Michael sat beside the fire that Kane had made, watching Zoe. She was rolled over on her side, facing away from them. She must have moved, or been moved by Kane, so that she was lying on the ground instead of against him. She was also pretending to be asleep. She had been practically since Michael himself had woken up.
Michael shot a questioning glance at Luke.
"She's had a rough time of it these past couple of years, since she arrived at this school. She's not good at getting up on time," he responded to the look in a low tone. Then louder, he said,
"She likes to fake it because she doesn't want us to know that she's actually not getting enough sleep."
She heard it. Michael could tell from the way that a muscle in her shoulder tensed. And from the way that she pushed herself up.
To her credit, she didn't sputter or blush or even look too embarrassed. Of course, it was impossible to avoid it entirely, but she did a good job with keeping a straight face.
"It's rude to gossip about people behind their back, you know," she said in an annoyed tone. Michael smirked, then he looked over at the fire again. The motion drew Zoe's gaze, and both of their eyes found the sizzling piece of meat that was currently cooking above it on a spit.
By the time he turned his head back towards her, she was already sitting beside him, looking hungrily at the meat.
"It's not ready yet," Kane said quietly.
Zoe bit her lip to stop the huff that Michael knew was about to come, and turned her own head away.
So they were all up now.
Kane was content to sit and wait, it seemed, as was Luke, though he was more focused on teasing Zoe than just waiting. Zoe was scowling at Luke and hissing angry words at him, clearly rankled by his comments. And Eve...
She was just sitting at the edge of the simple barricade. Staring, out into the forest. Earlier she had looked more disappointed, likely because she hadn't gotten to go out zombie hunting, but now she was just... still.
Michael wasn't sure if she was lost in thought or not, but that seemed the most reasonable conclusion. He just didn't know what she was thinking about.
Likely him.
He wasn't sure of their exact relationship yet. Did she expect more from him? Did she need more from him? Did she even care? Had anything changed?
Michael looked back into the fire.
Sparks flew occasionally, especially when a drop of fat from the meat fell in, though that was rare, because Kane had wrapped it in something. Michael wasn't sure what. Each one of the drips was followed by a small explosion, a shower of sparks. Zoe, having lapsed into silence after getting fed up with Luke, flinched slightly at each one.
Maybe she was reminded of something specific by it, or maybe not. She could just be too focused. Too alert, to the point where even small, normal changes would startle her.
Luke didn't notice it. At least, he didn't seem to. He was looking over at Eve.
Michael would normally have been more concerned about starting a fire in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, but the zombies didn't seem to be able to see, so it likely wouldn't do anything. And if they could smell, well, then they were in some pretty big trouble soon enough. But oh well. They could likely get through it, and even if they didn't, it would be over anyway. Michael did intend to figure out what was going on with the other four, but for now survival mattered more. Although Kane had found them meat once, what about next time? And when they ran out of supplies, where would they go?
They needed to establish their base, and fast. With Kane, they wouldn't have any lack of labor. Michael, Luke, Zoe, and Eve could help as well, but Kane seemed the sort to want to do it himself. Eve would jump at the chance to kill a zombie, so she could be their defense. They had two of the best things to have in a zombie scenario, but they needed to sort out basic supplies before they could properly take advantage of them.
Eve turned herself just slightly towards the fire, barely enough to for him to see the corner of her eyes from where he was. Luke immediately pushed himself and jogged over to her.
Michael just watched. And worried.