We stopped fleeing when our legs started burning. We stumbled upon a belvedere, still standing amidst the wilderness of the trees in a park. It was about two blocks away from the mall. A safe distance, we assumed. We all put our weapons down.
"The fuck happened to you back there, man?" Percy asked me once everyone was seated and had time to catch their breaths. All eyes were on me, pressuring me to answer them.
No one uttered a word while I tried to gather my thoughts. We were all sitting close to keep warm. Ashley was the only one in her corner - probably ashamed of her behaviour earlier.
"Say somethin' for fuck's sake!" he continued, after waiting for me to reply. "Are you suicidal? Is this what's happenin' right now?!"
Nothing came out of my mouth. My lips were screwed shut. Processing what happened was all that my brain could focus on. Slumped, head in my hand, I tried to make sense of the information swirling between my ears. One conclusion came back repeatedly; There's no way it can't be! It played like a broken record - getting louder and louder - slowly drowning out other thoughts.
"I know our situation is dire, but you weren't considering..." Amy added before I interrupted her.
"No. My sister..." I blurted out.
"What does your sister have to do with you being suicidal?" Percy was confused - and the others as well - but also furious. I was beyond reckless back there. I put myself and the others in danger.
Impossible.
Impossible.
Impossible!
I lifted my head to look at my party. To give them some kind of explanation. Three shapes were walking in our direction, one with sparkly bright green orbs that I could notice among hundreds of green eyes. Any words that I was about to spew left my mind. With my mouth wide open, I rose to my feet and pushed Percy out of my way.
"No way!" wasting no time, I marched towards those enchanting eyes with a pep in my step and a goofy smile. Something was said behind me, but it was a blur. Those eyes were my sole focus.
Paying no mind to the hollering from my friends, I continued walking like a man on a mission. The silhouette sporting those wondrous jewels broke into a sprint. My heartbeat went up a notch hoping I might not be hallucinating.
"Donatello!" tears welled up in my eyes as I heard the sweet, melodious voice of the Angel before me.
As my Sweetheart jumped into my open arms, I embraced them firmly. The weight of their body nearly sent me tumbling rearwards. I nestled my nose in the crook of their neck. Mingling notes of cinnamon, geranium, and vanilla invaded my nose instantly. My fingers grasped the silky black hair and cold leather under them. Once again, my brain attempted to process what was happening. The only thing keeping me grounded was my Buttercup chatting my name.
Joyous barks and excited wolves standing at an impressive six feet were frolicking around us. Tails wagging and ears perked up. Making this whole scene surreal. Barks that were no longer playful disrupted our reunion. Looking behind us, the wolves growled and snarled viciously, maintaining a defensive posture. Ashley stood past them, terrified. They singled her out of the group. Worried, I shot a glance at - my equally worried - companions. Their aggressiveness abruptly mellowed before they laid down in a less intimidating but still defensive position.
"Somebody, please, for the love of God, tell me the fuck is goin' on!" Percy cried as his thin patience was being stretched beyond its limits. Percy likes to know what is going on and has a hard time dealing with being kept in the dark. He said out loud what everyone else thought, but was too exhausted to voice aloud.
My eyes instinctively shifted to the precious ray of sunshine in my arms. The light that was brightening this gloomy day. Big peridot eyes looked right at my soul. A sweet and adoring smile across their voluptuous lips. Their pale skin flushed pink. My Angel was so breathtaking that any coherent thought flew right out of my mind. My trance was broken when someone cleared their throat.
"I'm sorry to interrupt while ya daydream, but who the hell is this?" an exasperated Percy demands.
"My baby sister." all eyes grew big as saucers.
"The one 'living five hours away in the countryside, little sister?" Mira exclaimed, to everyone's surprise. "The one you were just uttering about?" her voice was hoarse since she kept quiet most of the time, like the rest of us. It's been a while since one of us said more than a couple of sentences.
"Yep, that's the one." my grip tightened on her waist as I spoke. I was still convinced that I was dreaming or hallucinating.
"Ok." Percy nodded slightly before pointing at the wolves that were still resting on the ground, eyeing Ash cautiously. "What are those motherfuckers? Are those backpacks for dogs? How come ya'r here? What was that back there? Ya'r so small. Ya look like the wind could sweep ya away. It makes no logical sense that ya can kill - in mere seconds, I might add - OP zombies while it takes ex-Privates five to ten minutes to off the damn thing! God damnit, I have too many questions to ask! My brain fryin'." Percy rambled, annoyed with himself. Smoke could almost be seen leaving his ears.
The luscious laughter of my Honey Bunch warmed my heart. She snuggled into my chest, hiding her pretty face. Loud cackles followed, and we laughed for the first time in a while. When the giggles died down, my sister's body stopped shaking against my chest. She lifted her head and peered at the members of my party bundled together to keep their heat.
"I can answer all your questions once we get you all warmed up." My Precious's soft tone was stern, making her statement more of a command. She broke free from my embrace, making her way to the belvedere with the wolves, and I was hot on her tail. Everyone followed her lead. When she retrieved - from one of the handcrafted hide bags carried by the beasts - two animal pelts that she tossed on the ground, side by side, she requested they sit on the bigger one. Rory offered three blankets for them. After they were settled, she wrapped a big thermal blanket around them. Well, almost everyone was settled. Once she was done with them, she did the same with me before she left to scavenge for dry wood. Her canine companions decided to lay beside me. One of them coaxed me into petting him, while the other ignored my presence entirely.
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
"Your sister rules," Milo mumbled.
"I second that." Amy agreed with him. Getting a nod from everyone.
After today's ordeal, it was now late noon. It was soon getting dark. We waited in a comfortable silence for my sister to come back. I anxiously looked around for her after she had left my line of sight for too long. My behaviour didn't go unnoticed, but they did not mention it. It was only once I saw her making her way back to us I realized how tense my body was. I tried to relax, but it barely made a difference. I only loosened up once she was under the shelter.
She put the chopped wood down and sat to my left before looking into one pocket of Thor's backpack. She took out a stick with a pitch-black end, a ferro rod, along with a metal bottle. Rory started stacking the wood crisscross, forming a pyramid. She then set the small timbers and the weird stick on top, then set those on fire. Steadily, the fire grew hotter and bigger. She rested the bottle near the fire and waited five minutes before pulling it towards her with a piece of fabric around it to protect her hand from the hot metal. She wrapped the hot bottom of the bottle with the fabric, unscrewed the cap, and took a gulp. Happy with the result, my Sweet Cheeks came closer to me, and she offered the bottle to me. I took two long sips of warm water before passing it to Amy, sitting beside her. The water made its way to everyone and then came back to Rory. We all reflected and unwinded in a lull.
I lifted the blankets, inviting her to cuddle with me, wondering if she would want to. Don't get your hopes up. You're filthy and must smell disgusting. Plus, you haven't groomed in months. No one in their right mind would want to cuddle with you! I apprehended, sure to be rejected. Not minding how messy I was, she sat under my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder. I instantly brought my hand to her hip and covered her with the blankets.
"I think we should start by introducing ourselves." my sister suggested, eyeing my comrades with marvel. She easily seized everyone's attention. "I'll start. My name is Rory O'rdelles. I am Don's little sister, and I am eighteen years old. I love reading and learning. The tan wolf is Thor, he is very cuddly." the wolf in question raised his head and nuzzled Rory's face. "While the grey one, Loki, is a little rascal. They are both wolves." as she finished her introduction, Percy was about to open his loud mouth but stopped immediately after I gave him a warning glare. Don't you dare! He shut his mouth quickly. Rory gestured for Amy to her left to go next.
"My name is Amy, twenty-seven years old. I'm Mira's girlfriend, and I was a Private in the army along with Don and Percy."
"Well, hum," Mira began nervously, then continued when Rory smiled at her. "I am Mira. Amy's girlfriend and Akira's sister. I'm twenty-one years old. And I enjoy singing?" we all chuckled at her uncertainty, easing her nervousness as she joined in.
"Akira, I am twelve. Mira's sister and I like drawing and dancing."
Next to her, Caspian seemed even more nervous than Mira. He lowered his head and recoiled on himself, avoiding any eye contact.
"Mmy n-name is Casp-pian, I am thir-thirteen y-year old. Percy and Milo..." Caspian struggled as he tried to say everything in one breath.
"You have a beautiful name." Rory rescued him from talking further. "Thank you, Caspian, for introducing yourself. You did great." Caspian blushed at the compliment, nodded, and mumbled a small thanks. Rory's eyes drifted to Milo.
"The name's Milo. I'm seventeen. Caspy's my lil brother, and Percy's my older brother. I'm a gamer, or was a gamer..." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Percival, twenty-three, ex-Private. Older brother of these two." Percy said, pointing at his two brothers. "Have a hobby of fixing cars 'n whatnot." The three brothers had similar traits. They had light brown hair, although Percy's hair, when cleaned, looked more of a dirty blond colour.
Once it was Ashley's turn, she didn't say a word and kept staring at the fire. We called her name a few times. After five times, Percy shook her shoulder gently. Her eyes darted to look around at us. She wore a confused look.
"Ya turn to introduce yaself princess," says Percy.
"Oh," she said, going back to staring at the fire. "I'm nothing special. My name is Ashley. Typical name for a typical blonde. Twenty-three years old. And I'll die accomplishing nothing substantial." Ash's gloomy speech shocked me. She was usually the most enthusiastic and positive out of the seven of us.
"Whoa there, drama queen. Ya all right?" Percy asked.
"Yep," she lethargically responded. No one pushed it further. She had a near-death experience a couple of hours ago. Who could blame the girl for being cynical? She must need time to sort out her feelings and deal with them.
"Ok, then it's question 'n answer time!" Percy proclaimed. He wore a victorious smirk under his wild, sandy beard.
"Right. Yes, those are backpacks. I'm here because I was looking for Don. That back there was Loki, Thor, and I saving your asses. And I have a couple of years of training with the swords under my belt." Rory remembered Percy's earlier questions and, of course, answered them in perfect order. Her and her freaky-good memory. "Any more questions you want to ask me, Percy?"
"Yes! Yes, many, many more questions. Ya say those are wolves, but I've never seen beasts like those before! Those can't be normal!"
"That's because the same virus infected them as the Dead's, but instead of dying, they evolved way faster than nature intended."
It's crazy to think that those wolves are a by-product of the virus. Cousins of the zombies. How is it even possible? But then again, we now see zombies everywhere, so a couple of mutated dogs couldn't be that wild of an idea.
"Wow, that's cray-zyyy! Does it only happen to wolves? How does it even work? Ya sure they ain't dangerous?"
I watched them interact with a small smile. For a moment, everything appeared peaceful. I liked it. Unfortunately, I couldn't grow complacent. We are still vulnerable to the creatures that plague the earth.
"No, they are no more dangerous than guard dogs. Many other species have mutated."
"How do ya know so much?"
"I live comfortably enough that it enables me to observe my surroundings and collect data."
Everyone in our group listened to the exchange carefully. Noting information they deemed important.
"Where do ya live?"
"I live in a small camp further south." they all perk up. I already knew that.
"A camp? How many survivors are there? How do ya keep everyone fed? Do ya have access to resources?" Percy gets more and more excited as the conversation proceeds.
"We currently have eight people living in our camp. One is elderly, and five are kids." Rory confidently talked about the estate she had built. "We are self-sufficient. We have fertile lands to grow crops on, and we raise livestock. While we have some reserves, we are located near an industrial area with many neighbouring factories and warehouses." Percy took some time to digest what Rory had just said before bouncing back on his feet.
"How do ya farm and look after the livestock with only two able adults?" he wondered.
"The livestock roams the pastures freely and requires not a lot of care. We produce only the amount for us to make preserved goods for the cold season while also supplying us all summer. The two oldest work almost as well as we can. And the kids participate in any way they can. It is certainly not ideal and very draining. Moving forward, it will be different."
"How will it be different?" Amy engaged in.
"Because Don is coming back home with me." I did not expect this. I was focused on seeing the sister that I thought I would never get to see again. "And hopefully all of you as well." that last part melted my heart. I hugged her tighter and pecked the top of her head. Inciting giggles from my lovely baby sister.
Bewilderment was written over everyone's face, except Ashley, who didn't seem to listen at all. Disappointment pinched my heart.
"Rory, it's marvellous that you want to take us with you, but your camp is five hours away by car. It will take us weeks by foot, and we are in no condition for the travel." I sadly explained, pluming to the ground everyone's spirit. Her pretty big eyes looked up at me incredulously.
"Of course, I know that, Don. I have eyes; I can see." that she did, beautiful and vibrant. "I have means of transport outside the city waiting for us. I did not account for extra people, but no matter. It took me half a day to get to the suburbs. It may take us two to three days to get there. By all means, if we take into consideration that we walk when it's clear and stop before dark, occasional breaks, and lunchtime," as awesome as she was, she already had it all figured out. The party and my hopes of not only surviving but living a better life got up instantly. "The only concerns I have are food and water. I do not have enough rations on me right now, and until we are out of the city, I have no means of providing clean water. By the way, what did you do for water?"
"In the beginning, we relied on bottled water, then we collected rainwater. That's before everything started freezing." Amy told her.
"That's a good idea. Do you have some reserves we could pick up along the way?" Amy shook her head.
"Nothing that would be worth going in the opposite direction of our destination."
If Rory was disappointed, she did not show it. Instead, she nodded and contemplated what to do. We all fell silent. She finally abandoned searching for a solution and brushed it aside.
"Well, right now, all we can do is hope for rain or snow to fall so we can collect it. Another option is to look at my map and find a body of water along the way. Either way, we will find a solution."
"I have more questions to ask," Percy swiftly stated, causing Rory to let out a small laugh.
"Of course you have. Ask away."
"Won't the smoke attract zombies? I know they don't see well and rely on their other senses."
"Maybe, but I wouldn't worry too much." it occurred that Rory was the least afraid of zombies.
"With all due respect, why would we not worry about something that could potentially kill us?." Milo challenged. Finding Rory's comment idiotic.
"Because, while they're witless, they operate on very basic instincts. And when they come across something dangerous enough, they steer clear of it. So while my pups and I are present, the only attack you should fear is one of your kind." Rory's patiently explained to us. It made sense, but it seemed farfetched that bloodthirsty creatures would be afraid of her - the wolves were more believable. I frowned at her use of 'our kind'. What did she mean by it?
"What do you mean, our kind?" I inquired, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"Yeah, and what's up with your ears?" Milo pointed it out.
And now that he mentioned it, her ears were far more elongated and pointy than normal for humans. I didn't notice it at first because her hair covered them. But now they were painfully obvious.
"Oh, that? I guess it's a side effect of mutating." After dropping a bomb, Rory declared she was sleepy and refused to answer further questions. My angel reached for the sheath and mask stuck on her back and set them aside. She added some wood to the dimmed fire - coals struggling to keep it going - putting small branches first and working up to the big logs.
We both got into a more comfortable sleeping position, leaning on Thor's side. How lucky am I to fall asleep, warm tonight? Plus, with my sister here! My nose was snug against the juncture of Rory's neck and shoulder. I pressed my chest against her back. A small sigh of relish left my lips.
The others didn't take long to follow, and shortly, everyone dropped asleep.