survivors of the storm

steady

After a few more minutes I open my eyes when I feel the truck slowing down. I turn and see the hospital, feeling like I've just seen Dylan O'brien because I'm so happy.

The truck comes to a full stop and we all hop out. It finally hits me that I get to see my parents soon after what feels like years of not seeing them. I walk beside Grayson, who gives me a reassuring smile when I look at him.

My heart jumps when I see my dad's blue truck sitting in the parking lot. We enter through the doors to see people sitting on the ground everywhere.

I scan the faces, looking for my parents. I don't see anyone familiar. I notice Grayson and Wyatt looking around the room too. I walk up to the front desk.

"Um hi, my name is Sawyer and I'm looking for Grace and Sam Walker. Are they here?" I ask. A smile spreads over the lady at the desks face and she says,

"Are you their daughter?" she asks.

"Yes." I respond.

"Oh they'll be so happy! They aren't here at the moment but when they get back from picking people up I'll tell them you're here."

"What do you mean picking people up? And how long will it take?" I ask.

"Ever since the Storm and the scavengers came, we've been using this hospital as a safe haven for anyone who needs it. We send people out to drive around and look for people who need help. Your parents are some of our best helpers. They left a couple hours ago so it'll still be one to two hours before they're back." I'm flooded with relief, so I thank the woman and go to find the others.

They're sitting in an unclaimed corner, quietly talking. I sit down beside Grayson, leaning my back against the wall.

"How's your arm?" Grayson asks.

"It's doing better. I can move it more without pain." I say as I demonstrate and shake my arm a little. Grayson smiles. "What about you? How do you feel?" I ask.

"I'm feelin' pretty good right now." he tells me with a lazy grin. "Did the lady say anything about your parents?"

"She said they were helping people and are gonna be back in a couple hours." I say, hiding how nervous and excited I feel. I shouldn't be nervous, they're my parents. But I am. What if the past few days have changed them? The city is a bad place to be in right now, it's so depressing and scary. Grayson nudges me with his arm.

"They're going to be happy to see you." he says, noticing my nervousness. "I know I would be."

"What about your parents? Have you heard anything about them?" I ask, changing the subject. He looks down at his hands.

"Nothing yet, but if Mr. T is around my parents are probably close by," he says. I can tell he's unsure of this, but I don't say anything. I start to feel my eyes getting heavy as we've sat there for a while. To pass time I lean my head back on the wall and start to nod off.

I wake up a little while later, unsure at first of what's going on. I then remember all the events of the past few days and where I am. Hearing steady breathing, that isn't my own, I'm aware that I'm leaning my head on someone's shoulder.

I quickly shoot up, almost rolling over on my side. I turn around and see Grayson looking at me with wide eyes.

"Am I really that bad of a cuddler?" he jokes.

"I-uh-sorry I didn't know who it was or what was going on." I say, sitting back down beside him. Grinning at me, he replies-

"That makes me feel better. I think." I laugh, and I don't know why. It really wasn't that funny.

"How long was I asleep?" I ask.

"Only like an hour." Grayson tells me. Only an hour. I still have to wait another hour to see my parents. I sigh, rubbing my eyes.

"You okay?" Grayson asks, for what feels like the 20th time in the past two days.

"Yea I'm fine, just tired of waiting." I say. Proving that I'm actually fine, I add "I hope I didn't drool on you." He laughs.

"I think that would be the least of our problems right now." I don't say anything back, I just think about what he said.

Our problems got 10x worse after the Storm. Looking for food, hiding from scavengers, looking for lost people. Where would I be if the Storm never came?

"Want to go on a walk?" Grayson asks me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sure." I say looking up at him. He stands up, reaching down to grab my hands to help me up. I accept the help, but not because I need it, I accept because it was cute. We walk around the people-filled hallways, trying not to trip over their feet.

"Where did the others go?" I ask.

"I think they went outside earlier, I don't know where they are right now." We head to the double doors in the lobby that head outside. When we walk outside I inhale the soft breeze. It's the only calm thing in my life right now.

We spot the others in one of the small groups of people sitting outside.

"Finally!" Kate says as we approach them. "I thought you would sleep forever." We all laugh at that.

"It was only an hour Kate." I tell her.

"Exactly. Forever." she replies. I survey the others and their moods. Wyatt and Aspen are sitting next to each other drawing small doodles with Kate's chalk. Jax and his dad are sitting beside Kate, laughing at the chalk all over her clothes.

I smile at our small group. I go to sit beside Aspen, picking up a piece of chalk.

"So," she says. "Definitely not cuddling, right?" I roll my eyes, but feel my face heat up. I playfully punch her, fully knowing she could probably beat me up if she wanted too. She laughs to herself and goes back to coloring.