The Crossing Dawn

IX. First Impressions

I only slept for a handful of hours. The excitement for the following day made me toss and turn during the jet black-colored night. Our bed was right next to a large window; from that window, you could see all sorts of stars and galaxies. I forgot how much light polluted the otherwise dark and beautiful sky in my busy world, and the absence of such light opened my eyes to the true beauty of 'what's out there.' After our brief rest, I naturally woke up to Claire yelling at me. Still not completely awake, I failed to comprehend what she was telling me, and I saw her rapidly getting up as she began complaining and bickering about... something.

"What do you think you're doing!?" She screamed at me as she unwrapped herself from the blanket.

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"Why were you just hugging me from behind like that?"

"..." I stayed silent. Was I really just...?

"It was cold." I said in an attempt to make an excuse.

"No, it wasn't!"

"Fine. I'm sorry. If it means anything, I probably did it in my sleep."

"Probably?"

"Uh... we should get going, Claire." I nervously said as I got up and put my leather boots on.

Claire sighed and got changed. I put my backpack on and equipped my weapons. Claire stepped out of the loghouse with me following behind. Immediately after, we saw Lance as well as the other survivors seemingly awaiting us. They all had smiles on their faces- smiles I could not see very well before due to the absence of light on the previous night. Lance stood up and spoke to us.

"Enjoy your lack of duties for now." He said. "It's your first day. How 'bout y'all look around and get to know everyone a little better?"

"Sounds good." Claire said.

"Well, you know most of our names by now, but we'll introduce ourselves to you anyways." He added. "I'm Lance, and I'm the leader 'round here." Lance had mixed skin, short, brown hair and a thick beard. He also had quite a deep voice and looked like he was in his late 30's. He was very tall and looked quite fit.

"The name's Raven." A voice was heard as a young woman stood up. This one was skinny, short and had a delicate-sounding voice. She appeared to be in her early 20's. She had long, bright blonde hair and milky white skin. "I'm the go-to when it comes to the tactical decisions. I guess I'm the brains of the group."

"Desmond." Said the man we had ridden with as he shook our hands. We had already noticed that he didn't talk much. Desmond was white, of medium height and had long, black hair tied to a bun along with a short stubble. He was also buff and was in his mid 30's. "You'll rarely see me here, since I'm always lookin' for loot and places of interest. I guess you could call me the scavenger."

The last man: a man that we weren't acquainted with stood up. "My name is Charlie." He had dark skin with a slender, lanky complexion and looked like he was in his late teens. "I'm no expert, but I'm the doctor that treats injuries and other complications."

I watched as Lance stood up yet again and walked up to me and Claire.

"You've the day off, but expect orders come tomorrow mornin'." He said. "Food here is free. Don't be picky and don't eat more than you need to."

"I understand." I said as we all stood and gathered on a bonfire and unpacked our bags. Desmond had most of the food in a neat little cooler. He started cooking as I sat and watched.

"How about you tell us about yourselves." Said the girl named Raven.

"Of course." I responded. "I came from a place very far from here. I'm actually not very used to this... style of life."

"You hid in one the bunkers?" She added. "Those had all sorts of dangers of their own."

"Well, not exactly." I corrected Raven as she was still oblivious to my true origin. "I'd rather not talk about my past."

"Alright. I like transparency in this group, but you must have a reason for not wanting to talk about it." Raven shifted her position towards Claire. "What about you, ma'am?"

"Mine's not special. I just... lost a lot of people. Just like everyone else, I guess."

"I'm sorry to hear that, sweetie." Raven sympathized with Claire. Somehow, I could tell how similar they were. I could tell how their pasts weren't much different. It was good that we were already bonding along with the other members of our group. With great time and luck, it will soon become a family.

"Food's warm enough." Said Lance as Desmond cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and took out thin sticks. He proceeded to put the meat on them. He handed us the food as we happily feasted and filled our bellies. Everyone was quiet during this time; the only sounds to be heard were the munching of the food on our mouths. For the first time since I arrived in this world, I felt like it was fun. We were eating just like ordinary people. The cooking, the bonfire and the ambiance reminded me of one time I went camping with my brother.

He was two years younger than me, and his name was Riley. It was me, him, and my mother. The weather and the view was obviously greener and happier. There was a large pond next to our tents that we fished in. I remember the large Koi that he caught as well as the huge smirk on his face. Riley was young and innocent, and I could not begin to fathom what he would do out in a place like this. The small child that I saw when I was abducted certainly didn't help. I miss him so much. It was pure greed and selfishness that lead me to making my idiotic decision. My life was kind of bad, but It was definitely better than anything I will ever see in this godforsaken dystopia.

Right after we ate, we got back to our houses and rested. Tomorrow will be the day we undergo a real task. Risking our lives has never sounded so much... fun.

4/21/16
The day I regained hope.

~

Chapter 9 is over, and I've never done author's notes, so I figured I would go ahead and do them now.

Overall, what do you think of the story so far? What do you want to happen next? Feel free to criticize and be as honest as possible. :)

What do you think about the characters? Who do you like/dislike?

The way it's coming out, I think this story will have 20-25 chapters with 1000+ words each!

Anyways, I've been busy with school, which is kind of why this chapter took so long. Summertime is coming along soon, though, so expect the book to be completed by the beginning of June.