It was going to be devastatingly difficult, but she felt hope for the first time since Aiden had spoken those horrible words. That perhaps they might survive, if they worked together and pulled together. She got up from her chair and walked over to Christian who shrunk back, fear still in his face.
“Don’t worry Christian, just work your ass off and you’ll be fine. Leo said we need to gather up as much wood as we can. So, let’s me and you go out and look for wood. You, Tom and Bruce help the others guard this place, I’m sure some of those assholes will be back down to see what they missed. Do not let them anywhere near this camp.” She told Hudson and he nodded, still grinning.
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“Day-amn!” Tom sniggered once Marla and Christian were out of earshot. His eyes bright blue triangles of glee. He despised Christian and his pedantic attitude toward the cameramen, as though they were less than human, because they didn’t hold the spot light. He felt Bruce smack him on the back and he looked over and Bruce’s face was red with laughter. He was bent and wheezing.
“I thought Christian was going to shit himself. Oh my god, oh my god, I can’t stop laughing. And my god, Marla, that was friggen awesome, she stuck her foot right up his ass and broke it off!” Bruce howled in a loud whisper, looking over his shoulder. He wiped at his eyes, tears streaming down them. Hudson just shook his head, a shit eating grin on his face. Tom picked up a piece of wood with nails in it and held it up in salute to where Marla and Christian had disappeared into the woods.
“Let’s go patrol, and give a shout out if you see anyone else around, except us of course.” Tom laughed and walked off. His eyes scanned the surrounding vegetation. He listened but only heard the murmuring of the people in camp. He felt a giggle try to work its way up his chest, but tamped it down. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure why he was so giddy; their lives were worth crap now.
Maybe because he’d worked with Christian for a while now, and Christian always seemed to get away with shit. Marla had knocked the wind out of him and Tom had seen the color drain from his face. Good, he thought, the asshole should take this seriously.
Tom walked up the hill slowly, taking his time, his ears listening intently. He didn’t want to run into Connor or Matt. Those bastards got crazy yesterday and it had sent a shiver of misgivings through his body. Tom knew he’d miss his parents, but he’d been away from home for so long and he had rarely kept in touch with them. He did hope that they were okay, but he was more concerned about everyone here. Jesus, shit went sideways fast yesterday, one second Aiden was talking, the next Matt was shoving Marla down to the ground over a god damn shitty dinner.
The look in their faces, even Carol and Vana, it frightened him, something primordial touched him, something he couldn’t even explain to himself. It was scarier than anything he’d seen at the movies. At that moment, he’d have given anything to have been home in Idaho with his old boring life.
The visceral fear that flooded him made him want to piss himself and run like hell. He’d never been that afraid in his life, not even when he was mugged at gunpoint. He’d been afraid, but this was different. He was trapped here with these people. The good, the bad and the fucking crazy. He froze when he heard a twig snap loudly ahead of him. His breath held in his chest until he thought he would pass out, and then he saw a small deer. If I had a gun, I’d shoot it, he thought and then the deer was gone.
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Grayson stood within the impenetrable foliage and watched the man, Tom. He’d heard all the screaming and had been drawn to the main camp. Was that yesterday, he wasn’t sure? He’d not understood what was happening. He’d watched as Connor and the rest, took supplies from the crew. Grayson had also observed Aiden lead Sarah away, protective. Then he’d heard the word, EMP. He’d heard that word somewhere before, but his mind couldn’t focus on when and where.
He’d watched the horror show below with ambivalence and indifference. Even the very ill, Carol, stupid woman, was stealing food. What was wrong with these people? Could he leave here, find his way home? Would he be trapped with them? Christ. He didn’t think he could stand that. The guilt of Carol was eating at him. He’d seen how sick she’d been, but now, she was strong enough to steal. He watched Tom disappear and he too melted back into the vast forest. Not making a sound, he vanished.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aiden led the way, they’d washed their clothes the day before and had gathered more nuts and Aiden had even killed a rabbit. At least he thought it was a rabbit, or some kind of rabbit like rodent. Sarah had kept the skin and found a sharp rock to clean the inside of the skin. She said she wanted to experiment with making furs.
“Do you think everyone will be there?” She asked as they passed the waterfall. He looked back at her and smiled, she looked nervous. He’d made her a short spear, so she could use it like a knife, and she also had her long spear. They might be able to fashion a weapon with the tendons or the leather
