RADIO

chapter 12

The next morning rolled around and everyone was woken up by the sound of the train starting up and the sudden screech of the wheels on the track.

"Morning," Rider smiled.

"What are you doing up so early?" Demi asked, looking over at her as she climbed around the carts and into theirs.

"We wanna keep our distance from the wanderers don't we?" She scoffed, gesturing to the group that was heading right for them. The train was going fast enough now that the monsters were just a set of vague outlines receding into the distance.

"Oh," he yawned.

Everyone looked around and squinted at the harsh morning light that peered over the mountains. "Lemme sleep," Duchess moaned tiredly. She rolled onto her stomach and ran into Jane who wasn't that far away from her.

"Come on sleepyhead," Jane said, poking at her cheek.

"Dude come on, I'm the oldest of 8 I don't get to sleep in, ever," she whined.

"Well we got stuff to do," Everett said, nudging her feet.

"No, you've been an asshole to me lately," she grumbled, putting an arm over her eyes.

"Gee, I wonder why," he responded sarcastically.

"Look I didn't mean to kill him okay!" She squeaked, trying to get her words through his thick skull.

"I know you didn't, and I'm sorry for coming off as an asshat but you've gotta get up," he said. Duchess looked at him, surprised he'd admitted his mistake.

"You too Dibbs," Demi said.

"Noooo," he whined.

"Haze, what about you?" Rider asked, leaning over the sleeping boy. He just snored in response. She huffed out of annoyance and Duchess smiled, turning onto her side and falling back asleep.

"Well they aren't really the energetic type," Rider sighed, sitting back down to work on Demi's prosthetic leg.

"What do you mean? I get Dibbs needs to sleep, but Duchess and Haze? No way," Everett scoffed, watching as she placed a small spring into the leg. She messed around with it and tried to map out how exactly it would fit to be able to push and retract to at least support the leg.

"Here," Monty passed out a ration of small plastic bowls of cereal. As he tossed one to Jane he also threw one towards Duchess, she reached an arm up and caught it effortlessly.

"So you are awake," Rider gasped.

Jane laughed out loud, "nice catch!" she fist bumped the black and green haired woman as she sat up.

"Y'all woke me up so now I can't go back to sleep," she said with a yawn, "plus I'm hungry."

"I thought so," Monty chuckled.

"How's the leg?" Duchess asked, sitting up and crossing her legs in an open position, laying forward down into her own lap. "It's fine, there's still a bit of an ache but that's really it," he shrugged.

"How about your head?" She continued, munching on some of the cereal.

"What do you mean? My head is fine," his brow furrowed slightly.

"I mean mentally are you okay right now?" She asked with a small smile.

"Oh, uh...yeah?" He said rather questioningly.

"You might still be in shock, it'll last probably another day, so be prepared," she warned. She sat up and leaned back against a wooden box. "Sorry, that's probably not what you wanted to hear first thing in the morning," she said.