Koalas (Kyle O'Shea)

Chapter 7

After lunch Lily and Melody brought the mattress to the new room. It was a bit smaller, not as spacious as the one she shared with Kyle and Ian. The door was covered with a colourful quill. Ruth's bed was on the right side. She had a few knick knacks here and there. An unfinished magic cube sat next to her pillow.

Lily's bed was on the left side of the room. She had a few books and a sketchbook as well as a few pencils at her side. The women quickly thought about how to lay the mattress. It ended up at the head of the other two, so Melody wouldn't have to lay in the doorway.

Once they finished they walked back to the others. Most of them were on the field sowing new seeds into the ground. It had been a while since harvesting the wheat. Melody joined them. She didn't know what seed they were and she was still amazed that it even worked. She always wondered how they kept the ground fertile.

The day ended way too soon. Melody hadn't seen her roommates since breakfast and was quite worried about being without them for an unknown amount of time. She would miss being able to talk to Ian. He was a gentle being with a lot of compassion and empathy for others. Arguing with him always seemed impossible for her. He was always so down to earth and she knew if he ever was upset at someone it had a very good reason.

Kyle on the other hand was more impulsive and very extroverted. He often would act irrationally before thinking about it. But he was fierce and opinionated as well as kind and caring to those who, he thought, deserved it. Even though, he rejected her Melody's feelings didn't just disappear. She had fallen heads over heels for the brutish man with a kind and caring heart.

A lot of times when she couldn't sleep she thought about all those times he had stayed awake with her when she was unable to sleep. In the beginning they would talk about their lives prior to this whole mess. Later on, when they trusted each other more, he opened up about Jodie and she did the same about Matthew.

They had each other's back all the time, emotionally and on raids. Being without them would be difficult but she was glad she became friends with the other people in the cave as well.

At supper everyone was there to say good bye to the men going on the raid. Jamie sat next to Jared. He really looked up to him and admired him for everything he could do. Jared became his role model quickly after his older sister brought him back with her after looking for food in a house.

Kyle sat on the opposite of Ian. His eyes immediately found Melody once she entered the kitchen. He always found her beautiful, yet the memory of Jodie was still present in his mind, or at least it used to be. The last months the thoughts about the tiny woman, who never put up with his shit, shifted to the girl with the funny accent and caring heart.

Ian wasn't oblivious to the love his companions admittedly or not had for each other. He was also conscious of the silence between them for the last week but chose not to comment to either of them.

He loved his brother of course but he knew how much of an asshole Kyle could be. There was a reason after all why his nose was crooked from being broken so many times.

Ian also grew found of the slightly older woman. Their bickering back and fourth relaxed him and made him forget about the alien invasion around them.

"Melody, come over."

Brandt called out to her. He was also younger than her and joined joking around with her and Ian. If it wouldn't be for Kyle's behaviour he would have tried to make a move on her but he was unsure. Melody's head snapped towards them and sat down next to Ian.

"We're gonna leave right after dinner. It'll be less suspicious." Brandt told her.

"Are you sure about that? I mean during the day you can wear sunglasses and it won't raise suspicion but during the night?" She was concerned.

"Don't worry, Melody. We did it a lot of times already. Nothing's ever happened." Jared assured her.

Melody nodded uncertain. After everyone finished their meal, the raiders got ready to leave and everyone said good Bye. Melody hugged Brandt and Ian after saying a quick bye to Aaron and Jared. She stood in front of Kyle unsure what to do.

Kyle walked forward and pulled her into him. Her face was pressed against his chest and he buried his face in her hair. They hugged each other tightly, not wanting to let go.

"See you later, alligator." He heard her say into his shirt and he laughed, letting go of her.

"At the zoo, kanguru."

The first night in the new room was funny. The three women talked until late about everything and nothing. Lily told them about her wild college time and Ruth told them about the weird things she faced as a receptionist at a grand hotel back in Huston. Melody talked about her work at the kindergarten.

"What did you do before you met Ian and Kyle? Were you alone?" Ruth asked her.

"For some time. I was with my brother but he died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"How did you hide?"

"We usually were in plain sight, not staying at a place for too long. At times we had to talk to the aliens when we had to get supplies during the day. It was less suspicious that way."

"Weren't you scared you'd get caught?" Ruth asked her.

"Every time. But they were never suspicious and unknowingly helped us."

The women looked at her confused. "How?"

"They talked a lot about the other world they invaded. My name is something that could come from the singing world and the aliens told us a bit about it."

"Can you tell us about the singing world?" Lily asked, genuinely curious.

"The species they took over are called bats. They are similar to our bats. They use echolocation but I don't know if they're blind or if the world is dark. And they sing too. It's supposed to be absolutely beautiful, just as bright as the warmest colours."

The other two women listened intently. Soon their eyes started to drop and even Melody had trouble staying awake.

The next weeks were full of work. Melody worked with Sharon until lunch, and the with Lily, Ruth, and Trudy during the afternoon and the evening.

After some time she even started to get close with Sharon and her mother. They were a bit difficult and it took Melody a while to get use to their harsh words and weird behaviour.

She even grew close with Doc, Sharon's boyfriend, who Maggy was very proud of. The old woman was happy her beloved daughter found herself a good man, even if it took her an alien invasion. Doc was usually in the infirmary, the last days he was busy taking care of Walter.

Walter was an old man, who was quite sick, yet full of life and kindness. He talked to Melody when she just had freshly arrived and was still unsure about everything. He told her a lot about his wife and even showed Melody a picture of his Gladys. She also became a host for a body snatcher.

Over the time Melody finally learned her way around the complicated cave system. The darkness and the following blindness didn't bother her anymore and she got more and more comfortable navigating her way through the dusty tunnels.

The days turned into weeks and after three weeks she grew more and more restless. Melody missed the O'Shea brothers. After everything that happened to her they still became a symbol of home and safety.

The longer she lived in the reddish caves and the more they became home to her the weirder it got to be without the men. She had never felt as safe as she did in the caves, not even with her own brother. It felt like the humans here were untouchable for the aliens outside.

Melody's days became the same after the second month. Everyday she starred at the tunnel the men left all those weeks ago, waiting impatiently for them to come back.

She often talked to Jamie during that time. He was just a poor kid, who lost his sister one of the most terrible ways possible and during those raids his other guardian was gone with the threat of never returning.

Jeb was glad that someone spoke to Jamie and made sure he was fine. Melody was just the right person for that. She could always get through to the kid and the young boy trusted her.