Living with the Dead

Six

Banging on my tent woke me up with a start. On my side Koda growled in response to being woken up. It only seemed like seconds from when I closed my eyes, but I could see as darkness flooded through the tent window.
"Camille? You up?"
I recognized the voice immediately. Julian.
"Yah I'm coming, hold on a sec."
I quickly slipped on a new long-sleeved shirt that wasn't stained with biter blood. I cringed as the cold nipped at my bare chest. The tightly woven fabric felt comforting on my frigid body. It was a soft blue stripped print. My sweatpants were still pretty clean; for the circumstance.
I stepped out of my new shelter jacket hanging loosely on my shoulders. "Hey Julian, what's up?"
"It's dinner time, and come to the fire pit I want you to meet someone."
Julian grabbed my hand and dragged me towards a huge clearing. Being dragged along by this boy is becoming a normal routine.
We stopped around a large fire and a few people sitting on the ground with a bowl full of baked beans. My stomach growled with anticipation to get some food.
"Hey Julian, um, where do I get some of the food?"
He pointed behind me and there was a frail old woman stirring a giant pot full of beans. My stomach rebelled against me once again and I headed over to the bean pot and grabbed a styrofoam bowl.
"Hello hun, I don't think I've seen you around her before," the old woman said to me. "I'm Cathy, I'm usually in charge of food duty around here, I won't be any use for any other jobs around here, I'm old and wrinkly!"
Cathy started to laugh and I let out a giggle. It felt good to laugh again. My eyes almost brimmed with saddened tears, this woman reminds me so much of my grandmother.
"I think you want some beans? Ms..?"
"Camille."
"Ms. Camille of course." Cathy grabbed my bowl and pored some baked beans in. The beans slightly steamed and radiated a delicious, familiar smell.
I waved my goodbye. "Thank you!"
My butt plopped down on a soft bed of grass by Julian and another boy I don't know.
"Camille," Julian spoke up, "this is my friend Mason. We traveled here together from a nearby city. We were neighbors."
Mason's brown hair glittered in the sunlight and he had soft blue eyes. He extended his hand towards me and I shook it, his huge hands overpowering mine. He had lighter skin than Julian, and is quite muscular. He smiled at me, flashing a set of white teeth.
I smiled back, suddenly feeling a wave of self-conciseness. Was my hair messy? Breath smell bad? Ugh what am I saying? I have to concentrate on survival, not boys.
"So Julian," I asked "tell me a little about your self."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why are you so suddenly interested in my life?" He asked, a hostile edge to his voice told me he wanted nothing to do with the subject. "Never mind," Julian added "I'm going to bed." He stormed off towards a line of tents, leaving me and Mason behind him.