Then There Were Three

CH 21

We find an opening in the trees and decide to set up camp. Not much to set up, using backpacks as pillows, starting a fire and opening canned food. 

I grab the last can of cherries, taking the can opener around the sides. "How's your cheek?" My mom asks, walking over to examine it. I shrug, it really stings, but there's not much I can do.

"I know what will help," Kendall forces himself up and grabs an empty can, filling it with water and setting it on the hot rocks that surround the fire. He rips off a piece of cloth from his sleeve and dips it in the hot water. "Well, come here," he says, wringing out the cloth. I stand up and walk towards him, trying to figure out how hot water will help.

He sits next to the rocks, where he can easily access the hot water. I sit in front of him. He takes the fabric and swipes it across my cheek, applying pressure on the cut. I didn't think it would hurt. 

I suck in a breath, squeezing my eyes shut. Kendall laughs at me, "that's not even the worst part." 
I glare at him, "What do you mean?" He get up and walks over to Mr. Greene's backpack, grabbing a tiny bottle of alcohol. 

"Where'd you find that?" My mom asks him, observing us from afar. He shrugs, "I saw Mr. Greene put it in there." We all turn to Mr. Greene, "What? Don't look at me," He says, his cheeks turning red, " I thought we might need it for emergency purposes." 

Kendall shakes the contents of the bottle onto the damp cloth and sticks out his free hand. "I'm not holding your hand," I laugh. "You'll either squeeze my hand or have to hit something, I'd rather you do the first thing." He says. I groan and slip my hand into his. 

"Okay." He takes the cloth and places it onto the wound, making my eyes water. I have to clench my teeth to keep from screaming. 

"Ow, ow ow ow." Kendall says, his arm twisted. My mom laughs at him. 

I let go of his hand, trying to keep from touching my face. "Sorry," He says, blowing on my cheek.

 "That...isn't helping." I say. "All better now, right?" He asks. 

"Thank you?" I say, more as a question. The pain has finally subsided, leaving a slight throbbing feeling. 

"I'm going to take Ollie and get him ready for bed," My dad yawns, after telling some gruesome story to Mr. Greene. 

"I'll come with you," My mom says, getting up and stretching her limbs.

"I'll take first watch," I say, taking a gulp from my water cup.

"No, you should get some sleep. I will," Kendall says, looking over at me.

"Both of you need to rest. I'll take the first watch," Mr. Greene says, "I'll wake you up in 2 hours, okay Richard?" he calls after my dad. My dad gives a thumbs up, setting a sleeping Oliver down on his rolled up jacket. 

"I'm going to head to bed, then," I announce, hopping up from my spot on the ground. 

"Me too," Kendall says, getting up with me.

"Goodnight," Mr. Greene calls after us. He throws another log on the fire.

"Do you have anything to sleep on?" Kendall asks, looking around for my jacket. I shake my head no.

"Here," He tosses me his. I roll it into a ball to use as a pillow, "Thank you," I smile at him. 

"Glad to have you back," He says smiling at me. "Glad to be back. Goodnight," I say. He nods and we go our separate ways.

____________________

I hear crying. "Shh Shhh," shushing and light singing. I stretch my arms and hop up, grabbing the jacket I was laying on and folding it for Kendall, wherever he is. He must be up keeping watch.  

"Morning, El," I hear my dad's voice.

"Where's Kendall at?" I ask, looking around nervously.

"I thought he was sleeping," he answers, getting up from his spot on the ground. All of a sudden, we hear a gunshot go off from back behind the trees.

"Kendall." My dad and I say almost at the same time. 

I run to the tree line where we heard the sound, waiting for my dad. He wakes Mr. Greene up and catches up to me, handing me a knife.

"What do you think it was?" I ask him, running. "Let's hope they were zombies," he says. We start yelling Kendall over and over, in different tones to get his attention. 

"OVER HERE!" He shouts back, finally. I run faster to the sound of his voice, seeing him in the midst of a pack of zombies.

"Are you an idiot?!" I ask, running in to help. 

"Maybe," he shrugs, shooting off his gun again. 

"Use your knife, you'll just attract more to the sound," I say, killing one about to bite into his shoulder.

My dad finally makes it, panting heavily. "What the..." He trails off, catching his breath. "Stay over there," I order him, stabbing another zombie in the eye. 

Once we clear out the zombies, I turn to Kendall, angry, "What were you thinking?!" 

He shrugs, "I just wanted to go for a walk. Then... I guess I got lost." 

I groan, walking back towards my dad, walking ahead of everyone. 

"I'm sorry?" He says, more like a question. I don't answer. He could have been killed. He could have gotten all of us killed.

"What's going on?" My mom asks, rocking my brother in her arms.

"Kendall almost got himself killed," I say, grabbing a bottle to fill with water.

"But I didn't! What's the big deal?" He asks. I roll my eyes ignoring the question. 

"Let's just pack up and get out of here, okay?" I ask, grabbing my stuff.

Mr. Greene nods, "My stuff is already packed." 

I sit next to him while we wait for everyone else to pack up their things.

"Everyone ready?" My mom asks, Ollie on her hip. I grab my backpack and throw it on my shoulders, buckling it across my chest.

"If we head out now, we can be back before Dark," My dad says, rolling up his jacket to place inside his pack. 

"We need supplies," Kendall says,filling up his water bottle. "Then we should be back by tomorrow, before lunch. That sounds about right. Ready to head off?" My mom asks again. 

We all nod, Mr. Greene leading the way, on our way home from this stupid rescue mission.

omg I am so sorry I haven't been writing for like 4 months. I feel terrible. I lost all inspiration, ugh. I hope you enjoy this chapter even if it took 120 days to write, and isn't that interesting.