RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 36 .

Lily

When I woke, the sky was beginning to lighten. Gray clouds covered the sky. It had stopped snowing. There were a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Darren's mom and Grant's dad were supposed to be on watch, but Grant's dad was curled up at the end of the tarp next to Grant.

Darren's mom was stoking the small fire. Richard, Monica and Maria were all awake and moving about the camp. Maria poured soup into a pan and put it over the fire. Monica and Richard were checking on the bikes. Molly happily trailed after them.

I slithered out from Mackenzie's arm. She was holding me tightly in her sleep, but I managed to get free and stand up. I looked down at my sleeping sister. She should have been home in a warm bed not out here in the snow. Those men could show up at any time or zombies could walk into our camp. I crouched and touched the back of my fingers to her cold cheek. I pulled the hood of her coat up tighter over her head. Victory's arms were wrapped Mackenzie.

I stood up straight and went to Monica and Richard.

"Do the bikes look okay?" I asked quietly.

"I was worried the tires might have deflated a little in the snow, but they seem okay," Richard said.

"It's going to be harder to ride in the snow though," Monica said.

"At least it's not snowing anymore," Richard said. "I really hope we can find a place to shelter for the winter. The snow is just going to get worse."

We brushed the snow off the bikes, especially the seats, as best we could. When we turned around to go back, Hunter, Darren, Mackenzie and Victory were awake. Mackenzie and Victory sat on the tarp. Victory sat behind Mackenzie brushing her long hair. Mackenzie smiled strangely as she stared down at my sister's hair. Her fingers caressed Mackenzie's hair gently. It struck me that Victory sometimes looked at Mackenzie the same way Hunter looked at Darren. I hadn't noticed before, but it seemed obvious now that I did.

Monica and Richard had joined Darren, his mom and Maria by the fire. Hunter stood a little ways behind Darren. I walked up to him and whispered, "Can I speak to you for a moment?" I indicated the trees with a nod. He followed me as I led him further into the woods.

"What is it?" he asked.

We could still see everyone in the camp, but they wouldn't be able to hear us talk as long as we kept our voices down.

"Does your sister have a crush on my sister?" I asked.

His eyes fell briefly on the two girls on the tarp. Victory was now braiding Mackenzie's hair. He looked at me. "I think so," he said.

"For how long?"

"I don't know," he said. "I never paid much attention to them before this."

"I don't think my sister feels the same," I said. I sighed. "Is everyone in this group destined to have an unrequited love?"

"I think Arthur has a crush on your sister too," Hunter said.

Arthur sat up as if he knew we were talking about him. He rubbed his eyes with his gloved hands tiredly as Molly bounced up to him and licked his face. Arthur scowled and rubbed the slobber off, but he rubbed Molly between her ears. Her tail thumped happily. Arthur's eyes drifted to Mackenzie and lingered there. Maybe Hunter was right and my sister was more popular than I ever realized.

"Not everyone has an unrequited love though," Hunter said. "Grant has Monica."

"Except she has a secret crush on Richard," I said.