-Chapter 3-
-POV Nick Clark-
"Seriously?" said Alicia, grumbling.
I frowned and followed her gaze.
I understood, when I saw the box mom was carrying, that she was grumbling because of the game she wanted us to play while we waited for Travis... a fucking Monopoly.
"Oh hell yes," said mom, looking very pleased with her find, since it was a game we all used to enjoy but had stopped playing since… since dad left us.
'How long has it been since we last played this together?' I wondered, counting the years since our father's death.
Before I could say anything, mom said as fast as she could:
"Hat."
Alicia, who didn't seem like she wanted to play a second ago, straightened up and quickly said:
"Car."
"Shoe," I said reflexively in turn.
"Dad always picked the shoe," said Alicia, looking at me weirdly.
I couldn't tell if she was sad, wanted to punch me, or something else.
Mom, sensing a fight coming, defused the situation by saying: "He won't mind."
"So no one wants the thimble?" I said, smiling, because I knew nobody ever picked it.
"Hat," said my mother insistently, just like Alicia who also added while staring at me intently: "Car."
"Alright, alright," I said as I handed them both the pieces they had asked for.
"So who goes first?"
"Youngest goes first," I said before adding with a small grin, since I was pretty good at this kind of thing: "I'm gonna bankrupt you both, just watch."
"It's a toxic game, it introduces kids to capitalism," said Alicia in a slightly smug tone.
I held back from rolling my eyes, inwardly cursing her moral superiority.
"Exactly," said mom, trying to kill a long and heated debate on the pros and cons of capitalism before it could start.
"Shut up and play," I added, joking with her.
I found Alicia's attitude hilarious, because even though she pretended not to like the game, we all knew that deep down, she liked it the most out of all of us.
Just as we were about to start playing, I heard a noise coming from outside and we stopped the Monopoly game.
I perked up to figure out what kind of noise it was, and very quickly, as it got closer, I realized it was an engine noise.
'And I know that engine,' I said to myself, recognizing the sound of Cal's vehicle.
"What the hell are Calvin and his parents doing here?" asked Alicia, also recognizing Cal's car as she peeked behind the curtains covering our window.
"I called him before you came to get me with Travis," I said, without explaining our whole conversation.
"Wait what? You were allowed to bring your buddy but I couldn't bring Matt with me? That's not fair, mom," said Alicia, complaining to mom like the little kid she was. But I was no longer listening.
Matt was infected, which wasn't the case with Calvin or his family, otherwise they wouldn't be here… At least, that's what I hoped.
Ding Dong
"Alright, we don't have time for this. Mom, we've decided to help each other out with Calvin, and he came with supplies," I said while looking at my sister, then at my mom who looked completely lost.
Seeing that both of them were hesitating, I shrugged and walked toward the door.
I didn't wait — I just opened the door.
I found myself face-to-face with Calvin, who was carrying two duffel bags, and he asked while reaching out to fist bump me: "Hey bro, how you doing?"
'It felt good to know I wasn't alone, that someone who really understood me was in this with me.'
"I'm good. I was starting to think you wouldn't come," I said while grabbing his hand and pulling him in for a friendly hug.
"Of course I was coming, man. You're my one and only brother — no way I'd leave you hanging. I told you I'd come, so here I am," he told me.
I noticed the gun on his belt, hidden under his jacket — a habit he'd picked up from dealing with drug dealers and sketchy guys on the street.
'You never know when shit's gonna hit the fan out there,' I thought, remembering all the times he had pulled his gun to save my ass or scare off people trying to mess with us.
I whispered in his ear as I hugged him:
"Why'd you bring your gun?"
"It's chaos out there, you wouldn't believe it. Downtown's burning to the ground. The infection's spreading fast — way too fast," he said, looking at me seriously, and I even thought I saw a flicker of fear… or rather, pure terror in his eyes.
My heart skipped a beat for a second before I said:
"Travis, my mom's boyfriend, went downtown to look for his son."
He grimaced, then said: "I'm not gonna lie to you… I really don't know if he's gonna make it out."
---
-POV Calvin Jasper-
"You stocked up enough food for ten people for two weeks," said Nick, impressed, walking past me to help my parents unload some of our bags.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Jasper," said Nick, grabbing a bag and putting it in the car.
'It's too late to leave now anyway.'
"Hmm, mostly canned food and water jugs," I said as I walked into the house.
"Looks like you're prepping for the end of the world," said Alicia, giving me a little smile.
'What's up with her?' I wondered, easily noticing how fake her smile was.
I smiled back, ignoring her slightly provocative tone, before saying:
"I really feel like the world as we know it is coming to an end."
What I said created a kind of icy silence, because everyone could tell I was dead serious and that I truly meant it.
I had just voiced everyone's unspoken fears out loud.
Before anyone could respond to what I'd said, something hit the window.
Startled, I pulled out my gun on instinct and slowly approached the door.
"It's probably Travis," said Nick, immediately noticing the tension I had stirred up by drawing my weapon.
'Now's not the time to worry about that,' I thought, flicking the safety off.
I shook my head — it couldn't be Travis, since we hadn't heard an engine.
I carefully lifted the curtain and saw a German Shepherd hitting the glass.
I opened the sliding glass door, and it leapt in front of me before running off in the other direction.
---
N.A : Please leave a nice comment so the story can be added to the rankings. It would make me extremely happy.