We spend the rest of the day making plans. As expected, no one besides me wants to leave. “Settling down for a while isn’t a bad thing, Deagan,” Yanenowi says.
“But it could be! If we settle down for too long, we won’t be able to leave quickly, and that could kill us,” I say, exasperated.
Mia has been very quiet. I’m not sure if she just has nothing to say, or is judging us for wanting to leave. If she managed to stay in one place for so long...
“Well, there’s no point in arguing about this now. We have no reason to leave tonight or tomorrow, so let’s just let it go until it becomes important,” Amy says.
It’s times like these that I wish I never had chosen to stay with Yanenowi, Amy, and Rou. They never listen to me. Sometimes they’re right, but I generally know what to do. I look to Mia to see her reaction. She blinks and shrugs. I sigh.
“Fine then,” I groan.
I spend the rest of the day playing with Mr. President. I never noticed how much I missed having a dog. Animals are so interesting, and so much better to spend time with than people. Mia is still sitting, not talking to anyone. She’s been watching me and Mr. President the whole time, which is making me self-conscious, but what can I do? I don’t mind the silence. Rousseau, quiet little Rou, has also been silent today, but I’m used to that from her. Amy went out to go do something - I’m pretty sure she told me, but I wasn’t listening - and returns as the sun begins to set.
“So, Mia,” Amy says, plopping down next to her. “What was life like in Chicago? I haven’t been to a city in a long time.”
Mia looks at her. “Um. It was... Surprisingly secluded and empty. Sort of like this,” she motions to our surroundings, “But different because you know that people once lived there.”
“Did you live there alone?” Amy asks.
Mia looks down at her feet. “I had a friend there. Her name was Caroline.”
“Did she become one of them?”
Mia flinches. “No. She... she just left. I don’t know.”
Rousseau is drawing lines in the dirt with her finger. Sitting here with the dog on my own is even too anti-social for me, so I stand up and walk over to them, sitting across from Mia. “Where are you from, Rousseau?” Mia asks.
Rou smiles and sits up straighter. “I’m from Quebec. I did not know much English before the infection. I learned from others I met. I lived in a... apartment?” Rou looks at me for confirmation, and I nod. “A apartment. With my parents. They were not infected, and we tried to leave... They did not leave soon enough.”
Rou loves talking about her past life. I’m not sure why, maybe she likes practicing her English. Like the rest of us, her story does not end well.
“My mother, she was going to have another baby,” Rou continues, “She was infected. I was a... only child. My mother was infected first - she infected my father a day later. I saw both happen. I ran away.”
“We found her dying of malnutrition near Little Lonely Lake, funnily enough,” I say. “Yanenowi, Jeff, Amy, and I. About five months ago. She’s been with us ever since.”
“Who’s Jeff?” Mia asks.
“Oh. Right. You don’t know him,” I say. “He was from a little town in upper New York. One of Yanenowi’s friends that she made over the years prior to this whole... mess. Was in his mid-thirties when I knew him. Been without him for about two months.”
“What happened?” Mia asks.
“An attack. We were stupid, stayed in one place too long. Couldn’t get out in time. Jeff’s one of them now - a Z, I guess you would say.”
“As far as we know, he’s still alive,” Amy says, “But we obviously left him at our old spot. Probably planting corn as we speak.”
“Which is why we should really think about heading North soon,” I mutter.
“Oh, drop it,” Amy says.
“I can’t. I don’t want it to happen again - mainly to me, no offense - but not to any of us.”
Yanenowi tells us all to go to sleep. We’re all adults, and should be able to decide for ourselves when to sleep, but we always listen. It’s partially because she’s double our ages, but Yanenowi’s personality just makes her like a caring mother. Or what I imagine a caring mother would be like. I wouldn’t know.
An hour later, I’m still awake, lying still and looking up at the stars, not able to shake the feeling that we aren’t safe here.
No comments:
Post a Comment