Gloom (complete)

News

Blain settled beside her on the floor as she worked on putting batteries into the back of Ryan's black radio. His body heat a welcomed warmth against her side. Blain loudly munched on an apple and peered over her shoulder.

"So, she told you they were heading West?"

The girl nodded quickly, still ridding the bliss she felt from Heather's note. Her smile had begun to hurt her face.

"That there was some type of evacuation...?"

She nodded again, placing the finale battery in place and flipped on the tiny switch on its side. There was static.

Biting her lip, Jacey began to move the tiny dial carefully. She become anxious when she was repeatedly met with hallow static. The idea that there was no news out there worried here. The thought that there was no one left around.

"Stop," Blain said quickly, grabbing her hand, halting her frantic turning of the turner. He let go a second later. "Go back a little, I heard something."

She carefully did so, catching low impossible to understand voices. Blain reached over her and began adjusting the long antenna until slowly each voice became clearer. She held her breath as she heard an older man's voice comment.

" - All states from Maine to Tennessee have been blanketed by a heavy layer of snow and ice and have had reports of strange creatures. Going north is ill-advised because the unnatural blizzards raging further north...." The voice became inaudible as static washed it out. Blain quickly began to fumble with the antenna again, bending it. "We have created a safe zone fifty-miles outside of the blizzard lands..... urge you, if you are able, to escape the blizzard ... find you if you... do. You will be free of the ice creatures and protected from any chup.. dogs. We are..."

The voice was gone, overcome by static and neither of them was able to bring it back. She heavily sat back, her back hitting the couch, her side began to sting.

"So... we're going south-west then?" Blain asked, picking his apple back up and pressing it too his lips.

Jacey nodded. "I bet my family will be there." Blain took a bite of his apple, frowning unhappily at the now noiseless radio. "But... What exactly did he mean by blizzard lands and dogs?"

Blain shrugged once again and settled back beside her, "no clue." He chewed loudly. She frowned at him for a few seconds.

Jacey wrapped her arms around herself. "When are we going to leave?"

"As soon as we can," Blain said over a mouth-full of apple. "We have to find a way we can travel without being attacked by any Inkies, plus we're both wounded and it's a long way."

Jacey nodded in understanding. "I'm sort of afraid, Blain." She admitted softly.

Blain took small bites of his apple cord, not commenting at first. "You would be weird I guess, if you weren't... I guess I should plagiarize a page out of your book of corny inspirational words and say... You can do this..." His face twisted as if he was disgusted with himself. Jacey couldn't help her snort of laughter. He glanced at her. "You survived a school cave-in, along with everything else we've been through... traveling a couple of miles shouldn't be a big deal. You saved my life too..."

"I did, huh?" She asked with a small smirk. "I believe this is your very first time complimenting me, Blain."

"Don't go getting a big head, bird. I only don't want you flaking on me and fainting a dozen times on our way out of here. I thought I would give you a little confidence." He quickly added.

Jacey ignored his latter words and focused on his prior ones. "Are you afraid, Blain?" She asked as softly as she could, not wanting to insult him.

"Like I said, you would have to be weird not to be afraid in this situation," Blain answered with a no answer.

Jacey raised both eye brows. "So... You are afraid but you won't admit it?"

Blain said as if he were talking to a child, "Did I say anything like that?"

The girl blinked. "I have no idea what you are saying. Are you calling yourself weird if you aren't afraid?" She honestly was confused.

A smirked worked it's way onto Blain's lips as he carefully stood. He climbed onto the couch behind her and yanked her blanket off her shoulders and wrapped it around himself. "I'm going to take a nap."

"Hey," she cried out trying to pull her blanket back, but it wouldn't budge, "go get your own blanket, Blain."

"Aren't you suppose to be nice and stuff...? I have a broken arm, I dragged you upstairs, and bandaged your wound; you should have offered me your blanket as soon as you saw me trembling in the cold. Oh, and I also started a fire." Jacey gave up on trying to pull her blanket back and stared at him. Blain pushed his face into the blanket and shut both eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

Jacey sighed letting it go, he looked like he needed a couple of hours of sleep anyway. She glanced at the crackling fire in the fireplace, then at the mess around her. Heather had always kept her house clean and organized, not obsessively, but it was a nice, cozy, clean home.

It bothered Jacey seeing it in such a disarray because it would have bothered Heather. Jacey began to clean and straighten things with the limited light on the bottom floor before making her way upstairs as well. When she finished it was dark outside and she had lit a couple of candles and rejoined a still slumbering Blain in the living room.

Setting the candles on the coffee table, the girl once again tried finding a working station on Ryan's radio. Nothing. She bit her lip and gently stepped over Blain's leg, which was sprawled out off the couch and settled beside his head.

Jacey stared out of the window across from her. It was dark. She wondered how many of those things were out there?

Her side throbbing, Jacey curled herself into the corner of the couch, realizing it faintly smelled of cheesy puffs and air freshener. A slow smile worked its way onto her lips. Home.