Aer

4

   'Right we go to the garage then I'll take the big group to that camp,' Lily stops before they reach the ladder to the hatch.
'Wait what?' Charlie says confused 'That's my job'.
'Change of plan,' she says quickly.

'So Charlie and Daisy you're heading for the garage you'll return here once you've got the part,' Lily watches as the two of them look at each other, neither looks too happy about it.
'Okay,' Daisy nods.

      All of them are wearing heavy coats with gas masks at the ready. Underneath the coats is the usual, whatever is the most comfortable. Comfortable was different to all of them. But the popular choice was jeans, boots and a T-shirt.

     Daisy gathers her thoughts as she climbs the ladder to the outside, it's been so long since she's been above ground.

The hatch has already been opened by Charlie, the brightness of the sun burns her eyes, they begin to water, when she reaches the top and comes to the ground she has to wipe away the tears as her eyes adjust to the light.

Everything's so overgrown. She feels as if she doesn't even recognise the place. She can't even make out the road anymore, but, somehow, it's beautiful, like how nature is supposed to be.

    The last kid climbs to the top, it's Seán, there's now eight of them, which is far too much. Lily can't shake the feeling that a group of freaks will sniff them all out.
'Alright, Charlie and Daisy you know where to go?' Lily says.
Daisy holds up a two-way radio and smiles 'Yep!'.

Does Lily like Daisy? Not particularly. It's hard to like her, she gets all the attention, she's beautiful on the inside and out.
Was Lily? Maybe to someone. She's very tall with a big build, and wide shoulders, she has matted hair all messily tied up but her mother always told her she had beautiful eyes, but mothers always said that kind of stuff, didn't they?

'We'll meet ye back here,' Lily says as she walks away with her group.

Daisy and Charlie head the opposite way.
'Notice who's with her?' He says.
Daisy frowns 'What do you mean?'.

'They're dodgy,' he says, looking behind him, as if someone's following them 'the quiet ones...Joanie, I don't trust her at all. Same with Seán, they're too secretive, I don't even know the others'.
'Why'd Aaron pick them then?' She asks.
'How am I meant to know that?' he says.
'Jesus...alright then'.
'I just mean like how would I know why Aaron picked them? I just go with who I'm told to go with'.

'Then why are you so suspicious about these then?' She asks.
He shrugs 'I don't know, just they'd be the type to not say anything if something happened that Aaron didn't want people to know about'.
'Does that happen a lot on supply runs?' Daisy asks.
'Not really,' he says 'just Aaron likes to twist a lot of things'.
'I know,' she says 'I know Aaron a lot better than most people'.
  'Then you know what he's capable of?'.

Just as Daisy answers the sudden thumping of feet on the forest floor comes into earshot. Along with the familiar cries and shrieks of a freak. Daisy and Charlie quickly put on their masks.

Charlie pushes Daisy behind a tree and stands out, scanning to see where the freak is coming from. There's no way it heard them or caught their scent, it's probably just roaming around. The running stops and Charlie can just make out it's figure behind a tree.

Daisy peers out from the tree, it'd been awhile since she saw a freak. It's a woman. Her hair is falling out, she's practically bald bar the few strings on hair clinging onto her peeling head. Their skin had become rotten over time. She whimpers to herself, every so often Daisy can hear her crying 'no'. Daisy watches Charlie approach her quietly, he grabs her and slits her throat. The woman falls onto the ground in a heap.