I watch Travis undress out of his camouflage swiftly. With only a light breeze, tonight is much warmer than the others have been. While he stacks his folded clothes neatly on the barn floor, the different colored ink on his muscular arms and chest are visible now. I gawk at him, thinking about how attractive he is. When he catches me staring at his body his thick lips form a smile, revealing the deep dimples in his cheeks.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” He laughs, his cheeks beginning to flush. That’s one of the things I love about him, he doesn’t realize how attractive he is.
“I was just thinking about how good-looking you are.” I wink. He shakes his head and rolls his eyes in response. I bend over and throw my dark blonde hair up into a top knot. The grease in my long hair leaves a residue on my fingertips; I haven’t washed it in a week.
“Ewe. Mom said you’re good-looking.” Ty laughs loudly.
“Shh,” Travis says quietly, “We need to be careful, son. This barn isn’t sound proof.”
“Oh, sorry.” He whispers. With his thumb and pointer finger pressed together he pretends to zip his mouth shut.
Off in the distance is what sounds like an owl hooting. I peer out the small window and search for the night bird. If there’s anything that doesn’t seem to have been affected by the invasion, it’s the animals. When everything first happened we assumed that they were destroying everything, but they weren’t. They were leaving the animals and only eating the humans. It’s as if they got a taste for human flesh, and nothing else would suffice.
When the only thing in view is the field full of flowers surrounding us, I turn my focus to the sky. The twinkling stars are more visible now that we don’t have trees obstructing our view. Staring up at the clear night, I note how beautiful it is. And how badly I wish this were a camping trip, not a desperate attempt to survive.
I look over at Billy, who’s sitting on the other side of the barn’s loft. His skinny fingers slide the power supply and radio out from his brown backpack. After he’s retrieved both, the backpack looks empty. Could that be the only things he’s carrying?
When the static erupts from the speakers, I turn to face Travis. In a hushed tone, I ask, “Should one of us take the first shift tonight? Last night Billy was on the radio most of the night.”
“Yeah, it was almost oh five hundred hours when I woke up and took over for him. He didn’t want to either. He kept saying he wasn’t tired.” Travis whispers back. His eyes glance over at Billy. “I don’t know if he even went to sleep.”
“I feel bad for him. He’s trying so hard to get in contact with his family.”
“Yeah, but he still needs sleep.” Travis replies before turning to the determined teenager. “Hey Billy. How about I take first shift tonight and you get some sleep?”
His dark eyes shift from the radio, to Travis. His knuckles turn white from the death grip he has on the microphone. “No. I mean it’s okay, really. I feel better being able to do something.”
Travis shrugs his shoulders then lies down on the ground next to where I’m sitting. When he scoots closer to my body, heat warms my side where he’s pressed against. On the other side of him, Ty has already fallen asleep curled up next to Cano.
The uneven wooden slats rub into my back when I lay down next to Travis. My head rests on his chest. His heart beats softly as I drift off, wondering where we will be going tomorrow.
“Isabelle... psst... Isabelle...”
I open my eyes to a blurry figure towering over me. With no time to process what’s going on, I slide backwards, away from it. My hand shoots down, fumbling for the dagger strapped to my thigh.
“Whoa, Isabelle. It’s Billy.” His voice cracks as he whispers quickly.
“What do you need Billy?” I ask, rubbing the side of my hand into my eye. As I glance around the loft, my eyes begin to adjust more. The lanky boy stands a foot in front of me.
He leans in, almost too close for comfort. His dark eyes locked with mine, he whispers, “I found someone. On the radio.”
A sudden rush of adrenaline surges through my body. I jump up to my feet excitedly. “Someone responded?”
“I responded to them, actually.” He says proudly. His feet tap softly as he moves back over to the radio a couple yards away. I follow behind him as static continues to rise from the speakers.
“What did they say?” I ask as I sit down on the floor in front of the radio. All I hear no voices, only static.
“Here, listen.” He spins the knob, turning up the volume on the radio. Not loud enough to wake the others, but enough to listen a little better. As his finger squeezes the button on the microphone, he says, “Billy to Guerrillas. Come in Guerrillas.”
My hearts beats rapidly when the static is interrupted by a man’s voice, “Guerrillas to Billy. We read you loud and clear.”
With a proud smile he raises his eyebrows and returns to the conversation. “Guerrillas, I have my friend Isabelle here. Could you guys repeat to her what you told me?” Lowering the microphone from his thin lips, we listen for the voice of the voice to come back on over the speakers.
When he does, his voice is stern and straight forward. “The Guerrillas was formed by myself and another veteran. We joined forces with other survivors when the Grey Ones first invaded and soon after, we were recruiting anybody brave enough to join our fight. Many we have rescued from being destroyed by our greatest enemies. The Grey Ones. Our goal is to restore order. Are you and your group ready to travel to headquarters in Downtown Portland? Are you ready to join our fight?”
I take the microphone out of Billy’s hand and immediately press the button down to talk. When I realize I don’t know what I’m going to say, I pause to mull it over. Travis would want me to wake him up and go over the details first; to strategize. But who knows how long we’ll be able to stay in contact with these people…. The decision needs to be made, now.
Glancing out at the starry sky, I realize what we have to do.