The Aftermath

S3E2: Morning Sickness

       The sun starts to fully shed it's light as the group walks on this seemingly endless road. Their bodies feel stiff as they occasionally yawn from the early awakening. The only sound that can be heard is the wind as it brushes up against the trees.
       The wind brings about a relaxing sensation as it brushes up again Chris's skin. The wind feels cool yet refreshing. Chris stretches out his arms as he looks up at the morning sky. He notices birds fly across the sky from up above.
       He wishes he could be like one of them. Being able to escape this madness and feel free up in the sky as the refreshing breeze fulfills his body. He wants to feel safe. He wants his group to be safe.
       Chris looks around as this quiet sensation fills the air. He's at the front with Myracle, Ryan and his siblings while the rest of the group trails behind.
       He looks at Skyy who seems to be attached to Ricky. She has this standoffish vibe about her as she avoids Matthew's gaze. She looks just as guilty as before at the campsite. She's hiding something. Chris can tell.
       "We should be arriving in a couple of hours," Myracle calls out, interrupting the silence.
       Chris looks at Myracle intently as she quickly refocuses her attention back towards the road. She looks mysterious and tenacious as Chris gazes into her hazel eyes. It feels like she's hiding something.
       Myracle notices Chris's gaze, and she can't help but smile. He puts up this tough exterior, but it quickly vanishes once the threat fades away. He looks to be so lost in thought, it's amusing to watch.
       "What's with the stare?" Myracle asks with a smile, clearly teasing him.
       Chris is unaffected. He's captivated by the presence that she carries. What is she hiding from us? How can she flip from a serious attitude to a carefree one? What happened at Bunker 02? Chris thinks to himself before finally answering.
       "I'm just curious about you is all. You seem to be somewhat mysterious I guess you can say," Chris says while getting a chuckle from Myracle.
       "I guess I have that affect on people. You're pretty intriguing yourself," Myracle says with a wide smile.
      "How come?" Chris asks curiously.
       "Well, you did switch gears pretty quickly when you decided to steal my katana and go full Jason Bourne on the horde of mutants," Myracle says while laughing hysterically
       Chris chuckles and nods in response as memories from that night start rushing back to him. The pain that fulfilled his body was dreadful. He was emotionally drained. Myracle saw him at his weakest.
       He remembers everyone who helped him. The way the looked at him and smiled, trying to reassure him that everything will be alright. That he wasn't a failure. He wants to believe it. He's trying to believe it, but he simply can't.
       Chris looks back to see Simon shooting daggers with his eyes. He has a menacing glare pointing directly at Myracle. Simon's superstition is going awol as he gazes at a her.
He looks so empty. He looks disgusted as he looks at her. Why doesn't he trust her? Is there something that he knows that I don't? Am I making a mistake? Chris thinks to himself, trying to shake Simon away from his thoughts.
While Simon looks at them with disapproval, Ryan is living it up. He's teasing Chris more than Myracle is. He makes a heart with his fingers while making himself chuckle. Chris tried to ignore his presence, but it's impossible.
       "Myracle, what happened in Bunker 02?" Chris asks nervously.
       Myracle's attitude quickly shifts back to her normal, serious self. She instantly grows a sorrowful expression as the memories start coming back to her once again. She looks so broken, so vulnerable.
       "I guess I can tell you. My bunker was filled with corruption from the generals. I tried to stop it but ultimately failed. They shifted the blame on me however which resulted in my imprisonment. It just leaves bad memories," Myracle says while looking down at her shadow.
       Anger fulfills Chris's body at the thought of being falsely imprisoned. Who knew what terrible baggage Myracle contained. How did she escape? Are they still alive now? Is there something else that she's hiding? Chris thinks to himself as he looks at Myracle.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you. At least you're out of there now. Let's just focus on the present," Chris says with a warm smile.
Myracle nods as a slight blush formulates on her face. She quickly looks away, clearly mad at herself for her own emotions. She quickly stabilizes back to her usual tenacious look as they continue down this road.
Meanwhile, Simon groans in disgust as he witnesses Myracle wrap Chris around her finger. He's acting so open towards her. He doesn't understand it. Why is Chris acting that way towards her? Shouldn't he be more careful around her? Is she just using him? Simon thinks to himself as he grits his teeth from the possibility of deception within the group.
Suddenly, Sarah walks towards Simon as his body begins to tremble with anger. His eyes twitch while he clenches his fists. Sarah looks at him with concern in her eyes as she tries to calm him down.
"Simon are you okay?" Sarah asks nervously.
Simon ignores her for a little, still gazing at Myracle as she talks to Chris. Sarah notices his gaze and starts to understand what's going on. Why would Simon not trust Myracle? How come this is more concerning to him than Jill's death? Sarah thinks to herself as she tries to get Simon's attention.
"Simon, I know that you have trust issues, but let's at least put trust in Chris. His goal is to protect us," Sarah says reassuringly.
Simon's eyes widen as the words come out of Sarah's mouth. He snaps. How could she be so trusting of Myracle? Why is no one taking my side? Can I trust anyone? Simon thinks to himself as he grits his teeth.
"How could you act so lenient towards a complete stranger? Do you even hear yourself?" Simon roars, turning heads from all of the group members.
Simon's sudden outburst catches everyone's attention. They all quickly turn their heads, captivated by the argument. Simon and Sarah looks furious as their patience slowly starts to dwindle.
"Coming from the person who acted completely normal once Jill died!" Sarah yells as Jeannie intervenes, holding both of them back.
Simon attempts to tackle Sarah but fails when Jeannie prevents it. All he sees is red. He's absolutely livid. He can't control himself. How could she say that? Why would I be happy about Jill dying? How does this even relate to Myracle? Simon thinks to himself as he starts to tire out from all the uproar.
"Enough! Just separate from each other and stop fighting like a bunch of idiots!" Jeannie yells before continuing the walk.
The group grows quiet as the argument finally dies down. Tensions are at an all time high as the second consecutive fight finally ended in these past two days. Silence becomes inevitable at this point.
Rosie tries to ignore the madness as she continues the journey. She feels nauseous. Her body feels achy, and her exhaustion begins to set in much earlier than usual.
She looks around and lock eyes with Jess and Sarah, the only two people with a background behind health. Well there was also Jeannie, the personal trainer and nutritionist, but she'd rather die than deal with literal hell.
She backtracks and walks towards Sarah and Jess. What's come over me? Is this morning sickness? Would they know about what I'm going through? Rosie thinks to herself as she reaches the two.
"Hey guys, can I talk to you for a second?" Rosie asks while yawning.
"Sure thing! What do you need?" Jess asks curiously with her usual joyful tone.
The nausea has become unbearable. Her face grows pale, and Jess quickly catches on as she comforts Rosie. She collapses to her knees and starts hurling.
She struggles to breathe as vomit spews out uncontrollably. Jess comforts her while Sarah takes out this large book filled with medical information. The rest of the group crowds around nervously.
"Rosie! Are you okay?" Chris asks as he storms through the crowd.
Jess looks at Rosie intently who wipes away the remnants away from her lips. She looks absolutely disgusted and a little dazed. She looks exhausted yet relieved at the fact that it was over, temporarily at least.
"She should be fine. It seems to be morning sickness, so just give her some space," Sarah says as she skims through the large book.
"Yeah let's just rest here for a little while. We'll be back on schedule shortly," Jess says as she scans Rosie's complexion and bodily reactions.
The group backs off and rests along the side of the road. Jess looks back and notices Jeannie and Chris reasonably close. Chris is pacing around impatiently, clearly nervous about his sister. Jess chuckles at the sight.
She continues to scan the area and sees Tamara admiring Rosie from afar. Jess gets goosebumps from Tamara's intense stare. She's practically invisible in this group, but once she's seen, it's horrifying.
Jess surveys the group even further and sees Matthew isolated from all human interaction. He looks out into the forest, admiring his beauty. Jess looks back at Ricky who's close to Skyy once again. However, they are just sitting in absolute silence.
She starts to question their loyalties as they stay to themselves. They've expressed no hints of worry or concern for anyone in their group. They're hiding something, and she's going to figure out what it is.
"Hey Jess, how is she holding up? I'm just checking in, so Chris doesn't have to ask you eighty questions," Ryan says while chuckling.
"She'll be okay. We're going to be getting ready shortly," Jess says with a warm smile.
Ryan nods as he walks back towards a very antsy Chris. Jess sighs from exhaustion as she rubs her head. Her body aches, and the sun is about to set soon. She looks back at Rosie who's clearly lost in thought.
"I can tell that you wanted to say something before. What was it?" Jess asks curiously.
"Well, before I got rudely interrupted by my body, I was going to ask if you and Sarah could help deliver my baby when the time comes," Rosie mumbles as she battles through her exhaustion.
The fear is clearly showcased on Jess's face. Her mind goes wild with thoughts as her responsibilities increase even further. Is this a smart idea? Can I go through with this procedure? Would she be safe? Jess thinks to herself before Sarah forces her out of her thoughts.
"I'll be right here with you the whole time Jess. We can do this! Together," Sarah says enthusiastically.
Jess nods as she puts Rosie's life in her own hands. She has to do this. As long as she had Sarah, she'd be okay. This has to work. This will work!
Rosie finally stabilizes, and the group continues their escapade. Sarah brushes the sweat away from her forehead as she walks. That situation with Rosie was stressful to her, and the worse part hasn't even happened yet.
She continues walking when she catches something abnormal at the corner of her eye. It's Tamara. Instantly, Sarah grows antsy and uncomfortable. Her presence simply terrifies her.
"Hey Sarah? Is Rosie feeling any better?" Tamara asks curiously.
"Y-Yeah! She's feeling much better thanks for asking," Sarah stutters nervously.
Even when Tamara is acting normal, she can't be trusted. Even when Tamara is asking a question, she can't be trusted. Even when Tamara is being respectful, she can't be trusted.
Sarah's heartbeat starts beating at a rapid pace as an awkward silence falls among the two. Tamara remains close towards Sarah's side, it's unsettling.
As the group gets closer towards their destination, the sunlight slowly begins to fade-away. Ryan looks lost in thought as he contemplates where they are. He lights up once he figures out the missing important factor.
"Guys! I just realized something. We have to enter the city which will most likely be infested with mutants. We have to come up with a plan to get as little confrontation as possible," Ryan says frantically.
"You have a point. Plus, we wasted lots of ammunition with our fight with The Admiral," Matthew adds on.
"I wouldn't call it wasting ammunition. We were just trying to stay alive," Skyy says in a harsh tone.
The group remains quiet once again as the two loners of the group decide to argue. Matthew practically deflated as his ego shatters into a million pieces. Skyy's standoffish attitude is starting to get to Matt. He can't stand it.
Suddenly, a radio transmission call comes in, breaking the silence. The voice is muffled at first from the static, but it quickly stabilizes. It's Debbie. She's finally contacted them just as the group members lay eyes on the city.
"Hello everyone! This is Debbie! I just want to warn you all about the city. It's infested with mutants, so you'll have to maneuver your way around them the best that you can. I really hope you guys can hear me. I have to head off now. Good luck! I'll stay in touch!" Debbie rambled through the satellite phone before signing off.
The group gazes at the demolished city. Buildings are in shambles and infested with mutants from all over. Telephone poles are knocked over, houses are decimated, debris is scattered in the streets. There's no sign of life. No sign of safety. All they have is themselves.