Chapter6:Team.
943 Words
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Alice shouted the moment we burst into the gym, only to find it exactly the way we had left it.
"WE LITERALLY RISKED OUR LIVES FOR YOU, AND YOU MORONS CAN'T EVEN DO ONE SIMPLE TASK?!"
She looked around the room in disbelief before clicking her tongue.
"Tsk. This feels like babysitting."
"It's not like those vines can get us in here," a girl scoffed, crossing her arms. "Besides, no one asked you to do all this. We didn't ask you to lead us. You're just being performative."
Alice snapped.
"IF I DIDN'T, THEN WHO WOULD?!"
Her voice echoed through the gym.
"If you don't want to cooperate..." she pointed a finger straight at the girl, "...THEN JUST DIE!"
There she goes again.
She never even introduced herself, yet she's already getting on my nerves.
And honestly...
I'm still not used to seeing this side of Alice.
"Listen," I interrupted before things got worse. "There's no point arguing. Let's just reinforce our hideout, okay?"
I turned to Alice, hoping she'd calm down.
"Please, Alice?"
She let out a frustrated sigh.
"Fine. You handle this. I'm going back out there to save Ash and Enzo, because clearly no one else will."
Without another word, she turned toward the exit.
Right...
Ash and Enzo were still outside.
Still out there with that creature.
I just hope they're okay.
"Alice."
Kael's voice stopped her. He had just finished putting down the food and supplies.
"Me and Charles are coming with you."
The two of them smiled before Kael looked at me.
"Melissa, right?"
"Yeah?"
He nodded.
"We'll leave this place to you."
Before I could even protest, the three of them disappeared through the door.
"...Me?"
I stared at everyone left in the gym.
"Lead... these people?"
Most of them looked like they'd rather start another argument than lift a finger.
"What am I even supposed to do?"
I swallowed my nervousness, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
After a moment of awkward silence, my eyes landed on someone who looked... somewhat approachable.
"Umm... you."
I pointed at the guy sitting nearby.
"What's your name again? Sorry... I kind of forgot. Matter of fact, I think I forgot half of everyone's names."
To my surprise, he simply smiled.
"I'm Noah. Nice to meet you."
...Well.
That wasn't the reaction I expected.
Judging by his expression, he didn't seem hostile.
That already made me feel a little less pressured.
"Okay, Noah..." I laughed awkwardly. "Would you mind helping me figure out how we can improve this place?"
I hesitated before asking,
"Would you... team up with me?"
He nodded immediately.
"Of course. I'd love to help, Miss...?"
"Missy," I corrected.
Did he forget my name...
Or did he just never know it?
"Oh, right. Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was asleep during everyone's introductions."
...That explains it.
I nodded and looked around the room.
No one else seemed interested.
With only the two of us...
What exactly could we accomplish?
I walked over to the pile of supplies, searching for anything useful.
Almost thirty minutes passed before—
BANG!
I nearly jumped.
Guess constantly feeling like something's about to kill you makes every sound ten times louder.
I spun around.
Noah was... taking down the basketball hoop.
"...What are you doing?"
"Oh, this?" he answered casually. "I figured we could use the metal backboard as a barricade for the windows... maybe even cover the vents."
I blinked.
"...That's actually a really clever idea."
At least we were making progress.
Even if I technically wasn't the one coming up with the ideas.
Noah was still standing near the top of the hoop, somehow balancing himself while holding the heavy metal frame.
I was just about to ask how he planned to get down when another voice spoke up.
"Alright, i***t. Drop the metal. I'll handle barricading the windows."
I turned toward the voice.
Another volunteer.
Nice.
Three people.
That made me smile.
While they worked together, I grabbed one of the rolling ball carts and emptied it.
"This should work..."
I rolled it into the corner and organized all the food and medical supplies inside.
Then I cleaned the area where the gym mattresses were stacked, laying them out into a proper sleeping area.
Even in the middle of an apocalypse...
People still deserve a place that feels a little like home.
I was still arranging supplies when—
Click.
The lights flickered back to life.
A second later, the air conditioner hummed.
"...What?"
I stared at the ceiling in disbelief.
Noah threw both fists into the air.
"LET'S GO! I DID IT!"
"What did you do?"
He looked ridiculously proud of himself.
"I rewired the emergency power system. I connected the inverter to the electrical panel, rerouted the power through the backup breaker, and bypassed the damaged main line. As long as the batteries have charge, we'll have lights and air conditioning for a while."
"...Okay."
I couldn't help smiling.
"That was actually really cool."
"Oh! And we have water now too."
He pointed toward another guy.
"Jared managed to repair the broken water line. We should have running water again."
I looked around the gym.
Three hours ago, this place felt hopeless.
Now...
The weak walls were reinforced with wooden boards.
The windows were barricaded with metal.
We had electricity, a running water, food supplies and an actual place to sleep.
It still wasn't safe.
But...
For the first time since this nightmare began...
It felt like we finally had a home.
I just hoped Alice's group was doing okay out there.
- Writer
