Smol Women

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Hey! Guys, we have a problem!" Gibby's voice woke everyone up the next morning.

It was 8:30, and the sun was shining. Outside, birds were chirping, and a warm breeze blew through the air. Perfect weather to relax and do nothing.

"What?" Maxy Max asked him groggily.

"Diamond Daisy and Tank are gone. So are a ton of our rations." Gibby told him.

All signs of grogginess vanished from Maxy Max, who jumped out of bed. "Tank gone? No!"

"Hey!" Selena shouted. "Max, put some clothes on! Why were you sleeping naked?"

Maxy Max sheepishly complied but was still visibly shaken.

"What makes you think they're gone?" Theodore asked Gibby in an attempt to calm Maxy Max.

Gibby turned and stared at him blankly. "Uh, they're not here?"

Theodore nodded, accepting this answer.

"Okay, I'm gonna go outside and check for any signs of where they might've gone," Thomas decided, grabbing his gun. "Stay inside unless you hear me fire my gun."

Nobody objected to that and watched as he left the building to circle the base. Ten minutes later, he returned.

"Nothing. They're just gone."

Maxy Max's eyes watered, and he began shaking. Selena put her arm on his shoulder and led him to the couch, where she rubbed his back.

"They clearly left on their own will, so we know they're okay," Gibby said, trying to comfort Maxy Max. "Maybe they went to look for Marianne?"

"We go look for them!" Maxy Max shouted, spitting everywhere.

"It's like Marianne never left," Theodore muttered, wiping spit off his forehead.

Selena shook her head, "Sorry, Max, we have no idea where they went. We're safest here."

Everyone agreed but offered Maxy Max pitiful pats on the back.

"Is it really such a bad thing they're gone?" Theodore whispered to Gibby, who nudged him with his elbow.

"Don't say that."

Theodore shrugged. "Is it? Tank was super weird, and Diamond Daisy... didn't really contribute anything."

Gibby had nothing to say to this and simply shrugged. He walked away to get Maxy Max a glass of water and sighed as he went.

"Listen Max," Thomas was saying. "When you disappeared, Tank didn't mope around. He kept going to make sure we found you. Don't sit here crying, cause that's not what he would want."

Maxy Max nodded and wiped a glob of his snot on Thomas's sleeve. "Thanks, brother."

"Yeah," Thomas grimaced and left to change.

"I'm sure Tank is fine," Selena told him. "He's always been one to just do his own thing."

Maxy Max stood up and puffed his chest. "I go find Tank."

Selena's eyes widened and she shook her head, "Max, no—"

Before she could stop him, he marched away and opened the door with swagger. There stood a familiar face. Marianne. Covered in blood.

"Ghost!" Maxy Max screamed, slamming the door in her face.

"Max!" Theodore exclaimed, running over and opening the door again. "Marianne, you're alive?"

With a weak groan of pain, Marianne nodded. Selena hurried over and together she and Theodore helped her over to the couch.

"Thomas!" Selena shouted. "Get the first aid kit!"