Tristan and Brynn had met Alex's other companions. A sister and brother named Nadeen and Nathan. Nathan has black hair that's braided out of his face with cornrows, and strong black eyebrows to match. Nadeen has thick, curly hair that reaches her shoulders. The siblings also shared half moons under their eyes in a shade of purple. They were both sitting in the corner of the store they were camped out in while speaking quietly to each other. They were quite shy.
"We heard the bomb drop but we… didn't check for a while. When we did, everyone was gone," Nadeen shakily spoke, hugging her knees to her chest while leaning against the wall. Alex, Nathan, and Nadeen had found their way inside the small convenience store and set up their little camp, which consisted of three blankets on the floor, flashlights by each of them, and food stocked up in the corner near them. The shelves of the store were still full of other foods and snacks and necessities. The only light entering the room was from the front windows; although, the windows were blocked by sheets the best they could be.
"Damn…" Brynn began, thoughts running in her head. "We saw the bomb drop. It was a huge cloud. So, we headed south." Brynn stated with a monotone voice. Her gun was in her hand and she had found a rag to shine it up with. She remembered the quiet nights in camp when she would sit outside of her tent to look up at the stars. Brynn would calmly clean her weapons, afraid that if they weren't perfectly cleaned then they wouldn't work. Both Nadeen and Nathan were glancing at it occasionally. Nathan's eyebrows scrunched together suddenly.
"South? You headed towards it?" Nathan inquired, disbelief in his voice. That's when Tristan chimed in.
"The bomb came from the North, man, weren't you paying attention?" Tristan shot back, as if Nathan had offended his sister. Nathan adjusted his posture, but Alex put a hand up and stared between all of the group, putting the pieces together in his head.
"There wasn't just one bomb..." Alex trailed off, speaking to himself. He began to map it out in his head, using his hands to help him.
"Huh?" Brynn questioned, suddenly pulled out of her trance-like behaviour. She glanced up at all of them, to which they were deep in thought. Alex's hypothesis was logical, in her opinion.
"It makes sense. We came from North, where we saw the bomb drop. You guys came from south, where you saw it drop." Tristan maintained, nodding to himself.
"So… how many were there?" Nathan softly asked, leaning into the wall again. The dark circles under his eyes reflected in the light in the slightest. Brynn caught his eyes and saw just how tired he was. He sat very close with his sister, and Brynn recognized that they probably felt secure like that. Nathan wore a black hoodie and light grey joggers on his body, his hood was pulled up to cover his braided hair.
"Great question," Tristan dryly said, taking a seat on the floor beside Alex. Brynn's brother clasped a hand on Alex's shoulder, who was still deep in thought. All of the group sat in a circle on the blankets, with solemn faces on. The silence dragged on for minutes, to an hour. Tristan got bored and brought out the truck keys to fidget with. They chimed throughout the silence of the room. The moonlight still shone in, illuminating Brynn's .22 she set on the floor in front of her. She picked it up, examined it, and shoved it back into her waistband.
"Where did you guys get the guns?" Nadeen asked quietly, keeping a wary eye on Brynn. Both Nathan and she turned to look at Tristan and Brynn, wondering about the answer. Alex already knew, so he got up to look out the front window of the convenience store.
"They were gifts. From our mom," Tristan blurted and set his SMG on the floor by his leg. "We started carrying them with us more often after we joined the military, though. Me at nineteen, Brynn at eighteen," At Alex's words, Brynn was hit with nostalgia. "Our mom had taught us since we were nine about guns and how to use them in combat. She knows everything to know about guns, and she knew people in the military that knew us. She served a while ago before and with us."
Brynn nodded in agreement, reminiscing in her memories. Would life come back to normal? It can't be that bad out there. Then again, why would people have fled?
Brynn pulled out her dog tags with her name and serial number on the hard metal. She sent a humbled smile towards Nathan and Nadeen.
"United States Armed Forces. We were in a special subdivision though." Brynn stated, tucking her dog tags back in after grabbing them tightly in her clammy palm.
"Paratroopers, to be exact. A specific subdivision inside of that," Tristan said, yawning in the process of his hand gestures.
Nathan and Nadeen both raised their eyebrows and shared a look of surprise. This caused Tristan to chuckle, for real, for the first time in a day. Alex peeked out the window at the front of the store, looking down the street at the truck. He called back to Tristan that he should move it to the back of the store so that it was closer to them; moreover, none of them knew if they were safe from thieves. In fact, none of them knew what was happening at all.
"I'll do it." Brynn reassured, putting a hand on her brothers' shoulder. His eyes were beginning to droop, and he was leaning back on his hands. He lazily tossed the keys to Brynn, who caught them with grace.
Brynn got up and met with Alex at the door. He pulled it open for her and followed her out. The streets were quiet with not one vehicle in sight, except for the truck. The breeze had grown stronger and was beginning to pick up. Brynn shivered, forgetting her hoodie was inside.
"You've changed since we last saw each other," Alex quietly claimed, matching step with Brynn. She laughed, no humor in the laugh at all. "Both you and Tristan."
"Death changes people, I guess," She stated, her voice void of emotions. She quickly wished she didn't say anything though. She was tired, not in the mood for small talk. Not only that, but she kept having flashbacks of when she was stationed overseas. Her high school self would be scolding her for being so cold with her crush. Alex grabbed her shoulder before she could pick up her speed.
"Hey, I'm sorry." Alex apologized, his hand sliding to her elbow and holding it. She stopped and looked around the empty street. Buildings on either side of the street were all dark with no signs of life, and gusts of wind were now picking up. Brynn sighed, just wanting Alex to back off and let go of her arm.
"It's not your fault, I'm... tired." Brynn shrugged off, pushing away the flashbacks that stood prominently in her mind. She felt herself closing off any emotion from her face, not wanting to give anything away and not having to energy to explain her life. She began to walk, getting closer to the truck but Alex stopped her again. She abruptly stopped and turned to look at him, now slightly aggravated. Her jaw was tense, and she felt the need to be withdrawn.
He had his eyebrows drawn into a sad look with his hand still grasping her elbow. He really couldn't hide his facial expression. It was also then that Brynn noticed a purple and green bruise forming on his jaw where her brother had hit him.
"My dad died. I know how it feels," Alex quietly admitted. His hand slowly left Brynn's arm and he looked down the street. Brynn only felt a small pang in her stomach as he said that. She couldn't figure out if she felt sad for him, or angry at him. Angry that he thought his one death even compared to the hundreds that she saw and could have prevented. Brynn knew this was selfish and she bit down any remarks.
"People could drown in three feet of water, or thirty feet of water," Her therapist's voice echoed in her head, "Try not to compare your trauma to others."
Without any other word, she yanked him into a hug. Brynn knew hugs provided some kind of comfort, and she was too drained to provide any other kind. She felt the heat radiate off his body and against hers as the wind nipped at the back of her arms. Alex closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Brynn's hair. He felt the gun in her waist band against his hipbone, and he repositioned his arms around her back.
"I missed you and Tris. I thought about you guys sometimes… Wondered what you were up to," Muttered Alex, his voice muffled with her hair and sadness. His breath was warm against her neck, which made her want to curl her neck against her shoulder. She tightened her grip and agreed with a nod. Brynn rubbed his back before releasing her grip and turning around to the truck. She didn't know what else to say or do right now. He was left standing in the middle of the street as she unlocked the truck and climbed in. He sniffed and wiped his face before following her into the passengers' seat of the truck.
With them both in the vehicle, Brynn started the engine. It gave a growl and spurred to life.
"This is a damned nice truck," Alex attempted to change the conversation while opening the glove compartment. He scrambled his hand around in it before grasping a Beretta M9. He brought it out and waved it around. "Really?"
Brynn pulled out onto the road and glanced over at him with her brows pulled together.
"Unless you know how to handle that, I'd be careful," Brynn dismissed, as if it was nothing. She stepped on the gas, accelerating to the right side of the road and making a sharp right turn. He carefully put it back into the glove compartment, his eyes slightly wide.
"Remember when you said you were excited to get your own first gun? So that you could put it in your car to point at cat callers?" Alex reminded with a light laugh. The headlights illuminated the alley they turned in. Alex turned his head to Brynn, who had a smile on her face but her eyes on the road. A distant look had placed itself in her tired, green eyes.
"And so, she did," She chuckled out, feeling forced. Alex stopped laughing and looked at her. She was still forcing a smile and looking forward to the alley. Brynn finally got to the back of the store they were holed up in and pulled into the single parking space behind it. The alley was long, with the building on one side and a fence blocking the other side. Trash was slumped against the fence, as well as a broken lawn chair. Alex made a bold move and put his hand on her knee, just lightly. Brynn tensed up, putting the truck in park. "What?"
She looked over at him, confusion in her face. What was he doing? His eyes were a light grey and the moonlight was sparkling off them. His skin was lightly stubbled with a purple bruise beginning to form underneath. His eyes were locked on her light green ones. They were both silent, the only sound was the wind against the vehicle and the occasional shaky breath from Alex. Brynn tapped her foot, annoyed that he wasn't answering her question. Alex's hand stayed glued on her leg, while his other hand reached up to the back of her head where he took out the ponytail she was wearing. The dark hair on Brynn's head fell to frame her confused and annoyed face.
Brynn snapped out of it, turning back to the windshield. After fighting off a cringe at the situation, she turned the headlights off and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Alex was still looking towards her but pulled his hand off her leg. They soundlessly walked to the back door and knocked twice, signalling for the door to be opened. Nathan answered it and nodded towards them.
Alex followed Brynn inside and headed to his original spot on the floor.
"I'm gunna lie down in the back. Have a good night, guys." Said Nadeen in a gentle voice, a yawn escaping her full lips. She hugged her dark grey hoodie tightly around her small frame and walked to the opposite side of the little store. Alex followed suit and laid beside Tristan in the back, who was already passed out with a blanket draped over his legs and his beloved SMG under his left arm. Nathan was beginning to drift off with his back still against the wall and a blanket now draped over his legs. His mouth was halfway open, and his eyes were slowly closing. Brynn quietly grabbed a different blanket and walked to the front of the store, wrapping it around her body. Her wavy hair itched against her neck and she gave up on it, throwing it into a sloppy bun.
The streets outside the window were quiet and wind was still blowing quite harsh. Old newspapers occasionally flew by, dancing in the wind. An urge inside of her kept her from being tired. Her fight or flight urge. She couldn't calm down no matter how hard she tried. With a sigh, she pulled the heavy, plastic blinds over the windows and went back to lie beside her brother.
She crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling, the blanket keeping her back warm from the cold floor and her hoodie bundled behind her head.