The Silence (GxG)

Chapter 4 - The Truth

▂▃▅▇█▓▒░ Grace ░

I awoke with a loud groan to the bright beam of light breaking through the curtains of the abandoned house. The daylight blurred my vision as I blindly searched the arm of the sofa for my glasses, failing to find them.

"Where the fu-"

"Looking for these?" I heard Kenzi laugh from across the room.

"Yeah, can I have them? My head is already splitting"

She handed me the tinted spectacles and sat on the sofa opposite me, staring as I placed them over my eyes.

"I get crippling headaches if I dont wear them. I'm sensitive to the light" I explained with a sigh before standing to stretch my stiff limbs.

I was ready for a list of questions about my aversion to light, like everyone else has done upon finding out. However, to my surprise she simply smiled before copying my actions and encasing her slender frame in the heavily altered coat that she wears.

"Sleep well?" I asked her, taking in the flush of her face this early in the morning.

"Surprisingly, yeah. The bed actually wasnt half bad... or mite infested which is always a bonus" She chuckled.

"Good! Glad it was better than the piece of shit sofa that I slept on" I joked in response.

We laughed for a minute before an awkward silence fell over us again and her face scrunched into an unreadable expression.

"We should get heading soon... The quicker we get to The Zoo the quicker you can head back".

My face fell a little bit at the statement and although I know she's right, I did my best to cover my disappointment by gently clearing my throat. I nodded a curt 'okay' and gathered my stuff together without another word.
I can't help but feel a little taken back by her eagerness to part ways, especially since I dont even know why I want this trip to last a little longer. Consequences be damned... but evidently she's still having issues with me in the trust department. I wonder what The Compound did that was so damaging to her trust in us.

We set out and began walking down the short and desolate street towards the bridge, keeping a wary eye on our surroundings.

"Blink, something's off..." Kenzi whispered before stopping in her tracks and placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

We ducked behind a bush to better conceal our bodies and surveyed the end of the street. She's right, something's definitely different.

"That car wasn't here last night"

"Yeah, and I don't hear the infected groaning from the bridge like they did..." I replied now just as on edge as her.

I took in the clean appearance of the black Ford pick up and noted that it can't have arrived in the past half an hour or we would've heard it rolling past the house. It definitely belongs to someone who's taken good care of it over the years though.

"We'll wait for 10. If we still don't hear anything, I vote we check it out" I whispered whilst clicking a fresh clip of ammo into my suppressed rifle, just in case.

We waited longer than agreed, to be on the safe side, noting nothing but the presence of a strange burning smell lingering in the air that wasn't here yesterday. With no sign of anyone in the area we decided to cautiously approach.

"Miller, look..." I said in shock as we reached the truck and pointed towards the bridge.

She followed my finger, the expression on her face turning from one of caution to shock, just as mine had done moments before.