BloodBorne

Strawberry Jam

I washed up gentle to remove every bit of dirt with care. The light from the candle flickered in the mirror. I lifted my head to peer at myself. My hair was disheveled and the clothes .. his clothes hung loose on my tiny frame. I looked god-awful  , I leaned in closer to inspect my face little bits of acne along my hairline and bright red cheeks. What was I doing? Why should I care if I resemble anything close to female? I shook my head and pulled my hair back thoughtfully weaving it into a long braid down my back. It'd keep the hair from my face and prevent matting . I took one last look in the mirror and pointed at the scraggly girl staring back at me

Strictly for the greater good.

I smirked back and pulled the door open.

When I closed the door behind me I made my way back to the living area only to find Asher passed out on the couch. So, I made my way to where he had said the bedroom was and quietly entered closing the door behind me. I held the candle and gently placed it down beside the bed on the nightstand to my right. I pulled the blankets back and crawled in snuggling up against the wall with the pillows and blankets surrounding me. It somehow made me feel safe. The room being filled with candle light and the security of being surrounded eased my nerves some . Up until the groans made their way to my ears, I jumped up running to the living area and grabbed the mp3 plugging my ears shut and cranking it up as far as it would go. I got back under the covers and surrounded myself once more , only this time the soothing voice of Hinder's lips of an angel caressed my ears and lulled me to sleep.

I awoke the next morning to the smell of something delicious but I couldn't place what it was. I removed the covers from my body and swung my legs over the side of the bed . My bare feet were greeted by the stone cold flooring beneath them and goosebumps etched across my skin , I opted to bring the blanket with me. I quietly opened the door and closed it behind me gently padding over to the kitchenette area where Asher had his back turned to me.   He was cooking eggs and what looked like crepes. But I hadn't seen or heard any chickens when I came in? He must've had them in the barn along with the cows. A board creaked under my weight and he whipped around quickly before relaxing once his eyes landed on me. He smiled warmly and eyed me .

"Hungry?"

I nodded quickly my stomach gurgling in agreement.
He smirked and finished cooking before placing a plate on the bar counter for me.

"I have strawberry jam and some maple syrup , would you like either or both?"

I thought for a second before responding

"Strawberry please"

He smiled

"Good choice, now eat I'll be right back"

I nodded spooning the gooey strawberry preserves onto my crepes and forking them into my mouth. The strawberries melted in my mouth causing me to let out a satisfied moan I hadn't realized escaped my lips. God I forgot what real food tasted like .
I cleared my plate by the time he got back startling me with a chuckle as I licked the jam from my fingers.

" you keep on like that and I might have to make strawberry jam a part of every meal"

My face lit up like a fire hydrant,  I was so unbelievably embarrassed.

" I uh I um.. sorry"

He just chuckled even more now

" no worries I was only joking"

A sad pang shot through my chest , not at the fact that he was joking but at the fact that there probably wasn't very much strawberry jam.
My face must've been scrunched up from how he reacted next. He came over and gently lifted my chin to see my eyes.

"Hey hey please don't be upset I didn't mean it "

I looked away avoiding his eyes and shaking my head .

"No you're alright, great even , thank you for everything "

He backed away slightly to eye me up and make sure I was actually okay and seeming pleased by my act, let out a long sigh raking his fingers through his hair.

"Alright well , I brought you some jeans and a T-shirt that used to be my sister's "

I faltered for a moment

"Used to be?"

He looked away his eyes hazey

"She's dead"

I immediately regretted asking, I didn't know what to say so I said nothing just rested my hand on his arm and looked at him sympathetically. We had all lost someone whether it was before all hell broke loose or afterwards.
He broke the silence rubbing the back of his neck.

"Anyways.. what brings you all the way out here ?"

I straightened up immediately

" I need people and resources, I want to turn the laboratory into a camp, build up a wall around the property and build up the human population.  It'll take time but we've got plenty of it I believe considering there seems to be no negative side effects on those who are immune . The lab is completely self-sufficient and the property is large and surrounded by electric fencing , it's very high security for obvious reasons. But yes, I'm searching for good people to populate it, and I think you should join me .. and bring your livestock of course."

He nodded his head thinking for a while.

" okay.. we'll have to build up a barn and coop for them before bringing them there by trailer , it'll probably take two trips unless we have two trailers to transport at the same time but then there's the problem of the infected being drawn to the noise of the trailer's engines and the livestock. We would need a solid plan before anything could happen"

I nodded

"I completely agree, we will draft up plans for everything before acting on it, but I do think we should find others before doing so , since there's nowhere to house the livestock yet and though there is an electric fence up, I don't trust only having that, I want to have a wall in place first to drown out noise and prevent a huge group of the dead from pouring through and toppling the fence down."

He nods without hesitation

"Yes absolutely"

I smiled at him

"Well, looks like we've got some people to round up then, we'll start tomorrow morning."

He smirked at me happily

"Yes ma'am "