Chapter Four

“Madison, I want you to show Todd and Janelle to their rooms. Just find a place for them wherever there’s room—you’ll know the best place for them. Then I want you to show them both where they’ll be doing their chores. When you’re done with that, you can take them to the cafeteria for lunch. It should be starting right about then.”

“What are you gonna do?”

Aaron sighs and runs a hand nervously through his hair. “I have to gather the soldiers and tell them that I lost five of their comrades on a stupid supply run. That should be fun,” he says bitterly. “There’s nothing like telling someone their friends all died for a can of baked beans or a package of diapers!”

Aaron walks away shaking his head, and I just stand there in the doorway to the school, watching him go. I know Aaron well enough to know how deeply today’s events will weigh on his soul, and I hate seeing him like this. Surviving in this harsh new world is hard enough without the added pressure of caring for an entire group of people and having to make the tough calls—especially when those calls lead to the deaths of your men.

“He’s gonna get crucified by the others, isn’t he?” I ask Michael.

Michael sighs. “Yes, Madison, he is. The soldiers will need somebody to blame, and unfortunately it’ll be Aaron. And possibly the two of us as well. Don’t worry about it too much, though. Just know that what happened today wasn’t anybody’s fault but whoever started this infection…”

Todd’s eyes narrow as he catches the same thing I just have. “Michael, do you know how the infection got started?”

His eyes widen just a fraction. “No! Of course not. I just happen to have a guess or two, like most of the people here. I’ve heard all kinds of suggestions. Pretty much everything from viral weapons to some kind of alien invasion. A lot of it doesn’t make any sense, but a common theory is a government experiment gone wrong.”

“And what do you think?” I ask, hoping to wheedle more information out of him.

He shrugs, trying to look nonchalant about it, but I see right through his façade. “I’m not entirely sure what I think. But if I had to guess, I would bet it all started with an adverse reaction to some new kind of experimental drug or something. Something created in a hospital, maybe.”

He’s lying, I think to myself. He knows more about this infection than he’s letting on, and I’m gonna find out what he’s hiding…

He clears his throat. “Well, I should probably go make sure Aaron doesn’t have to handle this alone. I can help smooth things over with the men. Hopefully.” Michael doesn’t wait for me to say anything else, and as he quickly walks away, I get the distinct impression that he’s hoping I don’t ask him anymore questions in the future.

Janelle looks expectantly at me. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but can we get a move on? I haven’t slept in a real bed in a safe place since the world ended, and I’d really like to get settled in.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! Yeah, totally. Follow me, and I’ll show you guys to where you’ll be sleeping. You’ll have to share a room with a few other people—we all do—but it shouldn’t be a problem. Everybody mostly keeps to themselves around here.”

Todd and Janelle follow me silently through the school, and I notice they look to be in awe of all that we have. “You guys have so much…” Janelle says softly. We’re passing through the cafeteria where a few people that are done with their chores are gathering to chat until lunch begins in a little bit, and I notice that Janelle is busy watching both Levi and Lucy, who are among those waiting for lunch to be served. “You even have children, here…”

I nod. “Yeah, we’ve got a couple more kids running around. Janine and her sister, Jaclyn—who are eight and thirteen—along with a few pregnant women here that are about to give birth. It isn’t much, considering what the world used to be, but it’s a start. We’re trying to rebuild our lives, and making sure everyone here is as safe and happy as they can be given our situation is the first step.”

Janelle looks especially moved by the sight of the kids, but Todd looks mostly indifferent. I don’t necessarily blame him. It’s hard to get excited about anything these days, because every time you let yourself be happy, something horrible comes along and dashes all of your hopes and dreams, reminding you what a shit heap of a world you live in.

“Come on. You guys can talk and meet others when lunch is served. For now, let’s get you settled in and I’ll show you to your daily chores.” They follow me away from the cafeteria, and I lead them up a flight of stairs and then down a narrow hallway that used to be the math department. “This is where the guys all sleep. There are ten rooms here, and they’re mostly full at the moment, but I believe there’s a cot available in the last room in the hall.”

We stop at the final room, and I knock twice on the door. When nobody answers, I carefully open the door and peek inside. The room is empty at the moment, but I can see that one of the cots is clearly not being occupied, and I point it out to Todd. “I’ll have somebody get you a blanket and pillow before lights out tonight, but for now, you can set your stuff there. Don’t worry about anybody digging through it without your permission—the soldiers will crack down on anyone caught stealing.”

Todd tosses a tattered navy blue backpack down on the cot, and grimaces when a cloud of dust and other questionable debris billows up from the thin mattress. “Nice,” he says with a sneer.

“It’s not a four seasons, but it is still better than sleeping on the ground,” I say, slightly annoyed at his behavior since arriving. If I was traveling alone out there for as long as they were and someone found me and brought me into their fortress like this, I would definitely be thankful for a bed to sleep in, no matter how dusty it may be.

“Where am I sleeping?”

“The English and science departments are on this floor as well. The girls originally occupied just the English rooms, but we’ve had to spread out to the science ones to accommodate new arrivals, including the children we have here. There’s an empty cot in the room across from mine that you can take,” I say, leading the two of them back down the hall.

When I show Janelle to her room and point out the empty cot that is now hers, she looks much more grateful for such a small thing as a bed. She actually sits down on the edge of the bed and for a second, I worry that she might start to cry. She looks around at the other cots in the room—some of which are currently occupied—and she smiles at a girl a couple of years younger than us.

As the two introduce themselves, I glance over at Todd, who is not so patiently waiting for Janelle to be ready to leave. “How long have you and Janelle been traveling together?”

He shrugs a thin shoulder. “I’m not sure. It’s not like I have a calendar with me,” he snaps.

“Don’t be a dick,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “It was just a question.”

He sighs irritably. “Like three weeks. Maybe more. Why do you care?”

“I was just curious. You guys seem…close.”

He glances at me out of the corner of his eyes, almost like he can’t believe what I just said. “No. Do not go there, alright? Janelle and I are not sleeping together.”

“Getting kind of defensive about it, aren’t you?” I ask with just a hint of a smile on my lips. “I didn’t even ask if you two were sleeping together or not. I was just making an observation.”

“Yeah, well, keep your observations to yourself,” he says tightly.

“Alright,” I say with a smile. “No need to get snippy about it.”

He rolls his eyes and turns away from me to avoid further conversation. While Janelle says goodbye to her new friend, Todd examines his fingernails. He begins to pick at the chipped black nail polish, and I watch him scrape off a piece from his thumb and drop it to the floor before grinding it into the carpet with the toe of his brown boot.

“What the hell did you do that for?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. “We’re trying to keep this place as clean as possible! Pick it up.”

He looks at me with a cool expression, but makes no move to pick up the pieces of nail police. “No. It’s just nail polish. It isn’t gonna hurt anyone.”

“I don’t care. I said pick it up. You can’t just treat this place like an ashtray.” He still doesn’t move, and I narrow my eyes at him, hoping to look as menacing as possible. “Pick. It. Up.” My teeth are clenched together so tightly they nearly groan, and I can feel myself losing patience with him. “Pick it up!”

He chuckles, but bends down to pick the pieces out of the carpet. I watch him like a hawk, making sure he manages to pick up each little piece. When he has them all, he drops them into his palm and shows me, before walking down the hall to drop them into a black garbage can.

When he turns back to me, he holds up both of his dirty hands—palms out—to show me that there’s nothing left in his hands, and he gives me an arrogant smile. “Happy now?” he asks with a slightly teasing tone to his voice.

“Yes, I’m happy. You could have just as easily done that in the first place.”

“Could have, but I didn’t feel like it,” he says lightly. “You should relax. Jesus, it was just a few paint chippings. It’s not like I was grinding glass into the carpet or something.”

“Um, aren’t you supposed to show us where we’ll be doing our chores?” Janelle asks quietly. She’s ready to move on, and I don’t want to keep her waiting.

“Yes. Janelle, you’ll be doing laundry in the greenhouse with a few of the other girls. Todd, I think you’ll be doing a combination of repairs and organizing our supplies in the storeroom. Don’t worry, it isn’t much work.”

“I hate work,” he mutters.

I ignore his complaint, since I already figured he would hate any work we assigned him. Todd remains quiet as I lead both him and Janelle down to the greenhouse. Surprisingly, Felicia is back in the room, and she’s tackling a large pile of clothing all by herself. She looks like she’s taking her miserable mood out on an oil stain. “That will never come out,” I say, startling her.

Felicia drops the brush back into the tub with a disgusted sigh. “Some of the people here are such slobs! They just don’t realize these are the only clothes they have, and they aren’t likely to get more. You’d think they’d take better care of them.” She finally looks up at me. “Who are they?”

“Felicia, this is Todd and Janelle. They found us while on our supply run, and since he kind of saved my life, Aaron and I decided to bring them back with us. So I’m showing them around.”

“Why are they in here though?”

“Janelle is gonna help out with the laundry, so I thought I would show her where it was. She won’t start until tomorrow morning, but Aaron wanted me to show them around before lunch.”

Felicia looks both Janelle and Todd up and down, and I notice her eyes rest on their belts, as if she’s looking for any kind of weapons. Todd realizes what she’s doing, and he gives me an angry frown. “Don’t worry, Kid. We don’t have any weapons. Captain America forced us to give them up at the front door.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “They’re waiting for you in the storeroom if you ever need it. Sorry that Aaron doesn’t trust the people here enough to give them all access to weapons twenty-four seven.” Todd rolls his eyes angrily, and I have to resist the urge to smack him. “Alright, let’s get a move on. Todd, I can show you to the storeroom where you’ll be cataloging supplies. Oh, and in case you were wondering, it isn’t the storeroom where your weapons are,” I say with just a hint of evil glee. “That storeroom will be locked.”

He glares at me, but follows me from the room silently.

Janelle stops me. “Um, if you don’t mind, I’d kind of like to stay here and help out. She’s never gonna get that pile of clothes done by herself, and I don’t really need to see the storeroom since I won’t be in there. If you don’t mind,” Janelle says quickly.

“Of course I don’t mind.” I poke my head back inside the door. “Felicia, Janelle is gonna stay here and help you while I finish giving Todd the tour. Is that alright with you?”

Felicia nods enthusiastically. “Hell yeah it is!”

Janelle smiles and sits beside Felicia. The two begin to talk while they scrub dirty clothes, and I see Felicia quickly start to relax with the older girl. “Let’s go,” Todd says, managing to sound both bored and annoyed. “I really don’t feel like standing around and watching some girls wash clothes.”

“Fine. I’ll show you to the storeroom. It isn’t far from here.”

As Todd and I walk down to the storeroom, I try twice to engage him in conversation, but he refuses to speak to me. He looks over at me like I’m crazy for still trying after our exchange in the English department, but I ignore his pointed looks. I’m curious about these two survivors, and I intend to get to know them, no matter how long it takes. As the two of us reach the storeroom, I decide to let up on the questions for now.

The storeroom is located on the first floor, and is attached to the kitchens. The door opens easily, and Todd and I silently step inside a small, dimly lit room that is lit by only a single light bulb directly overhead. The light illuminates the room, showing a blue-tiled floor and three walls of shelves that are stacked high with canned and boxed goods. There are sacks of flour piled high by the back corner, but I’m not sure what the flour is being used for. Maybe it’s there just in case we need it.

There’s someone already in the room, and their back is to the door. All I can see is a camouflage jacket indicating one of the soldiers that protect this place. His head is tilted back so he can stare up at the ceiling, and his arms are spread out behind him so he can lounge across a stack of flour. I can hear his harsh breathing, and it only takes Todd and I about two seconds to realize what is going on.

“What the fuck? Don’t you have a bedroom for that shit or something?” Todd snaps, startling the soldier.

The soldier stumbles to the side, knocking over two sacks of flour that go crashing to the floor. He looks at the two of us like a deer caught in the headlights, and my eyes drop not to his open zipper, but to the redheaded girl on her knees on the floor. Rose looks up at me with a worried expression on her face, and I get the distinct impression that she isn’t ashamed or embarrassed, just worried someone will find out.

I’ve seen this soldier around the school a few times, and he always seems to be flirting with any girl that doesn’t rebuff his advances. He’s refusing to look at me, and he hurriedly zips his pants. Without looking at anyone in the storeroom, he darts by us and out the door, leaving Rose on her knees on the cold tiled-floor. She looks up at me with a frown on her beautiful face.

“What were you thinking?” I ask, trying to keep the disgust out of my voice.

“Excuse me? Is that a judgmental tone I hear in your voice? I’m pretty sure you’re not a virgin, Madison. Why does it matter if I’m having sex with him?”

I stare at her, surprised that this is where she’s taking our conversation. “No, I’m not a virgin, Rose. I haven’t been for a few years. I’m not disgusted because you’re having sex. I’m disgusted because you’re having sex here, near our food supplies. We’re going to eat this stuff, Rose. This stuff is going in our mouths. This isn’t sanitary!”

She pauses. “Oh.”

“Yeah, I don’t care if you have sex. You can sleep with every guy in this place for all I care. I just don’t want my food—the only fucking food we have—to be contaminated because you’re too lazy to walk all the way back to your room. So next time you’re feeling horny, tell him to keep it in his pants until you get back to your room, or his. I don’t care which.”

“Next time we’ll find someplace better,” she says, looking away from my judgmental eyes. “We weren’t thinking.”

“No, you weren’t. Lunch is about to start, maybe you should get down there.” Rose doesn’t argue, and she doesn’t look at me again as she sneaks by me and out the door. Todd and I both watch her go, and when she’s gone, I shake my head in disgust. “I can’t believe she was so careless about where she did this.”

Todd snorts, and I glance at him out of the corner of my eyes. “What’s so funny?”

“I just thought for sure you would be one of those prudes that was saving yourself for marriage,” he says mockingly. “Turns out I was wrong. You’re one of those girls that gets around, aren’t ya?”

“I don’t get around,” I say tightly, clenching my hands at my side. “I’ve only had two partners in my entire life. But even if I did have more, it would be absolutely none of your business. Ever.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Whatever. Can you just show me what the hell I’m supposed to be doing in here?”

*****

Felicia takes a seat next to me at our usual table, and she looks down at her meager portions. With a sigh, she says, “Hey, Madison. Is this all we get today?” She stabs angrily at the small pile of fruit cocktail on her tray as she tries to keep the juice from mixing with her equally smile pile of canned peas. “Ugh, I’ve always hated peas. Especially canned ones.”

“I never liked them either,” I say, gathering up a forkful of them. “But it’s all we have. You should be thankful we’re not all starving right now.”

“I know, but I wish we had something better to eat. Something other than gross, squishy, old peas. I would kill for a turkey sandwich right now. With miracle whip, lettuce, tomato, and pickle…oh, man. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.” She looks down at her tray, almost as if she’s hoping that turkey sandwich will just magically appear. When it doesn’t, she takes a bite of peas, and gives a giant shudder of disgust. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“Don’t say that,” Daisy says, sliding into her seat across from us. Rose is close behind her, and the girls sit together as closely as possible. “Even as a joke, that kind of attitude isn’t funny nowadays. You have to stay strong. Felicia, you’ve survived the zombie apocalypse. A few mouthfuls of peas should be no problem.”

For some reason, we all giggle at Daisy’s unexpected joke about peas, and I’m not really sure why. The other three girls don’t seem to know why we’re smiling, but none of us seems to care. When we all stop laughing, I look back down at my tray, but something at the table catches my attention, and I look back up.

Rose’s tray is different than ours. Not the tray itself, but the food on the tray. She’s just taken her first bite, and I can tell just with one quick glance that she has more food on her plate than the rest of us. It looks like she has two extra spoonfuls of fruit, and maybe two extra spoonfuls of peas, as well. Normally that wouldn’t be much more food, but nowadays, four little extra spoonfuls can go a long way, and it certainly does.

Not for the first time I realize that Rose has held up better than the rest of us at the table. Daisy, Felicia, and I have all lost weight since our stay here, but Rose really hasn’t. She’s maintained most of her voluptuous figure, and now I know how she’s done it.