megatrash

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

After making sure the guys didn’t need her, Jane slipped inside the venue to get herself a drink. The inside of the dimly lit establishment was fairly large, housing two bars and a decent sized stage. The AC was blowing at maximum power, but that didn't help cool the accumulated body heat from the large number of patrons inside. An enclosed outdoor area was located in the back, also of fair size, which had a tiki bar wedged in the corner. The crowd was roaring as they waited for the next set to start, and Jane weaved her way outside so that she could order a beer. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to see a group of girls standing behind her.

“Are you Jane? From In Bloom?”
The question caught her off guard. “Uh, yes. Yes. Hi,” she was confused. Did they work here? Did they need something from her?
“We love your new song. We all bought the CD!” one of the girls spoke, and all four of them held up their purchase in their hands.
“Wow, thank you. Means a lot,” Jane nodded and smiled before leaving the group and making her way to the bar outside. She still was not feeling like her usual extroverted self, so she kept her eyes low until she was asked what she wanted from a deep voice.

“Blue Moon, please,” she said as she extracted a crumpled wad of cash front her woven bag. Jane looked up to see the blonde bartender, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, eyeing her as if he had known her.
“You’re Jane right?” He smiled as he pushed the beer to her side of the bar. “I’m Mark. That’s Sarah over there.” He pointed to a dark haired girl who was serving someone else a drink, and answered to her name being called with a smile to Jane. “We’re, um, big fans,” he began to laugh. “Of your band and all, but… mainly you.”
Jane nodded politely until the meaning of his words hit her, making her eyes widen nearly causing her to choke on her beer. “Jesus. They’re forward in Texas, huh?” she chuckled and caught eyes with Sarah down the bar.
“You could say that,” Mark replied, smirking. “Well, if you guys need a place to stay tonight, you can crash at our place.”
Jane returned his smirk. “I’ll let the guys know. Thanks.”
She paid him for the drink and began to weave her way back through the bar to head to the van, when she was stopped a few other times to sign CDs and to take pictures. ”This is fucking insane,” Jane kept thinking to herself until she made it out of the bar finally. “Fuck,” she cursed in relief to not be surrounded by people anymore.

She had dreamed this kind of recognition since the 13-year-old Jane saw the music video for Out Here All Night by Damone, and she would sing in front of the mirror and work on her "stage presence" for hours. So much had changed since then, but the memory always made her smile. Jane couldn’t have imagined a week ago them receiving this type of attention. Her predictions about the single, though, were entirely true. They had fans other than their friends or the regulars that attended their events. They were receiving money for playing. They were getting offers for threesomes in return for a place to crash. It was exhilarating – to Jane anyway – and she planned on soaking in every bit of it that she could.

A change of outfit was needed before the show began, so she decided to go into the van when Rob nearly fell out of the door she opened. “Holy shit, Rob, I didn’t even see you,” she grunted as she helped him back up to the position he was in. Her eyes landed on the notebook in his lap, but instead of testing their newfound truce, she didn’t mention it. “Uh, mind if I use the van to change really quick?” She closed the door and sat in the driver’s seat instead of waiting for him to move and reached around near Rob’s legs to grab her bag. In the location he was sitting, she knew he wouldn’t be able to see anything, so after checking the road in front of her, she lifted the black shirt off her body and replaced it with a form-fitting gray one and put on a large, red and black flannel over it, keeping the buttons undone.

Jane pulled down the mirror and stared at herself for a moment. She looked exactly how tired and stoned she figured she would. She put a finger up to her face and touched her freckled cheeks and nose, staring at herself for a moment, before shutting the mirror again and turned around to Rob. “I found us a place to sleep tonight. Won’t be a party or anything,” she sighed as turned her attention back to the road in front of them. “I guess I’ll see you in there, yeah?” Jane hopped out of the van and reentered the venue, where she was bombarded by more people introducing themselves and taking pictures.

Sound check was in 15 minutes, so that was her cue to try to squeeze in another beer or two before she was needed. Instead of trying to make her way back outside to Mark and Sarah, she took a seat next to Austin at the bar inside.
“Are you and Rob cool now?” Austin swiveled the stool to face her. “This morning was weird.”
Jane sighed. “Yeah, we’re cool. I just had a bad night.” Her finger circled the top of the bottle, avoiding Austin’s glare which nearly burnt a hole right through her.
“Jane, I’ve known you for a while now. Plus, I saw you last night. You were fine until you walked into Adrianna’s room,” he said lowly. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, or with Rob, but please don’t fuck up what we have going on. We’re finally getting the attention we’ve always wanted, and I don’t want something stupid like your feelings breaking up the band.”
She was going to rebuttal and tell him nothing was happening, but Austin always had a way of picking up on everything happening behind the scenes, so she just nodded, and he placed a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently.

This was already getting messy. Whatever “this” was.

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

Jane aimlessly wandered the mall after getting something quick to eat in the food court and getting a hot tea for her throat. She had to do something, because her and Rob's silent argument was only going to come to a head if she didn't try to fix things first. But how would she fix it if she didn't know what it was?

Jane came across a small record store owned by an old man no younger than sixty who was playing Dark Side of the Moon loudly as he sat behind the register. After a few minutes of bullshitting, she walked out with a Queens of the Stone Age vinyl in a plastic bag and headed for the mall's exit when she spotted Rob sitting alone, looking just as awful as she did . A deep breath later, she approached the table and plopped the record along with the beer enclosed in a brown paper bag she had bought at the gas station.

"You always complain," she began as she cracked open the beer and took a conspicuous swig, "that I don't have any records you like at my place, so..." Her voice trailed off. Her throat hurt, and she definitely needed to rest it before they arrived in El Paso, but swallowing her pride at the moment felt even worse. "I, uh, I had a bad trip. Plus, I really wish I fucking showered last night," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry I was a dick this morning. Are we cool?" Her facial expression showed remorse, and for the most part, that was the truth. Why would she be mad at her best friend for sleeping with someone? Even though she desperately wanted to bring it up, at least joke about it, she figured it was probably best she let it die with the rest of that night. She held out a hand for him to hold as a signal of peace.

"We're stuck in a van for two months together. You've been acting weird lately. I guess it hurt my feelings," she said sarcastically even though that was also the truth. "I just don't want you to hate me anymore, Rob." She looked past him to see a man staring at her chest. "What, you don't have nipples? It's fuckin' cold in here, man."

The man at the table across from them abruptly looked away and put his newspaper in front of his face, which Jane erupt with laughter.
"Ah, that never gets old. You ready to get outta here?" She was already feeling like herself again. Maybe it was just the drugs.

As they approached the van, she snatched the keys from Rob and climbed into the drivers seat and sighed in relief, and then grabbed the neon AUX cord that was laying on the floor. "Hmm" she pondered as she heard Sam and Austin climb in the backseat. "Hey Sam," she asked, a devilish grin on her face, "What's your least favorite band?"
"No, don't do it, Jane. I just got that one song outta my head. I was singing it for like a week!"
"What song? This song?" Jane asked innocently as she turned the volume knob, and Covet by Basement began to pour through the vans speakers. Jane laughed heartily as Sam groaned in the back, and she began to sing along and ignited the engine. She didn't belt the song out though, unfortunately, as she decided to be responsible and rest her voice. She took a swig of the beer and got back on the road to El Paso.

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

A groaned escaped Jane’s pouty lips as her eyes fluttered open to see Rob’s shirtless form in front of her. “Shit,” she whispered as she sat up, the world spinning for a moment until her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the morning. Some night she had? Jane wanted to scream, but it wouldn’t be justified, so she bit a lip to keep herself from exploding. “Yeah,” her hoarse voice mumbled, more raspy than usual, “you should drive.” Jane’s hand shot up so that he could help her stand, and as she did, she began to wipe the blades of grass that had stuck to her off her body, barely making any eye contact with Rob as she walked over to the van to pull out a change of clothes. Hers were still damp, and she was thankful he didn’t notice since she didn’t feel like explaining herself.

After slipping on black tee shirt that had been cut into a crop top and a new pair of shorts, she crawled into the van quietly before plopping down on the middle row. Jane had nothing to say for the first time since she could remember. Her mind was exhausted along with her body as she laid down with her ear buds in, softly playing B&E by Nothing, her usual go-to song when she felt upset - even if she didn't know why she was upset. Usually, after mushrooms, she felt like things were so much clearer, but today, her thoughts were cloudy. Never speaking about what happened last night would be ideal, but she knew in a van with three guys, that probably wouldn’t happen.

Rob was driving, and Austin was in the passenger seat, wearing black Ray-Bans and singing along to a song that she hadn’t heard of before. “Jane!” he yelled so that she could hear through the music, and he turned down the volume once he caught her attention. “So, did you fuck Jared before or after you passed out in the front lawn?”
This caused Sam, who was in the row of seats behind her, to start cracking up.
Jane swung backwards and hit him on the arm. “I didn’t sleep with him, asshole.”
Austin scoffed. “Yeah right, I saw you guys together all night. You’d never deny the chance to f—“
“Shut up, Austin. I said I didn’t fuck him, okay?” Jane rolled her eyes and laid back down on the seat, closing her eyes and folding her arms.
“Jesus, Jane, chill out,” Austin mumbled as he turned the radio up.

Jane didn’t like acting that way – she prided herself in usually not letting things get to her – but she was completely drained, mentally and physically, and didn’t have the energy to play along. The thoughts she was having about Rob were tormenting her still, making her question if it truly was the drugs or not that made her feel… that way. Her eyes opened and lingered on the window for a bit before she fell back asleep, this time much more comfortably then on the front lawn.

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She woke up maybe two or three hours later, halfway into their trip to El Paso. Without saying anything to the guys, she searched through her phone until she found the number she needed and popped up from the seat. Jane tapped Rob on the shoulder and quietly asked him to turn down the radio right before the person on the other line answered.

“Hey,” God, her voice sounded like shit. “It’s Jane from In Bloom. What time is load in?”
The man on the other line was Tim, a booking manager who put together the event. They had spoken once about a week ago. “I hope your voice sounds better tonight then it does now! Load in’s at 7:00, you guys go on at 8:00.”
Jane laughed. “Yeah, last night is lingering a bit. I’ll be fine. See you then.” She ended the call and looked out the window to see the landscape surrounding them. They were probably in New Mexico by now, she figured. She would, however, want to see the Rio Grande, but Jane decided she would ask later.

Her stomach began to rumble. "Our set's at 8. Would you guys be cool with getting food soon? I’m starving.” Jane felt awkward about what happened between her and Austin, so she rested a hand on his shoulder and almost squeezed herself between him and Rob. “Hey, Aust. I’m sorry. I was just… hungover. Really.” She smiled at him sincerely before taking her seat again.
Austin laughed. "It's fine, mad woman."
"And Sam, sorry about your arm," she apologized as she stuck out her tongue at him.

Jane couldn't have the whole band hate her. She could barely handle Rob not wanting to be around her.

Trash's IC for 20+ MxF & FxF

Bump!

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

That's okay! Mine is a little short too.

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Cameron thought about Justin’s questions for a moment before answering them and looked past him at the trees that rustled gently in the breeze. It’d be a great betrayal to tell all the secrets of Chesapeake to someone from another settlement, but then again, there wasn’t anyone left to betray. Plus, she was sick of turning a blind eye to the mystery that surrounded the elders’ agendas.

“Well, when the elders’ decided to let guns into the village, they’d go on ‘trips’ frequently. They would be gone for two or three days and would come back with equipment. John, the one who gave me the box, would refuse to go. I never knew why,” her hoarse voice muttered as she remained seated, fiddling with a twig she had plucked from the ground. “The rifles they used looked the same as this group’s. But we didn’t have armor like that.” Cameron desperately attempted to claw back at the deepest parts of her memory to think of anything that could help. “I don’t think…” she trailed off as her mind began to place the pieces together. “I don’t think they would work with a group like that, because why would they destroy Chesapeake? Unless a deal went south, or they found out…” Her eyes moved up from the twig in her hand to Justin, “that John had the box.”

If what she was thinking was true, that meant Chesapeake was in bed with these monsters and that John was the only one who didn’t approve. Maybe they thought that the elders knew about the box, and that was why they destroyed Chesapeake. Retaliation for betrayal, and also to find the maps and blue liquid. The settlement and those who led it were selfish – it would make sense that they would not care to save anyone but their own – but to this level? Cameron’s head was spinning.

She reached out a hand to signal him to help her up, and once she was upright, she brushed her pants on and looked him dead in the eye. “If Chesapeake was in bed with these assholes, then that probably means they had the same mentality – save your own. It’d make sense if that was their endgame.” Cameron didn't know what types of settlements were scattered along the coast, only what she had seen herself. They kept them in the dark to avoid members of the settlement leaving for a better place to live.

After a moment of them looking at each other – a silent agreement that they were on the same page – a snap came from behind the rim of trees. Cameron immediately grabbed her knife from her thigh and the gun from her waist and attempted to spot where the noise was coming from. She figured that maybe she was just being paranoid, so she dropped her guard for a moment and looked to Justin. “Probably nothing,” she whispered, smiling and shaking her head at how paranoid she was being. She'd drive herself mad if she constantly expected an attack, she just needed to --

Snap. It was definitely branches breaking. But from where? She was back on defense, scanning the trees. “Do you see anything?” she whispered with her back to his to make sure they had eyes on as much of the landscape around them as possible.

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

She made small talk in the kitchen with a few people as her eyes landed on Adrianna approaching Rob. Jane, if asked, would swear on her life that 95% of her was happy to see Rob talking to her. He never really put himself out there, not that he usually needed to – the ladies definitely seemed to like him – but he looked like he was enjoying himself. But, that 5%, Jane wasn’t sure what it was. She couldn’t be jealous. No, that definitely couldn’t be it. Why would she be jealous? Well, she was used to having Rob’s attention all to herself, but she didn’t realize until that moment how awful that was of her. Was she expecting him to stay single so that he could remain her loyal best friend? Jane wasn't that selfish... Was she?

Interrupting her thoughts, Jared approached her with a zip-lock bag in his hand. “Hey, come with me,” he smiled as he took her hand and led her down the hallway to the bedrooms in the back. Jane followed him without a word, observing the pictures hanging on the wood-panels, letting a finger graze the walls as they walked. Once they were in his room, he opened the bag to reveal the surprise. Mushrooms. Her face lit up with excitement, but quickly dimmed when she realized tripping until 5 AM probably wouldn’t be the best decision when they’d have to be on the road tomorrow. “Only a little.” Jane didn’t want to hear it from Rob if she ended up tripping all night and being too tired tomorrow. He already seemed weird enough towards her.

“That’s not the Jane I know, but more for the rest of us, then” Jared laughed as he ‘cheers-ed’ her, and they both began to chew on the contents of the bag.

After they finished, they both looked at each other, and Jared reached a hand behind her head, wrapping his fingers in her hair, and pulled her into a kiss. It took Jane by surprise, but she obliged, placing her hands on his chest and lifting up to her toes to reach him.

“We’ll finish this later, let’s party,” Jared smiled, and she nodded in agreement.

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They were outside in a circle with some other musicians, and Jane was singing Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman while sitting on Jared’s lap with a beer in her hand. Her voice was accompanied by an acoustic guitar played by Sam and a bongo played by a guy she hadn’t met before. Once the song finished, Jane’s head snapped to her right to hear the sound of Rob’s voice. Wow, he was fucked up. But, before she could even ask what the hell he was talking about, he ran off with Adrianna. Jane felt a pang in her chest at the sight, but before her mind had a chance to elaborate, a hand guided her head to face Jared, who kissed her once again.

“Why don’t we head to my room?” he whispered with a devious look on his face.
“Yeah, uh,” Jane’s mind was racing, “I’m gonna go grab a drink and head to the bathroom, and then I’ll meet you there, yeah?”
When Jared agreed, she stood up and headed into the kitchen to grab her fifth… maybe sixth beer.

Half an hour later, Jane found herself again in that hallway grazing the wooden walls again, but this time, they were much smoother, and the swirls in them were stunning. Jane ate just enough to feel the mushroom’s effects without actually hallucinating, but she was definitely still enjoying herself. Her normally hazel irises were consumed by large, black orbs, and she felt giggly, happy, and amused at the party around her. Everything just looked cooler or felt better, which was satisfying. She had lost track of time, not concerned with how long Jared had been waiting, when she decided that she needed to find Rob. Although she knew he was a grown man, Jane felt the need to make sure he was alright, especially after his outburst earlier. He must be tripping she decided, based on the sudden introspection and his dilated pupils.

She walked through the house, looking like a kid in a candy store, observing the home around her as she searched for the familiar face. Jane would find herself distracted and force herself to focus on finding him, but then she made it to that hallway again after she couldn’t find Rob, and she began to laugh as she slowly strolled down it, turning in circles, until she thumped into a door and heard noises behind it. A curiosity took a hold of Jane, so she opened the door to see Adrianna sitting astride Rob, her bare back facing the door. “Fuck! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she panicked as she returned the door to its rightful place and quickly made her way back to the party.

After the sight, Jane began to feel suffocated by the room and its habitants, and in a quick effort to make it stop, she dashed out of the garage door, grabbed her longboard from the van, and finally propelled herself down the street with a bare foot. Luckily, the vibrations the board was sending up her leg and through her body was enough to make the thoughts stop for a moment. She dug in her purse for her ear buds and picked a song. White Mystery by Minus the Bear. Yes, that would calm her down. Usually that’s what she’d listen to if she was either smoking weed or getting laid, but it would hopefully have the same effect on her now.

Unfortuanately, though, the song did little to stop the madness, and as her mind raced, Jane thought about why she was feeling so awful. Could it really be that she was jealous of Adrianna? No, why the hell would she be? It must be just the attention thing. Rob was always hers, even when he had girlfriends in the past. Then why was it bothering her now? Maybe because she’d never seen it happening before. Ah, that was probably it.

Tears began to stream down her face as she pushed the board through the dark streets.

“Why the fuck are you crying, Jane?” she nearly yelled at herself as she stopped the board abruptly and plopped in the grass, ripping her headphones out. “Must be the shrooms,” she muttered as she looked at where she was. The yard in which she was sitting had no lights on, along with the house inside, and no cars parked on the driveway. That was when she had a mind-blowing idea.

She threw her bag over the white fence surrounding the backyard and hopped over with her board in her hand, plopping sloppily on the ground beneath her. She got chills when she saw the pool; the water looked like a sheet of glass that Jane wanted to break, ad she brought her things over to the edge and dove in fully clothed as the warm water surrounded her body. It felt astonishing, making the insides of her eyelids explode with color as all her senses pulsed. I guess I ate more than I thought.”

Her head rose out of the water slowly when she heard the muffled voice of someone yelling at her. Jane shook her head to release the water that had lodged in her ears and opened her eyes to a middle aged man barking at her to get out of the pool or he’d call the cops. But, instead of panicking, Jane did what she was best – using her sex appeal to get out of the situation.

She smiled faintly as she slowly climbed the steps to exit the pool, watching the man eye her body as she made her way to her bag, bending down slowly to retrieve it. “I’m sorry,” she softly apologized, keeping her eyes on him, a smirk on her face. “I thought no one was home.”
The man fumbled over his words as he backed up slowly. “Y-yes, okay. It’s fine, just go before my wife sees you.”
After nodding, Jane gathered her things, exited the backyard, and threw her board down on the ground to mount it once again.

The relief brought on by the past five minutes was short-lived, and Jane returned to the mood she was in before entering the pool. She didn’t want to talk to Rob. Didn’t want to look at him. It wasn’t his fault, though.

After a few wrong turns, she finally made it back to Jared’s house, but instead of going back inside, she laid down using the longboard as a pillow behind her head, sighing in relief. She was soaking wet, but it was a warm night, so she didn’t bother drying off or changing. It was nearing 3:00 am when her eyelids finally became heavy enough to drift off to sleep, although her mind kept replaying what she saw when she walked in on the pair earlier. Why did she have to see it? Why did she have to feel this way? It was the first night of tour, for God's sake. Jane knew she'd feel fine was the hallucinogens wore off, but man, her emotions were through the roof. She couldn't let Rob know she was feeling this way. Never.

In Bloom [HangYourSecrets x megatrash] [18+]

"Our house," Jared butted in before Jane could answer, extending a hand to Rob. "I'm Jared, an old friend of Jane's. This is my sister, Adrianna." He stepped aside to introduce her. "A lot of the artists here are coming over. Should be fun," he laughed as he looked to Jane and smiled. Jared was cute. A cocky asshole maybe. He was covered in tattoos, shaved dark hair, and light blue eyes. A tall and lean stature. Typical for the scene he was in, but still attractive nonetheless. Jane never really got to know his sister though. A part of her always felt like Adrianna didn't like her, which most girls usually didn't, so Jane usually avoided her when she could. That didn't stop her from saying hello though, to which Adrianna replied with an unamused look.

Jared wrapped a colorful arm around Jane. "See you in a little, yeah?"
She nodded as her sleepy eyes caught his. "Yeah, see you there."
"Nice to meet you guys," said Jared as he waved a hand to the rest of the band, then he and Adrianna left the area.

They worked together to load the trailer and all plopped in the van. "You guys were great tonight," Jane nodded as she lit a cigarette and released a large cloud. "I think the crowd really liked us." She smiled goofily as she looked back to them and sighed in relief. "I think this tour is really gonna get us the exposure we need." Jane turned back around to start the van, and after sputtering a bit, they were ready to go.

"Jared will let you guys change and shower at his house if you want. Pretty sure he'll let us crash there, too."

Jane's phone rang. It was Lena again. She had been dodging her calls all day and wasn't in the mood to listen to her bitch, so she silenced it and slipped it back into her bag. "How do you guys deal with women? Jesus," she mumbled as she backed the van out and got on the road.

The ride there was uneventful; they mostly laughing and talking about different parts of the set. Sam and Austin went off on a tangent in the back as Jane looked to Rob. "Hey, uh, thanks for really trying during the song. It means a lot," she smirked as she nudged his shoulder. The vibe between them throughout the day was beginning to really bother her; she hated when they were 'off', especially when she remembered how good things were with Rob and her. Things will go back to normal soon she kept telling herself as she drove the large van around.

When they arrived, Jane backed the van in trailer-first to the side of the house to avoid people from the street seeing it. It looked as though a good amount of people had already arrived. "I'm gonna change really quick," Jane announced as she climbed into the back of the van to reach her bag. She pulled out an old, worn Blind Guardian shirt that was cut into a muscle tee, a thin, lace bralette - which she was only wearing to not flash anyone - and black shorts. One the guys exited the van, she changed quickly and joined them soon after.

Jane opened the door to be immediately greeted by Jared and a few of his friends. "Give me five minutes, and I'll come get you," he said lowly, and Jane nodded in excitement, waiting to see what party favors he would have to offer her. He always had something decent.

She swiveled around to the guys and smiled. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink. Catch up with you guys in a bit?" Without waiting around for them to answer, she ran off to the kitchen to inspect what the fridge had to offer. Trays of multicolored Jell-O shots lined the shelves along with an array of beer choices. After careful consideration, Jane selected a craft beer from some Phoenix brewery and made her way through the party.

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

I agree! I think there is a nice contrast there. Excited to see where it all leads :-)

Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

Cameron listened politely while Justin spoke of Omega’s religious teaching. To her, it was all bullshit. Humans are born, they survive, and then they die. Fertilizer for the Earth. No god was going to come save them. What god would let them kill their planet which in return, killed them? What god would allow Cameron to be attacked and raped? What god would let Chesapeake, Omega, and all the other villages get slaughtered brutally? No god. Because there wasn’t one. And Cameron held tightly on to that belief. But instead of being rude, she nodded and smiled as she spoke. Everyone needed hope.

She took his hand when it was offered and stood up, watching him blush as he complimented her hair. “Thank you,” she said with a smirk as she brushed off the back of her jeans. Justin was a lot different than the men she had known in the past. He wasn’t cocky, first of all, which was a refreshing change of pace. Secondly, he was kind without an ulterior motive. He didn’t owe her anything, and he also didn’t seem to want anything other than a companion on a trip to which she gladly obliged. It was so nice to be free again. Thirdly, although he was four years older and seemed to have seen a lot in his time, he had a quirky innocence about him, which was extremely unfamiliar territory to Cameron. She was jaded, scarred, over having to struggle to survive. But yet, Justin still had this positivity in him, and it was almost beginning to rub off on her.

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Cameron and Justin were talking lowly and laughing as they made their way back into the unknown territory that engulfed them. The pair, despite the circumstances, were in much better spirits than when they entered the convenience store. Until –

She gasped and covered her mouth at the sight before her. The stories that she had been told all her life had been unfolding before her eyes, and she felt nausea take over as she looked away for a moment. They were sitting ducks awaiting another ambush, one more hostile than the last one. Cameron took the liberty of reaching in Justin’s pocket to pull out the map. “Sorry,” she said unapologetically as she unraveled it to figure out their location.

“The freeway isn’t gonna cut it,” she blurted, trying her best to read the shapes and lines on the wrinkled paper. “It’d be out of the way,” the words were coming out strained as she was processing it all, getting closer to him so he could get a view, “but if we head west, and then travel up the coast here,” her thin finger traveled up the paper, “we should be able to get there. Unless you know of other… hostile settlements that way.” Cameron looked up to him and was able to, for the first time, able to observe his face in daylight. It may have been a bad time, but her mind forced her to say it. “You know, I’ve never met anyone with green eyes before,” she admitted, looking at them for a second more before returning her attention to the map. Her irises were such a light blue that they nearly lacked pigment, but his were full of rich color. Fascinating.

“We can head west until we find some where to camp for a bit. No offense, but you look like you could use some sleep,” she laughed as she scanned their surroundings. No hostiles. A sigh of relief emerged from her. At least at Chesapeake, Cameron didn’t have to watch her back constantly.

They slyly climbed over the fence on the interstate and plopped down onto undeveloped land. A small river ran underneath the dilapidated road and out both east and west. “Probably their boundary,” she mumbled, referring to the group that had impaled the man they saw earlier. They traveled quietly and quickly, both looking like paranoid animals as they kept low and continually watched the trees and grass around them. Better to be safe than the guy with arrows in his neck. Any time they heard any noise, Cameron would cling to Justin like a child until they realized it was nothing, or when she realized what she was dong. Part of her felt pathetic for it, she wasn’t used to being this… broken. But part of her almost enjoyed it. Relying on someone for comfort was foreign, but it didn’t feel awful either.

After a few hours, they approached a clearing that the sunlight speckled through the trees. Cameron was exhausted and panting as she dropped her pack on the ground. “Is this a good spot for you? My lungs need a break,” she laughed as she smiled, observing the small area. Thick blades of green grass covered the ground, and tall, rustling trees swayed around it in a circle. It was peaceful, and she wanted nothing more than to lay down and enjoy it. That, and the inside of her eyelids.
She took a minute to stretch and groan before plopping down on the soil and feeling her joints in muscles cry in relief at the break they were receiving.

Although Cameron was relaxing, she didn't let her guard down. Her muscles still tensed with every sound that the landscape around them produced. The terrible mix of the trauma she had endured, the lack of a good nights sleep, and the unfamiliar territory were the cause of her jumpiness.

"So, I'm sorry if I sound daft, but what exactly are we trying to accomplish in Portland? How do we know that the other settlements haven't gotten there first?"