The Virus

Nine

"If we're staying here. Then we need to think long term!" I shout. I stand poised and aggressive.

"Okay, yeah, look I get where you're comi-" Alex is interrupted.

"How would you know? You've been here a week. We've been her for over three." Noah screams back at me.

"And things only started moving when I woke up." I say.

"Correction. Things only started going wrong when you woke up." He replies.

The rest of the group sit silently as Noah and I shout at each other from the across the table. We had been at each other's throats for the last few days, disagreeing on almost everything. 

I had asked to go on another run, Noah had refused. I asked to go alone, Noah refused. I had asked to decorate the bedrooms upstairs, Noah had said it was a waste of time. 

It felt as if Noah was trying to keep me as close as he could, trying to monitor me, control me. And it was suffocating.

"We need to do something, we can't just sit here and do nothing," I tell him. 

Noah sighs and runs his hands through his hair, apparently this was affecting him just as much as it was me. 

"Ophelia, we have to stay safe," 

"Okay, what if I board up the fences better, make them stronger, better, harder to break into," I reply. 

"Break in? But you'll be exposed while you do it," 

I give him an exasperated look. 

"Who would break in?" He asks. 

"Noah, we have food, water, shelter, safety. That is what every single living person will be looking for right now. Survivors will look at this place and want in, they'll want to be safe from everything outside just as we are. There's not many of us, if we are attacked, we won't be able to fight. We need to make it so that the only people that can get in are the ones we want to come in," I explain. 

"Fine, fine. I can't argue anymore. Reinforce the fences. Do whatever you want," He says, looking around. "Hey, guys, let's have this group meeting later tonight, I want to talk to Ophelia," he says. 

Everyone stands from their seats and begins to file out of the room, leaving us alone. I turn to Noah expectantly. 

"What are we doing? Why are you being like this?" He demands. 

"You're being the same. Why won't you let me do anything?"

"Because it's dangerous," he replies. 

I shake my head. "Everything is dangerous. Doing nothing is probably the most dangerous of them all. We will run out of food, water, poeple will get in. We need to think long-term. For the sake of everyone here. And I think i have some good ideas, you're a good leader, Noah, you keep the peace. But put me in charge of co-ordinating it all, please. Let me help everyone here." I plead with him. 

"Okay, okay, fine, I just need you to be with me on this, we have to stay together all of us, every argument like this drives us farther apart, we can't have that."

I nod and apologise before pulling Noah into a hug, holding him tight. 

It was late afternoon and I was sweaty and tired from my morning run, so I head off to the showers, leaving Noah to his normal duties. 

After the shower, I set up in one of the old classrooms and get some papers out. I wanted to plan everything. Show Noah everything, show him how prepared I was, how much I had thought about all of this.