The Survivors Trilogy

BOOK ONE || CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kyle is the first person to walk up to me as I enter the house. He wraps his arms around my shoulders, completely crushing me in a bear hug. He was sitting at the round table at the center of the room, absentmindedly picking food from one of the wooden bowls.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Xander?" He lifts himself up from me, grabbing hold of my shoulders tightly. "Why did you run away?"

"You know why, Kyle," I whisper, looking down at the ground.

He nods slowly, still looking at the floor. "Come on." Kyle guides Vicky and me over to the table. The only other people in the room are Sera and Cassia, looking healthier than before.

Cassia rushes up to me, quickly wrapping her small arms around my waist. I smile down at her and pat her back softly.

"Are you okay now, Xander?" Cassia asks quietly. "H-he looked like he really hurt you."

Oh, no. She must have seen him punch me.

"I am," I say, half-meaning it. "Thank you, Cassia."

She releases me slowly and smiles.

Sera stands up, pressing her hand to my shoulder, giving me a kind smile. I smile back. She takes Cassia's hand and walks out of the main room.

Vicky and I both sit down slowly, Kyle in front of both of us. I bring my chair closer to the table, the sound echoing around the room loudly.

"Here." Kyle pushes his bowl half full of food in front of me. "You must be hungry."

"I'm just going to go to my room," Vicky says, pushing herself up from the table. Kyle nods, saying goodnight to her before she lifts herself off the table.

I want to stop her, to tell her to stay, but, instead, I just watch her leave, giving her a smile when she turns around to look at me over her shoulder.

I slowly pick up a berry from the pile, ripping the smallest speck from it you possibly could think, then I swallow. I can feel it glide down my throat, making me hack uncontrollably.

Kyle asks if I'm okay, and I just nod my head, keeping a frown plastered on my face.

"Do you... feel like telling me what happened?" Kyle's voice sounds lighter and softer than normal, less deep... more caring. This is the same type of voice he uses whenever I used to speak with him—when he used to tell me everything will be okay; back when I was little.

I shake my head; I don't feel like speaking at all today. I don't like answering questions when they only involve me.And I'm sure everyone thinks that the whole thing was my fault. I certainly do, anyway.

"Where is he?" I ask, despite not wanting to speak.

Kyle knows exactly who I'm talking about; I can see it on his face—the little twitch from the corner of his mouth. "He is still out." He cranes his neck to look out of the front door. "But if I were you, I would go to your room before he comes back. You don't know what he could do to you."

I roll my eyes, shaking my head quickly. "I can't act as if I'm afraid of him, Kyle—because I'm not."

Kyle closes his eyes, a small grin twitching behind his thin beard. "I know, Xander, I know, but you never know what he could do to you. Maybe try and talk to him. Maybe you can end up finding a good side of him," he repeats, sounding firmer this time.

Kyle's right; Joel could do anything to me. He may even be plotting out a plan to attack me as we speak, but the "good side" part of him. Never.

I grip the edges of the table firmly in my hands, turning my knuckles white. I ignore the pain. "Well, what do you expect us to do, Kyle? Get along? Skip around outside? Braid each other's hair?" I stand up, my chair grating against the floor loudly. "We are never going to get along, Kyle. Never." I push myself from the table, stomping my way to my room, slamming the door shut behind me, the old wood rattling against the frame.