The Rain (Book 2 - The Constant Fight)

Chapter 32 - Les vieux amis et de nouveaux amis

The cafeteria was almost empty. Dinner had been served and the only people left were the ones cleaning up.

"What happened to you?" Jane asked Alex, one of her hands were entwined with Drew's and the other tapped nervously on the table.

He looked so different. His dark hair had been cut into sharp spikes. His facial features were much more defined. His jaw was sharper and his cheek bones were obvious. His eyes, however, were dull and empty, lifeless. His hands were bony, his knuckles protruding. His hair seemed darker and his skin paler. He looked older, handsome.

He scoffed at her question and looked away. "What didn't?" He asked, his voice hollow. He looked back at Jane and sighed at her face. She was waiting for an answer and he felt the need to give her one. "We didn't make it very far." He started, keeping his eyes firmly planted on hers.

"What do you mean?" She asked, shaking her head and furrowing her brows. He sighed and ran a hand through his sharp hair.

He bit his lip and tried to form the words in his head. "A few of our cars broke down, that was the first thing that sent people into a panic." His eyes glazed over at the memory, how chaotic it was. Everyone was standing in the street, screaming at each other, crying into their family's arms. "My mum and I stayed in our car while my sister went to find her friend." He shook his head and looked down at his hands. "I shouldn't have let her go." His voice wobbled and Jane could see his eyes glistening.

Ross knew what was coming. When they first noticed Alex, they asked what happened to him but he didn't answer. Drew told him that Courtney had died and Nate was MIA.

"We didn't even notice the sky." He scolded himself for being so careless. "We didn't realise until it was too late." He sniffled as tears ran down his cheek. His eyes hopeless and sad. "We watched as she burned. She...." He let out a muffled sob and coughed to clear his throat. "She looked at me, begging for my help but...I just sat there," He hissed with so much hatred towards himself. "I sat there and watched her burn." He lifted his head, his eyes boring into Jane's, both pairs welling with tears.

She swallowed and Drew asked the question that she feared to ask herself.

"What about your mum?" He asked anxiously, squeezing Jane's hand for reassurance.

He sniffed and wiped his cheeks. "Almost everyone died but the ones who survived went their own way. The people we were riding with took one of the other cars and my mum and I drove down South." He looked at the table, implying that they drove in this direction. That would explain how he got here.

"We were attacked by dogs a few weeks later." He scoffed at his next words. "Somehow we survived through winter, God knows how." He shook his head and rubbed his creased forehead. "She was never the same after that, neither was I. We rarely talked, we just kept moving." He clenched his jaw at the memory of his mother.

"A dog took a chunk out of her leg and I couldn't help her. I couldn't save her." His teeth ground together and his eyelids became heavy. "I tried to fix up her would. I tried burning it like Courtney did with you." His eyes connected with Drew and a heavy weight dropped on everyone at the table at the mention of the loss of their leader. "It didn't work." He whispered mournfully. "She died four days later." He dropped his head into his hands and let a few more tears fall before wiping them away.

"I'm so sorry," Jane whispered solemnly. He nodded, accepting her respects. He lifted his head and wiped his face clean.

"I'm sorry about Courtney." He offered, looking around the table at everyone who was affected by her loss. "It's funny," He scoffed sadly and looked up at Jane. "Out of everyone, I thought she'd be the last to die, not one of the first." He shook his head in disbelief. "Hard to believe that I'll never see her again." He muttered to himself.