After the World's End

Chapter Nine

Max knew they were going to get him this time. He didn't know who they were or exactly what was going to happen, but he didn't have to. All he knew was the sickening dread building up in his stomach that meant that something horrible was going to happen and this time he couldn't escape.

Max woke up with a scream that was quickly cut off when a hand covered his mouth. He struggled with all his might against the man that was holding him down. "Max, stop. It's just me. Calm down, or you'll wake the others." Max was to freaked out to listen at first, but after the man repeated it a few times, the horror of the dream had started to fade away and he realized that it was just Arden who was holding him down. As soon as Max stopped struggling, Arden whispered, "Shush, Max. It was only a dream. You're fine now."

Max didn't realize until then that he was crying silently into Arden's shoulder. He tried to stop because it felt like all he ever did anymore was cry, but he couldn't. Arden was taking care of him, just like he always was. Max didn't want Arden to have to take care of him anymore. 'How can I want to be treated like an adult, when I won't act like one?' Max thought, trying to pull himself together. "I'm fine now," Max said, drawing away from Arden's embrace. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"You didn't wake me up. I couldn't sleep. Everyone's been waking up every couple of hours anyway. You're not the only one having nightmares after that," Arden said with a soft smile that Max couldn't help returning. It seemed like Arden always knew what to say to make people feel better. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"…Not really," Max said, after a moment of thought. "I don't really remember it all that well."

"Okay…If you remember anything, or change your mind about talking just say so. Otherwise, try to go back to sleep. I'll be right over here," Arden said calmly.

"Thanks," Max whispered, closing his eyes and feeling guilty about how safe he felt knowing that he finally had someone to care for him.

~~~

Max was shaken awake by Caroline just as the sun started rising. "Come on, Max," she said. "Arden and I are going to go get firewood after breakfast. Alexander says he has some chores for you too, so we need to eat now."

"Okay," Max said, glad for any opportunity he had so that he could help out. As soon as he sat up, he started coughing violently and his head was throbbing. He brushed it off, assuming that it was only a cold and wasn't worth worrying about. He felt like that for the past two days anyway, so he wasn't too surprised.

The others were also getting frustrated with him. They'd started running three days ago and were getting frustrated with the differences between them and Max. He'd run with them every day until he was about to pass out and then they'd only sleep for six or seven hours until it started all over again. Max couldn't take this. He had been hiding in the city for most of his life and wasn't used to this like the others were.

Max supposed that he should at least be grateful that Alexander had finally decided to let them stay in one place over night because we were far enough away from the looters in his mind. They could have a hot meal and try to rest, but there was still a blanket of fear surrounding the camp.

Even though the looters weren't physically there, it sometimes felt as if they were. Fear can make people do crazy things and the group was arguing with each other all the time now. Things had always been on edge between the group and Max, but it was nothing compared with the way things were now. Maybe before the looters, the group had started to be friends with Max, but that wasn't the way it was now. They were turning on any outsider and all there was was Max.

Max tried his best, he really did, but it couldn't compete with the fear that was running through the others. Even Arden found himself getting angry with Max at times, but he pushed it away disgustedly. He knew it wasn't Max's fault and he wanted more than anything for everything to be like it was before.

Breakfast was a quiet time for everyone. The only person who said anything was Stasia, who shyly asked Alexander when they would be leaving again. She was the only person Alexander never snapped at and the only one who dared ask what was going through Alexander's mind.

"About midday, right after lunch. We've stayed here long enough as it is. We'll follow the stream a couple miles west from here, so we'll have somewhere to get water from for a little while. I'll figure out more from there," Alexander said. "Caroline, Arden, go get firewood. Stasia will make lunch. Cohen and I will go look to see if there are any signs of people having been in the area. Max, go fill the water thermoses from the stream."

"Okay," everyone said, not one person arguing about their assigned job. Max finished breakfast before anyone else, hurrying to get all the thermoses together, so that he could leave as soon as possible. He wanted to show the others that he would work as hard as any of the others and that he belonged with them.

Nobody said a word to Max as he left, but he didn't really mind. It seemed like most of the others didn't have anything to say to him except to insult him, so Max found that he preferred the silence. It just made him even more reclusive. The only people who spoke to him at all anymore were Caroline and Arden, but even they couldn't spend as much time with him as they used to. Everyone was tired and short-tempered all the time and it just seemed like a better idea for everyone to keep to themselves.

Max walked to the stream, not really minding that he would be alone. He wasn't really afraid of the looters. As he thought, it was unlikely that anyone like the looters would actually chase after them even if they knew where the group was. It'd be too much of a challenge for people who stole a lone person's things to run after a pretty big group of people for days.

What scared Max was the coughing fits he'd have and the way his chest hurt whenever he took a breath. He couldn't figure out what he'd done to hurt his chest and he really hoped that it would go away before they had to leave after lunch. When Max got to the banks of the streams, he started coughing so much that he could barely keep standing and his head throbbed every time he coughed. Finally, it stopped long enough for Max to fill up the water bottles and leave.

Max wasn't happy about being on his own anymore. He was afraid that he'd pass out and the others wouldn't find him. The journey back seemed so much longer than the way there. When he eventually dragged himself back into camp, his limbs were shaking with the effort it took to keep walking. 'What's happening to me?' he thought.

Stasia looked up from where she was trying to keep the fire going while she was waiting for Caroline and Arden to come back with firewood. "You took a long time. I was expecting you to be back sooner. I was worried," she said.

It was probably the most Max had ever heard her say. "I didn't mean to worry you," he said.

"I know." She turned away from the fire and went around packing people's things up for them, so we would be able to leave as soon as possible.

Max just watched her quietly. Stasia is the kind of person who doesn't say anything that doesn't need to be said. At first, Max had thought that she was cold-hearted or thought that she was better than everyone else. Now, he knew she just didn't have anything to say. If she wanted help, she would ask.

Max sighed. He really hoped that whatever had happened was a fluke. In just a few seconds, he would have to be ready to run again and to be honest he was terrified.