The Infected: Fogo Island (7)

seven: peas and pods

We're far enough away from camp to discuss freely and without fear of being overheard. It snowed quite a bit overnight and Felix and I are now standing in about a foot of snow. Although these people welcomed us onto their island and into their safezone, I still feel like something is wrong. As if we shouldn't feel safe, we shouldn't be here.

"What are you talking about a cure? What do they know, Felix? What did they tell you?" I ask him back to back, giving him no chance to actually answer.

"They didn't..." Felix lowers his voice and makes sure nobody is around, "they didn't tell me anything, only asked me questions. That Connor guy did most of the quizzing; and Charlie, I don't think these people are as friendly as they pretend to be."

I absorb what he says, look around the camp and rest my eyes on Malory; her red hair falling flawlessly around her creamy white skin. She's kneeled down in front of the girl from the docks - Leila - and they are sharing a heated conversation. I look back at Felix.

"We're leaving tonight. And we're taking their boat."

*****

Sweet peas. Haven't had any of those in over a month, since Felix and I raided that corner store in Romero, Texas. It feels like forever ago since that happened, since we met Aleksandra, since she gunned down David. I don't even feel like myself anymore; Hell, I'm not myself anymore.

Looking down at the can of peas, I come to realise how much I've changed. I don't think the same - It's my life before anyone else's now. I don't feel the same - I'm neither scared nor secure, but somewhere dark in the middle where emotions aren't felt, they're suppressed. I don't see the same - everyone around me is a threat and they are out to get me. And most important of all, I must think for two now - little baby and I. Little baby.

I use to dream up names for infants I didn't even have yet. I had always like Elizabeth for a girl and Joshua for a boy but now that it's actually going to happen - I'm going to have a baby - I can't even think of what to name it. I rub my belly when I hear a noise behind me.

I turn around to find Leila by the door.

 

"What are you doing?" She asks, her eyes fixed on the can of peas in my hand.

 

"Um, just looking around. I was hungry." I put the can back on the shelf and try not to show how scared I am. Imagine that, being scared of a little girl when i've been confronted with worst. A lot worst.

 

"We don't touch the food. Malory distributes it at night. She didn't tell you?"

 

"No, I guess she didn't."

There is an awkward moment that passes but it does just that, passes. Leila smiles and grabs my hand.

 

"Come, someone has arrived on the island!"

Before I have the time to object, she pulls me out of the cabin and into the frigid November air.

 

W/E: Summer Songs

Oh yay! It's that time of year where mega-produced songs come out to fill our ears with happy, joyful, and most importantly, festive music!! It's at that same time where we all suddenly forget what quality music sounds like and jump on the POP-SYNTH train that comes rolling in every week. 


Come for the ride, enjoy the music!

Flo Rida - Whistle

Nelly Furtado - Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)

The Wanted - Glad You Came

Simple Plan - Summer Paradise

Rihanna feat. Chris Brown - Birthday Cake

These are just the songs that I can list off the top of my head, I'm sure there will be plenty more to come this summer! Rihanna and Flo Rida alone have twenty songs/ week.

Candles are out,

Eleven's Ink

The Infected: Fogo Island (6)

six: a genuine smile

Malory left the cabin twenty minutes ago but the last words she spoke still resonate deep within me: "You might find the reason why your parents went to Tokyo to create a bloody chemical agent that could wipe out the entire human race." She knows who I am; Hell, she knows who my parents are and more importantly, she knows exactly what I suspected along: my parents have something to do with this.

I rummage around the shack, looking for anything that could help me figure out who these people are, when the door opens behind me. I spin around and my heart sinks. Felix is standing in the doorway; his shaggy hair is gone - completly shaved off - and he grins the moment our eyes connect.

"Felix..." I run towards him and jump in his open arms. He smiles, a genuine one too. Our lips meet and it takes all my might to disconnect from the passion.

"I thought they were killing you..." I say, referencing the horrible sight that befell my eyes yesterday. I gently rub his cheeks with the back of my fingers, grateful that he is safe. Felix. My rock.

"Don't worry, it was just a ritual of sorts. A blessing. Nothing harmful, Charlie." He looks away for a split second, and its enough for me to see something is off.

"Felix...what are you hiding?" I turn his cheek towards me and still he refuses to look me in the eye. "What did they do?"

"They didn't do anything, that's the thing," he finally answers. "It's what they said." It comes out barely in a whisper.

I kind of put two and two togheter. What Malory said earlier was probably said to Felix as well. They were definitely playing detectives. They might even think I have something to do with this as well. Guilty by association.

"What did they tell you? They talked about my parents?" Even my tone changes - i'm on the defensive.

He moves me towards the back door, away from the open window that faces the snowy beach.

"Charlie - they asked me where the cure was?"

I take it in. Somethings are starting to make sense. Some don't.

"A cure...?" I whisper.

LDR SAT: CAFÉ INC

Have y'all seen the new Nespresso Café commercial? It features "Blue Jeans" by the one and only Lana Del Rey. They apparently chose her song because of the "Olden time, Americana" feel of her voice and style. Finally, someone major recognizes the talent and spectacular AWE of LDR.

Here is the commercial!!

Hopefully people will stop hating on her because of SNL. One performance cannot sum up the talent of the Coney Island Queen!

Candles are out,

Eleven's Ink



I ♥ Food - A Top Ten Post

Oh joys of this world. There is laughter, there is fun, there is seasons in the sun. But above all that, there is fucking food. Healthy food, junk food, spicy food, rare food, yucky food. Food is everywhere but really, it should all be in my tummy.


It is my pleasure to list off my top ten favourite food items. It can be a condiment, a meal, a restaurant. Basically, just writing down everything I can't get enough of. And for the simple fact that even Obama knows I like Subway, the great sandwich maker will have to be excluded from the list. I mean, it's Subway - who doesn't love that shit?

This is listed in no particular order because that would just be mean on the food and wayyyy too hard for me to sort out and choose which one I like best.

10. Popcorn

9. Garlic

8. McDonald's cheeseburger

7. Onions

6. Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

5. Pickled Jalapeños

4. Fajitas

3. Pasta Salad

2. Oysters

1. Everything but Cooked Mushrooms

Now I suddenly want popcorn-oyster fajitas... damn it.

Candles are out,

Eleven's Ink

The Infected: Fogo Island (5)

five: point the finger.

I'm running as fast as I can, my feet barely touching ground as I fly through the maze of trees. I can hear them behind me, feel their hot discusting breath on my neck; Connor and his band of mongrols. I block all of the images that i've just seen, block the image of Felix, and just look straight ahead at the opening further on.

The sun blinds me as I spring out of the forest and into the snowy clearing, the men right at my tail. How I wish Felix was here right now. My eyes quickly adjust to light and I start running towards the boat, running towards my way to safety.

I'm about twenty feet from the docks when something strikes me in the back of the head. I fall in the snow and the cold comes creeping inside my jacket. I moan and turn myself over on my back. Just then, the sun is blocked out by Connor's face and I know. I know I'm about to die.

*****

My skull is aching and I have the sensation of floating but when I open my eyes, I see that I am on firm ground, or sorta; i'm bound on the floor. I look around the shack and realise i'm in one of the huts. My hands are tied behind my back and the skin around my wrists is welted.

I moan and look around the room, hoping to see Felix but I don't. Just then, the wooden door of the hut creaks open. I close my eyes and let my head slump forward, pretending to still be out.

"Why'd she run?" a femal voice asks in a very thick British accent and then I hear Connor answer.

"She wanted to see Felix, so I brought her out to where Allen and the boys were. Didn't quite understand what was going on, I guess." He sounds almost worried. Last time I spoke with Connor, he seemed ready to drown me in the frigid Atlantic waters.

"I can't even imagine what that girl went through." The woman answered. Her voice was smooth and gentle. She couldn't be more then thirty years old. I hear them rummage around the shack. Soon after, I feel the warm, gentle touch of the woman's hand on my cheek. "Wake up, Charlotte."

I pretend to daze out of sleep. I keep my eyes half shut and mumble under my breath. I feign terror and crawl back against the wall. My eyes lock with Connor's and now I don't have to pretend anymore.

"You guys are sick! Your worst then those bastards, you cowards!" Connor walks towards me but stops short when I spit in his face.

The woman comes between us and tells - no, orders - Connor to go for a walk. He complies and steps out of the hut. She must be their leader, of course their must be a leader. The man in charge. Or woman in this case.

"My name is Mallory. It's nice to meet you, Charlotte." The woman says. She leans in towards me and I instinctively shrink away. "It's okay, I just want to untie your bindings." She smiles at me and I see genuine compassion in her eyes. Just the way they squint.

"Who are you?" I ask her, and begin to massage my wrists the moment they are freed. Mallory takes a good look at me once i'm standing and she honestly looks concerned.

"I'm the woman who's going to answer all of your questions. First off, Felix is fine. What you saw was a just a tradition we started. Connor shouldn't have shown you that without explaining it. We need that, you know. Traditions. In this new world, it's easy to lose focus and just kill," She walks over to the cabinet and grabs two glasses, fills them up with water and hands me one of the glasses. She continues, "I've seen horrible things before coming here. As i'm sure you have too, Charlotte. Things a person should never have to see. Or do. You know what that leads to, right?"

I take a sip of water and for the first time, I notice just how fiery red Mallory's hair is. "Um, no, sorry."

"When something bloody bad happens, we naturally want to blame someone. We want someone to take responsibility for the petty shit that has come our way," Mallory says with disquieting amount of zeal. "Have you ever heard of Typhoon Tip, Charlotte?"

"Can't say that I have," I answer, and for some reason the vibe is different. There is a unseen weight in the room.

"I'd do some research if I were you," she starts walking towards the door and goes to leave but not before turning back to say one last thing, "You might find the reason why your parents went to Tokyo to create a bloody chemical agent that could wipe out the entire human race."

The Infected: Fogo Island (4)

four: another girl lost

The woman on the dock nods to the little girl and soon the latter one is running towards the boat. Connor removes a bag from the bottom of the vessel and drops it on the shaky slats that makes up the dock. He jumps out and soon after offers his rugged hand to help me out.

As soon as i'm on the dock I notice the woman leaving, walking back towards the cluster of shacks that line the beach. Behind that is a large wooden fence, if I can call it that. It ressembles the barrier that protected King Kong. The sight alone of the massive logs impress me; these people are organized.

"Hi! I'm Leila!" The little girl says when I finally find my footing. I smile and kneel down to her height.

"Hi there. My name's Charlotte. You have a lovely dress" I say and gently feel the bottom of her dress, the only part peeking from under her parka. The print is exquisite, probably expensive.

She grins and shows me her teeth. There's one missing on the right side and one that's about to fall on the left. She seems a bit old to be losing teeth. The little girl - Leila, I suppose - makes a promise of showing me around "town" later and then runs off, most likely to find the woman who was with her. I can only assume that she's her mother.

I turn to Connor, who's securing the only boat around, the only one I can see, to the dock.

"So, are you going to take me to Felix?" It comes off a bit snarky and Connor being as swift as he is, picks it up.

"When the time comes..." Connor answers, keeping his focus on the loops and knots of his intricate work.

"Excuse me - when the time comes? Look at me." Connor stops what he's doing and gets up, turns towards me. He terrifies me but I don't let it show. "I want to see Felix. You don't get to tell me when I do that. We've been through hell, he's all I have. Now where is he?"

Connor looks me over, examines me - probably to see me crack under pressure. Won't happen. I won't let anyone stand between Felix and I anymore. I can't lose him, not now, not ever.

"You want to see him that bad? Fine, I'll bring you to him. After I finish securing the only thing granting us access to the mainland."

I agree and wait for him to finish. After that, he will bring me to Felix; and once he does, Felix and I are leaving this piece of shit rock.