“Okay. And...thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Megan said, blushing. Jake moved closer to a tree and laid his head on the ground, closing his eyes.
Sleep took him so fast and released him so quickly that it all felt like a blink of the eye. When he opened his eyes, Megan was sat quietly, scanning the area for any signs of life. Jake stirred groggily and Megan smiled at him.
“Better?”
He nodded, even though he felt like the nap had made his head foggy and his body ache more. She stood up and brushed herself off.
“Then we should keep moving. The sooner we find food the better.”
Jake nodded again. The idea was sensible, so he was willing to follow Megan’s lead for once. As she set off, he stumbled behind her, feeling like a zombie. He was almost as rough as he had been before he slept, but now, he was a little more hopeful. He felt like if he believed things could get better, then it would be enough to keep him going. Megan glanced over her shoulder and then fell back in step with Jake.
“Maybe we need to discuss what we’re willing to do...to get our hands on things,” Megan said. “Are we wiling to steal? To fight?”
Jake sighed. “I don’t know about fighting again...we don’t have any weapons. If our opponents do then we’re not going to win. Stealing might have to be a necessity. I don’t like it, but everything worth having has already been claimed. We know that from people taking everything we have. Maybe we can just take a little each time...enough for us to survive, but not enough to deprive other people. That’s fair, right?”
“I guess so...a few days ago, I wouldn’t have said it was. But things have changed...and people won’t give up supplies for free. If we want to live...I guess we just have to get used to doing things we don’t agree with fully.”
Jake nodded. He felt exactly the same. It was impossible not to feel guilty about their thought process, but if he had to steal to get him to Aby, then he was more than willing to do it. He silently promised himself he would take the next opportunity he could to steal some supplies.
As they carried on walking, Jake was certain he heard voices. He glanced at Megan and she seemed alert too. So he wasn’t imagining it, surely…
He was pretty sure that whoever was there wasn’t going to be a friend to them. They hadn’t met many friendly faces along the way. Megan stuck close to his side and he understood that she was preparing for the possibility of a fight. For the first time, Jake was terrified of what a fight could mean for them. Before, they had good odds. They had weapons to back them up. Now, it was just them and their bare hands.
But as the two young men came into view, Jake felt himself relax a little. One was hobbling a little and the other was helping him along. They were easy pickings if it came to a fight. Hell, Jake even considered taking them out and taking everything they had. But he pushed that thought away fast. He wasn’t that kind of man. He was the kind of man who always tried to do the right thing...even if he hadn’t proved that much lately.
The two men stopped when they saw Jake and Megan approaching. One of them shakily took a knife out.
“We don’t want any trouble…” he said shakily. Megan stepped forward.
“Neither do we,” she said gently. “We’re hoping for some directions...we’re tired and hungry and lost. We heard there was a medic stop at a lake nearby...do you know anything about that?”
“We just came from there...I hurt my ankle,” the other boy said, gesturing at his feet. “You’re headed in the right direction. It’s about six miles from here. They’ll be able to help you when you get there, they have a lot of supplies.”
“Here...take a bottle of our water,” the other man said, putting away his knife and getting out a bottle of water from his backpack. After a moment of hesitation, he also passed Megan a cereal bar. Her eyes widened.”
“Are you sure? We don’t want you to give us something you can’t afford to give away…”
Jake had to hold back from snatching the food himself. It wasn’t much, but it would line their stomachs. He couldn’t believe Megan was almost turning it away. But the young man smiled at her.
“We have some more for ourselves. It’s not much...I’m sorry we can’t give you more. But if you make it to the lake, you’ll be okay. Be careful out there. It’s not safe.”
“Thank you,” Jake told the men earnestly. As the men continued on their way, Megan gave Jake the water to guzzle. He gulped down half a bottle and then handed it back to Megan. He knew he should’ve rationed it, but he wanted to keep his strength up for the walk. Megan split the cereal bar too and they spend a few minutes just recharging . Then, silently, they began to walk again, carrying on the tough journey to make it to the lake.
Seven
Aby
“Well, what’s the plan, young lady?” Peaches asked Aby. “Since you’re in charge now, what should we do next?”
Aby bit her lip. She had spent so much time wishing that people would trust her with more responsibility, but now that Peaches was putting her in charge, she had no idea what to do next. She didn’t know whether the cabin was safe. What if the men found her again and tried to kill them both? She would be outnumbered and they still had no weapons.
But going out into the wilderness was even more daunting. Aby was already getting used to the idea
