The Deal

William was roughly shook awake.He groaned and sat up,massaging his wound and yawning.Through bleary eyes,he saw Jordan similarly waking Kumar and Leon.Alice was already up,eyes bloodshot and blowing on yet another mug of Milo.She must have had another fit last night,thought William as the last vestiges of his sleepiness slipped away.Alice was prone to irregular outbursts of emotion both positive and negative.Usually it was during the night when her fits tended to occur.Jordan was saying,"Up,up up!I got needs to talk to you." Now fully awake,the boys gave Jordan their full and undivided attention.Jordan pulled up a chair and sat.He folded his arms and said,distaste clear on his face,"I've been up late last night,and I had a change of heart.You guys can stay here." William stared.Leon broke into a small grin and bumped fists with Kumar.Jordan snorted and held up his hands."Let me finish before you go party.There are several conditions I'm gonna attach to this arrangement,so listen carefully."

Jordan held up three fingers.Ticking them off one by one,he named his terms."First,while there's plenty of food and water for...me,sharing with four others can only last us a month.I ask for you guys to forage for yourselves.There are some places I still haven't searched yet in the area.Second,like I said yesterday,no one goes into my room.Ever.Don't even look in it.Finally,while you stay here,you answer to me.The Big Chief.Numero Uno.You all stick by these terms and you can stay as long as you like or live.Savvy?" Leon thought for a moment then nodded.Kumar said,"Its a deal." William stood and pointed angrily at Jordan.He asked Leon,"But Leon,we barely know this guy and you trust him?He shot a bloody arrow into me!He could kill us in our sleep if he could!" Leon retorted,"Will,you're a good friend and fighter but Jordan barely knows us too.Yet he's letting us stay here.Besides,we don't even know where the rest of our friends are.With a stable base,we can slowly look for signs of them." William fell back,finding it hard to argue with Leon's logic which always made him get a headache."Fine.Fine I accept too.",William said.Alice raised a hand and exclaimed,"Me two!Me three!" She giggled.The four boys ignored her.They were too busy trading fist bumps and shaking hands,albeit grudgingly on William's part.As Jordan went to fix some celebratory breakfast,Leon finally relaxed.He had not done so since he fought those adults on the flat rooftop so long ago.They were safe.At least for now.He glanced at the door to Jordan's room.He wondered briefly what Jordan wanted to so obviously hide,but he decided not to go further.Their host was quite the danger.

While Leon and Alice cleaned the dishes;Jordan,Kumar and William sat around the coffee table and discussed their responsibilities.Jordan was the leader,as he termed.He left it up to them whether they wanted to be his "soldiers and stand to when ordered" or just merely report to him.The three boys agreed on the second option.Teams of two would be regularly sent to search the area around the apartment.Jordan refused to join the scavenging party until he found the others trustworthy enough.Jordan also made a concession that he would let them eat from his store for the rest of the day.Security was to be managed by Jordan alone.Whether this was out of the goodness of his heart or to not wear down his guests,Leon could not say.Alice amused herself with the soap bubbles,laughing whenever a particularly big one floated and popped.While the discussions continued,Kumar noticed Jordan's room's door opened a crack slowly.He saw part of a small pale face stare at the four boys and girl.Before Kumar could confirm what he saw.The door closed quickly again,but not so fast as to seem deliberate.Kumar rubbed his eyes and returned to the discussion.