Freerunner

Chapter 11

I opened my eyes to darkness. Something must've woken me. I glanced around my bleak bedroom, listening intently. Sure enough, there was the sound of something drumming gently against the window. The sound increased in volume from a mere trickle to that of the pressurized fire hose. My eyes lit up. I leapt off the end of my bed and stumbled over to the window. I shoved the plastic pane open and stuck my head outside.

Rain.

It had been ages since it last rained. It very rarely did so anymore since the sulphur and ash from the numerous explosions clouded the sky. The constant sun is a gloomy reminder of how desperate everyone is for water. There's never enough.

Right now, I'm looking at about a year's supply of fresh drinking water.

I raced into Alex's room and snatched the blanket off him. He sat up promptly then shivered.

"Cold! Don't tell me it's a rainstorm," he groaned.

I grinned. "Your powers of deduction are successful once again! Rain! Isn't it great?"

He moaned. "Go back to sleep Rosie, it's 0300."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure you don't want to make a waterslide with me?"

He waved his hand dismissively. I threw his blanket at him then dashed back to my room. I found my wrinkled spare uniform and chucked it on, leaving the undershirt I'd slept in in a crumpled heap on the floor. It took me several tries before I was able to properly tie my boots. The black leather was scuffed and the laces were frayed. Familiar marks.

Before I even knew where I was going, I found myself in the adjacent cell to Dante. Normally I'd have no reservations about clambering through the hole in the wall but this time I hesitated. My hand involuntarily reached up and touched my lips. I still couldn't believe that that had happened. It was so strange, so different but it was kind of nice.

"Are you just going to stand there the entire time?"

I whipped around and looked up. A face had popped up through the hole in the wall.

"Oh, hello Gabriel," I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck. "Why are you awake?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

"It's the rain. It's so rare to have it around so the sound of it wakes me up," I replied.

He nodded. We stood there awkwardly for a moment and I wondered whether I should just leave. Gabriel clicked his fingers at me and motioned for me to enter.

Inside, the others were all asleep. I scowled at Ferris. Even in his sleep, he was as elegant as ever. Elijah slept sitting upright, which made me wonder how uncomfortable that must be. I walked over to where Dante was. He slept like a normal person at least. Just seeing him so peaceful made me blush a little.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I turned around and Gabriel signalled for me to come over to the barred window. I walked over quietly and sat on the ledge. He leaned against the adjacent wall.

"Don't worry too much about whispering, we're all pretty heavy sleepers," he said casually. I nodded. I looked over to see him staring out onto the base.

"So you and Dog-catcher are a thing now I hear?" He asked plainly.

I felt my cheeks turn pink again. Covering up my face, I smiled into my hands. "Yeah, I guess so. It's weird though, I've never done anything like this before."

He laughed. "I wouldn't worry too much. Neither has he. He's the youngest out of all of us so most of the females we met went straight to Prince." He glanced in my direction. "You can quit hiding your face; I'm not going to make fun of you. It's Prince you'll want to be careful with. He's been bagging out Dogs ever since he returned yesterday."