Stay...Alive

Chapter 16

Only five people ended up puking after eating what was in the cans. But it was worth it, considering how many people avoiding starving. However, one of the people puking was Asha, and Victorine was the one that had to hold her hair and hijab back.

"Didn't think I had enough in my stomach to throw up," Asha commented when she was finished. "Welp, it was better than eating nothing."

Victorine didn't respond to that but appreciated the optimism. At least someone had any of it left.

The crowd had traveled farther than Victorine thought they would; they found themselves far away from the wrecked, or any city. There was barely any remains for as far as the eye can see. But the grass didn't poke through her thin shoes and socks. Brown weeds sticking out of the ground. Not too far away, Victorine could see a bare tree.

However, they wouldn't be getting anywhere near it until the next day. The group camped out in the middle of nowhere, and everyone was too tired or sick to question it. Victorine sat not too far away from Primus and his brothers so she could keep an eye on them, and Yolanda lingered close by so she could keep an eye on her. Victorine was just about to figure out how to fall asleep on the hard ground, she heard Frankie yell, "Victorine!"

Frankie knelt down next to Victorine, with Gina close behind. Victorine waited for her to say something, and after a full fifteen seconds of awkward silence, Frankie widened her eyes and whispered, "I just never got the chance to make sure you weren't dead."

Victorine chuckled and hugged Frankie around the neck. "Aw, I missed your hugs."

"She didn't drive you insane?" Gina joked. Both Frankie and Victorine shook their heads, as Gina didn't exactly clarify who she was talking about. "She told me everything that happened in the jail."

"Everything?" Victorine squealed.

"Aw no, but." Gina leaned in a little. "She...said that you were the thing that kept her from going insane and killing Horace. Not very surprising, on everyone's part."

Victorine grinned, as she settled back onto the ground. Frankie and Gina leaned up against each other, Victorine not too far away. As much as she was used to curling up on the hard ground, it wasn't hard to do it alone on a hot September night. She tossed and turned, but before she knew it, she one of the last ones awake. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Gina and Frankie leaning on each other's shoulders, holding hands. Jealous, Victorine crawled over and curled up next to Frankie.

It didn't help her sleep at all, but at least she wasn't on the hard ground.

Victorine pretty much laid there for hours, not asleep but resting, and thinking more than she needed to.

The bullet would've hit into Primus or you or Cherie.

But you stopped all three and caused it to hit into the brunette lady.

You caused it.

You should've taken it.

You should've taken it and became some hero and get remembered as such.

They don't need you here anyway.

Do they?
You would've been up there with Timothy and Linny Lee.

Isn't that what you want?

Victorine heard a click, and her eyes flew open. Her body was frozen in place, but her eyes scanned the terrain. The night sky was black and dotted with stairs. Not too far to her right, Primus and his brothers slept close together, with only their sleeves or toes touching. To her left, Yolanda slept holding hands with Jacey, who was spooning with Parker. Across from her, Horace was sleeping all alone. Lane and Asha were somewhere out of her field of view.

Victorine stayed alert for a few seconds as she took in the silence. Just as she began to relax she heard the click again. She shifted a little, lifting her head and trying to sit up. She heard the click two more times, and her tired muscles tensed. The sound seemed to be coming from behind her, so she slowly placed her hands and knees on the dirt ground. She moved one knee and one hand at a time, careful not to make a sound as she tried to crawl around Gina and Frankie.

Slowly, more and more came into view. She took her time observing everything she could. She spotted a rotted shed in the far distance, Asha sleeping with her head on Lane's chest, a group of people sleeping in an awkward position so their heads were out of the mud, more open field, and...that was it. Victorine squinted her eyes and studying everything a little harder. What could have made that noise? Hesitantly backing away, Victorine tried to relax the muscles in her face as she knit her eyebrows. She kept her ears opened as she crawled back to where she previously laid. Right before she leaned up against Frankie and Gina again, she heard yet another click.

Almost angry, Victorine quickly crawled the other direction around the pair, and almost angrily moving to face behind them. Once again, nothing out of the ordinary. She heard the clicking sound coming from the left, and whipped her head around.

Standing right over Primus and his brothers was a tall, bulky figure in black helmet, casually holding one of the biggest rifles Victorine had yet to see.

She froze, stifling back a gasp. He didn't move at first, he just stared down at the boys, putting all his weight on his right leg. He was dressed like the soldier that had cornered her five or six months ago when she on the run with the rest of her posse. That time, she had a hard wall and plenty of temper to take the man down. Now, there wasn't even anything to hit him with.

Without anything to grab, Victorine stuck her fingers in the ground and scooped up two handfuls of dirt and kept her eyes set on the man. When he moved even the slightest bit, she moved a little closer. Her eyes moved to his huge rifle, examining how he held in his right hand, which wasn't the hand he used to scratch his side or fiddle with his pockets. She noted how there seemed to be something bulging in his left pocket that he ran his fingers over constantly.

She waited for him to be as clueless as can be. She waited as he strolled around the sleeping people, his gun and his black, metal body armor clanking as he walked. She followed behind him, laying as low as she could with the two balls of dirt in her hands. He seemed to try not to nudge anyone with his boots, making it easy for Victorine to follow in the big man's shadow. When he stopped in front of Horace, Victorine prepared to attack.

She waited until he'd relaxed completely...and the gun was dangling off of his fingers...

Victorine chucked the ball of dirt right at his hand, knocking the gun out of his fingers. It clanked on the ground on Horace's leg. The impact was enough to wake him up. The man tried to reach in his other pocket, but Victorine transferred the ball of dirt from her left to her right hand and threw it at his left hand before he could reach into his pocket. As the man was keeling over to get his gun, Victorine sprang onto his back and wrapped her hands around his neck.

As he struggled and choked, other people in the crowd awoke to see Victorine trying to bring the armed man to the ground. She used the same technique from last time, leaning from side to side to throw him off his balance. But this man was more firmly planted in the ground than expected.

Other adults started to join in, trying to force him to the ground and yanked Victorine off of him. But both were too stubborn to budge. Victorine ripped off his helmet and scratched at his face as the adults tried to push him to the ground. But he fought off and off, throwing punches even with a little girl on top of him. He didn't even scream as Victorine shoved her heel into his stomach.

After what felt like a forever of fighting, Victorine saw a flash of black and heard a loud thunk. Suddenly, the man started to fall backward, taking Victorine with him. Quickly, she unwrapped her legs from around his waist and rolled onto the floor. Primus was at her side in a second, as well as Yolanda. But she sat up and tried to see what hit the man in the face.

Standing over his unconscious body was Horace, holding the rifle by the barrel and staring down at the body, surprised. He glanced up at Victorine, who couldn't help but smirk.