Evelyn Earth Part 24

“I’ll go get the blankets” Toya said breaking the spell. I turned to look at Sebastian and he shrugged. One of his friends called after Toya with a thank you.

“The boys will be sleeping here in the clearing tonight. Marla will keep vigil over Fins and the rest of you can come and go as you please I guess” Old Mal sighed. He looked worn out and older than usual, "as for me I’m off to bed.” He lifted a hand in a half-hearted good bye and made his way out of the fire light. Marla also stood up and nodded in our general direction before disappearing inside the container.

“Evelyn love, you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting my sorry lot of lads yet, except for Izzy of course” Sebastian winked in Izwan’s direction.

“No not yet” I tried to force a smile, but it didn’t fool anyone. One by one Sebastian introduced them. The first was a blonde man who looked about my age and whose name was Trevor. He greeted me with a cliché g’day and I had no doubt that he must love to surf in his free time. The second man was older probably early thirties and very distinguished. His name was Gerard and he had a distinct French accent, and like all French men I had met in the past he had a twinkle in his eye that only meant one thing; sex. Izwan was next and he clarified for me that he was not in fact just ‘some Asian’ but a Malaysian exchange student from KL. The last man looked the worse for wear and barely grunted in response to Sebastian introducing him simply as Sloan.

Evelyn Earth Part 23

When I had told Sebastian that there was food I was referring to the shared stash that Owen and I had accumulated. Now that I thought about it though Owen did most of the accumulating and my original supplies had all been consumed in my old and now disintegrated apartment.

“Wait” I stopped, “I don’t actually have any food to share with you.” As Sebastian looked at me I felt that uncanny sensation of him reading my thoughts.

“Not yours to share hey?” I simply shook my head in response. I was actually quite embarrassed. I looked like one of those girls who relied solely on their male partner to be the bread winner. I wracked my brain for possibilities. Most of the surrounding area had already been picked clean by the group and anything that had been left over within Harbour Town and the town houses had been consumed by the darkness. Speaking of darkness it would be relatively impossible to raid at night anyway.

“Let’s go see the rest of the lads then, maybe they’ve been offered some grub”

Evelyn Earth Part 22

At any other time Sebastian would have out run me, his body looked like it was made for high speed hunting. Right now though he was sapped of energy and I felt almost normal. I scrambled up the side of a hill that marked the edge of the shipping yard. It sounded as if the voices had come from deeper inside the compound and true enough another scream punctuated the air, bouncing back and forth as if hitting an enclosed space.

Sebastian wasn’t far behind me when I skidded around the corner of a container and almost rammed into someone’s still frame. I managed to stop myself just in time and the person, who in the dim light looked like a young Asian boy, let out a surprised gasp. Sebastian on the other hand wasn’t dexterous enough to slow his speed and slammed into both of us with enough force to send us sprawling.

Evelyn Earth Part 21

I was speechless. I just stared down at him, fully aware of the fact that I had just kissed a stranger who seemed closer to me than anyone I had encountered since the world crumbled.

“I have to say, when I first saw you I didn’t expect this” he raised an eyebrow. His arm was still lightly touching my back and I shrugged it off before leaning back on my heels.

“Neither did I” I agreed.

“I take it then that this is the first time for you?” For a moment I thought he was asking me if this was the first time I had ever kissed a stranger, but of course he was referring to the fact that we both possessed the darkness.

“Yes.” I looked away, scanning the horizon. The sun had almost set completely and it was getting hard to see. He nodded in a thoughtful way and followed my gaze. The view that greeted me now was completely different to the one I had become accustomed to in the years that I had lived here. The Bolte Bridge had framed the setting sun for as long as I could remember, but now water and sky met in unobstructed harmony.