After a couple minutes embracing the one they thought they’d lost, Logan and Alyssa peeled away from each other, a tentative smile on Logan’s face and a blinding smile on Alyssa’s. A cough from behind them broke the tranquility of their reunion as Logan, with red tinting his cheeks, realized with horror that they weren’t alone.
“Care to remember us, Alyssa?” A baritone voice teased.
Alyssa shot a look over her shoulder and turned to show Logan off to the group that he now recognized as fellow students from the old Herd.
“Logan, these are some of my classmates: Clay, Shawn, Martha, and Wesley.”
Clay was a large heavyset man with dark skin and bright, lively eyes. Shawn, the one who playfully teased Alyssa, was a dark haired, fair skinned boy with a long neck. Martha was a tall girl with a nest of frizzy hair haloing her face. Wesley was a narrow faced, flustered boy, or so Logan assumed from his reddened cheeks. Logan waved shyly at the group, keeping his place next to Alyssa.
“You would’ve met them earlier if you could follow directions.” Alyssa baited him and suddenly his bashful nature faded away and he glared, betrayed.
“I’m sorry, did I hallucinate the Infected chasing after us, or was I just the only one who actually freaked out from it?”
“You still could’ve followed me.”
“Don’t you even.”
“You two are adorable.” Clay pointed out. “How long have you been together?”
Alyssa’s face flushed bright red and she stammered out half answers.
“No, no… you see, you’ve got it wrong… Logan’s just… he’s only… we’re not… I can’t…”
“Boys.” Logan blurted out, then thrust his face in his hands as Clay burst out laughing, a rumbling throaty laugh that echoed and expanded as he bent over chortling at the expense of Logan’s dignity.
“Alright, I can see that now.” Clay said once he was able to breathe again. “Good to meet you, Logan. Care to join us? We’re heading to the Animas Herd.”
“Animas Herd?” Logan asked. “There’s another Herd nearby?”
“Not too far off. The Animas Herd is only a two days walk from the Dodge Herd, and since we’ve been on the road for about a day, I’d estimate we could arrive within a day or two depending on our pace.”
“Well, let’s be off then!” Logan said, a glimmer of hope bleeding into his voice.
The new group started off towards the West again. They traveled in twos: Clay and Wesley taking up the lead, Logan and Alyssa in the middle, and Martha and Shawn speaking in low tones behind them. Not a minute had gone by when Alyssa turned to Logan.
“Where did your bag go?” She asked.
“I lost it in the Inner Wall. I got frantic and ended up tossing it.”
“Ugh, you’re hopeless, aren’t you?” Alyssa shook her head. “If you need water or rations, I’ve got some to spare. We only have a day to go, so it’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Aly.” Logan felt a combination of relief and guilt rise up in his chest. Alyssa didn’t seem to notice as she sifted through her bag and pulled out a bottle of water for him.
Sipping on the water bottle, Logan jogged up to walk just behind Clay and Wesley. Neither man was speaking, but there seemed to be some sort of silent conversation happening between them that Logan feared interrupting. He only opened his mouth when Clay turned his eyes back to him, noting his presence and giving him a subdued nod.
“So, how did you all survive out here in such a big group?” Logan asked between the men. “I narrowly escaped with my sanity last night. I can’t even imagine being such a big target.”
“It’s the opposite, actually.” Wesley spoke up with his squeaky voice, “Circles won’t target large groups for fear of being wiped out themselves, but they can easily kill off single persons. Though, that’s all in theory. I’ve never actually met anyone in a Circle.”
“It’s a solid theory, Wes. Well thought out and grounded firmly in the research we have access to.” Clay laid a comforting hand on the pale man’s forearm. “Perhaps when we get to the Animas Herd, they will have more research we can search through.”
An idea struck the front of Logan’s mind.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but are you a senior member?”
“You could say that.” Clay said, mirth dancing around his eyes. “I was their teacher before the Herd fell. And as much as it would be a great opportunity to conduct research on our own while we’re out here, I place my priority with keeping my students safe over gathering new research.”
Logan gave him a shy nod and ducked into himself, trying to figure out the next question he should ask. Before he could think of it, Wesley spoke up.
“Were you also at the school with us? I can’t remember you in any of my classes.”
“Yeah, but I’m studying to be a teacher so I’m in a different building.”
“Why a teacher, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Logan launched into an explanation about how easy it was to get along with children versus adults and how many different topics he got to learn about due to the nature of his career. When he was in the Salina Herd, he was frequently told that he would amount to nothing, but when his parents decided to move to the Dodge Herd a 2 days walk away, his eyes were suddenly opened to the possibilities. By the time he’d ended his rant about his career choice, the sun had begun to set and upon the horizon, they could glimpse the red search lights from the Animas Herd spinning atop their Walls.
“We make camp here and finish our journey in the morning.” Clay declared and threw his backpack to the ground. The others followed his lead and collapsed in a huddle of sweaty, sticky bodies. He heard several complaints of numb legs and tired lungs behind him as he gazed out to what would be his new Herd. Past the Wall, he could spot a small group moving away from the Wall and startled. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped back. Clay stood behind him, one hand now in the air where his shoulder once was and a quirked eyebrow. Logan took a deep breath to calm himself before looking back at the Wall.
“What do you know about the people in Animas?” He asked.
“Hmm. Not much, but Animas is unfortunately plagued by Circles, so we’ll have to sleep in shifts.”
“Circles? As in multiple?”
“Yes. There are some that are so large they have names, though I don’t know them. You’re welcome to ask about them when we make it inside tomorrow.” Clay patted him on the back firmly. “Get some rest, Logan. I’ll take first shift and wake you when you need to take shift.”
Logan nodded numbly, his eyes never once leaving the group of people moving around the Wall like a pack of hungry wolves. Only once the group had gone out of sight did he finally turn away and huddle against the bags and fall asleep, waiting for his shift to begin.
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