Buzz

Coat

Will POV

There's a sense of exhiliration and anxiety that flares up when looking at delapidated buildings and empty cars.
You know instantly that your life is in danger but you don't know by what or from who. The first days seemed exciting, almost like a video game - you run, you hide and you survive. Only surviving is not living.

But I'll take what I can get.

The sun hadn't peaked up over the horizon yet but I could tell it was morning by the stifling heat. I felt like I was breathing in steam as we jumped from one roof to another in a dangerously sluggish manner. My limbs felt like sacks filled with sand and my throat was burning from thirst. Matt seemed to be doing rather well - but no surprise there, he is athletic. Lucian and I, on the other hand, were struggling.

I still had reservations about Lucian. Valarie picked him up and I trust her judge of character but I didn't like the way Logan acted around him. Logan was embarrassed of me. That's fine, I reminded myself. I have greater concerns than puppy love.

"Stop, just stop", Lucian huffed out.

Matt had already jumped over to the next roof - more like climbed seeing as the other roof was higher than this one. Not all buildings are the same height. He jumped down, back onto the roof Lucian and I were in as we huffed out our lungs. I was more discreet but Lucian didn't care and was showing every possible sign of exhaustion.

This is fine too, I reminded myself.

"Let's just wait a little, we still have time before daylight", I said hopefully.

Lucian just pointed at me in a bent over position, signalling his agreement. Matt simply sat down, next to me. Rather close, but I liked it. I knew that he knew that I liked it. Something like that.

It was a glorious battle in my mind, one that would go down in history. Do I let Matt close enough to hurt me again, or do I stick around for the next sweet promise? Logic quickly retaliated by calling the entire notion obsolete. We're actively looking for danger - looking in the eyes of death - in order to evade it. Yet, here I am, pondering if the man I like likes me just as much. The steady hum that flowed through us was electrifying.

Terrifying.

However, we made no advance to enlarge the contact. In the present situation, this was enough. I leaned back against the railing we were sitting against - resting my back and looked up at the rolling in thunderstorm. Grateful for the possible relief from the heat and the idea that we could refill our water bottles. The clouds looked like abstract paintings in the pink light of the morning sun. Like poems written in colours by God.

"Okay, we can go now", Lucian said.

He had caught his breath, so I stood up, Matt going after Lucian as we jumped to the next roof. We had already cleared four blocks - moving in a semi circle from the office building Valarie and the others were held up in.

The strategy was simple: search for the horde in a semicircle of increasing size from the starting point. However, that particular building stood proudly at the edge of town. Hence the need to search in such a shape. The occasion - and strategy - demanded that we move down the street in order to get to the opposite building.

Our weary bodies were instantly shocked back to a taut, energized state by the adrenaline; as if they had been hooked to a car battery. Even after Lucian's intel - the prospect of empty streets - a descent to the ground was always a catalyst for panic. Would the roaming horde of Cannibals cross paths with us? Would we be spotted by looters? What danger awaited us on the ground?

Fear could have paralysed us but in all honesty we were too tired to be scared.

I proceeded calmly to the fire escape, trying to keep my eyes ahead of me. The rusted metal groaned ever so slightly and I swallowed my thick paranoia. The lack of maintenance had made the fire escape rusted and unstable. My mischievous eyes wandered down to the far away ground - almost taunting me. We were rather high up. I didn't want to carry on climbing down the tired, rusted stairs. But I had no choice as Lucian started climbing down as well. The metal groaned again and my muscles tensed. I've come too far to die from structural deterioration.