All That I'm Living For ☠️

Nineteen

I was lying on my back looking at the dark sky through a crack in the barn roof. I could hear a light snore coming from Doc as he slept on a pile of hay. Warren and Vasquez were sleeping strangely close to one another, Addy fell asleep holding her bat like a teddy bear and Murphy was still in his stall with Cassandra. I heard the faint sound of footsteps outside. It was 10K's turn to take watch. The past two nights at the barn had been quiet and I didn't expect tonight to be any different. I slowly climbed down from the barn loft and headed outside. The summer night was cool but still warm enough to not need a jacket. My loose gray tank top was enough to keep me warm.

"10K." I whispered, looking around for him.

He turned the corner at the sound of his name.

"Hey." I smiled.

"Hey." He replied simply.

"Anything exciting?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

He shook his head.

"Good." I replied, walking over to the small bottle that caught my eye earlier. I picked it up and just as I expected, it was a full pint of vodka, unopened.

I walked a few feet away from the barn so that I didn't wake anyone from their slumber. 10K followed after me and slung his rifle over his back. I cracked the green top and took a swig, it burned my chest and it caused me to make a sour face. I shook it off and handed the bottle to 10K. He took it from my hand, taking a larger swig and having the same reaction.

We passed the bottle back and forth a few more times and ended up laying in the grass looking up at the sky. The night was full of stars and the moon seemed to be taking up the whole sky.

"How'd you get so good with a rife?" I was curious.

10K shrugged, "I don't know. I guess because after my Pa died, I was on my own. All there was to do was kill Zs. Practice, I assume."

"What happened to your Dad?" I asked.

He took a long swig of the bottle and passed it back to me. "We were fishing, things went south. They were coming from every direction and I had no idea what was going on. My father saved my life but he eventually got injured. He was dying but he made me promise that I wasn't going to let him become on of those things."

I listened as his voice got deeper. The story was sad and planted the imagine of a younger 10K running for his life instead of sniping the Zs in their heads. We were all different now, it would be hard to try and go back to the people we used to be.

"Did you have anyone special in your life before everything went to shit?" He asked.

I could feel the buzz kicking in from the liquor. "Are you asking me if I had a boyfriend?" I laughed.

He laughed with me and nodded his head.

"There was a boy, he was a friend but he wasn't a boyfriend. His name was Brandon. We went to the same high school, hung out with the same people and spent a lot of free time together. I guess I liked him a little bit but it wasn't anything serious. I'm not sure what happened to him since I was in Cheyenne when everything started."  I turned over on my side, to face 10K as I answered.

We heard a noise in the field and 10K sprung up, pointing his rifle in the direction of the sound. I watched him scan the area until his rifle landed on a deer, who was chewing on some grass. I laughed. "Good one." I said as I pushed him back down to the ground.

The vodka was gone, so I lit up a joint of Z-Weed that Doc had rolled me before he had fallen asleep.  I used my hands to block the joint from the wind as 10K lit the end with a match. I inhaled and the cherry of the joint burned a deep amber. I held the smoke in for a few seconds before coming close to 10K's lips, I blew the smoke into his mouth and he inhaled. I giggled at the closeness.

He took the joint from my hands and did the same. This time he pulled me towards him so that I was straddling his lap. My body tingled from the combination of vodka, smoke and 10K's hands on my hips. 10K let the joint fall to the ground as he brought his lips up to mine, closing the distance. His lips were soft as he placed them on mine. I kissed back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and fell into the kiss. 10K's tongue asked for permission and I granted it. The kiss deepened and I could feel his hands trailing up my shirt. The summer breeze blew my hair around as he lifted my shirt over my head. I breathed into him and he turned me over so my back was on the ground and he was on top of me. He trailed kisses down my body and started to undo my pants button. I relaxed into the moment.