Survival - a Hat Films fanfiction

4 - Opening Up

There's a loud crash as the front door opens, and all of a sudden, all too soon, Trott's attention is elsewhere. He stands, and with a start, you realize in the millisecond you've taken your eyes off him, he's drawn a knife.

The door opens - Trott jolts - and in steps Ross Hornby, carrying several plastic bags which he sets on the table.

"Alright, twats," Ross greets the two of you; you grin back. He notices the knife in Trott's hand. "Fucking hell man, that's a bit overkill. It's just me."

"I know, I know," Trott sighs, placing his knife back down at his side. "But you can never be too careful."

Ross shrugs, giving you a weary look that you can't help but laugh at. All of a sudden, you don't feel so tense.

"Got some apples and carrots and shit," he says. "Gonna have a feast tonight."

A month ago, you definitely would not have called that a feast. But in a time where you literally live on cold canned meat and soup, anything organic is welcomed.

Trott looks at you, eyes as unreadable as ever. "Are you going to stay with us?"

You clear your throat, trying to fight down the panic in your stomach. Are you? Well, you've considered the idea of course - and you might have done if Smith wasn't in the equation. But as it is, all you'll be doing is disrupting the dynamic, and you're not sure you want to sleep under the same roof as the man who tried to kill you.

Luckily, Ross answers for you: "She's going to have to until she's back up to full health. Her foot's still fucked." He looks at you sympathetically.

You wince. "Sorry guys. I hate to take stuff straight out of your supply, but -"

"Oh, it's no trouble," Trott says. It's a lie, and everyone in the room knows it, but no one calls him out on it. "Besides, we owe you - you helped me with the map."

"I'm sure you could've done it on your own," you murmur.

Ross snorts. "Well, I'm glad we're all modest twats around here."

Trott hums in agreement. "Anyway, I'm going up to talk to Smith," he says. He nods at Ross, and then at the bag in front of him. "You might want to start washing those up - I don't really have an appetite for maggots in my dinner tonight."

Ross grimaces. "Yeah, alright."

Trott leaves, flashing you a slight smile as he does - it catches you by surprise a little, and you almost forget to smile back - and then it's just you and Ross again.

"Do you want me to help?" you ask.

Ross shakes his head. "I'll manage. You can go rest if you want."

"I'm not tired," you reply.

He sighs. "How do I know I'm not going to win this one?"

You grin, hoisting the bag closest to you into your arms. "Let's get to work."

____________________________________________

"Tell me about yourself," Ross says suddenly, tossing his cloth onto the worktop and turning towards you.

You brush off a soap bubble from your fingers. "Sorry?"

"You heard," he says. Blue eyes stare you down hard. "If we're going to be fighting zombies together and saving each other's lives, I want to at least know a bit about you."

You don't dare make full eye contact with him, instead busying yourself with cleaning the dirt off the vegetables in front of you. There's only one small sink in the kitchen, so the two of you have been forced to stand much closer together than you would have liked, elbows knocking every now and then.