TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWO: CLARITY

VIOLET returned within the hour, a small bag thrown over her shoulder as she repeatedly knocked on the door her movements rapid as she glanced in either direction, "open up, I've got the stuff."

Moving as quickly as she could, Margo made her way over to the door carefully easing it open, as soon as Violet rushed through the small opening she closed the door drawing the cover closed over the small slip of glass so they had some privacy.

The small blonde removed the bag from over her shoulder letting out a sigh as she set it on the floor before she handed the machete to Margo, she pointed at her leg, "you're bleeding." she glanced down at her limb letting out something between a sigh and a groan as she carefully moved to sit on the floor.

"I know, can you grab one of the shirts from the hamper?" Violet didn't reply for several seconds before she stood and crossed the room to where the small storage device sat. Tossing shirts and pants aside she quickly located one that she saw fit before tossing it to Margo. "So, where do you want me to start?" she sat down unbuttoning the bag as she did so, the older girl shrugged, "the beginning would be nice, maybe how exactly the world went to hell?"

Violet cracked a small smile- the first she'd seen from her since she'd met her but an hour ago- "Iran launched a bomb on us, they set one on Jerusalem too, from what I heard, the chemicals did something to the majority of the people outside, a lot of us got stuck in camps, like my parents and I." she paused as she pulled out a smushed loaf of bread.

"The soldiers came in, I remember watching when they stormed the hospital, we all thought it was just a contamination routine, turns out it was an execution." she tore the loaf in half holding out one part to Margo, she carefully took it from her staring at the food for a few moments before she brought it to her mouth.

"Most people didn't survive, if they did they turned sooner than later, I'm pretty sure you're the only one I've seen wake up mostly unharmed from this whole thing." Margo chuckled, she hadn't meant to, "sorry." she mumbled through a mouth full, "it's just-" she paused swallowing what was in her mouth, "you've just got a big vocabulary for a little kid." Violet frowned half convinced she should snatch the bread from the older girl's hands, but she knew with her hold on the machete she wouldn't stand much of a chance.

"I'm not little, I'm ten." Margo chuckled again, "I stand by my previous statement." the smaller of the two scowled shoving a small piece of bread into her mouth. She swallowed the piece before she continued on with her story, "it's spread through bites and scratches, a few people died and came back without any bites or scratches though, I think it's something that's in the air." she nodded her head unable to speak as her mouth was full. "That seems likely." she mumbled taking another bite.

"Where are your parents? Aren't they gonna be mad that you've been gone?" the girl shook her head a sad smile creeping onto her lips as she looked down at her hands, "they died back in the early months, our camp got swarmed." the girl's lungs tightened at the words, sorrow coursing through her veins, she wanted to comfort the girl- despite hardly knowing her- but could tell she was holding back a large stream of waterworks.

"Well, think about it like this, the brave inhabit the Earth, so now it's our turn to take charge." Violet lifted her head her smile small but evident.

"What about you? Where's your family?" Margo shook her head, "dead." her smile faded as she watched her eat the last of her bread, "it happened before all this, my mom died of an overdose on drugs, she was too whacked out to even realize it." she looked out towards the window, "I killed my Dad and brother." she paused looking down at the floor for a brief second, "not that I had much choice." she stifled a laugh knowing that it was highly inappropriate in their current situation.

Ignoring the slight laugh that escaped her mouth, Violet dug through the bag pulling out a can of Spaghetti-O's with two spoons, "you okay with sharing?" she shrugged, "it's not like we have much choice."

The two went on to finish the can, passing it back and forth until it was empty, throughout this process, they shared small bits of information the sun eventually settling in the middle of the sky as time seemed to have passed them by like a train.

"What did you do before all of this?" Margo didn't answer her gaze lingering on the trees she could see outside the window, "I worked for the CIA, then I got out and moved in with my friend."

"What's your friend's name?" she turned to look at the girl a small smile flicking across her lips as she spoke his name, "Mitch."

"What's he like?" she perched her head in her hands placing her knees in front of her so she could press her elbows against them, "he was a cocky asshole when I first met him, and then, as time went on, he progressively got better, and we slowly grew closer."

Violet smiled at the last few words tilting her head to the side, "were you in love?"

She softly bit down on the edge of her finger before hesitantly nodding, "I think so, it's hard to tell." she paused removing her finger from her lips, "it was something of comfort more than anything, I'm not even sure we really cared for each other."

"I think we were just so starved for someone else's touch that we decided to turn to each other." Violet sat up resting her hands in her lap, "was he a good guy?"

Margo shrugged her shoulders, "not at first, the good parts of him were hidden away, he had a cover, and it wasn't until near the end of our last mission that he removed it, then I was able to see all the good things, even if some of them were little."

The girls smile returned within seconds making Margo wish she still had the small light of innocence she'd been robbed of at the girl's age, but then again, she'd witnessed her kill someone- or something- less than two hours ago, so there obviously wasn't much innocence left in her.

"He doesn't sound real." she reached for the bag once more cradling it in her arms like a stuffed animal, "why do you say that?" leaning against the wall, Margo watched her with a small smile, "nobody like that lives through this, and if they do, they're alone, chances are they've probably already managed to make enemies too."

Letting out a sigh, Violet stood up from where she'd been sitting on the floor making way for the door, the older of the two held out her arm blocking her path, Violet glared down at her half tempted to wrestle her for the machete, "I have to go before lights out." she gently prodded at Margo's arm hoping she would lower it.

"Lights out? For what?"

She gestured to the window watching as Margo's eyes followed her finger, "the safe zone, you have to be back in your houses with all lights out by a certain time, if you break the curfew you lose rations." Margo pushed herself to her feet joining Violet beside the window, "that's my house, across the street on the corner." she pointed out towards a small home with a cherry tree in the front yard.

From what she could tell, it had been quite some time since the cherry tree had been properly cared for, "well, I'm leaving." turning away from the small window she crossed the room her hand on the knob when the small girl gently nudged her wrist, "you won't make it out alive." she glanced out into the hall, "they'll get you before you get to the ground level."

Margo furrowed her eyebrows confused as to whom she was referring to, "who is they?" Violet bit her lip as if she thought saying who it was would summon them into the room, "the Lurkers." she pointed into the hall, "he was one of them, they're the things that swarmed the camps." she looked down at the girl meeting her gaze.

"It's worth trying." she twisted the knob in her hand surprised when Violet tugged on her pant leg, "if you're going to try and leave, you might as well take me with you, I can help."

She chuckled- she hadn't meant to, but it had slipped from her lips before she could stop herself- she cracked the door her hand never leaving the knob, "you're not coming with me." she spoke resting her free hand on her hip.

Violet crossed her arms over her chest her bag slipped over her shoulder, "why not? I know my way out, you don't, at least then you have a chance." shaking her head she gave the girl an amused smile, "because, you're a child, that makes you a liability." her eyes brightened at the statement leaving Margo confused as to why.

Gently pushing past the older girl, Violet slipped out into the hall, "well, I guess if I go on my own and get hurt, it's your fault." Margo mentally face palmed herself irritated that the girl had used her own logic against her, taking a quick glance around the room she made sure there was nothing she would want to take with her, she knew that once she left she wouldn't be returning; ever.

"Can you at least come back in so I can put my boots on?" Violet glanced in either direction before quietly reentering the room, Margo slowly lowered herself to the ground pulling her shoes out from beneath the bed, loosening the laces she slipped them on before double knotting them so the risk of them coming undone didn't occur.

Using the foot of the bed to steady herself, she stood testing her weight on either leg before following Violet out into the hall, "do you want the gun? I prefer the machete." her eyes widened as she watched the girl pull a pistol from her bag, she held it out to her the magazine pointed in her direction, "you had that the entire time?"

Violet rolled her eyes, "do you want it or not?" stifling a grumble she handed the machete to her before she took the weapon, carefully checking the clip before she aimed it just over the smaller girls head she looked down to check that the girl was ready, "alright, let's go."

Violet stayed in front, leading her through the maze of a hospital they seemed to have found themselves in, "if you see one and I don't get it, shoot for the head, that's the only way to kill them." she whispered creeping down the hall in hopes of not drawing attention to themselves.

They continued down the hall a few low groans coming from behind a door as they passed it by, "ignore it." Violet mumbled keeping her gaze focused on the hall ahead of them, if they were going to get out alive they needed to keep their attention where it was necessary, not on things that didn't identify as threats.

Margo's eyes fell to the abandoned units of equipment and the blood spatter that coated some of them, there were random pieces of shattered glass all along the hall sending a feeling of relief through the girl's veins when she remembered her choice to put on her shoes, had she walked through barefoot she wouldn't be walking for the next several weeks from all the cuts.

Violet stopped in her tracks causing Margo to almost send them both to the floor as she stumbled into her backside, she didn't have to ask why they'd stopped as the sound of low groans met her ears once again, gently pressing into the wall, Violet motioned for her to be quiet, the small blonde closed her eyes as she held the machete close to her chest like a lifeline.

TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWO: CLARITY