Chapter 2: Nick

Establishing the bully character. Strong language used.

A.J. turned her head to the side and sunk into the table top, one long pigtail dangling to the side, ripe for pulling. Since her mother went missing a few months earlier, A.J. became sleepy and despondent at school. There were four children left at the Ell after the seaside evacuation. Fulfilling the need for education, one of the residents of the Ell, a third grade teacher before the outbreak, began tutoring the children in the cafeteria while the adults gathered supplies under the safety of nightfall.  

“Hey Freak,” one of the boys said quietly, yanking her pigtail as hard as he could.

A.J. reflexively let her left foot fly out in his direction, just missing her target. She was only 6. He was 9.

“Haha,” he said under his breath, just loud enough for A.J. to hear. “Missed, you stupid little freak.”

“YOU’RE a freak!” A.J. snapped back in her loudest whisper.

The teacher continued her lecture unaware of the exchange between students. A.J. went back to resting her head on the table. She ran her fingers along the seam of her textbook. 

“Wake up, you stupid little baby,” he whispered again, this time poking her side with his finger. A.J. ignored him. “Okay, suit yourself.” He tugged her pigtail again as he placed the gum he’d been chewing in the middle of her hair.

In the common room the guys played a card game. The smell of burnt popcorn came as an assault from the kitchen. The sun was beginning to peer through the blinds in thin, white rows of light. In the distance A.J. could hear the crawlers hissing. Sounds of metal trash cans being knocked over echoed through the dawn. Andy was almost finished with his morning ritual of securing the boards while A.J. emptied her tote bag onto the floor and began to take inventory. 

"What'd ya bring me, Sexy?" 

"Nothing, Nick." A.J. glanced up from her bag to glare at him. Nothing at all you worthless creep.

"That's too bad. By the way, remember when we were kids?"

A.J. didn't answer. She didn't need reminding.

"Chinese! Japanese!" he began to sing. "American knees! Look at these!" he said, grabbing his crotch.

"Seriously, Nick? That again?" Nick the dick makes me sick. Some day I'll show you my secret trick.

A.J. never understood why Nick singled her out. There were other girls at the Ell during the outbreak, but Nick was always going after her. Not in the way that boys tease girls when they liked them. This was different. This was personal, she always knew that. 

Suddenly a loud crash was heard near the windows of the common room.

"Oh hell, A.J.," Andy sighed. "Did you secure the gate when you entered the grounds? Well..." he waited. "Did you?"

A.J.: "I--I thought I did."

Andy: "You thought you did."

 "Oh my GOD, you ID-EEE-UT!" Nick was gearing up to launch into one of his tirades. His thick brow furrowed. "You must be the dumbest sack of s**t to ever go night rummaging at this place."

"I didn't mean to, I--I--"

The crashing came again. The hissing was getting louder.

Andy: "Jesus, they sound demonic."

A.J.: "I bet they're hungry."

Nick: "Of course they're hungry, Einstein. I know! Let's feed them, shall we?" Nick opened the snack fridge in the common room and pretended to look for food. "Let's see...we have mustard. Do old f*****g geezer demons like mustard?"

A.J. scowled at him through watery eyes. Her arms were folded, her nails digging into her arms. She imagined herself as a venomous snake, spewing a lethal stream of poison at face. She wondered how he would react. At first he'd be shocked, then he panicked, then he would start to swell and gasp for air, his lungs surrendering to the venom, clutching his neck as he slowly fell to the floor.

"What? You don't know if they like mustard? How about pickles? Wait--I know. Let's go ask them. Let's open the doors and invite them in for a f*****g dinner party. I'll light some candles, put out the f*****g table linens, and that way not only will we know what their sandwich preferences are, but we can ALL F*****G DIE TONIGHT BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST, A.J you f*****g f****t retard..."

"Cut the s**t, a*****e. No one's dying tonight." Andy's voice was stern and in charge.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not." Nick picked up a knife from the kitchen and left for his room. A.J. turned to Andy.

"I'm so sorry, Andy." Inwardly, she was devastated. She was a failure. "It was an accident. Really."

"I know it was, angel. I know it was."

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In her room A.J. could hear the scratching from outside. They were mindlessly scavenging the grounds for any scrap of food. The smell was rancid. It seemed as if every time A.J. began to doze off, the stench would wake her in a suffocation attempt. The sounds of plundering crawlers continued through the night. She didn't know how she could have been so careless. 

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Author's Note

Incomplete, rough draft, details are overly simplistic for now.