The Passing

Chapter Twenty [updated]

The rigid air we breathe grows taut, like someone outside works to sift all the good air out. Lazarus protectively holds my hand with white knuckles, and we both stand. Neighboring bodies stir as everyone comes together in the living area. Every face is riddled with both confusion and exhaustion. Yet, Jane's expression is unfamiliar; and every so often she jumps at the slightest sounds, as if whatever made the noise out there, was already inside the house. Avi emerges from the room upstairs, bags heavy under his eyes as if he hadn't slept at all. Savanna pulls her coat tightly around her as she shifts her weight from foot to foot.

"You guys heard that, too?" She asks out loud to the room. Everyone nods, whispering among one another guesses on what it could have possibly been. Bee stands with her back facing Jane and rolls her eyes as she overhears something Jane says. Avi flies down the steps, moving quickly to the window before yanking the curtains closed.

"Walkers aren't blind, dumbasses. Turn off the lamps!" Avi snarls, agitation heating his voice. His entire persona is different from a mere few hours ago. Where he once seemed soft and compassionate was now replaced with cold passive aggression. No one hesitates to do as he says and soon, we're submerged in the dark, standing half a foot apart in complete silence. Lazarus moves to the window next to Avi and peeks outside carefully.

"I don't see anything." Lazarus says, his voice low as he turns away from the window. No one utters a word, we just all stand in silence, shifting our weight around with anticipation. Thunder rolls outside, rumbling loudly like an empty stomach as the rain gradually picks up. I swear, even the glass jars placed neatly along a table in the living area, clatter at the sound.

"Well, we all heard it." Savanna shakes her head as the others nod in agreement. Except Avi. With his back to the rest of us, he stands at the door, hands tightly balled at his sides as he squints through the textured glass on the front door. "No way we all imagined the same thing."

"Hold on," Avi shushes us, furrowing his brows as he leans closer to the door. Everyone shuts up, turning immediately to face him. His pupils search the wood floors as he focuses all his attention on sound. "I can hear something." The anticipation pulls the very air we breathe taut, holding our breaths captive as we wait. Seconds turn to minutes, and we all grow ever-impatient; legs restlessly bouncing, knuckles popping, bodies pacing the small confined space. There's nothing worse than feeling like a sitting duck.

"What!" Savanna exclaims, throwing her hands up crazily in the air.

"I think its..." He waits a moment longer, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's a drum."

My heart plummets into my stomach, every inch of my skin goes ice cold. The night we left camp, Lazarus said he heard drums before the chaos erupted. I reach out for his hand, but he's already at the door once again, hands tight around his machete and gun. He must have made the connection too.

"We need to leave. Now." He says, moving back into the living room to gather his things. Jane and Savanna and I move instantly, packing our own bags and gearing up to run. It's funny how quickly you adjust to life on the road. How quickly you have to decide what you can and can't live without. You're forced to learn what the true meaning of value is. Bee throws him a confused frown.

"In the middle of the night?" she asks, shock clear in her tone. Jane pauses, looking over to Lazarus to see what he'd say, while Sav keeps moving unfazed. "That's suicide."

"Oh, so you'd rather fight off god-knows what, from here? In this tiny little cabin?" Lazarus retorts. Bee's eyes dart outside as the sound of the drum grows louder, every beat driving the lines of her worried expression deeper. Yet, Avi stands firm by the door. So, so does she. "Look, I don't know what that thing is, but what I know is the last time I heard it, I got my ass knocked out. The only reason I'm still here is because those two managed to find me in whatever wreckage it left behind." he jets his thumb out to me and Savanna.