Survival

Part 7: Valerie

The rich smell of cooking roo assailed my senses as I entered the treehouse main room. Aluna handed me a bowl and gestured for me to take a seat on one of the many mats that lay on the floor. Grace sat down next to me, followed by Marcus and Aluna. We sat in a little circle, silently eating the fresh meat and some other things that looked like preserved vegetables. The kangaroo tasted great. A shout filled the air and the sound of two pairs of clumping boots drew near. Marcus shied away, cowering. I knew who it was straight away. A large pudgy man stumbled into the room. He was balding, fat, and had tiny beady eyes that darted over us, examining and judging. I twitched, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, as his eyes had landed on me. Robert.

"Who's this?" He grumbled.

"It's Valerie." Marcus piped in.

"Shut up 'tard. I didn't ask you." Robert snapped at him. Marcus flinched. I stood up, inwardly cursing myself.

"I'm sorry but I don't believe I know who you are." I said as politely as I could.

"Robert's my name. I'm the only sane one in this joint. That kid's gonna get us all killed." He complained.

"Oh, I don't know about that, sir," I smiled. "With all due respect, Marcus is very fit and young and healthy. By the looks of him, he could outrun a Changed. How fit are you feeling these days?" I asked him, with a pointed yet not aggressive look at his bulging gut.

"How dare you.." Robert hissed, taking a step towards me. I unsheathed one of the butchers knives at my belt. He stopped short.

"Robert. Calm down. Valerie, don't threaten adults with big knives, please," Aluna gestured for us to sit. "Robert, this is Valerie. She's staying with us from now on. Valerie, Robert."

I nodded at him curtly.

Robert snorted, took a bowl of food and sat in the corner. He was soon joined by a young boy that I guessed was his son, a short and equally pudgy boy with slicked over brown hair. We all finished our food in silence, until Aluna spoke up.

"It's my birthday tomorrow." She said quietly.

"Aw hey thats awesome Lune!" Grace cheered.

"Wow! How old?" I joined in.

"Seventeen." Aluna smiled a little.

"That's so cool." Marcus grinned.

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to bed. Night guys." Aluna stood and left. Marcus also said he was going to bed. Grace and I were the only ones left.

"We should get Lune something for her birthday." Grace announced.

"How?" I asked her.

"There's a small town not far from here. We could run, grab some stuff, and run back before it got too dark." She told me.

"Sure. I'm in." We stood and made our way down one of the ladders. I felt Robert's eyes on my back long since I was out of the grove.



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A big happy birthday to my friend Sarah, who 'is' Aluna