Princess felt trapped. Like she couldn't breathe.
Like she was drowning
If she ran from her barrack she would most likely be shot or killed so it was in her best interest to stay. But sitting in her bunk surrounded by people who hated her, and feared her, isn't where she wanted to be.
Lola was hated by very few people, and she always took it for granted. Lola never knew what it felt like to walk into a room and not be immediately greeted and smiled at. But Princess did. Lola never knew what it felt like to be alone in a room full of people. But Princess did.
They had to report to P&D soon and Princess still had no idea what it was. They were supposed to go a couple days ago but they shut down the hangar because squad 19s squad leader had to be dealt with, something to do with anger issues. At least that's what they heard from Vosch during lunch as he patrolled with another soldier.
It was mostly quiet except for showered chatter among Tank, Flintstone, and Oompa. The regular bell echoed throughout the barrack. It stunned everyone because they never heard it inside, when it rang they were always outside finishing their morning training, longing to hear the bell signifying lunch.
Everyone noticed how silent it was but nobody did anything. It was like the first day of school jitters all over again, you want to make friends but you don't want to be the one to initiate it and possibly embarrass yourself. It was exactly like that except most of planet earth is dead and there are alien lifeforms among us.
Walking into the cafeteria was even more stressful now after Princess's little "show". Everyone was watching it play out and no moment was personal, not even the one with Zombie. If all these kids had been in a school setting instead of the base it may have been different. Maybe they would have noticed that someone would be uncomfortable with 100+ pairs of eyes on them and let them off easy. Maybe they would have something better to do like eat or talk to their friends. But all that mattered now was survival, and anything to distract someone from that constant need used all their attention.
Squad 53 made their way to their assigned table, all very aware of the staring, and sat in their seats. Their food was already at their seats, sub par food per usual, but food all the same.
Zombie took his normal seat at the end of the table next to Princess and across from Nugget.
There was a deafening silence among squad 53 yet again, nobody wanted to break it. All of the kids were strong enough to survive in their alien infested world, but not speak up during a simple lunch. The rest of lunch was eaten in silence.
Princess could see Vosch patrolling the lunchroom per usual and avoided all eye contact. But when it came down to it Vosch had no idea what to say to her. She did was she was supposed to do, and what Zombie did had pissed him off, but he was impressed with her. Not many kids after a while of being here would push themselves that far, or even think of it.
After their usual silent lunch they headed towards the P&D hangar. Princess and Nugget still had no idea what it was, it was clear everyone else did because they changed the topic every time it was brought up. Princess prepared herself for the worst, but "the worst" was a mellow way to describe what she saw in the hangar.
It not only smelled of death in the hangar but that's all you could see. It almost didn't seem real, the bodies upon bodies of people who had lives and people who cared about them. Princess quickly learned how it all worked and started immediately in hopes of distracting herself from the dead all around her. Step one: carry the body to a table. Step two: process it (remove any valuables from the body). Step three: burn the bodies.
Princess and Nugget given the easiest task, to carry the bodies to the table from the pile. It didn't require rummaging through their pockets or carting them into a fire. Princess never thought she would have to tell a 5 year old to grab the legs of a dead man in her entire life, but she did. It didn't seem real. Nobody in their right mind would have ever thought that they would be handling dead bodies as children.
Princess carried a particularly interesting woman to the table where Dumbo and Oompa were. She was older than Princess, maybe in her mid twenties. She was in casual attire and had her hair up lazily. What struck her the most was the wedding ring on her finger. It was impossible to focus knowing that the woman had someone who loved her, but they never got to live their lives out together. The person she married could be alive looking for her, or dead, losing a partner as well.
Princess knew it wasn't her job, or really allowed to do the following at all but she did it anyway. She slipped the wedding ring off the woman's finger as she set it on the table. She tucked it away in her pant pocket and proceeded with her job. The presence of the ring in her pocket made her feel human. She couldn't help but feel giddy inside, she had a wedding ring in her possession, the same kind of ring normal people gave to someone they love. It grounded her, knowing she was still holding onto something normal.
She thought she was slick, slipping the ring into her pocket, and thought nobody noticed. She was partially right. Nobody saw. But Zombie.
1070 words
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I have a lot to say again so here we go.
-I'm so bad at endings to chapters help
-I'm so conflicted god dammit all I want is for Princess and Zombie to be cutesy together but I have stuff I also want to happen before that
-I highly doubt I will write another chapter before I leave for 2 weeks on Sunday so this is the last update for a while
-Thank you to those who helped me choose a new cover
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Princess; b.parish (EDITING)
FanfictionIt's hopeless. And it's stupid. It's suicidal. But love is a weapon they have no answer for. They know how you think, but they can't know what you feel. 4th in "The 5th wave" 9th in "Ben Parish"
