5:6

                                    

                                          
The Scorch. 
Travis is having a shit day. 
First thing this morning, he had to spend an hour trying to wake up Matt, then had to endure another hour of his mother practically glued to his hip - much like she is every morning before they leave for a supply run. 
That ended up making him late for his shower, which meant that he needed to enter the bathroom after Barklay, which also meant he had to try and wash himself whilst basking in the air of the older mans post-shower shit. And, even after scrubbing his entire body within an inch of its life, he could still smell the rotten stench radiating through his pores from the condensation of the bathroom seeping into his skin. 
After that, he had to drive two full hours with Matt consistently talking about Maggie, and telling him all the things that a twin brother does not want to hear about his sister. They got to the shopping mall, only got about four hours of actual scouring done before Barklay had commanded that they leave. 
Which, they tried to. 
But Travis got separated, and had to spend the next few hours running ragged through a shopping mall trying to avoid becoming dinner to the horde of Cranks that chased him. 
''Fuck sake!''
And now, as he stands outside by the drivers side of the car, the young boy has just realised that he lost his key.
''Could this fucking day get any fucking worse!'' he screeches, pulling his right foot back for a second before launching it forward. His shoes bend against the tire, his toes crunching upon impact, immediately causing him to wince, and silently berate himself for thinking it was a good idea to kick the car. 
Spinning around to face the large building next to him, Travis goes over his options, but it does not take more than a minute for him to realise that there really is only two. 
Stay outside and run the risk of becoming Crank food when it gets dark.
Or go inside and run the risk of becoming Crank food now. 
Either way, he is towing a thin line, because there is absolutely no way that Barklay and the others will come back for him tonight - if they come back - and there is nothing he can do with the car without the key, because he does not know how to hot wire the engine, and he certainly is not going to gamble with it in case he fucks up, and draws any unwanted attention to himself. 
So, with the sun beginning to set on the horizon, the imminent darkness of the night gradually approaching, Travis resides himself to the fact that he will be here for a while, and sending one last, longing look to the car, he starts to slowly trudge back into the centre. 
''You guys go. I'll be fine. I've got the other car key'' he grumbles to himself, mimicking his own voice from earlier and the stupid way in which the told the rest of his group to leave. Releasing a heavy huff and crossing his arms over his chest just as he passes the threshold, the young boy stops for a second to take in the dingy scenery before him. "Fucking idiot, Travis."
Meanwhile, tucked away in that storage cupboard she had remembered about earlier, and completely oblivious to the presence of the young boy, Adeline sits on the floor, surrounded by piles of tinned food and bottles of water. 
Having just spent the last hour trying to remove a bullet from her arm with nothing more than a pair of tweezers she had found on the shop floor, the young girl throws her spine back against the wall, letting out a number of quick breaths as she applies pressure to the wound, and attempts to calm down the throbbing in her muscles.