Nightmares (Complete)

four-

I woke up to the breakfast bell again, glaring at the tiny speaker in the corner of the room. The noise was always so loud and obnoxious. We had the same morning routine as yesterday, so when we finished we walked to the cafeteria. My muscles didn't protest as much as I thought they were going to.

"I will get food!" Alyssa said as Nalla and I sat down. I glanced up at her with a nod.

"Thanks," I replied, my voice still layered in sleep. She nodded, walking quickly to the line and grabbing three plates. I wasn't sure how she thought she was going to juggle all of them. I sighed, turning to Nalla, who had a smile on her lips.

"What is sissy doing?" she asked in her tiny squeak of a voice. I laughed, looking over my shoulder at her. She was now talking to a boy, our plates somehow balanced in her arms. I chuckled, turning back to Nalla.

"Making friends," I said with a knowing smirk at my sister. Alyssa walked back over to us, the guy walking behind her, joining us at the table. So she had hooked him, huh? I coughed to stop myself from giggling.

"So, this is Ethan," she said, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. I nodded seriously, trying to be open towards the stranger. "These are my sisters, Winter and Nalla." She waved a hand to us, then the two started talking about nonsense. I sighed, taking another bite of my food and playing rock paper scissors with Nalla. She won, but I liked to think I let her win.

"So, what job do you guys do?" Ethan asked. Alyssa smiled brightly, very willing to explain and talk more.

"I and winter are raiders, Nalla is a student because she is so young," Alyssa said excitedly. Ethan nodded thoughtfully. I wasn't quite sure why Alyssa was opening up to this stranger without any hesitation.

"What do you do sir?" Nalla squeaked, once again peering from around my shoulder shyly. This place was making her a lot braver. Ethan smiled.

"I am a guard," he said, then he went into detail about what it's like being a guard. Overall, it seemed pretty boring to me. Alyssa then told him about the pancake mix boxes, which he laughed about. "How many boxes?" he asked, slightly baffled at the amount Alyssa told him.

"23!" she laughed, all of us joining in, though mine sounded a bit forced. There had been a lot of pancake mix boxes. The bell rang for breakfast to be over, Alyssa waving goodbye to Ethan as we walked to the gate to meet with our group.

Fatima greeted us, a box in her arms, which she opened, handing outfits to me and Alyssa, then everyone else in the group. I took mine with a suspicious look.

"These are your leathers! They can protect you from thorns and zombie's nails, though not bites, everyone go put them on then return!" she shouted. Alyssa grabbed my hand, pulling to the bathrooms. I sighed softly but allowed her to drag me there.

We changed quickly, staring at ourselves in the mirror for a moment. They were greyish brown with the word raider on the chest. I made a face. Alyssa laughed.

"We look great!" She said, but I took it sarcastically. I followed her back to the gates, glad not to be tugged there by my arm. Fatima walked over to us with a smile, seemingly as hyper as she always was.

"That suits you well, so, when we go out today, I want you both to choose a house to raid, then you can try and gather some things, instead of just waiting outside this time," she explained. I and Alyssa nodded excitedly.

"So we get to rob the zombies?" Alyssa dared to ask. Fatima laughed.

"I guess you could say that... the people that lived there are probably zombies," she agreed. Alyssa nodded, skipping to the gates, helping two others push them open. We all walked to the truck together, jumping into the back. Sienna joined us this time, another person sitting in the front seat. I was glad not to sit with a complete stranger, though I didn't count her as a friend yet.