The Road to Nowhere

Chapter 45: Chores

Chapter 45

My eyes jut open to the sound of banging on the front door to Brianna and I's cabin.

"Rise and shine blondie!" I can tell by the growing dread in the voice that it's Naomi's.

I push the covers off of me and take a deep breath. It's still mostly dark outside, and I can see the littlest light coming through the windows. The air in here smells like an old shed. Stale and woody at the same time. The air is also heavy from the intense heat stuck in this small excuse of a house. I'm covered in sweat. I don't know why I was under the blanket. Brianna's got the right idea. She's sprawled out with the blanket bunched up against the right side of her, and up against me. Maybe that's why I was so hot...

As I sit up and a rush of pain shoots to my head. I quickly bring my hand to my forhead and feel my scar. I check my face, clothes, and pillow to see if I was bleeding in my sleep, but I wasn't. Which is good. Wouldn't want to get blood all over these already stained sheets.

When my feet touch the ground, another obnoxious knocking comes from the door. "Hello!? Wake up. It's getting light out!"

"I'm up Naomi. Give me ten minutes!" I rolls my eyes and search for the matches that were on the night stand next to me.

"I'll give you five. Meet me at the cafeteria tent." I hear her boots stomp down the stairs and fade once they hit the dirt.

I don't know if I can deal with this for a whole week. By the end of it Naomi's either going to be dead, or I'm going to stab myself in the eye with a fork. I'd rather it not be the latter.

"Summer?" I hear Brianna's groggy voice purr from her side of the bed. "What's going on?"

"Nothing sweetie, I'm just getting up for my shift with Naomi. Go back to sleep." I say while I rummage through my bag for some clothes to wear.

Brianna turns on her side and doesn't say another word. She's out like a light, even snoring a little. I guess being half human half infected is tiring.

After finding nothing that would keep me cool during the day and comfortable enough to run around in, I put back on what I was wearing yesterday. The black tank top is in need of a good clean. I can tell, it's starting to smell. As for my jeans, they feel really stiff and full of dirt and who knows what else. I need to clean those as well.

I put my hair up and slip on my boots. I grab my hand gun, and a couple extra rounds of bullets and shove them in my pocket. I empty out the backpack Brianna has her stuff in, and use it to hold my stuff. I put a empty water bottle, a couple bandaids in case my head starts bleeding again, a few tampons, and some canned food inside the bag. I end up cracking a can open and eating it as I leave the cabin.

I love mornings, even though I'm not a morning person. The faint light makes everything seem so calm and peaceful. It's not too bright enough for the harsh rays of the morning sun to hurt my eyes, or not too dark to where I'm scared of my surroundings. It's surreal, and like the earth is waking up slowly.

The sky is a dull blue, which gives a faint grey look to everything. The birds are chirping and flying from roof to roof. The ground is still wet with dew, the small patches of grass leaving the outside of my boots soaked. The air is crisp, like the smell of the wind passing by your face. It's not too cold out, but everyday I feel like it's getting closer to winter. Closer to snow. Closer to freezing temperatures. Closer to death.