Lie in Ruin

Chapter Three

Optic's eyes cracked open slowly, and darkness like the backs of her eyelids greeted her. She yawned quietly and nuzzled her pillow, hugging it. She didn't want to get up, it felt far too early for that. However, she had a duty too, which drove her out of the comforts of her bed. Her limbs ached, and she stretched, rubbing at her eyes. Blearily, she moved with an odd grace, for just waking up and rolling out of bed. She glanced at Raven's door- slightly ajar. She had come home. Optic's whole body slumped in relief, until she saw the blood crusted claws on the table. She stiffened, making her way towards them. She snatched them up and stared- there was so much blood. Not one inch of them was left uncovered, though flakes had fallen off. Whatever Raven had run into, there was a lot of them. She had a bad feeling she knew what, too. She set them back down, before silently moving off to the kitchen.

Optic quietly began to work on breakfast, cooked potatoes, and carrots. They lasted surprisingly a while in the apocalyptic world. They had also managed to create a very small garden in the time they had been scrounging for food. It had made their lives much easier, but it was small. The radiation sickened the food, making some of it useless. She blew out a breath, brushing hair out of her eyes as she set out the chipped plates and rusty silverware they had managed to collect. She set out glasses and filled them with water. It had tasted irony, but the taste had soon become natural. An odd taste was better than no water at all. She brushed off her hands and looked over at the doors that gave no indication anyone had woken up.

So, she walked over to Gear's door. He was violent when someone tried to wake him up, he flailed and groaned and tried to bury underneath his covers like a rat. That's why she always tried to get that out of the way first. She pushed inside without so much as a knock, and grabbed the edge of his blanket. She yanked it off, and folded it, setting it on the ground and out of reach. She walked over to the side of the bed, yanking away the pillow and tossing it atop the blanket. Gear shifted a bit in his sleep, his limbs sprawled everywhere and his snore getting louder. She jabbed him gently in the stomach, causing his eyes to snap open. She jumped back as he squirmed and kicked out, barely avoiding his foot. She leaned forward and poked him again, and he tried to burrow down into the sheets. Upon finding nothing to burrow into, he began to whine and complain about how she "always does this", and how it "hurt his heart". She smiled and shook her head, ruffling his hair. He slowly sat up, grumbling still, then swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. Gear brushed passed her, arms crossed and curls a mess. When he got outside, a look of worry passed over his face when he saw the blood crusted claws.

Optic trailed him, but instead of following him to the kitchen she walked over to Soot and Siren's door. This time, she knocked gently. "Guys, time to get up," she called through the door, then pushed inside. Siren was already sitting up, combing her fingers through her white hair. Soot was awake, but didn't look like he wanted to be removed from his bed. So, Optic leaned down to his ear and whispered, "There's food in the kitchen, breakfast is hot and ready." This got him up immediately. The kid loved food, it made it easy. She shooed them out of the room, made Soot's bed, then walked over to Flint's door. She rapped on it gently, and not getting a response, opened the door slowly.

The bed was rumpled, but Flint wasn't inside. The room was completely dark, making it hard to see, but there was no form in the bed. She shut the door and moved to Raven's room, not tapping on it. She opened the door, and there was Raven, tightly hugging her brother. Her eyes were open and the smudges beneath her eyes were even darker than before. She, unlike her claws, was completely free of blood. She must've gotten a shower before going to sleep. Flint had his arms around her, keeping her close and safe, softly snoring in his sleep. Raven glanced at Optic and slowly untangled herself from the blankets, shaking Flint's shoulder silently. He woke, and Optic left the room. She was worried about Raven, but knew she would get a report after breakfast. She just had to be patient.

Optic settled down in her chair at their table, beginning to eat the meal she had cooked beforehand. Soot's plate was almost completely empty, Gear and Siren were about halfway through their food. Raven and Flint joined them, talking quietly amongst each other as they sat and ate.

"Twelve," Raven said suddenly, as she was staring at a piece of carrot on her fork, twisting the metal and watching it in the faint glow of the light. "Twelve Wanderers," She clarified, straightening, and shoving the carrot into her mouth as she stared at the table. Optic blinked in surprise, looking over at the claws that were still on the coffee table and needed to be cleaned. It did explain all the blood, but had Raven really taken them out without so much as a scratch? No, her arm was bandaged- she must've gotten clawed at some point in the fight. Optic just hoped it didn't get infected at all.

"Did you see anymore?" Optic asked, instead of keeping to her thoughts over Raven's injuries.

"No, they were the only ones. Desperate and relatively young, they were just looking for a meal," Raven explained, skewering another piece of carrot. They lapsed into silence, before Optic cleared her throat. Everyone looked up from their now empty plates, Gear had his glass of water halfway to his lips.

"I'm changing the schedule. Raven, I want you to go out again, but this time only for forty-five minutes. You'll leave at seven, so you have about a half an hour to prepare. Don't move around, just find a building to perch on and watch, keep it close to the base. The rest of you will follow as normal." She nodded at them, and as per usual, Raven didn't look surprised. She took a swig of her water, then set down the empty glass, leaving the table. She picked up her claws and made her way into the small bathroom in a corner, and the sound of the sink running broke through the silence that had padded into the room. "You're all excused." Optic finished, before moving away from the table. Everyone stared at her like she was insane, sending Raven out once again. After fighting twelve Wanderers, too. She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake, God knew how many scars they'd gained from that.