Zero

Chapter 45

   Chapter 45

"Atlas," Claire squeals her face turning a deep shade of red.

"What?" he tried to sound innocent, but he's doing a terrible job of holding back his amusement at her embarrassment. "I think it's a good name."

They're being too loud, but I can't find it in myself to say anything because Atlas is smiling again and Claire isn't walking around like a lost puppy and Squirrel is laughing at them both. I don't want to take away from their fun because after all we've been through, after all we still have to get through, they deserve these moments. We all do.

"Gremlin is not a good name," she shouts standing up from where she'd been sitting to swing a hand at Atlas. He avoids her running around to the other side of the fire. She stops, watching him while considering her best move.

"Sure it is," he says. "They're all cute and cuddly until you screw up then they're pure evil. It's just like you."

I turn to Hunter, raising a questing brow. He leans closer, not wanting to get in the middle of their argument any more than I do. "It's from a movie," he explains how tiny adorable creatures turn into monsters if they're fed after midnight.

"Oh," I say silently agreeing with Atlas on this one. It's a good name. I wouldn't call her evil, but over the last couple of weeks she's stopped being the sad girl who lost her sister and started getting to know us. She can go from sweet and laughing to pissed-off-bitch faster than should be possible. Though I think a good deal of that is Atlas's influence. He can't resist teasing her. The two have figured out ways to get under each other's skin and almost never stop. So today when she said she wanted a name like the rest of us he couldn't help himself.

Making her decision, Claire runs around the fire after Atlas. He jumps out of the way before she can get to him. He grabs Bambi and pulls her in front of him, the little girl laughing as Atlas picks her up under the arms, using her as a shield. Bambi yells to be put down, but she's giggling the whole time.

"Hey, watch the food," Hunter says when they nearly knock our makeshift grill over, burning the fish. We've been making our way toward West Virginia, but staying close to water. We decided to take a longer route to stay closer to the water. I was worried staying close to a river filled with fresh water and food might not be the best idea, concerned other groups might have the same idea. But we haven't run into anyone.

"Sorry," Claire says. "You should probably chill out," she says to Atlas, grinning wickedly.

"I'm not the one chasing people like a crazy person, Gremlin," he says emphasizing the name as he sets Bambi back to the ground.

She sticks her tongue out at him and then walks over and plops down next to Squirrel. I lean forward to flip the fish over on the fire once they've moved out of the way. Sitting back into Hunter's side I can't stop myself from smiling.

"Sunshine," Atlas calls out, getting my attention. I still don't get the nickname, but I'm happy to hear it again. "Thought any more about what you're gonna say to your aunt?"

Hunter thinks we'll make it to West Virginia by the end of the week. If Bryan gave us the right address then we're headed to a house on a hundred acres. She lives in the middle of nowhere so it's possible that she's managed to stay safe. It's possible that I have more family there. Family that I won't recognize and don't remember.

"Yeah," I say. I've thought about it a lot. "I think I'm just gonna be honest. I can't really fake knowing her."

He nods, staying quiet for a moment before a grin stretches across his lips. "You're hoping she isn't there, aren't you?"

I sigh. "I'm an awful person."

It's not that I want her to be dead or anything. It's just terrifying to possibly meet more people who know me that I can't remember. Especially after the last one turned out so well.

"Not awful," Hunter says at the same time Atlas teases, "Yeah, a little."

I glare at Atlas as I lean into Hunter, snuggling closer. His arm tightens around me and his lips press to my temple.

Next to us Claire and Squirrel are giggling through whispers as they talk about something. Bambi convinces Atlas to attempt braiding her and sits in front of him happily ordering him as he tries a French braid. For a split second a sad, lost look crosses Atlas's face, but he quickly shakes it away. I can't help but wonder what triggered the emotion. Almost certainly something reminded him of Braces or of Birdie. I don't pry, asking what it is he's thought about. We all get that way sometimes and I know he'll speak up if he wants to talk. Sometimes it's easier to push thoughts of them away.

Sometimes it feels like there's a hole in our group without them. Most of the time, I think, but we're all trying. But right now, everyone is smiling. Atlas is even whistling. This feels as right as anything can feel these days. It feels normal.

"Zero, come here," Bambi says across the fire. Wiggling out of Hunter's arms I walk around and sit on the ground next to the little girl.

"What's up?"

She leans over, keeping her voice low, and whispers, "Can you fix this?" She points to her hair. The French braid is loose and lopsided. She shakes her head disappointed. "He's good at a lot of things, but this isn't one of them."

I laugh. "Atlas, I think you've been demoted."

He looks relieved. "I should be doing more manly things anyway."

I pull Bambi's hair out of the braid and then work it back into a straight, tight French braid while she sits patiently.

It's strangely normal to be sitting around a fire, joking and braiding Bambi's hair. Part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop, anticipating the next disaster or tragedy. It's always in the back of my mind. Who's going to get infected? When are we going to happen upon less than friendly people? When is our luck up?

It's always there, but I don't let it consume me, not like I did before.

I focus on moments where two boys wrestle in the water, acting like the kids they're supposed to be and on sharing candy in the middle of the night and stolen kisses. I appreciate giggling girls whispering secrets, eating together, and bathing.

"Any chance we could eat something besides fish tomorrow?" Squirrel asks and Hunter laughs, agreeing that the fish is getting old for everyone. Maybe he'll find us a deer or rabbit tomorrow, he suggests, watching Squirrel light up at the thought. Instead of being annoyed with ungrateful sounding question, my lips twitch into a smile. We've had so much fish we're sick of it.

A couple of weeks ago none of us knew if we'd live to see the next day. I guess we still don't. But we're not hungry and we're not dehydrated. We are laughing and having fun though. Even though we've lost people, even though creeps are still out there and tomorrow or next week there's a good chance we'll be hungry again, for now, we're good. We're alive and we're together. Maybe we'll die tomorrow, or maybe we won't. But tomorrow isn't the point. Right now is. Hunter catches my eye and winks causing my stomach to do flips that have nothing to do with hunger. Yeah. Right now is pretty good. 

The End

Author's Note - I hope you've enjoyed Zero's story. I love these characters and so letting them go isn't easy, but this feels right for me because first and foremost this is Zero's story. Thank you for reading! I hope you know how much it means to me that you've read this whole book. I know some of you have been reading this since the beginning (or close to it), and it's been a long time, because you've commented and/or voted on every chapter along the way which is just super amazing.