This Broken City Sky

The morning sun dawned over New Jersey behind a splatter of breaking grey clouds. At the edges, the clouds glowed pink from the sun, and the bright sky behind it was yellow. But the sunrise was not what Frank focused his eyes on. No, instead, his hazel gaze was set intently upon a thick plume of black smoke that billowed into the sky, casting a makeshift shadow over the sunrise not five miles away from the hotel. His face was bent into a light frown as he stared at the burning building, wondering what had gone on during the night while they slept. Moving the small glass coffee cup to his other hand, Frank brought the other up to his lips, to take a drag of the cigarette that had been burning off in his fingers.

"What are you doing..." A distincly feminine, but husky voice grumbled from behind him, and Frank spun around in surprise. Dylan was sitting up from the bed she shared with Lily--who still slept--and looked at Frank through her narrowed eyelids.

"Nothing." Frank murmured quietly, turning back to the window and taking another drag from the filter. He left it hang between his lips as he tried to focus back on the town, but his mind wandered behind him, to the only other roused human being in the two rooms.

"You made coffee..." Dylan sighed gratefully as she padded over the dark carpet, to table near the window where Frank had set up the coffee machine.

"Help yourself." Frank said, the statement holding the slightest hint of sarcasm which Dylan caught on to. But she helped herself to some coffee indeed, and stirred in a package of dry creamer. Then she held it up to her lips, both of her chilly hands wrapped around glass, and blew on the surface of the liquid before sipping delicately.

"Why are you up so early?" She asked as she rounded the small desk, to stand just behind Frank. He shook his head, and brought his own glass up to take a drink of his cold coffee. In truth, he hadn't slept well all night; he'd tossed and turned, from the constant unrest that had settled into his stomach the moment they heard the chaos had broken out. He wanted to go home, see if his family was safe. If the girl he loved was safe. Hope was burning brightly behind his hostile resolve, but he wondered how long it would stay alight.

"Is anyone else up?" Why Dylan was pushing for conversation, he wasn't sure. But he let his eyes slide over to look at her as she stepped up to the window.

"No just us..." He mumbled, turned his face back to the pane of glass, and snuffed out his cigarette on the sill. Dylan's long hair had been pulled back away from her slightly scratched face, and the side of her eyesocket where she had fallen was beginning to look discolored. She licked her lips before bringing her coffee cup up to them again and taking a small sip. Because she had both of her hands wrapped around the cup, Frank caught a quick glimpse of a glittering band on the ring finger of her left hand. He frowned deeply and looked directly at her.

"You're married?" He asked a little too loudly, his voice betraying his disbelief. She doesn't look like the marrying type, he thought. Dylan looked down into her warm drink, her lips parting slightly.

"No. I'm going to take a shower." She answered abruptly, and turned around, setting her cup on the desk as she walked away. Frank simply brushed back his untidy black hair and watched her stalk into the bathroom, then shut the door quietly. With a sigh, she turned the lock on the door, and walked over to the shower, turning the water on hot. It was too early to talk about her engagement, especially with strangers. Plus she was too tired, and needed to get out of her blood-smattered clothes. So she stripped out of them, took the elastic out of her hair, and stepped into the shower. The thought that she didn't have clean clothes didn't even cross her mind; instead she was now thinking about home as well.

She shampooed her hair, and mulled over the same things that Frank had been thinking about; loved ones, significant other, her dog. What had become of her life in Manhattan, who was left. When would she see them again? The answers scared her, and caused a few, rare tears to eek out of her eyes to roll down her cheeks with the rest of the water. She wiped them away quickly, and turned off the water.

Outside, a few of the others began to stir. Lily opened her dry eyes slowly, reluctant to do so. She heard the quiet murmurs of the other two inhabitants of the room which told her she wasn't the only one away. She also heard the shower running, but just as it registered in her head, it cut off. Inhaling deeply, Lily rolled over in the comfortable bed, so she was laying on her back, looking around the rest of the room. Frank and Ray were standing by the window talking quietly to one another with austere expressions. After Frank whispered something, he shook his head rapidly and kept his eyes fixed on Ray, who shrugged. Then they both looked over at Lily, so she began to sit up in bed.

"Dylan's in the shower." Ray said quietly, motioning toward the direction of the bathroom. Lily nodded, and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Theres coffee here if you want it, too. I'm gunna see if um, anyone else is up..." Frank mumbled, pointing at the coffee maker, before stepping away from the window and toward the door that conjoined the rooms. Lily simply nodded, and looked down at her socked feet.

Dylan opened the door to the fogged bathroom, her hair wrapped up in a towel, and her grimey clothes on again. But just as she was about to step out, she saw a folded up piece of clothing lying on the floor in her way. She stuck her head out of the door quickly, caught a glimpse of Ray walking back to his bed, then bent down and snatched up the shirt. She closed the door again and quickly pulled off her shirt, exchanging it for the longsleeved thermal. With a glance in the mirror, she approved the dark olive green of the shirt, and walked out.

"Good shower?" Lily asked in a casual tone. She was sitting at the little table, sipping a cup of coffee when her cousin walked back into the room. Dylan nodded, and looked around curiously.

"Did you leave this? Outside?" Dylan asked Ray quietly, pinching the fabric of the shirt in her fingers. Ray shook his head, and picked up the baseball bat he had found in one of the rooms yesterday.

"Frank." He swung it toward the door that conjoined the rooms which stood slightly ajar. Dylan raised her eyebrows, and simply nodded in response as she walked over to Lily, to take up her abandoned cup of coffee.

Over an hour later, all eight of the hotel's inhabitants were awake, showered, and caffeinated. They also nibbled on a few of the rooms' provided snacks, but nothing with legitimate nutritional value.

"I still think we should get those bodies out of the rooms, so we can use them in case we need to." Mikey said to the others, who were all sitting in his and Gerard's room. Kat was sitting up in the bed she had shared with Johnny, her feet still under the covers in a reluctant fashion and her brother sat next to her.

"If you want to do that, go right ahead. I am not touching anyone's dead body." Ray told his friend, with a faint smile. Dylan nodded her agreement, and fished out another Pringle from it's small can. Lily took that from her, and looked up at Mikey from her spot at the end of Kat's bed.

"I'd agree with you, but I don't want to go either." She said, and gave him a furtive smile. He twisted his mouth, and turned to look at his brother, who was stepping out of the bathroom toweling his hair.

"Gerard'll come with me." Mikey stated, and shrugged a little as Gerard rejoined the group. He looked at his little brother speculatively.

"Will I..." He cocked an eyebrow at Mike.

"Just say yes." Mikey said, and began pushing on his shoes. Before Gerard could answer, Kat piped up, finally.

"It can't just be you two, you don't have any weapons. We'll go with you-" But Mikey shook his head rapidly, causing her to stop.

"We're fine with what we've got. I mean it's not like there are any more infected we haven't already taken care of?" He pressed on indignantly, causing Kat to roll her eyes slightly.

"Actually we still need to go search the restaurant, the gym, and everything left downstairs." Frank spoke up this time, after bringing his hand away from his mouth where he chewed at his thumb nail. Dylan had been eyeing him oddly ever since the group convened in Gerard and Mikey's room.

"Okay, then you guys can do that, and we'll clear out the bodies." Mikey shrugged, and set his hands on his knees.

"That's what we're talking about?" Gerard quipped, raising his eyebrows as a slight smile teased the corners of his lips. Everyone nodded, or said a quiet acknowledgement, "Hm...I mean I'll go with you but...I'm not going to like it..." Gerard shrugged, and tossed the wet towel on the bed. Frank raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips as he pushed himself away from the wall next to the TV, against which he leaned.

"I'll go, my crowbars probably the second to best weapon to have." He stated, running a hand over his hair again. Ray let out a little scoff, and looked at his friend.

"After my bat! I'm coming, it'll be even." He nodded curtly. Dylan frowned, and lifted her head from her palm.

"So you're volunteering us to go search?" She asked, her voice tinged with distate. Lily watched the others as she reached her hand into the Pringles tube.

"Oh you don't have to, but it'd be awful fucking helpful." Frank spat. Dylan just raised her eyebrows at him.

"She didn't say she wouldn't, calm down you little shit." Kat interjected blandly, crossing her wounded arms across her chest. Just as Frank was about to retort, Gerard cut in again, his eyes flickering to Kat quickly. They didn't linger though, because a guilty feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach after last night's tousel with her.

"Just-..Stop it's fine. They'll go finish searching, they've got the most effective weapons," Gerard gave Frank a stern look, before turning his gaze to Dylan and Lily, "Like Mikey said, there aren't a-shouldn't be..any more infected," He narrowed his eyes, "And if they're are I think we've got it handled anyhow." He finished, and Dylan sighed heavily, looking away from the main circle of the eight.

"Alright." Lily, surprisingly, rose to her feet, and tossed the empty can into a trash bin next to the small table. A silence settled over the room as Kat, Johnny, Dylan and Mike rose from their seats on the beds, respectively, and readied themselves a little. Dylan went back into Frank and Ray's room to retrieve her weapon, as Kat placed her feet on the carpet, and grabbed her gun off the nightstand.

"Hey," Johnny slid to the edge of the bed next to her as she slipped the magazine out of the handle, and checked how many bullets it held, "You don't have to go, you know, if you don't feel...up to it...I can um...Take that, and go." He knew it would be useless to ask, but he figured he'd test her stubborness anyhow. Kat's head snapped over to her brother, and she gave him a fierce stare.

"I'm fine." She said, her blue eyes a little wide. Johnny just nodded, and watched as Gerard and Mikey scurried around the bed, putting on shoes or gathering their weapons. Frank and Ray had returned to their room to do the same. Dylan was reloading the shot gun as they did so, and Lily was pulling on her shoes next to her cousin.

"Dylan," She asked quietly, so the two men wouldn't hear. Dylan hummed a response, telling her to continue, "Do you think that door downstairs will hold?" Lily narrowed her eyes slightly, and waited for her cousin to respond. Dylan pursed her lips contemplatively for a few seconds before snapping the barrel of the shot gun shut.

"Guess we'll have to find out."