! I hope you like stew!"