CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE.
you're my problem, princess.

           LENNON.

            We buried Coach's arm with the rest of the bodies. It felt strange, burying a part of him whilst he was still alive—but it felt right. There wasn't a chance we could just leave it, especially not with the creatures lingering, the smell alone could draw it towards us. Ethan and I had also quickly visited the river, where we cleaned up some of our clothes from the last few nights. As a group, we still had plenty of items of clothing we had yet to wear, but we couldn't just leave our dirty clothes to fester—we had to remove the blood and dirt. We also cleaned the parachute material we'd had underneath Coach when we amputated his arm.

                  When we returned, I was told that Ivy and June had got to work on preparing the deer for eating. It unsettled me slightly, thinking about the idea of them chopping up the deer on the other side of the plane after the amount of blood and guts we had seen recently. But June had always been strong that way—once she saw something even once, it was enough for her to develop a strong enough stomach.

                   A few hours later, June and Ivy finished up. They had blood stains on their fingers and some on their clothes I made a mental note to get cleaned soon. They had taken the chunks of meat inside the plane, announcing they were going to put them in the refrigerator—even though it wasn't working, it was the coolest place out of the sun to store the meat so that it would last longer.

                   Ethan had offered to discard the remains of the deer whilst Abby and Kitty helped clean up the area they had cut it. They also cleaned down the part of the fallen plane wing they had been shopping it on. It seemed like slowly but surely, we were all beginning to pull our weights. Maggie was beside me, boiling some rice in a pot over the fire. We planned on having some rice rations along with the deer meat to fill our stomachs. Hattie was still tending to Coach Grayson every now and again, with Evie and Eden helping her—who had been whispering prayers for him. Imani and Brooke were the only two who were the most unhelpful, they mostly spent their time sitting in the sun or complaining about bug bites.

                  Ivy and June returned with a portion of the meat, that didn't look any different from beef and chicken—perhaps just a little thicker. They had wrapped it in some clingfilm they must have found in the catering suite. Even though the meat was raw, my mouth watered at the sight. I couldn't remember the last time I ate something that actually tasted good. Despite having a decent amount of rations from the catering suite, it all began bland after a while. My mouth was desperate for a different taste.

                    "Your savours are here." Ivy announced, waving the deer meat from her fingers before sitting down by the fire.

                   Eden joined us, "You mind if I cook? I've really missed cooking." As far as I was aware, Eden had a massive family full of younger siblings. She often spoke about how much she enjoyed cooking for them, especially when they ended up enjoying the new dishes she cooked.

                  June dusted her hands down as she sat beside me on the log, "Knock yourself out." She offered as Ivy passed Eden the raw meat. The girl disappeared to the plane, announcing she was going to grab a fresh pot to cook it in.

                   "How's Coach Stratford?" June asked me, giving me a small bump on the shoulder with hers.

                   I glanced behind us to where he was laying, his head propped up with some of our bags, our blankets over his body. He was asleep, for the time being. He would wake every now and again, in a lot of pain. Either Eden or Evie would shush him back to sleep, comforting him until he eventually fell back into sleep. He seemed to be okay—or at least, he was hanging on.

                  "Better," I told her, giving her a reassuring smile. "How come you ended up on deer duty with Ivy?" I asked her curiously, glancing across at the brunette girl who was in mid-conversation with Kitty.

                   June gave me a big smile, "I offered like the Angel I am," I scoffed teasingly. June smacked my arm. She sat back a little, a smile on her lips. "Actually, she's not as much of a bitch as I thought she was—I mean, she did yell at me a couple of times when we were cutting up the deer, but other than that she was perfectly behaved." Her eyes fell onto mine, giving me a closed smile. I wondered why that smile looked so secretive.

                    "Yeah, she has her moments." I agreed, my eyes finding Ivy once again, watching as her face lit up when Kitty said something.

                   Eden returned with the pot, along with some oil and salt—which I was grateful for. At first, those things hadn't felt like essentials, but it would make the deer taste a lot better, instead of bland like the food we had been eating. We were all craving something tasty.

                    Eden got to cooking, with Maggie helping her every now and again whilst the rest of us sat back and observed. It was a weird feeling, having nothing particular to do. I found myself scamming the area, searching for something to keep myself busy with. Our clothes were drying on a makeshift clothes-line we had made from connecting vines to two trees. The fire was burning. Coach Stratford was asleep. The camp was clean. Nope. Not a single fucking thing to do.

                  I perked up, giving June a nudge, "You wanna go get out of those clothes? I'll get them washed for you." I suggested, nodding to the blood splatters she had on her AC/DC band Tee.

                   June glanced down, "Shit, yeah. Thanks, Len." She got up and headed towards the cargo-hold to rifle for fresh clothes.

                  I looked across at Ivy, "Hey, Ivy. You wanna get out of those dirty clothes? I'm gonna head down to the river to clean June's clothes after dinner." I offered, making her look up at me, her lips parted.

                   She narrowed her eyes, "I don't need you to baby me, Lennon. I can wash my own—" She came to a sudden halt, stopping her words mid-sentence. I furrowed my brows, staring at her. She cleared her throat. "I mean, yeah, sure. Thanks, I guess." I stared at her, feeling confused. Since when did Ivy bite back some snarky-ass retort? It made me wonder what exactly my twin had been saying to her.

                    I gave Ivy a curt nod and watched as she got up, heading over to where June was searching through the clothes pile. She began doing the same, the pair exchanging a few words before they stripped out of their clothes and put fresh ones on.

                     Once the food was cooked and served on plates Maggie fetched with us, we all got to eating. Not a single one of us spoke. I was practically shoving the rice and meat into my mouth, savouring the taste. Despite not having a lot, Eden had managed to cook the meat to perfection—and it tasted amazing. I was sure it brought a tear to Abby's eyes.

                  Once we were done, we all sat there, soaking in having a full stomach. I found myself looking across at Ivy, feeling more and more grateful for having her around. Without her, we would never have had the meal we just did—our stomachs would be screaming at us for proper sustenance. But now, we were full. And it felt fucking amazing.

                    Abby was the first one to speak, "Not to be, like, dramatic or anything," She began saying, her hand sitting on her stomach like a proud mother. "But that was so fucking good I think I might've actually orgasmed." She announced, making all of us laugh—since she was being dramatic.

                      "Ditto, bitch." Imani chirped, sitting down by my legs, her plate completely empty, hair tied into to pigtails.

                      "I don't remember ever feeling this full." Evie said, exchanging a glance with her sister who nodded.

                    I found myself grinning, my stomach feeling heavier, my mood boosted. I looked across at Ivy, who had changed into one of my T-Shirts—though, I didn't think she knew it belonged to me, otherwise she probably never would have picked it. It was an oversized New Jersey Devils top. I found it ironic that out of all the clothes she could have picked from, Ivy had managed to pick something Devils related, even if it wasn't her own clothes.

                     "We should probably crown Ivy the Queen of the wilderness or something," I spoke up, making her look across at me, a small smile on her lips. I locked my eyes on hers. "Thank you, Ivy. We all really appreciate it." I thanked her gratefully. But I watched as the smile fell from her face, quickly disappearing and turning into a scowl.

                    She got to her feet, knocking over the plate that had been sitting on her lap, "Whatever, Princess. It's not like I did it for you. I just wanted to feed my team." She said, sticking her nose in the air. My lips parted, wondering where the fuck that outburst of emotion had come from.

                   I laughed nervously, "I didn't say you did." I pointed out as everyone looked between us, waiting for another iconic Lennon and Ivy showdown. But I didn't want to fight, I just wanted to enjoy the feeling of a full stomach for a while longer.

                   Ivy threw her hands up, "You've just always gotta make a big deal out of everything," She snapped, making me blink back. "I mean, I shot a fucking deer. It's not like I made World Peace. Just—just get over yourself." I found myself getting to my feet against my own will, my jaw tightening.

                 "What the hell is your problem?" I demanded, throwing my hand out.

                 "You're my problem, Princess." God, I fucking hated that nickname. "I don't need you to sit there and tell me you're grateful, alright? I don't care." She drawled out the last part as if she was spelling it out for a child.

                   I nodded my head, my lips pushed together, "You done?" I quipped.

                 Ivy titled her head, "Fuck off." She growled before turning her back and grabbing the dirty clothes from the pile we left in the cargo hold. In a quick swoop, she grabbed the shotgun and marched off in the direction of the creek.

                   I stood there, staring after her as June slowly got to her feet, "Maybe you should go after her?" She suggested, touching my arm softly.

                 I snapped my head towards her, my eyes narrow, "What? No. Fuck her." I snapped, shaking my head.

                  "Lennon, don't be a stubborn bitch. Go and check on her—we're not supposed to go off alone, remember?" She reminded me of the rule I had created. It made a groan escape her lips.

                    "Do I have to? Can't Kitty go after her?" I asked, throwing my hand out at the dark haired girl.

                   Kitty glared at me, "Bitch, I can't walk," She said, patting her stomach. She shrugged. "And besides, Ivy can handle herself. She'll come back once she's over her temper tantrum." She assured me, as if it had happened countless times before. I wanted to take Kitty's word for it, but I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Kitty knew her the most and she was probably right. But I didn't like the idea of anyone being out there alone—even if it was Ivy and her bad attitude.

                    I turned back to June who was going full puppy-dog. I threw my head back, letting another groan slip from lips, "Alright. I'm going!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in defeat.

                     I began stomping off in the other direction when Ethan called out my name. I stopped, turning as he jogged towards me. He handed me the hand-gun, "Can't go out there without protection." He reminded me as I willingly took the gun and stuffed it into the back of my denim shorts.

                 "Thanks, Ethan. Can you keep an eye on everyone till I'm back? I'd kill myself if the camp mysteriously burst into flames the moment I was gone." I joked slightly, making Ethan give a chuckle.

                   "You got it," He chirped before a more serious look crossed his face. "You doing alright?" He asked me in a more quiet tone. I knew what he was asking. Had the mania set in? Was I going loopy? Was I hallucinating? He was checking up on my mental state.

                 I thought about it for a few seconds. Things had been crazy hectic the last few days, with new horrors around each corner. But despite not having my medication, I was feeling alright. Tired, scared and anxious most of the time—but I felt as fine as I could.

                 I put a smile on my lips, giving his bicep a pat, "I'm okay, Ethan," I let him know, earning a pleased nod. I took a few steps back from him, raising my hand to my head to do a mock salute. "Keep the girls in check until I'm back. Be back soon."

                AUTHORS NOTE.

                 Long time no see! I was planning on updating a lot sooner but it honestly slipped my mind! Hope y'all enjoyed this very late chapter!

                    — taylor xx