Birthmarks and Bruises

A Plan Set.

After enduring many orders from Maxine, practically an interview's worth of questions from Andrea and a few classic dirty jokes from Daniel attempting to lighten the mood, they had finally managed to find somewhere to camp. The sun had already begun to rise about an hour ago, Felix could tell by the grey light tinting everything a dull kind of colour. He sighed, back to the wall of the changing room. Maxine had said that it was better to stay in a place with locked doors and multiple exits. God, Maxine this, Maxine that.

Since when was she the one in charge?

The redhead could hear laughter and packets crinkling from the other side of the room. He could join them, but- in all honesty, he wasn't too hungry. Besides, their new companion made him uncomfortable. It wasn't even the rudeness anymore, no- it was the way she seemed so roughened but still so strong, her cold, calm complexion, the way she'd called Andrea's birthmark a death sentence literally the first time she'd met her- she was just... uncanny. Felix squeezed his eyes shut.

If no ones going to question anything, I might as well figure things out myself.

Why were they here? Why only them and not others?

His head jolted up.
"Daniel?" He called across the room. His friend turned his eyes towards him, raising a brow in question.
"Were your brothers there?" Felix rose to his feet, joining the others.
"What do you mean?" Daniel responded, biting into some bland, mediocre looking snack bar.
"You know..." Felix took a seat on one of the benches. "When you woke up? When everyone else went?" Daniel pulled strains of curly hair back, thinking deeply.
"Ah- no, I don't think so. I mean, I didn't really bother to check. You called me over."
"Oh, right- wait, no I d-"
"Mentally. Telepathically. I could sense you needed my help."
He sighed, mentally kicking himself. "Maybe I should've made sure though."  "Well, the more people we have here, the better." Felix stated.
"Does... anyone else have any siblings?" He asked, shifting his gaze from Andrea to Maxine.
"No..." the fair-haired girl responded. "I'm an only child. And my parents were gone when I woke up. That's all I know." Andrea clutched the fabric of her hoodie tightly. "Why? Are you still trying to figure out why there are people missing?"
"I'm trying to find some kind of trait." Felix replied, chewing on his bottom lip. "Maybe... it's just the adults who disappeared?"
"Impossible." Maxine stated. "I've seen people that are definitely in their twenties."
Andrea's eyes lit up. "So there are other people around? Adults?" She exclaimed. Grey eyes met her own in a sideways glance.
"Adult corpses, yes. Unless you're looking for a meat shield they won't do you any good."
"So, you've used..."
"Unintentionally. Once."
Andrea shuddered, retreating back into the hood of her jumper and pulling the drawstrings a little tighter. Ticking ominously in the background, the sound of the clock on the far wall was all that occupied Felix' mind. They couldn't just... sit here. Besides, did the snatchers even come out in the sunlight? They could spend this time wisely, right? Even if they had a quick nap...
"So... what are we gonna do?" Felix questioned softly, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Are we going to sleep now and then go out? The Snatchers won't be active right?" Daniel nodded in agreement. "Could we like, I don't know... try and find my brothers? One of them is sex obsessed, the second isn't much better and the third is just damn annoying it's better than just being surrounded by corpses, right?" Daniel's tone hushed as the word 'corpses' rolled off his tongue just a little too easily. For all he knew, they could already be rotting lumps of meat.

Maxine hissed through her teeth. "As long as they aren't a threat and it doesn't take much to find them... then I guess we could consider it." Daniel had to stop himself from fist pumping the air, Felix smiling beside him. It was always better to have other people join their party, especially if they were ones he knew personally throughout his childhood.

Nestling his head into the pillow he had constructed from his jacket, Felix let the overwhelming grasp of exhaustion take over him. And he, along with the others, fell into a deep sleep for the first time in days. At least they would be somewhat productive tomorrow, instead of playing this waiting game.