The Decay

Chapter Ten

    I wake up and immediately realize Tanner isn't next to me. I jump up feeling panic set in and almost yell his name when I turn around and see him standing there. His back is to me and he's stiff, like he's seen a ghost. I walk around him and there she is, hand in hand with a little boy with big blue eyes and dark hair. He looks almost as serious as her.

"Tanner...." I say quietly, standing by his side. "What's going on?"

"I-" He starts. "I don't know. She hasn't said anything."

    I look at her and back to him. His eyes are strange. I've never seen this look on his face before. It's almost like... awe.

    "Um, hi. My name is Miyonah. I remember you." She stares at me now. I clear my throat. "From last night. Thank you for doing that. I don't know-"

"Not smart." She says suddenly and both me and Tanner jump a little.

"What?"

    "Get your things. We have to move." She starts towards us and walks right by, starting to pick up our things. The boy helps her and brings my bag over to me, drops it at my feet, and keeps going.

    "What the hell?" I say out loud and she whips around to look at me. Her eyes flash and mine go wide. Tossing the other bag at Tanner who catches it, she tells us to follow and we do. What else were we going to do?

. . . .

The girl came back. Who ever she is, she came back and I can't help but remember my dream.

    There's something about her that doesn't seem real. Like she stepped out of a movie. Her hair is wild, her eyes are fierce and she's fit like she's always on the move. Which, I assume she is.

    I feel like an idiot staring at her all the time. She watches me watch her sometimes but doesn't say a thing. I don't think she knows what to make of me. The feeling is mutual.

    Having made our way back through the woods, we're back on the road and heading towards our destination. She leads the way, hand in hand with the boy, with me and Miyonah behind. I don't know why we both followed her but I think there's a silent agreement that we shouldn't question the girl with a sword slung across her back. Especially since we seen what she can do.

    I find myself walking faster to keep up with her and she glances over at me, down at my hands, and stops. Both of us stop as well.

"Where are your weapons?" The girl asks with a puzzled look on her face.

    "In our bags, why?" Miyonah answers for us. The girl looks completely astonished now like we said we're biders ourselves.

    The boy tugs on her hand and she turns her back on us and crouches down in front of him. I can't hear what they're saying but I see them gesturing like it's important. She faces us again.

    "Never put your weapons away. Always have one ready because they can come from anywhere. Gnashers are one thing, but people are even worse."

    We sit and get our weapons out. Miyonah mentions that we haven't ate yet and says we should do that first so we have more energy for the walk. The girl looks proud of this and sits cross legged opposite us. Again, the boy sits quietly beside her. He doesn't say much.

    We take out granola bars and seeing that neither of them move to eat, I offer one to the boy. He looks to the girl who looks at me thankfully and nods her head. He takes it and places his hand to his mouth and then out towards me. The confusion must be displayed clearly on my face.

"He's deaf. He says thank you."

"Oh." Is all I say. It explains his quietness.

    Miyonah is silent again and I don't bother her about it. She's been on and off for a while and I don't know if it'll upset her to pry. It's so awkwardly quiet that it startles me when Miyonah speaks.

"I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" I ask as she stands up.

"I have to pee."

"We'll come with you." Me and the girl say at the same time and Miyonah looks horrified.

"Uh, no. I can pee on my own, thanks."

"It's not safe." I say at the same time the girl says, "Not smart."

    "First of all, you're a boy, Tanner. You're my best friend but you're a boy. And..." She looks at the girl and looks troubled. "I actually don't even know your name. So, yeah. I'll be fine. Back in a sec."

Since when did she get brave enough to go off on her own?

    Miyonah really has been worrying me with her constant change in personality but I let her go. It gets quiet again when she walks into the trees and I continue to watch the girl. What else was I to do? She watches me back with her blank stare and I know she must think I have a problem. I think I have one too.

    She's wearing a black and gray plaid flannel shirt that's torn all the way around so it only reaches halfway down her stomach. Her jean shorts are short and frayed at the edges so that the strings hang down her thighs. Something catches my attention on her left leg and I see a jagged scar running out from under her shorts and down the inside of her thigh. It's slightly raised and lighter than the rest of her.

    "So," I say in an attempt to make conversation and drag my eyes away from her scar. "What is your name?"

    "Is there something wrong with you?" She asks without changing her face and it catches me off guard.

"Why do you ask that?" I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You're staring at me."

"You're staring too."

"Because you've been staring since I've showed up. Why?"

    Because you saved my best friend's life. Because you saved my life. Because you came out of nowhere and chopped a bider's head off with a sword. Because your eyes are too green like they absorbed the pigmentation from the leaves of a maple tree in the summer. Because you're intimidating. Because you're wearing ripped up, dirty clothes that somehow don't look ridiculous on you.

    "You're beautiful." I say and surprise myself while something like fear crosses her face so fast I don't know if it was there at all but then, she's standing.

"Wait, sorry, I-"

Miyonah comes walking back towards us then and the girl starts to walk away with the boy.

    "Let's go." She says and Miyonah looks at me with raised eyebrows. I shrug and she shrugs back, grabbing her bag and walking after them.

"Come on." She says over her shoulder. "We don't want to lose our new bodyguard."

Bodyguard? I think confused. What the hell is going on with all of us?

****Who's POV would you like to see more of? I'd love to know for future reference. Thanks for reading!****