[1x1] Fight the Dead, Fear the Living

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia nodded, taking the magazine and sitting by the fire, sighing quietly. "We don't pack much for entertainment. Aidan says we have to pack light. Even then, we've got more bags than we do people... used to. Now we can all carry one bag. Hurts less..." she smiled slightly, looking down at the wildlife magazine for a few moments. "It gets pretty lonely, when it's just us. We have each other's company, but it's not the same as having friends around, y'know? He's a bit more like a parent now than anything, and while I can have fun conversations with him once in a while, everything's too... serious." she sighed, eying the photo on the cover of the magazine for a few moments. "Understandable, though, because of the whole... end of the world scenario."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Yeah, I can't blame him for being protective," Lia admitted. "I'm a bit protective myself when it comes to watching over Renegade, so in a way, I feel a lot like a parent myself. I get what you're saying about having friends though." Lia did understand that other people may have wanted to have friends, even if she was more the type of person to keep to herself. "Since I'm stuck with you guys, we might as well be friends if you're looking for that kind of companionship. But anyhow, go ahead and read for a while if you want. I know it's boring sitting watch because you have to be pretty quiet at night. So I'll be our main pair of eyes for a while if you want to entertain yourself." The blonde settled down and tried to make herself comfortable, sitting in an angle where she could look around in all kinds of directions from their camp site.


((Not sure how much more we wanted to have Lia and Olivia chat. If you want them to talk more, you're welcome to write a little more. Otherwise, you're welcome to do the timeskip to next morning and have Aidan sitting out watching with Jenna, since they were the ones who were going to watch until morning. I'm fine with either. ))

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

((Sounds good.))


"Alright. Thanks... I always get bored during night watch." Olivia nodded, watching her for a few moments before beginning to read through the magazine. About a half hour later, she was done with it, and switched it with the book. She began to read quietly.


A few hours had passed, and Olivia checked the time when she felt tired enough. Then, crawling into the tent, she roused her brother. He climbed out slowly, stifling a yawn, before turning back and nudging Jenna. "Time for our shift..." he said with a sigh, stretching a bit.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

A little loopy from staying up so late, Lia felt a little silly. She crawled into the tent after Olivia and swiped a pillow out from under Jenna's head after Aiden nudged her, causing her head to hit the ground. Jenna groaned and pulled the blanket over her head while Lia chuckled at her. "Rise and shine; it's time for you two to watch out for those man eating dead bodies. I think Olivia and I have earned ourselves a good rest."


Jenna groaned again, refusing to budge. "A-Are you sure there's no way I can rest a little longer?" she asked, her voice sounded strangely raspy. Lia raised an eyebrow.


"Is something wrong with you?" the blond questioned. At the question, Jenna immediately straightened up.


"N-No, I'm fine. I-I'm ready for my shift." She finally crawled out of her spot in the tent and started to head out, uncomfortable with the way Lia was looking at her.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan watched her for a few moments, an eyebrow raised, before sitting by the fire pit, straining to see the charred wood and ashes as his eyes adjusted. "You feeling alright?" he asked, after a moment. He watched as Olivia zipped the tent up, nodding slightly, as if to tell her to secure it properly.


"Like, does your throat hurt? You might have a cold, or the flu, or something... wouldn't want any disease to spread around, of course. But it's probably fine. Awfully dry tonight, isn't it?" he asked, eying her warily for a moment, before relaxing, his hand resting by his gun more of a reminder of how prepared he was rather than anything else.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Jenna scooted the rest of the way out of the tent, allowing for Olivia and Lia to go inside. Lia crawled over to lie down, thinking about Jenna's strange behavior. She certainly hoped the girl wasn't getting sick and exposing them to something that could put them all in danger.


Once outside the tent, Jenna wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hide the fact she was shivering and felt very warm. She didn't want to admit it and stir up any trouble, but she was starting to feel sick. Her head hurt, her throat was sore, and her face felt on fire like she had a fever. However, she quickly brushed off these symptoms when Aidan asked how she was. "I'm fine," she said, glancing down for a moment. "My body just doesn't feel good when I have to wake up in the middle of the night, that's all." Sure, nobody felt good when they had to wake up in the middle of the night, but that wasn't her only problem.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan watched her warily for a few moments, before nodding and sitting back, stifling a yawn. "Well, so long as we're aware of our surroundings, we'll be just fine..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. While he would try not to let it show, he was keeping an eye on her. He knew how people were when they were sick; fear of being killed or exiled was enough to have them endanger others by keeping quiet. He sat quietly, feeling a little uneasy at the thought of someone in their group being bitten or ill.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Jenna nodded in reply before sitting stiffly for a while. She didn't want to speak much, worried that her raspy voice would give her away. After a while, however, she began to struggle with hiding her sickness. She stood up quickly without glancing to Aidan. "I'm going into the woods to use the bathroom. I'll be right back," she said quickly, rushing off into the woods before Aidan could say a word against it. She went just inside the entrance of the trees before throwing up. Renegade, who was lying close to Aidan's feet, stood up and whined in alarm, feeling that something was not right.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, moving in front of the tent, so he could block it off. "We'll keep an eye on her." he hesitated for a moment, looking down at Renegade briefly, before sighing. "Like I expect you to be a good conversational partner..." he reached over, petting the dog, before sitting up. Keeping his hand near his gun, Aidan simply sat quietly, watching and waiting.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Renegade wagged his tail, looking up at Aidan for a moment. He whined and rushed away from Aidan for a moment, greeting Jenna when she returned from the woods. Jenna staggered out, falling to her knees. She crawled over to Aidan on her knees, shaking. "Please don't shoot me in the head for saying this," she began to say, looking away from him, "but I don't feel very well at all." She wanted to ask him for help. Did he have any medication or something to help bring her fever down, at least? Jenna hoped so.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan stared at her for a few long moments, getting to his feet. "I might not shoot you," he said, taking a few hesitant steps towards her. "Have you been bitten? Do you know what you have? You might have been bitten without knowing..." he eyed Jenna warily, frowning as he thought, shifting his weight a bit as he stopped a few metres short of her. "Or it's an infection of sorts, if you've been injured. But you might have a virus, or something like that..."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Jenna scooted back from Aidan when he took the steps toward her, nervous when he said that he might not shoot her. "I haven't been bitten!" she exclaimed, defensively. She knew that she hadn't been bitten for sure, but she wasn't so sure about scratches... "I-I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just hot, uncomfortable, and my throat hurts." She looked up at him, pitifully almost. People could be cruel these days, but would someone really shoot her just for being sick? She remembered having a scratchy throat earlier, but she was hoping it was something that would just pass. "What are you going to do?" she asked, worried. Would he be willing to try and help her, or simply get rid of a possible threat?

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"Sit by the fire pit." he ordered, hesitating for a few moments. "I picked up some hospital masks and medicine. I'll see what I have, okay? And then I'm checking for bites or decay, alright? Mostly arms and legs, but I'll check your back, need be..." he sighed, crouching by one of the bags and starting to dig through it. He pulled out a hospital mask, as well as a few bottles and boxes of medicine. "Let's see here... cough, fever, headache, sore throat..." he thought for a few moments, eying Jenna for a few moments.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Jenna watched him, shaking where she sat by the fire. "W-Well it's good to know you don't intend to put a bullet right in my head right off the bat," she admitted nervously, watching Aiden ruffle through some of his medicine stash. "On the off chance I do have a bite and I am... infected... what then?" she questioned. If she was infected, Jenna knew she had an unavoidable fate ahead of her. She just didn't want to think that way. The brunette wanted to live. She was young and still had so much life ahead of her. She just couldn't die.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"We've done this before. I don't like shooting people," he admitted, placing a few bottles aside. Then, zipping the bag up, he handed her the bottles. "Take some of that. Not too much. What I normally do with infected people is, uh..." he thought for a moment, before shrugging. "Give them a bit of food and water, enough to keep them going for a little, and send them off. Or, if we're on the move and there's an empty room handy, lock them up. Unless they request to be shot." he paused, frowning slightly. "Some people don't like becoming one of them, you know..."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Taking the bottle, Jenna sighed at his words. "I don't want to become one of them, but I don't want to die either." She unscrewed the cap of the bottle and took out two pills, popping them in her mouth before replying again. "I'll admit I've done this before too, taking care of someone who I was unsure if they were infected or not. But I'll tell you, it's very different when you're finally the one who is sick being taken care of by another." She paused and looked at his eyes. "The person who is well looks at the person who is sick with so much pity in their eyes." She didn't enjoy the feeling of being pitied and not knowing whether she could possibly die soon or not.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, watching her carefully for a few moments, before handing her a hospital mask. "Put that on and let me see your arms." he said, inching a little closer to her. "Maybe you've just got the flu or something like that..." he said, frowning as he eyed her. "I hope we don't have to deal with another infected. It's hard..." he sighed quietly, glancing back at the tent a few times.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"No kidding," Jenna replied, biting her lower lip. "It's very hard. I know you want to protect your sister, but sending someone away and condemning them do die can't be easy either." She shook her head and took the medial mask from him, putting it on. Even though she was had a mask on now, if she was sick, Jenna knew she had most definitely exposed Aidan, Olivia, and Lia. "On the off chance I'm lucky and I am just sick, if I can hang on until morning, maybe we can go to the farm house and I can rest there. If it's a house it probably has beds inside, extra blankets, changes of clothes, and a room for me to stay in so I don't spread my germs," she suggested.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, checking her other arm for bites, before moving to her legs. "Nothing yet..." he said with a quiet sigh, shifting a little. "I really hope you don't have a bite, because I'm too tired to deal with this..." he said with a sigh. "And I suppose we'd better keep going with our plans to check out the farmhouse. They might have supplies..." Aidan shrugged, still examining her legs.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Jenna watched as Aidan checked her over, nervously chewing on her lip and adjusting the medical mask. "If I have a bite you don't have to worry about it. It's not your problem unless I stick around, die, and return to life. I have a feeling I won't be sticking around if I have a bite." Jenna knew she would be sent on her way, alone into the woods unless she asked one of them to kill her.


Coughing a couple times into her medical mask, she became more at peace when Aidan's search continued and he didn't find any visible scratches. "If I'm infection free, I'm still full of a virus. I don't think I can keep watch with you," she admitted. "I'll probably pass out. You might have to wake up one of the other two if you want help. I'm afraid I won't be a good pair of eyes."

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, watching her for a few moments, before nodding over to the tent. "As mean as this may sound, I can't have you in the tent. Sleep by it, keep the mask on..." he thought briefly, before sitting back. "I'll be fine on my own for a little. I don't want to wake anyone up just yet..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I've kept night watch on my own before, anyways. It'll be fine... you go rest up." he stifled a yawn, before sitting up a bit and glancing around.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Honestly, that doesn't sound mean at all. I'm sure you wouldn't want me to sleep in the same environment as your sister while I could be infected or sick," she said with a sigh. Jenna crawled over by the tent and lied down, not asking for a blanket or anything else. She didn't want to trouble Aidan for it, or get any of their items infected. Besides that, she felt too hot for a blanket anyhow. Using a blanket may not have been good for a fever.


She lied down outside the tent while Aidan kept watch, flinching when she heard the click sound of someone drawing back the slide of their gun. When she looked up, the barrel of Lia's gun was in her face. Her eyes widened and she froze in fear, looking up at the blonde who had come from the tent looking for a drink of water.


"I heard you talking," Lia hissed, narrowing her eyes at Jenna. "If you've been bitten or scratched you'd better darn well not be keeping it a secret from us or I'll pull this trigger right now." A bit colder than most after all she had experienced during the world's abrupt end, Lia did have the nerve to shoot the girl in front of her if she was infected.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

At first, Aidan didn't hear her, but after a few moments of Lia talking, he glanced back at them. He straightened up, inching a bit closer. "I didn't find anything," he said, his eyes locked on the gun. "No scratches, or bites, or any signs of decay... I think she's clean. She might have the flu, or something like that. We should be keeping a close eye on her, though. Make sure she keeps that mask on, and ensure that there isn't any decay or scratches we missed."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"H-He's right," Jenna stammered, grateful Aidan had stood up for her. "You can put the gun down. He looked me over himself and like he said, I'm clean."


"Did he check under your clothes?" Lia asked, doubtful.


"Well no, but--"


"Then we don't know for sure what's wrong with you!" Lia's glare intensified, and she moved closer to Jenna with the gun. "I swear, if you're lying I will end this right here and now. Don't make me--" Lia cut herself off, shocked as Renegade moved between Jenna and herself, growling at her own master. The blonde lowered her gun, scowling. "Even you are trying to keep me in check? Some friend you are. You're supposed to be on my side." Lia through her gun on the ground, not caring if it went off by mistake. Thankfully, it didn't. She looked over at Aidan, an unsure look in her eyes. "Are you sure you trust her? What if she's only pretending to be sick?"

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Can you check her?" he asked, after a moment. "I don't really... want to. I mean, you're a girl, she's a girl... it's less awkward." he paused, clearing his throat. "Not that that's... the biggest issue on my mind, obviously. I'm just not really used to, uh... checking women for bites a lot." he sat up, pausing to stifle a yawn, before sighing quietly, rubbing at one of his eyes. "And afterwards, you two get to bed... I can keep an eye out."