Walking Amongst Them (Among Us, Book 2)

A break

I was packing my new grab bag when Trish walked into the room and leaned against the side of the bed. I folded an extra shirt that was slightly too large and put it into the bottom of the pack. Trish cleared her throat and I raised my eyebrow at her. Afterall, it was she who had something to say.

"Do you want to go hunting with me? We found a bow in one of the rooms. It's a little small, but it's better than nothing." She kept her eyes away from my face, choosing to focus on the things I was doing rather than myself.

I folded another shirt and stacked it on the first, then I put the toothbrush I'd found in the bag. No way was I being caught without one of those anymore. I'd gotten used to having clean teeth, and even if I had to go without a shower, I'd at least have clean teeth.

I sighed outwardly and looked to Trish again, "sure, just let me finish packing my bag."

"Where did you find a bag?" she asked.

I pointed my thumb over my shoulder, towards the closet, "there's backpacks. Like school bags."

Trish grunted and went to the closet. She shuffled through the bags for a second before choosing one and walking out of the room without another word. I didn't take it personally. I was actually relieved that it was Trish asking me to do something with her.

I wasn't really in the mood for talking, and Trish and I didn't talk. We coexisted. And I thought she might be a good hunting partner. I remembered back to when Michael and I had gone hunting, how we'd ended up talking. I knew the same wouldn't happen with Trish.

It wasn't that she didn't like me, I didn't think. It was more like she was a one woman show who somehow got looped up with a group. Like she would be perfectly fine on her own, but had somehow ended up with us and for some reason decided to stay.

I finished packing my bag, excited now at the idea of having a bow again. I slung the bag over my shoulder, deciding that no matter how comfortable I was in a place again, I wouldn't let the bag out of my sight. It was too big of a risk to be without in case of an emergency like this one.

Just because we'd gotten lucky this time to find a place so quickly that had supplies, didn't mean we'd be able to do it over and over. Cody would have remembered his bag, I thought bitterly.

Trish was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. She gave me a look like, 'it look you long enough,' and passed me the bow. It was different from the one I'd used at the compound. More for practice than the real thing, I thought. But then again, I didn't know much about bows other than they took arrows and how to shoot one.

"Thanks," I said, and Trish shrugged.

"Not like I went out and found it for you, I just happened to see it and knew you could use it."

I nodded, knowing that even if I tried to thank her anyways, that she would just brush it off. Trish led the way outside, and towards the apple trees in the yard. Because it was winter the branches were bare. We walked past the few trees and further into the extensive yard of the property.

Trish kept walking like she knew where she was going, and I followed. As we walked, I saw several birds flying overhead. But I wasn't yet good enough, or confident enough to shoot a moving target. At least not one out of the sky, zombies were different. Easier. Slower.

Trish finally slowed her walk when we came to the next house. There weren't a lot of trees around us like there had been on many occasions. Here, the only trees were those that had been planted in yards. She turned to look at me.

"Do you hear that?"

I shook my head after listening intently for a few seconds, "No, I don't hear anything."