18

Johnny started crying too. His sobs were loud, and pleading like his little brother. They were silent, and that actually made them seem more painful. He was old enough to understand why his family wasn't coming back, and what it would mean for me not to come back. Sam on the other hand was just upset that his family was gone, and the one anchor he'd had since this all began had just told him she might go away too. 

I pulled them both in a bit tighter. Allowing myself to feel my own pain as well. Quiet tears streaked down my face as the three of us shared a moment. Once that was done we all went to take care of the rabbits. We chatted about stupid things that didn't matter. 

The weather, what was going on in the camp, what the other kids were doing, and the school the moms were working on setting up. School books were going up on the request board as well as a few other unimportant things. Clothes, blankets, and sewing supplies were also a few new items on the request board. I knew we were going on a long run tomorrow, and our main concern was food, but that didn't mean we couldn't pick up a few extra things. I smirked slightly at the thought of picking up a few extra things. 

How much it would piss the boss man off for me to grab things that weren't necessary. I enjoyed the little bit of peace. It reminded me of my dynamic with my siblings. It was just useless babble about the most random things in the universe, but I loved it all. I remembered all those conversations with my siblings. 

They were fun stupid useless conversations. We kept on talking about random things until it was time to go to sleep. It was fun. The best conversation I'd had in years. I probably shouldn't enjoy conversations with children more then I did adults, but I just didn't have the mental capacity to see anyone as an equal. They were either above me, around me, or beneath me. 

I didn't think of anyone as an equal. I just didn't think we were playing the same game most of the time. I frowned to myself as the boys drifted off to sleep. It was time to go do some more exercise, and I really didn't want to do it. I needed to up my stats more. 

There was going to be trouble on that long run. I just had a feeling I couldn't shake. The stronger the better. I got out of my cot. I was tired, and I still felt like crying at the drop of a hat, but I wasn't going to lose anymore. 

I started exercising as hard as I could. I pushed myself well past my limit for a long time. The sun was starting to rise by the time I finished my count. We were going to leave soon, and despite my exhaustion I went to the gate to wait for the others. We were going to be taking a large truck, and a smaller mini van type vehicle. 

I wasn't a car expert, and I didn't care about those kind of fancy things. I couldn't afford an expensive vehicle anyways so what was the point in looking into expensive vehicles. I saw them look at me funny as they started to gather mainly because the vast majority of us all slept in the same barracks. None of them had seen me sleep last night so they were surprised to see me here. Most people didn't volunteer for more work after skipping a night of sleep. 

I just sat there, and said nothing. I had time on my side. I'd gotten here early, and I would get a decent spot in the car. I could catch up on a little sleep once I was in the car. Once we were all here it was time to hop into the cars. 

I got myself a good spot in the back where it would be difficult to get out so they wouldn't expect me to do much but ride along. I adjusted my bow so it was propped up between my knees, and laid the dagger across my lap. I leaned my head up against the window, and watched the world pass me by as we drove. It didn't take me long to fall into a state of half sleep. I couldn't really sleep while in a vehicle unless I was completely wiped out. 

I wasn't quiet there so I did something similar to a battery saving mode. Minimal thought, little to no movement, and complete relaxation of my body. This allowed me to function far past what I would normally be able to do. The window was cold in the early morning hours. I knew it wouldn't last long, but it was nice while it lasted. 

They were able to take the drive a lot faster then I had on the way down. There were a massive number of branches, and random junk on the road. It made the ride a little rough, but I really didn't care about that. I wasn't actually asleep I was just running on the bare minimum. The drive wasn't entirely peaceful, but the monsters chasing us couldn't move as fast as a vehicle. 

They jumped out at the vehicle. I thanked the wide nature of the road for our safety during the drive. Otherwise these vehicles wouldn't be as ok as they were now. I couldn't exactly take in the full appearance of a few monsters simply because we were too busy rushing past them. I would probably get a better look at them if I was the one that was driving, but since I was not I could really only tell their basic shape. 

Two legs, four legs, scales or fur. So many different freaky shapes that simply didn't exist before. I sighed heavily as we slowed down near Arlington. We were in the more rural retirement area of Arlington, but the roads were lined with houses. Lots of blind corners, and places for things to hide.