Zero

Chapter 41

I super, super apologize for the ridiculous and unacceptable wait time for this chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! I plan to update again in a few hours so you'll have chapter 42 tonight too! 

Chapter 41

"You should go ahead," I tell Atlas. It's bothering him that we're moving so slow. It's bothering me too, but one of should hang back with Bryan and I'm less likely to murder him. Atlas looks at me, unsure. "Seriously. The girls are probably starving and Hunter is likely in serious need of a break from them. We won't be more than an hour or so behind."

And I don't really want to have to be the one to tell them that we lost most the food, either. I'll give Atlas that honor this time.

"An hour, Zee." He says lacking any smile or much emotion. He's exhausted. Disappointed. Hungry. He has so much to grieve... Birdie, Braces... everything before now. But of course, there's no time to process. It just chips away. His smile is less bright, his eyes lack the sparkle.

I don't know how to fix it, how to make this better. So I take his hand in mine and squeeze, remembering how Hunter's done the same for me. Atlas smiles, but doesn't say anything else. I want to comment on it, but bite my tongue. It's not the time. Not now.

So, I nod. "We'll rest for fifteen and then be on our way. I doubt it'll even be a full hour." Atlas sighs and eyes Bryan with the same suspicion he's had since they met. "He saved my life back there, I think I'll be ok to walk a few miles with him."

Finally my friend acquiesces, giving a firm nod of his head. He unzips the only bag we have, the one he had to take from Bryan half an hour ago when he was too out of breath to handle the extra weight, and hands me a bottle of water. Reminding me again not to get too far behind, he turns and hikes quickly ahead of us. I walk a few paces back to where Bryan is shuffling along.

"Let's take a break, huh?"

We're still in town and there isn't anywhere to take a break safely out in the open, so I lead the way to a storefront and we go inside. The hardware store is one of those family owned types, but it's been completely picked through. A few errant hammers or handsaws and shovels are scattered around, but we have means of protecting ourselves, so there isn't much of use. I had kind of hoped there'd be a vending machine we could break into.

Bryan sits on the bench and I consider sitting next to him, but stop short, not wanting to be that close. I can't figure Bryan out. I don't particularly like him, but he says we were close friends. Maybe he's changed. I'm sure I have.

"Your friend really hates me," he says wanting to talk. Always wanting to talk about something. But it's different than with Hunter or even Squirrel. They're okay with me not responding much. Bryan wants more than that. I think he just wants to talk to the girl he used to know. I bet she could carry a conversation. But that's not me anymore and I wish he would just let the silence between us exist.

"He just doesn't trust you," I correct gently.

He's quiet for a long minute. "I'm sorry." I shrug because I'm not really sure what he's referring too, but I don't think it really matters either. "I never really left the walls at Safe Haven. I didn't think before I shot."

"We survived," I say because I can't tell him that it's okay when it's not.

"I've never seen that many – the ones that were trying to get in..."

He keeps talking, rambling on about his fears and being outside of the town, but I stop listening. At this point, I think he's really talking to himself anyway, fulfilling some need to fill the silence. I don't waste the breath to tell them that of course there will be hordes like that, especially in the towns. We've gotten pretty good at avoiding them, but it's not a safe world. He'll have to come to terms with that on his own.