No Escape (luke hemmings au)

~part two~

        Calum was waiting for me at the door. I looked around nervously. The walls were wood panelling and the floor was covered in a rough carpet. Calum and I stood in a front hall with an old, rickety coat tree in the corner with no coats hanging on it. There was a beat-up armchair to my left covered in jackets and sweaters. I assumed the coat tree was as useless as it looked.

                There was a door to my right that was slightly ajar so I could see the corner of a bed with the blankets hanging off. I wondered whose room it was. There was a door directly in front of me with the door torn off its hinges. It rested against the wall beside the door. I pointed to the door with my eyebrow raised.

                Calum laughed lightly. “The hinges were lousy so I took the door off to fix it.”

                I nodded. “I’m guessing you won’t be getting around to any fixing anytime soon?”

             Calum shrugged. “Probably not. We have other things to worry about that are more important than a broken door.” He waved his hand to tell me to follow him and we walked through the doorless frame. The room we walked into was small and cozy. The windows were all boarded up. Connor was tending a fire that was burning brightly in a wood fireplace in the corner. Three boys I had never seen were sitting across an old, torn sofa with an ugly flower pattern.  They were staring at a television that sat on the carpeted floor hooked up to a VCR. The television wasn’t working, though. I guessed there was no electricity here either.

 Luke was lounging in a recliner. There was a wooden coffee table in the center, riddled with water stains and chipped off varnish. A wooden dining table sat in the back right corner with all the weapons placed atop it.

                Calum clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. They all looked up and I instantly felt self-conscious. The boys stared at me in disbelief. I couldn’t move.

                “Alright,” Calum began. “This is Dez. We found her in the mall and she needed a place to stay, so here we are. Try to treat her like you’d treat any of us, okay? Don’t be an asshole.” Calum pleaded. I saw Luke roll his eyes and lean further back in his chair. He tucked his arm behind his head and looked at me hungrily. I crossed my arms tight across my chest. 

                One of the boys on the couch stood up. “You want an apple?” he asked politely and started walking towards one of the two doors near the back of the room. I nodded. I didn’t notice how hungry I was. “I’m Jon,” he told me and ducked into what I assumed was the kitchen.

                “I’m Logan,” another boy from the couch spoke up and greeted me with a flick of one hand. I smiled and nodded, trying not to show how uncomfortable I was. “This is Cody,” he pointed to the boy next to him. He nodded.

                Connor stood up with a loud grunt of effort. “I can move my stuff in with Jon so you can have your own room,” he offered. “The door has a lock on it.” I smiled. He was trying hard to make sure I felt safe, but ever since the outbreak I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again. He hurried off through the other door near the back of the room.

                Jon walked out of the kitchen and tossed me a red apple as he bit into one himself. I bit into it desperately and smiled as the taste filled my mouth. It had been ages since I’d eaten anything other than snack cakes and potato chips from the convenience store. I took two more bites, almost as the same time, and savoured the taste.

                Calum grinned when I was finished. “Come on, I’ll show you around,” he took my apple core and headed towards the other door at the back of the room, throwing it in the trash on the way. I followed. It led into a hallway lined with cabinets with a door that was boarded shut at the end. Calum turned right and down another hallway. This one had a door on each wall and one at the end. There was a mirror on one door. I saw my reflection and almost gasped. I was dirty and pale, my skin looked sickly. I looked at my feet and kept walking. We passed Connor as he entered one of the other rooms with a bundle of clothes in his arms.