A World Apart

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Stella

Chaos is what greets me when I finally awake. My eyes have barely opened before I see the hot, black smoke being thrown around in the wind. I only have to lift my head an inch to find where it's coming from, and when I do, the world plunges itself further into madness. Maisie is crying, Gale is hysterical, a still body lies crumpled on the ground, and all this surrounds an inferno. It doesn't take long for me to piece together what's happened.

Trying to ignore the pounding ache in my head, I lift myself up on my elbows so I can get a better look at things. It's the body my eyes are focused on, because while Maisie and Gale are dancing round the fire, I can't quite tell if that's Logan on the ground or not. If it is, he's much too still for my liking. I don't have time to wonder long before Gale notices I'm awake.  

"Stella!" he shouts, running over and blocking my sight of the body. I try to look around his thin legs but he crouches down and blocks my view completely. "A-are you alright?"

It takes me a moment to consider this. A glance down at myself proves any injuries I've sustained are only minor, a couple scratches here and there and several spots that will soon be blossoming into bruises. It's my head that hurts the most, but when I pat at my scalp and face my hand comes back clean of blood. "Yeah," I say, "I think I'm OK."

Gale nods, but my good health seems to have done little to console him.

"Where's Logan?" I ask, trying again to look around him at the figure on the ground. I soon stop when I realize the mention of Logan's name has sent Gale into a panic.

"I-I tried to stop him! But he- and then I couldn't! And I--" he continues to ramble on, but I've drowned him out, a panic of my own taking hold of me.

My legs feel weak and uncertain when I lift myself up, but that doesn't stop me from pushing Gale aside and stumbling over to the body. It only takes me three steps to see that the man on the ground isn't Logan. A good thing, too, because the person at my feet is nothing more than a bloody mess. A quick examination concludes that this must be the infected that made us crash. So where is Logan?

Gale has joined my inspection. He goes quiet for a few seconds as he looks down at the infected, then his rambling begins again. "This w-was me! I did this! I k-kicked him off and then stomped on his head until he was d-dead! All by myself!"

"What? Good for you," I say, maybe a little harshly, but I don't really care right now that Gale has finally gotten a number under his kill count, I care that a member of our group is missing. So I ask him again, "Where's Logan?"

Gale doesn't reply, his attention is locked on the ground, still appraising the kill at his feet.

"Gale!" I snap.

His eyes bounce to mine. "Y-yes?"

"Where's Logan?"

"He took off. I t-tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen!" The fact that Logan survived the crash calms me a little, but the note of hysteria in Gale's voice certainly doesn't.

"What do you mean he took off?" I ask, "We're in the middle of nowhere! Where did he go?"

"I don't know! He was s-shouting at Maisie, and then I was shouting at him and then he just w-walked off!" Gale exclaims.

At the mention of her name, my attention drifts to where Maisie sits in front of the fire, rocking back and forth on her knees. I have to commend Logan's restraint, because while I certainly have a few things to say to her, I'm not sure I'd be able to stop at just words. My hands have begun curling into tight fists when I force myself to look away from her and the crash. There will be plenty of time to deal with her later, doing so now won't solve any of our problems.