Dystopian zombie era

Chapter 8

There's a light tap on my shoulder a few times. I reluctantly open my eyes and see Jay hovering over me. He still looks older and my heart drops.

This is real.

I was hoping we'd jump back to where we were younger and still in school but my hopes were crushed. "It's time to go outside." He tells me as I yawn and rub the sleep from my eyes. At least I slept good. I feared my brain would keep me up, replaying the events that happened. I sit up and notice how dark it is outside.

"Do you want to bring a blanket? It's pretty cold outside." Immediately my arms get goosebumps. He's right, it is pretty cold. I nod and stand up taking one of the blankets off the bed and wrapping it around me.

He has his hand on my lower back and we walk out the room and downstairs. Coral comes out of the room the same time we do and she smiles at me. I manage to smile back.

When we get outside, there's a fire in the centre and chairs surrounding the fire. There are people already and we make our way to the warm fire. Jay sits next to Storm and I sit next to Jay. Coral sits next to me.

We wait for a few more people before Silas begins talking. "So I'm pretty sure you all know we have to go back out there to get food."

"Thanks to those idiots." Mutters Coral. "We need weapons first. I propose we go to a police station before we look for food." Says Duncan. "What if we don't find the police station? What if they kill us before we get there?" Asks Storm. "Then that's on you." Says the guy with the shoulder length hair, a neutral expression on his face.

"And who are you?" Asks Coral folding her arms and glaring at him. "I'm Lex." He answers, keeping his expression neutral. "And I won't put up with weaklings. If you die, then you die."

Wow, what a jerk.

"Is there anyone with any medical skill?" Asks Silas. The girl with the pixie haircut raises her hand. "I'm Halley and I'm in med school... well I was." She answers somberly.

"That's great. You'll be our medic if anything happens." Answers Silas. "Don't you think we should try to find a cure or something? That's what they do in movies right?" Asks Ruby messing with her nails. She looks unbothered by everything.

"I could do that but I'd need a lab." Says the girl with the red hair. "We don't have time to look for a freaking lab." States Coral. "She's right though. We can't live like this forever. We need to try and fix it." Says Jay.

"Let's focus on one thing first. Tomorrow morning we have to go out and get food and weapons. Of course, not all of us are going so who wants to go?" Asks Silas.

"I'm definitely going." Mutters Duncan. "Me too." Says Lex. "I'll go too." Says Ruby. I look at Jay and I can see he's contemplating whether to go or not. "I'll go." I say, surprising myself and the others. "No way-" Starts Jay.

"I'll go if she goes." Says Coral pointing at me and I look at her in surprise.

"Darcy you can't go. You're pregnant." Says Jay. "So? That's it, I'm pregnant not weak. I can take care of myself plus there's a lot of us here and if we want food to last for a week, then we need as many hands as we can."

"I'm staying. It's best if I do." Says Halley. "Me too." Says the bald guy and the girl with the red hair nods. "Yeah I'm staying here too." Says Storm. "You coming Jay?" Asks Silas. "Darcy, are you sure this is a good idea?" I nod.

"Let her go if she wants to. You know how women are." I glare at Duncan. Jay sighs. I know he's mad but I really wanna go with. I can't just sit around while he's out and stress about him.

Silas claps his hands once. "Now that we've got that sorted out, let's head inside. We'll have to wake up early tomorrow." I sigh and get up. "You go ahead. I'll help put the chairs away." Jay tells me. I nod and Coral walks with me inside.

"You sure you wanna go?"

"Yeah. This baby can't keep me from going." Before I can reach the stairs, she grabs my hand and gestures to the couches. "I'm not that tired. Will you sit with me?"

"Sure." We take a seat on the couch that doesn't feel comfortable at all. "You cold?" She nods and I unwrap the blanket around me before placing it over both of us.

It's quiet for a while. "So how do you feel?" She's looking at my bump. "You mean, how do I feel about the baby?"

"Yeah." I sigh. "I don't want it. I'm not ready for it. I don't know what I'll do when it's born but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

"Well you could maybe give it to one of the ladies here. I'm sure they'll be glad to look after a newborn." She suggests. "Maybe." I mumble. I hadn't really thought about that yet and even though it would be a great help, I couldn't do that.

Jay's the father of the baby and I'm certain he's already attached to the baby so I can't make that decision without him. Jay walks in and spots us on the couch. I say night to Coral and leave the blanket with her before I follow Jay upstairs and into our bland, new room. Everytime I see the room it makes me cringe. Just how bland can a room be? "Do you think we could look for a phone tomorrow?" I ask as he sits on the bed. He takes my hand and gently pulls me towards him.

"Yeah. Maybe that'll help us." He answers. I'm standing in front of him and the annoying bump is in between us. "Are you sure you wanna go? I'm worried Darcy. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"You mean the baby." He shakes his head. "I'm talking about you. I don't wanna lose you." I bite my lip feeling butterflies in my stomach or maybe it's the baby moving. Either way, my heart races at his words. "I really like you Darcy."

I can't help the grin that makes it's way across my face. "I like you too Jay." Saying it feels weird but right at the same time. Romance isn't appropriate at a time like this but our days are limited. Might as well live them to the fullest.

"Yeah?" His voice is husky now and I lean down closer to him. "Yeah." I say and our lips meet in a slow and soft kiss.

A thought emerges in my mind and I gently pull away. "I wonder where our parents are. Do you wonder where yours are?" He nods. "Yeah. I doubt my mom is still alive but I miss her a lot." He says softly and I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him. "What about you?"

"My parents and I weren't close but I do kind of miss their presence." I admit. "I think we should sleep now. We have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Don't worry about me okay? You might end up dying and I need you to stay alive as much as you need me alive." He sighs and nods slowly. "Alright." I move away and get into bed with the pillow under my bump like earlier.

I feel the bed dip behind me as he gets in. "Night."