Flooding Aldham (A Dystopian Short Story)

Chapter 4

I groaned as I turned my head. I felt so stiff; like I'd been thrown into a fridge.

"Easy there." My eyes snapped open in shock and I sprung off the bed, prepared to claw my way to freedom. Instead I found myself face to face with a set of soft, bronze eyes, a tousled mop of chestnut hair and a lopsided grin.

"Jeez, Robyn. There's no need to attack me!"

"How do you know my name?" I eyed him in suspicion. He smirked at me and an awkward wave of heat spread through my cheeks.

"Because, Birdie, you are my roommate." He lightly tapped my cheek with a cocky grin. My flustered face flushed from a light raspberry to a tomato red.

"You're awake." A tight-lipped girl leaned on the door, eying me from under her thick fringe. "And I see that you've met my idiot brother, Vesta."

"Thank you, Hestia dearest. How would you to introduce our beautiful guest to Ashfort?"

Hestia snorted as he threw his hands in the air, gesturing extravagantly before turning to face me again.

"So, Ashfort is a camp run by the Pures. It's for the people who survived a snaggler attack." My brow furrowed in confusion.

"You felt the injection in your neck?" I nodded. "It's a virus. One in five people are immune. We can't go home, otherwise we'd spread it, so we have to wait for an immunisation."

I chewed my lip as I thought of Cat. Noticing my crestfallen expression, Vesta gazed at me in honest concern.

"What's wrong?"

"My little sister escaped. She doesn't know what's happened." Despite trying to suppress my despair, a single tear rolled down my cheek. He brushed it away thumb, a warm hint of vanilla whisked away my worries as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I was snapped out of my trance as a bell echoed down the hall. Looking over Vesta's broad shoulders, Hestia was glaring at me.

"Dinner time." Without a second glance, she stormed out. Why did she look so angry? Had I done something wrong?

Ok, I was thinking about ship names but Rosta and Vebyn sound so weird.

Any better suggestions?

Who do you guys think Vesta would look like in real life?

Read, Write, Imagine, Explore

Mavy-liz