Orthodontics in the Zombie Apocalypse

18. The Romantic Interests Split Off...and the Pipsqueak Goes With (1/2)

Dawn hits like a freight train. My back aches. My neck aches. My left butt cheek is on fire, and my right one has that gross needly-feeling of blood just beginning to circulate again.

"Sean, you got the bags packed up?"

The massive silhouette of a man nods to his sister.

"Everyone awake? We move out in five."

"Five hours?" I groan. Wait. I'm not going with them, so who cares?

"Five minutes," Shaniya barks.

Still, I manage to get to my knees and find the deodorant that somehow slipped to the bottom of my messenger bag. Not worth changing clothes quite yet. I only have two other outfits in there. I also take a moment to brush out my hair, thank whatever deity lives in the sky for my scalp that takes a long time to get greasy, and put it up in a ponytail. Sneakers back on. Done.

"Everyone ready? Sean?" A nod in response. "Greg?" Another nod. "Angel?"

"Yup!"

"Mikah?"

Mikah shrugs awkwardly, but Shaniya pushes on. "And...you."

"Actually," I say, "I think it's time I split off again. I'm kind of over this whole 'let's save humanity!' thing. Mikah, you're gonna help me find an orthodontist. You promised me one when I met you, so you better pay up soon or I'll beat you with a pipe."

Shaniya narrows her eyes at me. "Why so sudden, Piper?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You were so determined to help Greg get the cure somewhere safe yesterday. Now...what? You changed your mind about the fate of humanity?"

"No," I say with a huff. "I'm pretty sure humanity's already screwed. I thought it'd be a straight path to Bad Idea Labs, but now there's a new detour, and I'm just looking for someone who can take my braces off. Don't think Charles Hamlin is my guy."

"So you're taking Mikah with you." Shaniya still doesn't seem totally convinced.

"I mean, he's a grown-ass man."

Mikah's eyes widen as the attention moves to him like a wicked breeze. "I did get her into this when I popped her car tires."

Shaniya blinks. She looks so confused, it's hilarious! Oh...but, still, R.I.P. Missy. "Sorry, you what?"

"Don't worry about it. It's in the past," I say. "So we're gonna go now..." I take a step backwards but pause. "Just to save us from awkwardly starting out in the same direction after already saying goodbye and stuff, which way are you heading first?"

Shaniya rolls her eyes and hitches a thumb over her shoulder. "That way."

"Great. Come on, Mikah."

"Piper?" Angel says, all doe-eyed and stuff.

"What?"

"I didn't think you would actually leave like that...that's all," she says, looking at her toes. She glances up at Shaniya. "I'm gonna stick with them, if you don't mind."

Shaniya's mouth turns into a grimace and one of her eyebrows pops up. "Really? Them?"

"Yeah." She hops over to the side of the little area where Mikah and I were already standing. "Good luck with the cure and stuff. I hope I see you again. Maybe in Sacramento?"

"You know the way to the outpost, kid."

"Yeah!" Angel is beaming. Why the hell does she prefer us when Shaniya makes her look all happy and proud of herself? "So where are we going?" Angel asks a few minutes after we part ways from the other three. 

+++

A/N

Hope you're enjoying the story! Who's your favorite character? Vote if you liked, comment if you have something to say (supportive, controversial, your random thoughts as you read, etc), and please ENJOY!

Also, if you see any grammatical errors that bug you, please point it out to me! I am definitely not immune to typos, and even though I try to be pretty good with hear/here and there/their/they're, I've been catching myself slipping up lately (AAAHHHH!). Anyways, all feedback is good! Preferably don't go out of your way to be mean, but I want to hear it if you feel strongly about anything in particular, and positive feedback is what encourages me to write. Have a lovely day/night/[insert time-frame here], you fabulous reader(: