PetrA

Chapter fifty-three: Kim

Kim couldn't resist her advances. "Ellie..." He groaned in a low voice as she tangled her hands in her hair. He was aware that there were other people in the auto camper although he didn't think they would notice. "What... what if...?" He struggled to get the words out. He could not stop thinking about the possibility of Ellie ending up pregnant. He did not wish to put her through that, not when the world looks so dark. "Kim." His name rolled of her lips as she placed feather light kisses along his jaw and down his neck. His mind didn't seem to work properly. Ellie had that effect on him, with one look she was able to take his mind places where it should not be. How many times had he not imagined the two of them together back when they were at school, wondered what she was thinking whenever she would stare out into thin air blankly and a faraway look in her eyes, and how many times he had he regretted not pulling himself together and talked to her? Hadn't his friends teased and told him to get a move on for over a year? "Don't worry." She whispered her mouth hoovering right in front of his. He lost control and flipped her over, so she was lying underneath him, her wonderful green eyes looking up at him.

She didn't need to say a word as she arched her back pressing herself against him. She dug her nails painfully into his back as he eased into her. It was wonderful, a bliss, a feeling he had never imagined he'd feel. He had heard people describe it, but he'd never believed it, not until that evening at the hospital, even now it felt strange, and he so greatly wished that the world had never become what it was. That he could have been with Ellie in the old boring routine of life they'd grown up in. He felt Ellie's hot, slow and steady breath on his bare chest as she slept in his arms. Slowly he himself fell asleep, only to be roused mere hours later, by yet again the others shouting at each other. "What do you think you're doing?" Joachim asked loudly. "Going for a walk, so I can get away from you." Stella growled. Before Kim could react Gemma's voice mixed with the lot. "Can you give it a rest?" He heard curtains being pulled back forcefully. "This is the third time you wake everyone up! Stella go sleep. Joachim act like a freaking grown up and take a few tips from Henrik! At least he can get along with everyone without ticking them off!" Kim heard Stella grumble a few choice words before she shuffled around and then silence fell again. "Thank you, and the next time you feel like shouting at 2Am and make us a better target, please do inform us." Then silence fell over them. Ellie stirred in his arms, mumbled something and then went back to sleep. Kim shook his head slowly and pulled Ellie closer before falling asleep again.

It was hard to tell what time it was when they all woke up again, the sky outside was a dark grey, almost black. Gemma was peering up at it frowning, "I don't like the look of that sky. Looks like it'll be another downpour..." A strong gust of wind hit the auto camper making Cody cuss loudly from the driver's seat. "Had a good night's sleep?" Gemma asked him. At first, Kim thought that she knew about what he and Ellie did, but her expression didn't give any indication that she did. "It was alright, except for waking up to shouting." He said sitting down at the small table. "Oh I didn't know you woke up. Dunno what the argument were about, but you're the first to wake up besides Cody and I." She said putting a bowl of what looked like a piece of the sky, dark grey and weird looking.

Joachim was sleeping on the other side of the table on the small bench; it looked as though that Anthony and Stella had taken the double bed in which Cody and Gemma usually slept on. A few hours went by before the rest who hadn't been on night shift rouse, Ellie forced Joachim away from the seats and into one of the bunk beds so they could all sit there. As the hours dragged on Gemma's predicament of rain proved true as Cody soon pulled over into a small field of damp grass. "Can't see shit out there. The wind isn't helping either." He said taking a seat on the counter looking at them all. Gemma stood by the small stove and looked through what they had left of rations. "We'll have to find somewhere to fill up again; we're almost out of everything." She held up four cans of food, that wasn't near enough to feed eleven people. "We'll have to wait until the rain clear out, until then it's too dangerous to drive on these roads. I don't even want to think about if we meet somebody else." Cody shuddered and shook his head.

The rain didn't let go for the next day and a half, and when it did it was late evening. The mood inside the auto camper was bad, everyone was hungry and pestering Gemma for more food, but all she could do was chuck the empty cans at them. Cody started up the engine and started to drive again, through the thick darkness. "Where exactly are we?" Ellie asked peering at the dark road that stretched in front of them. "Honestly? I have no idea." Cody said. "That's helpful." Ellie muttered sinking back into her seat. Gemma made the last two cans of baked beans and handed out a tiny portion for everyone. Ellie looked down at it, her stomach growling in protest. "I hope we find somewhere soon; we can't keep going like this." Stella said inhaling her own little portion. Ellie took small bites of it and shuddered, she had tasted worse while on the road, but this was still pretty dam disgusting. It tasted like old socks; sadly, she knew what they tasted like thanks to her brother Timothy. Ellie pushed the thought of her brother that threatened to sneak into her head away. The last thing she needed to think about was about her oldest brother.

"You okay?" Kim asked putting a hand on her leg. He startled Ellie and she looked at him. "What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." She said giving him a small smile. "You sure. It looked as if you were going to cry." He said in a low voice so the rest wouldn't hear. Ellie shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I just thought of something." She rested her head on his shoulder. "Ellie you take night watch." Lewis said. "No. I took it last night; I'm not taking it two nights in a row." She pushed the empty bowl away from her and crawled over Kim. "You can take it with Anthony, that way we start over again and go rounds." She crawled into the bed and pulled the blanket over her staring at the wall. A short flash of dim light told Ellie that Kim had joined her. "Something you want to talk about?" He asked pulling her close kissing a spot between her shoulder and jaw. "Not really. I don't want to bother everyone else with my worries for my own family..." She twisted around in his arms and at him. "I mean Joachim saw his family inside his own house hungry for a good screaming happy meal. Cody saw his mother attack Gemma and..." Ellie shuddered. "I keep picturing how it must be for you. Not knowing what happened to them, your mum, dad or your siblings." Kim's arms tightened around Ellie. "My parents... I don't know either. I have an older brother, but I don't know if he's alive or not. I can only hope that he is." Ellie buried her head in his chest. Trying to force back the tears.

She kept thinking about her family, were Danielle alive? What about Timothy? Then a thought struck Ellie, she felt as though somebody had taken a sledgehammer and hit her in the stomach. Julia, Logan... and all of her cousins... what about them? Then there were her friends.

Bythe morning Cody stopped outside a small shop, the windows were broken and itlooked like somebody had already raided it once but they took their chances.Stella, Ellie and Henrik moved towards the shop first. They'd drawn theshortest straws. Ellie walked slowly on the broken glass and stepped throughone of the windows, she kept her long knife ready as she moved around the shop.Nothing moved in the main area, "Go fetch the rest, Tell Anthony and Lewis tostay by the camper with Cody." Ellie told Henrik. "Should we check out the backroom?" Stella asked mentioning to the wooden door behind the ruined counter."Hold the door. I knock." Ellie said. Stella grabbed the handle and held itshut tight as Ellie used the back of her knife and knocked loudly on the doorseveral times. They listened carefully for any sounds of movement. Ellierepeated the knocking and then stopped as something crashed just behind thedoor. A growl met their ears. "There's one in there."