After | All15

Plans and Cannibalism

"Alright, here's the plan," I announced cheerfully, looking around at the group of men gathered around me. "We're going to scout out the forest. See how big it is, figure out the best place to set up camp."

It was the next day and way too early in the morning for my liking. It wasn't even noon yet!

"We'll need water, an open space to build—" Kota began before I cut him off.

"Actually, we want dense foliage. Lots and lots of trees where we going to set up shelter," I corrected.

He adjusted his glasses and gave me a confused look.

"We're going to use the trees for makeshift shelters?" Marc guessed, running a finger along the many cheap bracelets on his wrist.

"Guess again," I sang out, biting my lip to keep myself from grinning too widely.

"We're going to live in the trees!" Lucian all but squealed.

"Oh, hell no!" North boomed. "That is not safe!"

"Northy, darling," I cooed with a smirk. "First, I love danger. Second, look around. Is there really such thing as safe when the world is overrun by zombies? Hell, I'm half zombie myself. Says something about "safety," huh?"

"I still don't like this," North muttered.

"Good," I said with a nod. "You'll be overseeing the construction. You and Silas have plenty of experience with that kind of work, correct? And who better to ensure that our structures are safe?"

"That's... That's oddly smart," Nathan said, giving me a suspicious look.

"Don't underestimate her too much," Wil advised. "Under all the blood, gore, and destruction is a smart and cunning woman. Which only makes her more dangerous."

"And dangerous is how I roll," I finished with a wink. "Well, dangerous with some dirty jokes here and there."

"So we're looking for a dense area of the forest near water," Owen stated, bringing us back on track.

"Correct," I agreed. "Preferable near some game trails as well."

"How are we going to communicate?" Corey asked, running a hand through his golden hair. "If we're spread out throughout the forest, how are we going to know when someone finds a good spot?"

A devious grin spread itself across my face.

"NO!" Wil yelled firmly. "No way, Zoya! You know how that worked out last time!"

"Yes!" I yelled back, laughing hysterically. "It's perfect! Beautiful, even!"

"I've never been so worried in my life..." Sean muttered under his breath just loud enough for me to hear.

"Got any gray hairs yet, Doc?" Gabriel teased, pretending to inspect his hair.

"What is this plan?" Axel asked hesitantly.

"Fire," I breathed out, my eyes glazing over as I began to dream about it.

A whole forest on fire... It would be so beautiful...

"Zoya, you do realize we can't set this forest on fire if we're going to live there?" Brandon reminded me needlessly.

"Yeah, I know..." I pouted. "One can dream, though. And that one person is me, in case you didn't understand."

Gabriel snorted, "Pretty sure we understood, Trouble."

"Ooh, I like that nickname," I said, perking up.

Gabriel flashed me a smile, his bright blue eyes twinkling. I couldn't help but beam back at him.

"Anyway, we can build signal fires if you find a suitable location. Use green plants for extra smoke," I told them. "If we see smoke, we'll know to go towards it. When we find an okay spot to build, we can begin to move all our junk there. Sound good everyone?"

"Da," Raven agreed and everyone else began to give their okay as well.

"How should we split up?" Victor asked, looking at me with his fiery eyes.

"Hmm... How about in pairs?" I suggested. "That way no one is alone in case there are zombies, but we cover as much ground as possible."

"Sounds good," Owen agrees, nodding his head.

"What I want to know is who put you in charge?" Gabriel asked, giving me a suspicious squint. "I mean, you've proven you aren't exactly the sanest. Why are we just going along with everything Zoya decides?"

Fair enough. I can't exactly expect them to bend to my every will. Yet. That comes after we're all married.

"Because she actually has a plan," Lucian replied for me with a shrug. "We have a job, she has a plan to get that job done."

"Besides, it's probably best to stay on her good side," Victor chuckled.

"Good side?" I repeated with a confused look. "Unless we're talking about looks, I don't have a good side. I have a bad side and an even worse side."

"Well, let's stay away from her even worse side," Axel inserted smoothly, amusement lighting up his pitch black eyes.

"An excellent choice," I agreed, grinning. "Now, let's get going."

As I turned to leave, I was called back by Kota yelling, "Wait! How are we all going to get there? I mean, sure you guys have two motorcycles, but what about the rest of us?"

"Huh. Didn't think of that," I admitted, sticking my hands in the pockets of my black leather jacket.

"I did, though," Announced Wil.

I grinned at him, proud of the flair he used with that sentence. He didn't speak flatly or monotonously like normal; he put some pizazz into his announcement. Good for him. I think I might be rubbing off on him.

"Oh?" Raven said, giving Wil a strange look. "What's your plan, then?"

"When I heard that we would be heading into the forest last night to stay there, I decided we would need transportation. And I was right," Wil replied with a slight smirk. "I got us a bus and a four wheeler. Figured the bus would help us get there and the four wheeler would help us get around easier in the forest."

"Good thinking," Corey said with a tight smile as he shot Raven a meaningful look.

"And who's going to pair with who?" Marc inquired, waggling his eyebrows at me suggestively.

He made me chuckle so I decided, "Marc can go with me and you guys can figure out your own pairs. I'm not going to be some teacher or something and pair you up. Be your own matchmaker."

"Why Marc?" Sean asked, looking slightly wounded.

I looked him over, though, and didn't see any signs of injury. Eh. He must be fine then.

"Because I like his eyes and he asked first," I answer shortly.

I liked Sean, but I didn't understand half of why he acted the way he did. Not that I really understood anybody. At least now that I'm a zombie, I don't have to pretend to understand humans, right?

Wait...

Does that mean I'm allowed to eat people? I mean it isn't technically cannibalism... Right?