"Alright." Duncan drops a bag on the centre of the small coffee table. He turns to Jay. "You know how to shoot?"
"Yeah." Answers Jay curtly, almost as if he doesn't want us to know the reason behind it. Duncan pulls a long black gun out of the bag and my eyes nearly pop out of my skull. "Exchange the Glock 19 for this LMT Defender." Jay bends down and pulls a literal gun out of his boot.
How was that there the whole time?
He exchanges the small gun and holds the long one, weighing it in his hand. Duncan glances at Silas. "You?"
"No." He hands him the Glock 19. "I'll teach ya." He turns to the bald guy. "Oh no. A gun isn't a good weapon for me." He's shaking his head from side to side. Duncan grunts before turning to Storm. "I've only ever used a pistol."
"I'll teach ya too." He picks the bag up and twists it before slinging it over his shoulder. "I want all you boys up early tomorrow morning." He says and they nod.
~~~
They all look at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. I'm still not sure whether it's a good choice, I could be endangering their lives for all I know. As if sensing my hesitation, I feel a fluttering feeling in my stomach and I glance down.
If I look hard and long, I can see a spot where the baby is pressed up against my stomach. I look back at them.
"I'd like to wait till I give birth. I'd slow everyone down with the bump and I wouldn't be able to run a far distance. Of course, I thought of the cons of waiting till when the baby is born. I'd have to carry it with me the whole time but I'm willing to do that." I glance at Jay. "And I know some of you will protect me and help me."
Jay smiles a warm smile at me and I want to hug him for being with me, for supporting me.
"Plus this gives us extra time to train right? We can come up with a strategy." I add. Duncan nods approvingly. "Well said Supergirl." And I can't help the smile that spreads across my face.
~~~
Coral helps me make sandwiches for everyone when the sun sets. It's gotten really hot and I'm sweating every few seconds as I cut cheese. It's a plain dinner but we have limited resources. I hope we can get something better. We decided to leave the food at our building as Coral and I decided to make the food for everyone.
We all sit on the couches - some on the floor - as we eat in silence. After that, everyone retreats to their rooms. Jay washes the plates even though I told him I could do it. He told me to sit down and made Coral sit with me and keep me 'distracted'.
We went to our rooms. I have my feet propped up on the bed while Jay is in the shower. I've already showered and changed into a tank top and a pair of denim shorts that I found.
I stare down at the bump. I wonder whether it's a boy or girl. I always imagined myself being pregnant in my late twenties. A song pops into my head. It's been a while since I've sung and I miss it. Singing calms me down.
'My V is for Vendetta. Thought that I'd feel better but now I got a bellyache.'
The door creaks open and Jay enters with a towel around his neck. He's grinning. "Your voice is extraordinary." I flush. "Thanks, I haven't sung in a while." He closes the door behind him. "I know how you feel. I haven't listened to music in a while." He says with a groan as he puts the towel in the cupboard and takes a seat next to me. It's still hot so I've resorted to sleeping on top of the covers.
"I wonder how we got here. Why us? It's almost like the universe handpicked a bunch of people and threw them into a sick world." He says staring straight ahead. "I think we're the only ones left."
"In the whole world?"
"Maybe."
"That sucks. We'll have to think of a way to restore humanity I guess."
"We're halfway there." I say pointing at my bump and he chuckles. I yawn, the heat is making me tired. He hands me his pillow but I shake my head. "I'm fine. You use it for tonight."
"You sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
"I don't want you to be uncomfortable either." I lay down and get into a comfortable position before I close my eyes. "Night Jay."
"Night Darcy."
~~~
I'm woken up by a gunshot. My body jolts awake and I open my eyes. It's still dark outside and still extremely hot. I hear screaming outside and I shake Jay awake. "Something's happening." I say but I don't think he hears me. There's a shriek and I know for sure that it's Coral. I scramble out of bed and to the window. My eyes widen in shock.
The door, the only thing keeping the zombies out, is wide open and zombies are running in. "Jay, wake up! We've got a problem!" I exclaim in panic. How did the door open? I'm sure it was bolted shut yesterday.
There's a series of gunshots and more screams. Jay is awake now and has joined me by the window. He curses under his breath. "How did the door open? Stay here okay? I'm gonna go help."
"No! You'll get hurt. There's too many." I can feel tears in my eyes. This isn't going to end well. "I have to help. Stay here okay?" I nod even though I want him to stay. He opens the door and closes it behind him and I hear him run downstairs. I turn away from the window. I can't watch. I walk to the door, my hand hovering over the handle. If I stay inside here, I'll go mad, so I open the door and peek out.
At the same time, another door opens and Coral pokes her head out. "Are you okay?" I ask when she sees me. "Who the hell opened the door?" She asks with a look of panic on her face. "You think somebody opened it?"
"There's no way it could've opened by itself. Is Jay there?" I shake my head. "He went outside."
"Come here." She ushers me into her room and closes the door behind us. Her room is as bland as our with a double bed and cupboard. An exact replica. "I feel so useless just doing nothing." I say as she makes me sit on her bed. "There's nothing you can do Darcy. It's too dangerous." She tells me gently. I hear a door slam downstairs. "Someone's here."
"Maybe it's Jay." I say. "Or the same person who opened the door." She's heading for the door and I follow her. I should've brought a weapon just in case but all the weapons are kept downstairs, including the crowbar and stiletto. Coral walks slowly down the stairs but fastens her pace once we hear Duncan's loud voice. "What's happening out there?" She asks. "Absolute chaos. People are dying!" Exclaims Storm tugging at his piercing. "Who opened the door?" She asks placing her hands on her hips.
"You think someone opened it?" Asks Ruby. "A door that was bolted shut doesn't magically open by itself." Answers Coral. "It must've been that man. I saw him and that woman loitering around last night. They were speaking in hushed voices. I didn't bother doing anything. I didn't know they'd open the door." Says Lex.
"So it's your fault then?" Asks Coral. "Let's not go around blaming people." Says Jay and I'm relieved to see him in one piece. He has the long gun in his hand. "So what now?" Asks Storm.
No one says anything. "There's too many outside. We'll never get to the hospital." Says Scarlett pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "We need a plan." Says Duncan. "Or we can stay here until we absolutely need to leave." I suggest. "You wanted to teach them how to shoot right? You can still do that. Just go to our room and open the window. That way, you'll be teaching them to shoot, killing zombies and they won't get to you. Plus the food is here too. There's no need to worry. You can all sleep in the living room. We'll arrange something."
"That's actually not a bad idea." Says Ruby. After that, we all decided to get some sleep. Jay makes sure the front door is locked. Coral lets Ruby sleep with her and the bald guy - whose name is Brandon - lets Halley and Scarlett sleep in his room.
Jay brings blankets down for Storm, Silas and Brandon who sleep on the floor while Duncan and Lex sleep on the two couches. I wait for Jay to return and sing a song to block out the noises from outside. If Lex is right and that man and woman did open the door then why did they? What were they hoping to achieve? The door opens and Jay walks in. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I just don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. You sure the door is locked?" He nods. "If anything happens, Duncan says he's a light sleeper."
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
"It's okay. We'll be okay. Try to get some sleep." I nod and lay down facing him. He does the same and puts his arm on my waist as I close my eyes.