In the Bleak Half-Moonlight

Looking around the campfire, I realised how happy I was here. And that, in itself, was a weird thing. I never thought I’d say I was happy the apocalypse had happened, but I guess we all had weird days.

Weirdly enough, I was happy everything that had led me to be lying by this campfire had happened, but in a sort of respectful way; my parents dying, my rescue team becoming lost in the woods, being attacked by every force Michael had on hand.

The apocalypse was not like what pop culture thought it would be like. Zombies were not bloodied, mangled things that murmured ‘brains’ and the world was not over-run with them. Angels were the cause of it all, and it was the angels that overran the world, but they left us alone most days. Unless we in their way.

I flicked my fingers across the curve of my knife, aware of Ray behind me. It wasn’t my watch, but I was up, though not enough that I could take over from Ray. My stomach growled and I turned over to look up at the stars. There were more of them now than before Lucifer declared war, I was sure. Many more. As though the sky was a single diamond, and not littered sparsely with glitter.

I smiled to myself.

“What you smiling at, Rook?” Ray asked half-heartedly.

“Chance,” I replied. Ray stroked my head and smiled. He was a big man, but compassionate. His hand stayed on my head for a while, and for that while I felt safe.

“What chance?” Gilroy whispered across the campfire. “We all know who started this and that he doesn’t regret it and that-”

“We get the picture, Gilroy.” Ray protested, raising his hand from my head to silence him.

“Do you? Ray, we have no real idea where we are going. We’re becoming savages, animals.” Gilroy was a spoilt, thin man with golden hair and white skin that offset his green eyes. He tried to keep himself clean and immaculate, but with much difficulty. He had lived with a rich family before the apocalypse, and wasn’t accustomed to the rough living the apocalypse had forced on him.

“At least we haven’t lost our humanity,” Ray raised his voice, but refused to stand to silence Gilroy.

“Sometimes I doubt that, Ray.”

“Will you both be quiet,” I commanded quietly. The moment they both turned to look at me, I became painfully aware of Ray’s enormity and Gilroy’s cutlass and shotgun always strapped to his hips. I decided to rephrase, “If you keep shouting, you’ll wake Prim.” I pointed to my side, where my sister lay in light sleep, wrapped in blankets. Gilroy sat down again and was silent. Hodges woke from her corner and pulled her black mess of hair over her head to reveal stern, glowering eyes.

“There’s more than Snowflake trying to sleep here. May I remind you Gilroy, I saved your pretty ass today. I deserve at least sleep for that, Gilroy. Sometimes I wonder why I ever brought you alone. Should have left you to die in your own mansion. At least the girls do something to help-”

“Anna darling, we promise to keep it down,” Ray said, looking like a kitten as he tried to please his wife.

Hodges got up in her sleeping bag and sat next to Ray, leaning her dark head against his tattooed arm. Ray reached down and kissed the top of her head before returning to staring into oblivion.

Gilroy, now awake, but refusing to admit it, lay back down and huffed to himself.

We were a small pack by standards; other packs had whole biological families. But our pack was a family where everyone was useful and could fend for themselves, even Gilroy, despite Hodges’ insults. Together, the five of us travelled like nomads, scouring the land for a place to stay. We had found places, but sometime we were driven out by the angel raids. Now, though, we were moving because Prim was sick. We had heard a story about people who could heal her, and seeing no other option, we headed in their direction.