The Apocalypse of Plants

Tally

"Why do you think Morgan paired us together?" I ask. Laina bites her lip as she considers it.

"Cause we're tough? And we don't need a boy to protect us?" she guesses. I shrug. It seems like a valid reason. "But I don't mind it."

"No, not at all," I say quickly in case she thought I had a problem with it. I scan ahead of me and catch sight of the boys and Kenzie. I keep looking at them to make sure we're going the right way.

"Why do you think we're not just traveling as a group? Like how we were before? Why are they so far ahead of us?" Laina asks. I was wondering the same thing myself.

"I don't know," I admit when I can't think of anything. Then I ask the question that's been on my mind. "So, you and Morgan, huh?" She blushes. "Oh, come on. It's kind of obvious."

"Yeah, well." She looks down at her hands. "He just said stuff about how he didn't want to lose me and then I came so close to dying and he realized that, you know, he wanted to be with me. He still hasn't told me why he broke up with me in the first place, though," she adds with a frown. I grimace and bite down hard on my tongue as if to keep the words from spilling out.

"That's sweet," I manage to say once I'm no longer afraid of spitting out the reason. She laughs dryly.

"This whole thing is like a cheesy romance novel. The boy and girl meet, fall in love, boy breaks up with girl, girl almost dies. The boy realizes how much the girl means to him and they get back together."

"I've always liked those stories because it usually means that they end up together," I say. "And did you say, 'fall in love'?" If possible, her face turns even redder.

"I don't know," she mumbles. "We've only known each other for a couple days. I like him, yeah. But not love. It's way too soon for that. Plus if he's keeping stuff from me, there's a chance it might never get to love."

"You think he's keeping stuff from you?" I ask carefully. She looks at me like I'm oblivious.

"Well, the fact that he broke up with me without a reason and then got back together with me only after I died seems to tell me that, yes, he is keeping something from me." She's too clever for her own good. But I guess anyone could have figured that out. She peers closer at me. "You don't know anything about the reason, do you?"

"N-no," I choke out. "Why would you think that? That's crazy. Morgan hasn't told me anything," I babble so it's obvious I'm hiding something. Maybe if she's suspicious enough, she'll ask me about it. If she does, I'll tell her. I say a silent apology to Morgan in my head.

"You're rambling." I pretend to look scared at being caught.

"Okay, but you can't tell anyone that I told you," I say seriously, then look ahead for the boys and Kenzie. Only I can't find them. "Where are they?" I ask aloud.

"What did Morgan tell you?" Laina presses. I look around frantically, trying to figure out if they went a different direction. But they're nowhere in sight.

"The other group? Where are they?" I ask Laina. Laina sighs but glances around.

"I don't know. Aren't they supposed to be ahead of us?"

"Yes, they are. But where are they?" We're both freaking out now. The only things we have are Scout and a few knives. And each other, but I'm not counting that.

"Morgan! Preston! Kenzie!" Laina shouts. Silence. She turns to me, visibly distressed. "What do we do?"

Before I can answer, there's a rumbling noise from deep inside the earth. It grows louder and louder and the ground starts shaking.