The Dead and the Restless (Completed with undergoing editing)

Chapter Seven (Edited) (Trigger Warning)

My gaze lingered on the fifth tally mark I had just made. That makes five days since Liam and I had last spoken. I should probably be happy that I finally got my wish to be alone, as I've been isolated on the opposite side of the cafeteria and no one has even slightly attempted to speak to me. Darlene just comes to check on Craig when I sleep and Liam makes a point to avoid me whenever I go for food. I should be thrilled. This is what I wanted.

But not like this, my heart whispered. Not like this at all.

I shook my head as I stalked over toward the kitchen, glancing at Liam and Jackal who both sat at a lunch table. Liam was cleaning out his crossbow while Jackal dealt out cards. It seemed so normal.

A sigh escaped my lips as I continued into the confines of the kitchen, grabbing onto the edges of the counter. I didn't really know what to do with myself anymore. Usually, I would be running around trying to find a food source with Craig or going around the perimeter of the apartment to make sure the group was safe. But now I had food and security. There wasn't much to worry about except for Craig and the day that this place would stop being a haven.

"Let's see," I muttered to myself as I looked around at the food in the cabinet. So far it was looking like baked beans or peaches.

"Hey," I heard someone's voice behind me. On reflex, I pulled a dagger out from my sheath around my jeans and held it up to the person's neck. Sienna. Part of me had expected her to look taken aback that I had a knife to her neck, but instead she held a wicked smile. "I see your smile is close to your dagger, Lease."

"Sienna," I said, pulling my dagger back. Out of everyone, she had been the coldest to me ever since I stepped foot in here. She never tried to communicate with me, which was nice. The only thing that made me not like her was the fact that she gave me dirty looks constantly and acted like I wasn't worth her time. Not that I was. "Reflexes, I guess."

"Excuses," she said, sighing as she walked over to the counter and hopped onto it. "Anyways, I came to talk to you about-"

"If this is about Liam or Darlene or how I'm depressed, I don't want to hear it," I cut her off. I did feel bad, and he hadn't contacted me at all, but this was the only reason I could think of why she'd come in the kitchen and talk to me alone.

"Don't be so full of yourself," she said, picking up a knife on the counter and putting the point of it on her lip. "I'm just willing to give you some wisdom."

"I'll pass," I said, giving her a suspicious look. I still had my dagger out, and I planned on keeping it out until she left, or at least until she set her knife down. My instincts told me that she was bad news from the start, and I didn't trust her at all.

"I don't understand why you're not fond of me," she said, staring at the blade as she ran a finger up and down it. I wanted to say that it was because she was crazy, or that she started it first, but instead, I stayed with something that wouldn't have such a hard impact. I definitely was not looking for a fight.

"We barely know each other."

"No one knows you," she fired back, hopping off the counter and walking back and forth behind me, talking right in my ear. "You don't let anyone know you. You're a stranger in our home. One of the many questions is, why? Why do you stay so mysterious?"

I didn't answer her, instead I moved toward the door to the cafeteria back over to Craig. Screw the food, it wasn't worth dealing with Sienna. As I was about to get out, though, she stepped in front of me, blocking my way. She still held the knife in her hand, and she put the point on her index finger.