End of the Living

Chapter Six

It was now dark outside the superstore, the only lights showing was the warming light of the campfire, the dim glow of the electric-lanterns, and the soft pale moonlight seeping through the cracks of the glass doors and barricade. Everyone was gathered around the warm fire, Cleo was cleaning a machete, Hunter and sat cross-legged with Becky beside him and hugging his arm, Cat, Mike and Mitchy had turned in for the night, Danny was holding an hot-dog over the fire with a kabob-stick and Nina was laying down next to me with her cheek smooshed into my lap, in her arms was a bunny plush snuggled tightly against her body. 

I had a hand gently petting her hair, her hair now in tight waves after being released from the braids she had earlier. I looked down at her sleeping form with a gentle sense of calmness flowing through me, remembering my Dad would do the same thing for me when I was a kid.
Beside me, I heard Hunter's chuckle and I looked over, both him and Becky looking at me with grins on their faces.
"What?" I asked, seeming a bit confused. 
"You look like your Nina's Mom or something," Hunter said, Becky nodded in agreement and continued for him. "Yeah, did you have a family?"

I fell a little quiet and just shook my head before answering. "No, I wasn't married, I didn't have kids or a spouse before this. Me on my own. The only family I have is my Dad and younger Brother."

"That where you got the military coat from?" I nodded. "It was my Dads."

The room went quiet again, then Danny to my left spoke up. "What were they like?" I gave him a confused look as he continued. "Your family, I mean, what were they like?"
I considered answering for a bit, looking into the orange-yellow flames of the fire before answering quietly. "My Brother is a few years younger than me, he was about 10 when I moved out, probably 12 now. His name is Eddie. I didn't know him well enough even though he's my brother, school and work always kept me busy from home so I never got to know him until my going away party." 
I swallowed the invisible lump in my throat but it wouldn't leave as the memory of Eddie's hurt expression came to mind when I moved out. His big eyes teary and full of sadness as a few tears and even a bit of snot slipped from his nose and eyes and slithered down his face, he bit his lip as he tried to not cry loudly like a baby.
"My Dad...he's like the run-of-the-mill Military man, he was always strict with me and had me mature a bit when I was a kid. He'd be tough on me, but I knew he loved me as much as he loved Mom and Eddie. He was tough on his family, but he treasured us more than anything."
My eyes stung and felt weighed heavily as I fought back tears in my eyes and refused to let them come out.

Hunter looked impressed on how well I knew Dad, Becky, and Danny, however, looked a little moved and could tell I was trying to be strong...Cleo just scoffed and probably wrote it off as me making a sob story for sympathy. I felt tired, wanting to rest I gently lifted the sleeping Nina into my arms and crouched into the tent, bidding the others goodnight before I zipped the tent shut. Once inside, I zipped Nina into her sleeping bag snuggly so as she turned over and continued to cuddle the bunny, then I slipped off my boots and crawled into my own bag, the soft inside warming my body as I felt my eyelids get heavier and heavier until finally the darkness enveloped me and I fell into a warm sleep.

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The next morning, the sunlight shining in my eyes and the smell of a fire being put out greeted me as I sat up and rubbed the tiredness from my eyes. Nina was asleep and I didn't want to wake her, so as carefully as possible I slipped on my boots and quietly crept out from the tent before heading towards the break room. I opened the door to the sight of Cat cooking barefoot in the kitchenette of the break room her hand on her back as she leaned back a bit to keep herself steady and the sound of sizzling bacon hissing on a pan came through.
She heard the creak of the door as I stepped in and turned her head towards me and smiled tiredly, small bags being under her eyes.
"Good morning, Rose! How was your night?" she asked, her cheery tone contrasted with her tired appearance as she slid the pan off the small stove. I walked myself over to her and gently took the handle from her hands and steered her to the table, sitting her down, she didn't resist but she did look immediately confused.

"It was fine, Cat how about I take over breakfast for you? You should take it easy in your state." I knew it might've sounded rude, but it was probably best for her, besides she didn't seem to mind and actually sank back into the wooden chair relaxed. "Why thank you, I'd be happy to let you take over."
I smiled at her then got to work, sliding the bacon from the pan onto a plate before sliding to the fridge for some eggs and such before taking over the stove and kitchenette.
"So...How long have you and Mike been married?" I asked her, not moving my eyes as I started to fry some eggs for us while putting the coffee maker on. 
"We've been together for a few years now, about 6 years, Mitchy was around for our wedding and then after I got pregnant with this little joy." 

I peeked over my shoulder to see her with a soft expression as she looked down at her enlarged belly, both her hands resting on the mound as one gently stroked it. I felt kind of happy to see her care so much for her child, even in such a dire cause.

"Do you know the gender?"