Snippet #2551254

Rose:
Rose sat awake this night. She didn't know why, but tonight she couldn't find sleep. Her legs were pulled up to her chest even though their little room was toasty in this cold night. They'd been lucky enough to find an old motel just a few days ago, and inside one of the rooms was a wood burning stove. It only took the three a couple of minutes to figure out how to make the cold-icy room turn into a toasty warm haven.
She wore a large black sweater that fit her more like an oversize dress, and her legs were nice and cozy in black cotton legging underneath faded blue jeans. Her toes were even snuggled into layers of fuzzy socks. It might seem like overkill, but just a couple of days ago it had been her only hope of finding some sense of warmth. They'd come so close to freezing to death more than once in this past month. The weather had turned bad so quickly it had taken them by surprise. Then, her and Patrick were excited to go off with Jamie, Patrick's lost-but-now found-and-odd older brother. Now, however, they both shared deep regrets for leaving Zach and Kira. Lately Rose had felt like such a stupid child. Especially now that they were running out of their food supplies.
Why did we ever think it was a good idea to leave? Especially with Jamie of all people...
Her thoughts made her eyes wander from the foggy dark window to the sleeping forms in the small room. One was snuggled up in a sleeping bag on the floor next to her now empty sleeping bag. She knew that was her dear friend Patrick. The other was a larger sleeping form, and that one was draped over the couch.
Her nose wrinkled slightly and a sour taste filled her mouth.
That boy was crazy...
She shivered at the thought of Patrick's brother. He seemed like such a normal older kid now that his clown makeup had washed away, but underneath he was some kind of crazy psychopath. Her and Patrick had tried so many times to escape, but somehow they never found their escape. And they knew if they tried, Jamie would take all the food and the two younger teens would die out in the cold. For now they were forced to stay... if they wanted to live.
The warmth of the room couldn't warm her chilled heart. She was scared.
She huffed in frustration.
I'm just a silly child.
Her lip quivered but she bit back the tears. She was the strong one.
Her heart ached. She still referred to herself as if there was another still connected to her. She was no longer a one. She was just the one.
Her twin had been dead for over a month now. Wasn't that long enough to stop forgetting she was dead?
Sky had been the one she had to protect. She was the weak but innocent one. Rose was the strong and protective one, but without her twin what was she? She had no other half now. Maybe now she was just the lonely scared one that still tried to pretend she was strong.
The tears fell down her face then and she pressed her warm cheek against the cold glass.
It was pitch black outside, and no light could be seen from the room. Only the moon illuminated the room and outside.
The abandoned cars outside the motel looked like sleeping beasts.
But she knew it wasn't the cars that were the beasts. It was the movement she could see every once in a while in the trees outside the motel. They were always around now. They weren't as "in your face" as they used to be, but now they lurked. They were sleeping beasts, wandering the cold snow, or waiting underneath the white cool blanket until a living person or animal stumbled past them. Then they would wake and would follow... and eventually kill.
She hated the undead walkers. She hated them so much... but at the same time she welcomed them. She knew that as long as the lumbered by slowly there were no bandits nearby that wanted to take their supplies and kill them. It was an odd relationship, but it was what kept her sane.