Stay...Alive

Chapter 18

The stable smelled like horse crap, but there wasn't a horse to be found. 

 "Go up the ladder and sleep on the loft," they had been instructed. It was a miracle that no one fell asleep mid-way through crawling up the ladder. But a whole lot of people did right after, making it hard to walk to the back of the room. But Victorine found her way to a corner, Primus and his brothers close behind. Primus sat against the wall in the corner, his brothers falling asleep on his legs.

"Shut...up," Jay mumbled semi-subconsciously before he fell asleep. Victorine waited for him to sleep for her to smirk again. The loft had a low ceiling; even Victorine could reach up and touch the ceiling. There were cracks between the wooden boards that made up the ceiling. Some were big enough to see out of. The loft was half the size of the stable. If Victorine crawled to the edge, she could look down and see empty stalls with horse-shoe tracks still imprinted in the floor.

Before Victorine knew it, almost everyone on the loft was dead asleep, and she was the last one wide awake. She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut as she realized that her sleep schedule would probably be all f-ed up for a while.

"Aw, f*** me," she whispered to herself, lightly punching the floor. She stood up and tip-toed around sleeping bodies. If she wasn't so frustrated, she'd be laughing at all the awkward, sprawled-out positions they fell asleep in. She stood next to Primus, who was sound asleep. H always looked peaceful when he slept. He eyebrows scrunched together and his lips parted softly. Smiling, she ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head.

"Gross," a voice stated flatly. She turned to see Horace.

"Jealous?" she raised an eyebrow. He bit his lip in frustration. "Why aren't you-"

"Sleep is for the weak," he responded, clearly references something. Victorine didn't know what it was, but then again she didn't care.

"So..." Horace mumbled, trying to think of something to say so they weren't standing in silence. "Lucky you got a free ride on Yolanda's back."

"Lucky you don't need sleep," Victorine snapped back.

"Y'know, I liked you better when you didn't talk back."

Ditto, Victorine mouthed.

"Since when did she start acting like a mom around you?" Horace asked. Victorine shrugged and flashed a grin. "I'm guessing you like that very much." Victorine nodded. "You ever miss your actual mom?" Victorine paused and stared down at her feet, knitting her eyebrows in thought. "Me neither."

Horace tried not to step on anyone's arms or legs as he maneuvered towards Victorine. "And that Muslim girl, Asha or whatever, is dating that one new kid who flinches every seven damn minutes. I mean, at least I think they're dating. And that redhead's talking more too! Like, her talking frickin' increased more than yours did!"

Victorine did not disagree with that.

"It's like I'm gone for five months and everyone changes," Horace grumbles, his voice gaining some edge. He looked at his feet, and Victorine tip-toed over to put a hand on his shoulder. He aggressively shrugged it right off.

"When you were asleep, Yolanda kept on telling me everything ya did. Like you pretty

much saved everyone by finding that food." Once again, Victorine couldn't disagree. "Or when you stopped some people from getting shot-"

Victorine cut him off with the most serious look she could muster. "Oh...wait, she said you pushed...the bullet didn't...it hit the other lady, didn't it!"

Victorine didn't need to answer. She just bit her lip.

"Oh...that sucks," Horace muttered. The two were quiet again, until Horace said, "Y'know what, I haven't had any beer in a couple of days...and I pretty sure I've never needed it more."