After Armageddon (Finished)

Ch 31 - Slow Tears

"No Nina, he's just sleeping, don't worry about him." I said for the hundredth time to Nina who asked about Tad every other minute whilst ridding on my back. Casey carried his corpse bridal style, careful not to move the sheet we had found and wrapped around him. El lead our way back to the camp in single file, none of us wanted to see our four other member's faces when they found what had happened.

I held back tears, everyone I seemed to meet died. It would only be a matter of time until El, Crystal, Casey, Angel, Rachel, Crystal, Cecil, Red, and even Nina all disappeared. Would they be safer if I left them?

I wondered if Red blamed me. If I hadn't showed up to save Nina-or if I hadn't gotten her lost in the first place-his only remaining family would still be his only remaining family. Not just the last to go. I was the sole reason his brother was now dead. If I asked him, Red being Red would say Maxx was at peace because I had helped him escape and avenge his parents. But now who was there to avenge Maxx? No one had even seen who had killed him for sure.

I was shook back into reality as El thrust his arm out in front of me, making me slam into it. He shushed the protests and looked at the ground closely. He knelt down and touched something blocked by the rest of his body and picked it up.

"You guys hungry?" He asked turning his body towards us. I skeptically looked down were he was crouched. There lie a small pile of sphere-shaped animal droppings that steamed in the crisp, cold air.

Now it was my turn to question him, "You have got to be kidding me."

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After teaching Casey and Redd to catch their first rabbit, Nina began to complain.

"You're tired? I'm the one that's carried you this whole time!" I told her. She rolled her eyes at me.

"But I was awake that whole time right?" She said looking like she had won. My jaw hung open.

"Red help me out here." I said turning to him. He looked at tiny Nina and sighed.

"Want me to carry you so you can take a nap?" He asked after a few moments. She smiled and giggled as she ran up to him and jumped into his out stretched arms. A few minutes later we were back and walking again, of course I got stuck with carrying the rabbit they insisted on killing. Nina pretended to be asleep as Red babied her.

A little while later we sighted our camp. There was still a few hours of daylight left. We all stopped as Crystal stood up next to the fire and waved at us happily. Angel and Rachel stood next to her to look for us. Cecil was no were to be seen at my approval.

"Casey, I know you probably want to, but I have to be the one to tell her, okay?" I asked he didn't say anything, but I felt him nodding behind me.

I walked closer to camp and signaled for them to all slow down. In the past few days we had gotten quite good at just knowing what the others wanted.

After finally reaching the exited Crystal and accepting the unusual hug, I pulled her away from the not-as-happy Angel and Rachel. Thankfully, Rachel took the remains of the rabbit away from me.

"While you were gone I actually became pretty good friends with those two. Don't worry, they won't replace you, best friends forever right? They are pretty cool though, and Rachel can put her whole hand in her mouth it's weird. But like cool, ya know?" She said quickly as we walked to the birch tree.

Her arm was out of the cast Casey had made for her. She's really stubborn about being okay sometimes. I sighed deeply and searched for the right words.

"Crystal, I think you saw Nina right? Thought so. Well, another camp had found her and taken her hostage. Like a big camp. Another prisoner there said they had been there since before, so the place has been going on for a while. But to break her out we... We had to break her out. They didn't exactly like us being there and... Well we lost two of our own. Someone we had met there named Maxx, and... And your brother..." As I spoke I felt her begin to hold back tears and finally let them out as I finished.

She shook as she leaned against the birch tree and slid down slowly. In mere moments her whole face was stained with tears. I kneeled down next to her and pulled her into a hug. Slow hot tears leaked from my eyes and into Crystals hair.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so, so, sorry Crystal. I understand if you blame me. I'm so sorry." I repeated through sobs. She shook her head, unable to speak.

By the time our crying had slowed enough to get up, Casey had already begun to dig a wide hole near the edge of the thick forest, a bolder was moved next to it. I helped Crystal up and walked her over to her boyfriend.

"Hey" he said simply as he climbed out of the two foot deep hole. He came over and handed me a rusty shovel that looked like it had been abandoned before people knew what shovels were. I nodded and let him talk to Crystal a few feet away.

Jumping down into the hole, I stabbed viciously at the cold hard ground. The frost of autumn slowly began to turn my sweat and tears into ice. Tossing dirt up into the air and hitting ground became a quick pattern that didn't change. Before I knew it, El and Cecil stood over the now nine foot deep hole in the pitch black. They were nearly twice my height above me. El stared in awe.

"Three hours. This tiny little girl dug a ten foot hole in three hours!" El mumbled, his jaw hanging open. I looked back at them dully. Crystal, Casey and Red soon appeared, quickly followed by Rachel and Angel. I looked around for Nina frantically. I landed on Crystal giving her a look.

"She's sleeping in your tent. But what I'm wondering is how I get no credit. I worked on this thing for just as long as you." Casey complained.

"So you guys did an equal time of work?" El said looking between Casey and I. Cecil looked skeptically between us and laughed before convincing everyone the foot he dug, and the eight I had dug were swapped. Pretty easy to believe right? Thankfully, Crystal looked down and gave me the look that assured me I had at least one person on my side. But said nothing. 

"Yeah! I worked on it for maybe even longer too!" Casey said proudly after Cecil's speach. I rolled my eyes and tossed the shovel up to Crystal, who-of course-caught it perfectly and plunged it into the ground behind her.

El leaned down and stuck out his arms to me. I grabbed his hands and held tight. He mumbled a countdown from three, and pulled up hard on one. I flew through the air and landed on my back, the icy grass scraping against my cheek. Now, along with the various people's blood, dirt and freezing ice caked my face and body.

"Let's get some food." I said pushing myself up and walking towards were we had been keeping the supplies. We planned the improv funeral for the very next morning.