To The Grave

Chapter 40. Randall. Day 173.

My shoes hung from my fingertips, my socks bunched up inside one while the other held my cigarettes and a lighter. Marty walked in front of me, his feet kicking up sand with each tired step.

"This is bullshit." Rachel whispered from behind me.

Marty shook his head, looking back at her, "Okay but like, I'm having the time of my life and I can't understand how you aren't." He moved his hat back into place, using it to hold his hair out of his eyes.

I rolled my eyes, continuing to walk.

"Why are you so rude? I didn't raise you to be so rude." She snapped back at the kid.

He turned around, walking with the crowd as he spoke, "You say that, yet you raised me and here I am, disappointing you again."

She stopped, letting the crowd move around her, keeping her lips sealed.

"I missed the meeting that introduced you as the sole survivor of the human race allowed to suffer." I muttered.

He coughed, pulling a bent cigarette from his flannel pocket. "If Ferris and my dad hadn't walked in on you being born, I don't think we'd be friends."

I shook my head, "If you weren't such a prick all the time, you'd probably have more friends than the anxious kid who's dad got shot in his front yard."

He turned around, "If-"

"If you don't shut the hell up, I'll make you." Ferris' elbow crashed into Marty's arm. "Go make your self useful and ask Kennon what exactly he's looking for."

I shoved my shoes to Marty, trading for the cigarette, "That was mine." He whispered.

I jogged ahead of the crowd, running to catch up to the truck. Kennon stopped, rolling the window down. Winona sat in the car beside him.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking at her.

She shrugged, "The other car was cramped."

I nodded, not believing her. "When are you planning on stopping. We've been walking for like 6 hours." I took a deep drag of the cigarette, blowing the smoke up.

He shrugged, pulling out his notepad. "whatever we can stop here"

"That shits getting old, kid. Just speak, it's not that hard." I rolled my eyes as I walked away. The crowd was beginning to catch up, finding themselves lingering. The doors to Kennon's truck opened.

Jackson nodded to Kennon, proceeding to cough to gather everyone's attention. "This should do for the night, we'll start again tomorrow. We're ideally looking for somewhere not so close to the highway, and closer to a town."

"Why do we need to stay on the beach?" A voice shouted from the crowd.

"Yeah, if we go inland we can find shelter." "There's got to be more people around here." "Why didn't we wait to see if the people were good, or some of ours from the hotel." "They could've been our people."

I watched Jackson and Holden exchange nervous looks. They had been placed in charge of everyone's lives. Holden moved his hands up, "Calm down, they weren't anyone from the hotel, they weren't interested in our group at all. The ocean provides food and it leaves less directions for us to have to watch."

"Boats, mutant ninja sea turtles, a beached shark, pirates, rotters that can swim," Marty whispered, holding up fingers as he listed potential dangers.

"We're going to die of exposure." "I have a kid, what about my kid." "And what about him, why do you trust him so much?" "Who the hell is he?" "What has he done for us besides sit in his truck all day?" "He doesn't even talk." "He's hiding something."

Kennon stood quietly absorbing the words. Jackson moved in front of Kennon, moving his arms, "No, stop it. He's smart, he survived out there for almost three months, alone. He has a better idea of how to survive than the rest of you."

"I backpacked across Australia, I could kill that kid in a heartbeat." A voice shouted from behind me. I turned around, looking at the angry crowd.

I looked back, searching for Marty. He had walked away, no longer standing in the street. He walked quickly across a patch of rocks, reaching the sand. Smoke floated away from him.

I moved away from the crowd, following after him. I stepped on a rock, feeling it twist out from under me. My body fell through the air, colliding with the ground.

I pushed the blue painted key into the door, twisting it unlocked. Winona sat on the black couch, The Sandlot playing on the TV in front of her. She twisted to look up at me, a big smile stretching across her face. I rolled my eyes, not thinking she was cute at the time.

I climbed up the stairs, running into Ferris. He pushed his long hair back, away from his face. "Sorry Sanchez. I'm going to the skate park with Aria if you and Martin want to come."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'll ask him and text you." I moved into the hallway, walking past Marty's closed door. I pushed the bathroom door open, looking at my messy hair. I fixed my crooked glasses, moving to the toilet.

I could hear music through the walls, pouring out of Marty's room. I dried my clean hands on a towel, pulling the door open. I walked back to Marty's door, pushing it open. His body was hovering over another, meeting at the lips. I turned around quickly, pulling the door closed.

Ferris moved back up the stairs, turning in time to see me pull the door quietly closed. I could feel my jaw hanging open. A grin moved onto Ferris' face. "Is there a girl in there?"

I thought about it, not having seen enough to tell who it was. "No he was just changing." I pulled out my phone, calling Calvin. I moved to the edge of the stairs, hearing the music in Marty's room stop.

"Hey, what's up." Calvin's voice coming in heavy breaths. "No, stop it." He whispered.

I turned around looking at the closed door, "Oh my god!" I moved down the stairs quickly, stepping on a shoe. I fell down, my head hitting the front door. I stood up, holding my throbbing head.

"Randall, are you okay?" Winona's soft voice shouted.