Irradiated

Chapter 4: Long Road

I woke up soundly, for what felt like the first time in days. Since I had been appointed as a Dodger, I hadn't really gotten good sleep, but when I awoke, it was night.

Angeli was lying on her back, still asleep. I watched her chest rise and fall as she took soft breaths.

"Good." I thought. She was still asleep. I crawled over to the open flap of the tent and peered out into the clearing.

Derrick stood there, staring out at the trees. An eerie feeling creeped up my spine. This wasn't normal, even for him.

I stood up slowly and started walking towards him. The trees around us creaked and moaned as if in pain. A breeze played around with my hair and whistled through my ears, taunting me.

I reached out to Derrick as I approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a low voice.

He looked at me over his shoulder and answered simply, "Keeping watch over the camp. We take turns during the night too, not just during the day. It's my turn."

"I can go next. I'm not really sleepy anymore, so I can keep watch for a while." He nodded and went back to looking around the camp.

"Is it always this quiet?" Listening closely, I couldn't hear much. The only exception was the soft winds that tussled the branches and leaves.

"Usually, but last night was hectic." He responded. His arms were crossed while he stood straight.

"About that, how are Henrietta and William doing?"

"They recovered quickly. William's internal bleeding has stopped and Henrietta's arm is back to its original position."

"That's good."

"Indeed." I still wasn't used to the British in Derrick's voice. His certain type of dialect seemed to be Welsh, but it was hard for me to remember the different accents that Great Britain held.

"Derrick, is your family from the Rich?" He stiffened.

I watched closely as he hesitated to answer, "Yes. They are."

"That explains a lot, since the Rich live in the United Kingdom."

"I suppose so." Talking with Derrick wasn't creating the most interesting conversation ever, but he was probably the only person awake, other than myself.

"What are we going to do? With Trevor out there, we've gotta do something, right?"

"What do you mean, we? You're not going to be doing anything. You will stay here, like I told you to." He sternly snapped, throwing me off track for a moment before becoming slightly angry with him.

"I'm not a pet you can order around. I've got the freedom to do what I think is right."

Derrick scoffed. "That was before this place went to Hell."

"I don't care. Hell or not, I'm doing what I want."

Derrick turned to face me. I looked at the place where his eyes would've been and faced him too. "You're quite the determined guy, aren't you?"

I nodded persistently. "Always was, am now, and always will be."

"Then tell you what. If you go back to get some more rest, we can head out tomorrow morning to take a look around."

"Can I ask why you're treating me like a kid?"

He chuckled. "Force of habit. Get some rest, please?" I shrugged and went back towards my tent.