Freedom

Onward and Westward

A few days of driving later and we realized our hopeful shopping mall destination was a fluke. The parking lot we approached was abandoned and completely looted.

"Well, where else can we go?" We all sat in the back of the parked van defeated. We needed to find somewhere else to get supplies. We couldn't keep living on rations of half stale food and minimal water.

"We have one option left." Chubs looked up at us from working with Zu on school work. "We go west."

"West? West is civilization. Where west would we go?" 

"We travel the perimeter of the US. We go north, cut through West Virginia and Ohio. Then we keep traveling west through the northern states." We couldn't come up with any other plan. There wasn't really any place more east than we are now, we couldn't go into any towns.

"I guess we're going west then." Liam sighed and leant back on the pile of random assorted things in the back of the van. We all agreed and started to get situated for the night time drive. Zu was sleepily watching the road with Chubs in the front as I started to clean up the back of the van.

"Liam, come help me clean up this mess." A week living with three other people in one small van had lent itself to creating immense messes. Liam moved towards the back of the van with me and helped me to sort the messes into different piles. "We need to do laundry some time soon too."

"Having a van makes us so privileged." Liam snickered. I had taken the job of keeping the van livable and everyone fed and healthy. Some would call it a sexist job, but I think I just have a knack for taking care of people. Liam and I spent a while getting the van back to livable conditions. The analog clock in the front of the van glowed a red light into back living space. 

"We should get some sleep, it's almost midnight." I moved over to the back of the van where the pillows and blanket we just set up. I laid down and looked out the window. The dark tree line faded into a blur of movement as Chubs drove the van into the darkness. I felt the blankets shift as Liam laid down. The familiar feeling of butterflies fled to my stomach as I felt his warm exhale on the back of my neck. His arms made his way around me and I felt him close to me as we faded into sleep.

Spectator Perspective

Liam and Ruby laid peacefully in the back of the fast moving van. Liam intertwined his fingers into Ruby's hair. Brown locks were cast messily around her head. His gentle touch moved pieces of her hair out of her face and brushed her hair wit his fingers. He couldn't sleep; anxiety and fear flooded his mind without a reason. He felt Ruby stir in her sleep, he didn't want her to worry that he was still awake. He burrowed his face into her neck and tightened his grip on her.

Liam's Perspective

It was about 3 in the morning but I couldn't sleep. This had to be my fourth night without getting a good amount of sleep. I hoped no one had noticed my dwindling energy, I couldn't stop the feeling of panic rushing over me every single day. I couldn't let these feelings get the best of me. 

Another hour of restlessness and I finally started to fall asleep. Ruby moved in her sleep and laid pressed on my chest. Knowing she was still there made my mind more at ease. Countless nights sleeping in the comforting van next to Ruby made me want to be with her even more. I know in a literal sense I am right next to her. But I wanted to be someone to her.

Authors Note~~
This chapter was C R A P. lol sorry bout it. It's just a filler so I can move the plot along,  and also so i can experiment with using other perspectives to move the storyline along. If any of you loyal folks actually read this let me know if you would like it if i used other character's perspective or if you would like me to just go back to Ruby's perspective. I'll probably go back to just Ruby's perspective for the next chapter

Beep Boop Bye : /