Vim

Chapter 11

We sit with crossed legs around the fire. I pass the Twinkies around. We each have one, and save the last pack for later.

Anse sets a bucket of stream water by the bonfire to boil. When Levi and Anse think it is boiled enough, Levi will add bleach to the water, making the water safe to drink.

My stomach feels hollow but the Twinkie tastes delicious on my tongue. I quickly take another bite. The sky is pitch black now - darker than I'm used to - and the sun is out of sight. There is no moon, and no stars, and the awful heat of the day has faded into a biting cold. I shiver and lean closer to the bonfire.

While the guys devour their Twinkies, I look at their faces illuminated by the firelight. Levi looks a little like Anse with the same nose and lips, but Anse's jaw is more rigid. Anse has more pronounced cheek bones, though Levi's are apparent also. Levi has round, light blue eyes that contrast Anse's almond brown eyes. The more I look though, the more similar they are. Both eyes have little gold flecks in them, and the skin around them crinkles the same way when they smile. Levi suddenly meets my eyes and gestures to me with his Twinkie. "Skye, you go first."

"First what?" I ask, taking the bait.

"Well, you're a stranger to us, we're a stranger to you, and we should all get to know each other," Levi pops the last bit of Twinkie into his mouth, "since we're a group now."

I smile. "Alright, I'll start." My smile slips from my face and subsides into a serious expression. "What do you want to know?" I ask.

Anse answers before Levi can. "Where were you when the disaster happened?"

I pause and take a breath, the sour memories of Locke and obnoxious North Side accents filling my mind. I shrug.

"Well, I was meeting someone at a local coffeehouse," I start.

"It was a small thing with just me and this guy for his birthday," I continue, "and after, we were gonna go to a party, but he stood me up at the coffeehouse thing..."

"What was this guy's name?" Anse asks.

I pause. "Locke," I answer, choking on my once favorite word.

That's it. I can't do the truth right now. I can't cry.

"My best friend met me at the coffeehouse instead, and we walked home together. She left to get something, and while I was waiting for her to come back, the wind picked up and the water by the beach surged..."

I pause, glancing at my audience. "I grabbed my sleepover bag that I had prepared the night before and waited for her to come back, but Cami wasn't-"

"Cami?" Levi interrupts, his eyes wide.

I jump at his sudden words. "Yes-"

"How do you know Cami?" he demands.

I take a breath. "She's my best friend," I answer. Anse takes me in his arms as if warning Levi that I'm fragile. "She was walking home from the coffeehouse with me."

I can't quite place the look in Levi's eyes. "Where is she?" he asks quietly.

"I don't know. I was looking for her, but then I heard screaming on the beach and-"

The enthusiasm is gone from his eyes before I finish. He doesn't speak.

"Who was she to you?" I ask carefully.

Levi looks down at his hands. His eyes harbor a deep, complete sadness. "Anse and I came down here because I thought she might be here." Levi turns to me and looks me in the eyes. "Cami and I have been going out for a few weeks, but I don't think she told anyone because she was concerned for some friend and she didn't want our relationship to complicate her feelings." Levi smiles for a moment. "The first time we met, she wiped me out in poker."

"Wait, you gambled with her?" I ask incredulously.

Levi just nods, his smile is gone.

I wait a moment, imagining Levi and Cami together and then laugh.

"That's so sweet," I finally say.

He nods. There is silence for a moment. Anse's arms are still wrapped around me.

Levi finally speaks, the question slowly rolling off his lips. "Did Cami-?"

Anse squeezes my shoulders as he feels my body cringe, my mind momentarily tormented by the thought of Cami's death. I slowly nod. "Yeah, Cami lived through this mess," I answer. "She's a survivor. She got through this disaster, it's just a matter of when we can find her. And eventually, we will." I nod at the end as if to punctuate my statement. I can feel Cami's presence in the world - it's the hope, happiness, and confidence Cami embodies that still swirls in the air.

Is Locke dead? The pain is too much to bear. Anse's chest rises and falls as he breathes. The motion and closeness are comforting.

I know I lied to Anse. I lied to Levi.

"Hey, you two need to tell me your stories tomorrow," I say. "I'm done for the day."

Anse smiles. "Really? You can't waste one more second of beauty sleep to hear the stories of our unimportant lives?"

I laugh. Guilt creeps through my skin.

I lay down on a blanket Levi salvaged from my house. The cold, hard ground underneath puts goosebumps on my skin. Levi and Anse have similar beds set up around the bonfire.

"Goodnight Anse, Levi."

I lay awake for hours. As the fire dies, Anse's soft sleeping breaths make a rhythm for time. Besides his breathing, the night is silent and the air is freezing. I pull my blanket tighter around me as an icy wind makes my teeth chatter. From our bonfire, a clear line of smoke rises up to the sky.

Silently, I see Levi sit up. Levi looks around, and his eyes focus on the fire.

He quietly scoops up a handful of dirt from the dead lawn.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

Levi jumps at my voice and puts a finger to his lips. He points to Anse, soundly sleeping.

"What are you doing?" I repeat more quietly.

Levi sighs silently and points to the sky and the smoke rising up from the bonfire. "I know it's warm," he whispers, "but this bonfire is sure to give us away- maybe it already has."

I furrow my brow. "We're hiding?" I ask, "Who is there to hide from?"

Levi comes beside me and leans close to whisper in my ear. His voice is ragged. "You have to promise not to tell Anse," Levi whispers. I nod.

He sighs. "I have seen people out there." Levi breathes. His blue eyes glint in the firelight. "Humanity is crumbling, Skye - faster than I could have imagined. Of those of us who are left, only the ruthless will survive. It's better for us and them if we don't meet."

I am silent. Levi throws the dirt onto the fire, and with a sputter, the warmth is gone, but the threat still lingers like smoke in the air.

*I'm trying to post longer chapters, usually I post scene by scene. Scene segments work better with my writing style, but I can manage a few long chapters ;P