They finished their meal, the warm food settling a much-needed sense of normalcy over them, however brief.
"Do you guys mind if I... use your shower?" Alex asked, gesturing to himself. He was still in the clothes he'd worn for two days, stained with grime and the blood of the dead.
"Of course not," Alice said immediately. "Make yourself at home." She turned to her sister. "Mina, go get him a fresh towel. And... grab some of papa's clothes for him. If my eyesight isn't cheating me, you two are around the same size."
Mina, seizing the opportunity, shot Alice a very deliberate, mischievous wink. Alice shut it down instantly with a sharp glare that promised death.
Completely unaware of the silent, high-stakes conversation he was in the middle of, Alex just nodded. "Uh, thanks. That's... really nice of you."
He followed Mina, who collected the items, and then disappeared into the guest bathroom. The sound of a lock clicking, followed by the rush of water, filled the apartment.
The moment he was gone, Mina was on Alice, her eyes gleaming.
"Okay, Plan B is officially in motion," she whispered, sliding onto the couch. "He's in the shower. This is the perfect opportunity."
"Opportunity for what? He's just getting clean."
"For you to offer to wash his back, obviously!" Mina said, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. "It would correspond perfectly to your bold move at the dorm room. Very consistent!"
Alice's face darkened. "Mina. Stop. That is the craziest, most disgusting plan I have ever heard. I am not doing it."
Mina blinked, feigning deep, "understanding" thought. "Mhmm. Mhmm. I see. Too aggressive. Too soon. You're right." She tapped her chin. "Okay, we need a more demure approach. Got it! How about this: in the middle of the night, you 'accidentally' walk into his room, you say you had a nightmare, you can't sleep alone... it's a classic!"
Alice's left eye twitched. "Wow, Mina," she said, her voice suddenly, sickly sweet. "That... that's such a good idea. Come here, I want to tell you something."
"See? I told you I had..." Mina beamed, mistaking this as praise, and leaned in closer.
Alice's arm shot out, wrapped around Mina's neck, and yanked her into a tight headlock. With her free hand, she began to roughly rub and mess up Mina's hair.
"Ack! Hey! Wha-!" Mina squeaked, her legs flailing.
"Get. These. Stupid. Ideas. Out. Of. Your. Head!" Alice growled, rubbing harder with each word. "This isn't a novel! And don't you ever think about doing anything stupid!"
"Ow! Ow! Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Mina pleaded, already in tears, though it was hard to tell if they were from pain or laughter.
The bathroom door clicked open.
Alex stepped out, drying his hair with the towel. He was dressed in a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a t-shirt that were clearly a size too big, hanging loosely on his frame, but he looked clean and infinitely more relaxed. He stopped, taking in the scene: Alice, red-faced and angry, had her 16-year-old sister in a headlock.
He just raised an eyebrow. "...It's good to see how well you two get along."
Alice froze, her face instantly blooming with shock and embarrassment. She let Mina go, shoving her away.
Mina scrambled to her feet, rubbed her head, and, in a move of pure, shameless instinct, darted behind Alex, using him as a human shield. Peeking her head out from behind his back, she pointed at her sister.
"Big brother!" she tattled, her voice trembling with fake victimhood. "Big sis bullies me!"
Alex just rubbed his temples, a headache clearly forming. "Right. Okay. Let's... let's not fool around too much." He looked at the two of them. "You two should go. Take a shower, get cleaned up." He then looked at Mina. "And you should help your sister. Just to be safe, with her leg."
Mina's eyes lit up, a new, brilliant idea clearly forming. She opened her mouth, probably to suggest Alex help Alice instead.
"Mina."
Alice's voice was ice-cold. The fire in her eyes promised a pain far worse than a noogie.
"Come. Help. Me."
Mina's idea visibly wilted and died. She just pouted.
Alex, feeling he would get an actual migraine if he listened to this any longer, just cut in. "Look, I'm exhausted. Can I... can I have a bed to sleep on? If it's possible, I really don't want to sleep on that couch again."
Alice, grateful for the change of subject, nodded. "Oh! Yes, of course. You can use our parents' room. It's... it's just down the hall. The bed is clean."
"Thanks," Alex said, visibly relieved. He gave them a final nod, then disappeared into the mentioned room, shutting the door behind him.
The sisters were left alone. Alice leveled a final, warning glare at Mina, who just gave her an innocent "what?" look before they disappeared into the other bathroom.
The bathroom was a small, steamy sanctuary. Alice sat on a plastic shower stool, the hot water running over her injured ankle, while Mina stood under the other showerhead, scrubbing her hair with a frantic energy.
"I just don't get it, sis," Mina said, her voice echoing slightly off the tile. "My ideas are brilliant. He's strong, he's not an animal, and let's be honest, he's totally hot. Why are you so reluctant?"
"Mina, for the tenth time," Alice sighed, wincing as she moved her ankle, "I am not going to try and 'seduce' him. It's creepy. And... it's just wrong."
"Fine, fine, be all noble," Mina huffed, rinsing out her shampoo. "Don't worry about it. Just... leave it to me. I'll definitely set you two up somehow. Create the mood."
Alice let out a long, exhausted sigh, too tired to even argue. "Good luck with that."
The playful, scheming tone in Mina's voice suddenly vanished, replaced by a quiet, serious dread. "Big sis... I don't... I'm not really trying to trouble you. But... what can we possibly do without him?"
Alice stopped rubbing her ankle. "What do you mean? He's helping us."
"He's helping us today," Mina said, her voice getting tight. She turned off the water, the sudden silence making her words feel heavier. "Look in the fridge, Alice. We're almost out of food. He's taking us to his flat, fine. But he said his friends are there. He said he has a deadline. You heard him, he's not waiting for some 'rescue squad.' He has a plan. I am quite sure his plan involves him leaving that flat. And it probably doesn't include two extra people he just met."
She stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself, but her eyes were fixed on Alice, and they were terrified.
"I'm scared, Alice. We won't be able to survive without someone protecting us. But we don't really have anything to offer."
Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. "Isn't it better? To be with him? To make sure he takes care of us? Because what happens if we're on our own? What happens if we survive, and... and then just one man... one... catches a glimpse of us?"
Mina was shaking. "It's over, Alice. We're defenseless women. Who are, not to boast, but really good-looking. I... I even heard it. Just before you arrived."
"Heard what?" Alice asked, her blood running cold.
"I was at the window... I heard some thug-looking men 'helping' a young couple. Offering them a place to stay. But the moment the young man turned... they knocked him out. They... they left him outside and dragged the young woman inside." Mina's voice broke. "I don't need to be a genius to figure out what happened to her. I don't think... I don't think we'll have a better shot than Alex."
Alice finally understood. Mina's 'bravado,' her crude, childish schemes... it was all just a mask. She was processing the new, horrific rules of the world faster than Alice was, and she was terrified.
"Mina..." Alice said, her own voice quiet. "Do you... do you really think he wouldn't help us... if, you know... I didn't...?"
Mina looked uncertain. "I don't know. He's... nice? But... if I were in his place... I don't know if I'd put myself in more danger for two strangers. It's not logical." Then, trying to lighten the mood, she beamed, "But maybe I'm wrong! Maybe he's just the 'hero type' after all!"
Alice gave a weak, watery chuckle, but she remembered the feel of his hand over her mouth, the cold, angry hiss in her ear. "I don't think he's the 'hero type.'" She recalled how he'd reacted when she almost revealed their location to the fleeing people.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself, more for her sister's sake than her own.
"Don't worry, Mina," she said, forcing a confidence she didn't feel. "He promised. He said he'll take us to his flat. He'll get us there. And... and from there... we'll figure it out. Together."
Alex's eyes snapped open, not to an alarm, but to the weak, gray light of dawn. His internal clock, honed by years of routine and troubled sleep, had woken him. He lay still for a moment, listening. Silence. He felt... good. Actually rested. The king-sized bed in the master bedroom was a world of difference from the dorm couch.
He swung his legs out, clad only in his underwear, and stretched, his back popping in satisfaction. He got dressed in the clothes from yesterday, grimacing slightly, but there was no alternative.
He freshened up quickly in the en-suite bathroom. On his way to the kitchen, he paused, leaning his ear against the doors to the sisters' rooms. From both, he heard the even, slow breathing of deep sleep. He looked at his watch. 6:15 AM. Still early.
He made a decision. He left his backpack, his metal pipe, all his gear, by the front door. If one of them woke up, they wouldn't think he'd abandoned them. He quietly unbolted the apartment door and slipped out.
For the next hour, he moved like a phantom. He retraced his steps from the night before, checking the rear fire exit, the high-walled alley, and the streets beyond. He confirmed his route was still viable, noting a new, small cluster of infected he'd have to lead them around. He gave the route a mental "go" and made his way back.
He slipped back inside, locking the door. The apartment was still silent. He checked the kitchen. The fridge was full of food that wouldn't last another day without the power grid. He set to work, using almost everything they still had. He found eggs, bacon, and some bread for toast.
He was just setting the last of the plates on the dining table, the rich smell of hot food filling the apartment, when one of the bedroom doors creaked open.
A yawning Mina emerged, her white-blonde hair a tangled mess. She was buried in an oversized band t-shirt that hung down to her mid-thighs, revealing her long, bare legs.
Alex didn't turn around, his back to her as he arranged the forks. "Just finished making breakfast," he said, his voice practical. "Good timing. You can wake up your sister."
He then turned, holding the coffeepot, and... paused. He'd only seen her in the context of fear. Now, sleepy and rumpled, he saw her. She was only 16, but she already had a great figure, a more athletic, slender version of her sister. But the face, the cascade of white hair, the bright blue eyes... they were almost identical.
Mina, who was never that sleepy, noticed his gaze. It lingered for half a second too long. She immediately struck a pose, mockingly covering her chest with her hands.
"Ah! Pervert!" she squeaked. "You're checking out your little sister-in-law! I didn't take you for that kind of guy, Alex!"
Alex's eye twitched. He wasn't the least bit flustered; he was annoyed. He just turned to the counter to pour himself a coffee. "I wasn't. And I'm not."
Mina dropped her "cover," her tone turning sly. "Oh... so it's just you and sis, then?" she let the question linger.
Alex sighed, sensing the misunderstanding he had no desire to be a part of. "Nope. There is no 'me and sis.' I only met her yesterday. I'm just lending a helping hand."
"Humm," Mina hummed, unconvinced. Then her voice turned weirdly coy. "Well, in that case... if you don't mind waiting about two years, until I'm considered a legal adult, I can be your girlfriend."
Alex just took a sip of coffee. "Uhum. I'll be sure to do that." His tone was flat, dismissive, the same way one would respond to a child saying they were going to be a princess.
Even though she wasn't serious, his total, bored lack of engagement stung her pride. She turned around dramatically, her hair flying. "Hmph! Fine! I'm going to tell big sis that you bullied me!" She then marched off and disappeared into Alice's room.
Alex ignored it altogether, sitting down to his own plate.
Not long after, the two sisters emerged, both now dressed in practical clothes, though Alice shot him a questioning, slightly embarrassed look, which he just ignored. They settled at the table, all three attacking the hot, real breakfast like it was their last meal.
While they ate, Alex started his briefing.
"I was already outside," he said, between bites. "I confirmed the route I scouted yesterday. It's still viable. There's a small group we have to avoid near the park, but the back alley is clear." He looked at them both, his expression all business. "As soon as we're done here, get your bags."
The meal was over. Alice, taking the order seriously, immediately started to get up, wincing on her still-tender ankle. "Mina, you heard him. Backpacks. Go! Clothes, toiletries, essentials. Nothing else." She began to pack her own bag, her face set with a grim determination.