The Badass Protector

Iris

What happened?

WHERE AM I? The smell of soap tickled my nose. I tried hard to tune in to my other senses, but I could only hear my own breathing. The comfy feeling against my head and my back made me want to fall asleep, cocooned in this warm blanket.

I opened my eyes and wandered around the wooden-walled room-at least two bunk beds from my side and two from the opposite side, no windows. The beds were empty. They must have blocked it for safety-just the kerosene lamp lighting up the entire room.

I could smell now the mud and the musty smell of cabins. This must be the campsite based on the bed style I was in.

The door swung open, revealing a woman-the same woman from the-Oh, my God!

I’m still alive.

“Of course you are?” The sweet smile spread across the woman’s lips. If my memory served right, her name was Heloisa.

Did I actually say it out loud?

“You collapsed. You must be starving. I brought something for you. This isn’t much, but it fills an empty stomach.”

The smell of mushrooms made my stomach grumble.

She chucked. “I know you are.”

When I was about to sit down, I realized something was hooked to my hand. My heart rate accelerated.

“It’s alright.” She must have seen my reaction.

I was terrified.

“Our doctor checked you up when you passed out and while you were sleeping. He said it could be due to hunger and dehydration. Well, just like everyone, right? And you look so pale and fragile. How long have you been alone out there? Good thing you found us before something bad happened to you.” She continued talking while I stared in horror at the transparent tube attached to me.

“That’s just fluid.” She sat beside me in the bed. “I cleaned and changed you up into my clothes. Yours are already washed.” But something was missing.

Shock, I searched for my neck. “Where’s my necklace?”

The woman looked shocked as well. Her brown eyes widened. “Oh, the necklace? Um, it’s with Gael.”

“Who’s Gael? I need that necklace.” Hastily, I pulled out the IV and stood up, ignoring the pounding of my head, the grumbling of an empty stomach, and the spinning of my vision.

“It’s safe. You can have it back once you’ve eaten something.”

I walked to the door, squeezing my eyes shut. I open my eyes after a couple of breaths.

I was right. We were in the middle of the forest, guarded by walls from old metal roofs but not safe enough to stand still with high-grade weapons.

Three old cabins aligned across the cabin where I was standing, with the same structural designs and disparate from where I came from. A large fire pit in the center with charred pieces of wood caught my eye, reminding me of the summer camp back in high school.

I shoved my feet onto the first shoes, came to my sight aligned beside the door, and walked down to the muddy ground.

“You’re still weak. You need some more rest.”

“I’m fine. I need to take my necklace back,” I insisted stubbornly.

“Okay, then. Follow me. This place is an old campsite in the middle of the forest. It’s way safer from the looters. By the way, I’m Heloisa. You can call me Lois. Where are you from?”

I ignored her rambling question and followed her, crossing the muddy ground. “What happened last night?”

“You mean two nights ago?”

“What?” I stared at her in shock. “H-how long did-?”

“You slept for almost thirty hours. You must be so exhausted.”

She had no idea.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

We stopped at the wooden ladders with muddy footprints leading to the door. She knocked while I stared at her again in disbelief.

She then yanked the door open and said, “Gael, she’s awake and wanna talk to you. It’s urgent.”

“Has she eaten something?” The calm and concerned tone of a male voice came from the room.

Warily, I stepped inside. The room size was the same as where I slept in. Only there was no bed except for a desk and two chairs-stacks of papers and a single pen atop it.

No guns and decorations hanging on the wall, but there was a single open window from my right, probably for ventilation because I could smell thick cigarettes in the air.

Gael was around my dad’s age. He had short graying hair and bright blue eyes and was medium built. From where he was sitting, he was probably around five feet and eleven inches tall. He was a smoker.

I took a deep, shaky breath. “Sir, I need my necklace back.”

Gael strolled his gaze on me from head to toe. “That must be so important to you. A gift? Just Call me Gael.”

“Gael it is. That’s my mom’s.”

“You can go, Lois,” he dismissed her. “Have a seat-”

“Iris. My name is Iris Clayton.” Slowly, I sat at one of the two chairs across from him.

“Were you separated from your family or group?”

“My group. We were attacked two weeks ago by dangerous and armed men while we were heading North. My group leader thought we could change the route and search for some supplies on our way. We got separated from each other after the attack.”

I doubted my story convinced Gael, but he was listening.

“It happened so fast. It was all blurry, and all I could hear was the gunfire and screams from my group. I saw…” My eyes stung, and my heart broke every time I remembered how my brother died. “I saw my brother collapse to the ground.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Iris. We’ve also lost people we cared about from the outbreak and were killed by dangerous people. Everyone here is like you who wants to live.”

I nodded and wiped my tears dry.

“How did you get into that place?”

“I’ve been strolling from place to place almost every night. I stayed at the pet shop for a couple of days since no one seemed to pass by that place anymore.”

“Quite clever.”

“You’d become clever when you only have one mission since the virus wiped out the country. To survive.”

“I want to be honest with you, Iris. We don’t recruit or take people in anymore. These past few months, we barely survived scavenging. We don’t have enough food, medicines, and supply left. We have families and children here, and in a few days, some groups might find this place, and you know what they would do when you refused to give them what they wanted. We’re also lacking ammunition and manpower to defend this place.”

“I understand. I’m leaving as soon as I get my necklace back. Thank you for your hospitality, Gael.”