Matt silently sat around the fire next to the pond. He had changed into a spotless white T-shirt after having to discard his Mutagen blooded hoodie. The shirt made him look oddly clean with his ripped and stained jeans. He had brought along all of his supplies from his tree top hideout and was sharpening his arrows using Drea's boot knife. Drea worked on washing the dirt off her shirt meanwhile. That afternoon she couldn't hunt or venture into the city because of their encounter and planned on doing it in the night. She noticed herself shivering as she stood knee deep in the icy cold pond, clad in a thin tank top. She then stepped out strapping on her boots and searched for her knife. Seeing Matt use it she didn't ask for it. Finally she spoke,"Do you have anything else that's warm?"
"What for?"
"To wear."
"Why?"
"It's getting colder each day. And you can't keep the fire on after sunset."
"I don't get cold"
"Yet..."
"Fine so what do u want me to do? Hunt a bear, clean the skin, process the fur and stitch up a coat?"
"I want you to come with me, while I go hunt tonight"
"What for?"
"Hunt for food, some mutagens too if we're unlucky. Then get you a coat and another gun. Does that answer all your questions?"
"Only somewhat. To let you know, I only wear brands. I do not appeal to the idea of more black liquid staining my favourite hoodie, and I have my skill-set in Nerf guns and water guns."
"How about this? Unless you're Legolas, set aside that arrow, and practice shooting with me."
"Right now? You have a lot of free ammo don't you?"
"I can spare some bullets if it means that next time you will be of some real help".
Mattias rolled his eyes and got up whining, "I wasn't prepared last time! Geez"
Drea stabbed the ragged cloth she usually used as target practice onto a tree bark and loaded her gun with bullets. Mattias stood next to her, trying not to look nervous. "Take a shot", she said handing over the gun. Mattias shot and missed terribly. "Not bad, give it another try". He shot again; still barely in the close radius of the tree. "Okay enough for tonight", joked Drea as she kept positioning his hand and posture. With her help he got closer to the tree. Shot after shot, they kept going as if they wouldn't be able to give up. Finally he got his ninth shot on the edge of the cloth. They jumped and screamed in joy. Not sure about the newly developed comfort, he said he'd take another shot, this time without Drea's help. Although not too much, he missed and frowned. An instant later they heard a loud scream. Terrified they looked at each other and "Pack up" yelled Drea.
Immediately, they were running back to the fire. Drea scooped up the last of the blueberries and her ammo backpack while Matt picked up her other bag. Matt shoved the gun in it and Drea carried the knives and her and soaking shirt in her hand. Just then 3 other branders emerged from the sound of the scream and started running towards them. One of them had his shoulder oozing from a bullet wound and thus was slow. The other two ran towards Drea and she dropped her things, holding onto only one knife. As if a habit now, she swiftly stuck the knife into the brander's heart. She felt cold hand coil around her waist when Matt yelled,"Drea don't move". A smooth arrow slid past he neck and through her hair into the second brander's throat, standing right behind her. Not wasting another moment, Matt drew out another arrow, shooting it straight through the injured Brander's heart, finishing him once and for all this time. Then running up to Drea he held her still while the brander loosened his clasp around Drea and coiled to the floor. "Holy crap Matt why didn't you do this before!!?", said Drea while she collected her fallen articles. Picking up his hiker bag, Mattias replied, "I told u I wasn't prepared." "What else do I don't know?", chirped Drea. Sensing sudden hesitation in his eyes, she immediately regretted asking this. He bluntly replied, "Everything I don't want to tell you. You don't always have to know it all". Drea felt bad; she didn't mean to taunt him about Joanne, so replied, "Okay ..don't tell me anything u don't want to." They put off the fire in silence. Then picking up all their things, she turned to Matt saying, "I can carry my bag."
"I know you can. But I'd like to be in the company of your books for sometime."
"You peeked into my bag??!"
"I just put your gun in it."
"And??? And u don't just push a gun inside a bag with moving objects"
"See this is your problem! You just can't give up on correcting me! Fine I peeked inside your bag because it was so darn heavy! And I hadn't returned the lyrics book you keep writing in it yet and didn't want you to find out."
"I'm just cautious not a nagger. And you read my lyrics? Why? You left the band!"
"That's because you always were so good at it. At everything! 'That's not the right note Matt', 'That's not in harmony Matt', 'Do you even know the intensity of that motor?', 'That's the wrong chord..you should know this!' ". As Matt spoke Drea found herself crying. Matt went on, " 'Metallica is a legend...we can't play them!', 'Those are the wrong lyrics', 'That's the wrong way of loving me'!!! No wonder I left Drea! You're way too perfect for anyone's liking!!"
Drea was now sobbing. Through her uneven sniffs she yelled, "Then why are you still here?"
"Because you can save me! Fine? Isn't that what you wanted to hear?"
"You're horrible Matt. You're mean!" She pulled her bag off Matt's shoulder and stomped away towards the city.
The two of them were creeping in the shadows of the wrecked city. Matt had his tiny flashlight guiding them both. Upon reaching a departmental store, Drea whispered,
"Get everything you feel will be useful. Take my bag and remove the books to make space. I'll do the same." Taking Drea's bag off her shoulder Matt proceeded. Drea on the other hand tried to adjust her eyes in the sudden absence of the light. She heard footsteps and slowly spoke, "Matt is that you?". No one answered so she kept walking. She first stumbled upon clothes and picked out random T-shirts, sweatpants and hoodies for them both. In the mirrors she saw someone walk past her and turned immediately. Footsteps started shuffling away. Quickly pulling off a rain jacket for Matt she ran the opposite way calling out for him. He waved his flashlight and asked her what was wrong. She whispered, "Let's leave. There's someone here. If its a brander he's gone to get more and we need to leave before that."
"Hey relax. I was just about to search for you. There are survivors here. Food aisles are almost empty, medicines are done, knives and camping equipment taken away. What else could be the explanation?"
"Mutagens?"
"Drea, the branders have no blood and so won't need any food. Haven't u seen most of them? They don't feel cold. They don't even need to sleep maybe! They don't have a life remember? C'mon let's go see."
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me. I have my bow if you feel the need to be safe. Oh and having said that, 1-0 now?" ,asked Matt mentioning the rule of three again.
"Whatever I'll catch up"
They walked scanning the aisles when Matt felt a hardcover cover slam at the back of his head. Terrified in pain, he let out a scream and Drea turned spotting someone sneak away 2 aisles afar. Dropping her bag she started chasing down the shadow deeper into the department store, and Matt followed with two overloaded bags. With swiftness she caught hold of the girl's collar and slammed her against the shelves. The girl however, was strong and wouldn't stay still. Matt ran into the fight and both, him and Drea tried to hold the girl still. All of a sudden, they felt numerous hands pulling them off her and Matt and Drea went lifeless as they scanned into the crowd of about two dozen people. They threw Matt and Drea on the floor, and one demanded, "Take your shirt off" Matt gave Drea the 'I told you', look and sarcastically whispered, "Stripping seems to be a common tradition with survivors". Drea lifted her hair and turned for the other people to examine. Matt complied as well. After a good scan, a well built man in his thirties, spoke, "Sorry kids. Gotta do it! I'm sure you must know. But now, welcome to our gang. We are 35 of us here and I'm Jose." "Matt and this is Drea", introduced Matt on both their behalves. Never would they have thought of running into an entire resistance group. While both of them spent the next fifteen minutes introducing themselves to the other 34 people around, Jose opened up canned soup in the office for their feast. They talked about their encounters with Jose who seemed to be the leader around the area. Then as if like tradition, one by one everyone started speaking about their "updates" of the day and encounters if any. Drea looked around their little camp and admired the thought of staying sheltered in the most convenient spot. Jose further explained, "Each one of us here is divided into groups. Mapping, Spying, War and Watch. Mitchie was on watch today and followed you two."
"Sorry. I didn't wanna hurt you but that was my only closest weapon. Did it hurt?", asked Mitchie giggling.
"Surprisingly, yes it did! Don't think I didn't know it was a Lord of The Rings hardcover you threw at my head! It was the only book I had left in that aisle."
"You removed my Lord Of the Rings!? You were jealous of Legolas weren't you?!", teased Drea.
"Woah woah woah now! You said I could remove any and that book is fat AND heavy. It'd be the first to get rid off!!"
"And then they become great weapons!", added Mitchie, as they all laughed. Jose walked up to them and said, "You folks came in with a bag full of bullets, bows, knives and a gun." Suddenly brought to attention, Matt spoke, "Jose....I....I mean we would prefer if those things were untouched.."
"Slow down there boy. We know the rules and we respect them- You found it, you keep it. All the ammo and weapons are yours. I would like to know though, how good are you two at them?"
"She's amazing with the gun"
"He's a mindblowing archer"
Matt and Drea, surprisingly found themselves saying together at a time. "Good because we need people in the war department", said Jose with a wink. He added, "Oh and also, you two might be the only ones yet. It's just some crashing the alien party grounds and killing them. Will be fun! You start tomorrow. Sleep well tonight", said Jose walking away. Matt and Drea stared with the mouths wide open. "He's kidding right?", asked Drea. "It was nice knowing you guys! Keep safe and call me if you need something", said Mitchie and walked away, already assuming it was the last she'll know of them. Matt and Drea shook their heads in disbelief.
"What for?"
"To wear."
"Why?"
"It's getting colder each day. And you can't keep the fire on after sunset."
"I don't get cold"
"Yet..."
"Fine so what do u want me to do? Hunt a bear, clean the skin, process the fur and stitch up a coat?"
"I want you to come with me, while I go hunt tonight"
"What for?"
"Hunt for food, some mutagens too if we're unlucky. Then get you a coat and another gun. Does that answer all your questions?"
"Only somewhat. To let you know, I only wear brands. I do not appeal to the idea of more black liquid staining my favourite hoodie, and I have my skill-set in Nerf guns and water guns."
"How about this? Unless you're Legolas, set aside that arrow, and practice shooting with me."
"Right now? You have a lot of free ammo don't you?"
"I can spare some bullets if it means that next time you will be of some real help".
Mattias rolled his eyes and got up whining, "I wasn't prepared last time! Geez"
Drea stabbed the ragged cloth she usually used as target practice onto a tree bark and loaded her gun with bullets. Mattias stood next to her, trying not to look nervous. "Take a shot", she said handing over the gun. Mattias shot and missed terribly. "Not bad, give it another try". He shot again; still barely in the close radius of the tree. "Okay enough for tonight", joked Drea as she kept positioning his hand and posture. With her help he got closer to the tree. Shot after shot, they kept going as if they wouldn't be able to give up. Finally he got his ninth shot on the edge of the cloth. They jumped and screamed in joy. Not sure about the newly developed comfort, he said he'd take another shot, this time without Drea's help. Although not too much, he missed and frowned. An instant later they heard a loud scream. Terrified they looked at each other and "Pack up" yelled Drea.
Immediately, they were running back to the fire. Drea scooped up the last of the blueberries and her ammo backpack while Matt picked up her other bag. Matt shoved the gun in it and Drea carried the knives and her and soaking shirt in her hand. Just then 3 other branders emerged from the sound of the scream and started running towards them. One of them had his shoulder oozing from a bullet wound and thus was slow. The other two ran towards Drea and she dropped her things, holding onto only one knife. As if a habit now, she swiftly stuck the knife into the brander's heart. She felt cold hand coil around her waist when Matt yelled,"Drea don't move". A smooth arrow slid past he neck and through her hair into the second brander's throat, standing right behind her. Not wasting another moment, Matt drew out another arrow, shooting it straight through the injured Brander's heart, finishing him once and for all this time. Then running up to Drea he held her still while the brander loosened his clasp around Drea and coiled to the floor. "Holy crap Matt why didn't you do this before!!?", said Drea while she collected her fallen articles. Picking up his hiker bag, Mattias replied, "I told u I wasn't prepared." "What else do I don't know?", chirped Drea. Sensing sudden hesitation in his eyes, she immediately regretted asking this. He bluntly replied, "Everything I don't want to tell you. You don't always have to know it all". Drea felt bad; she didn't mean to taunt him about Joanne, so replied, "Okay ..don't tell me anything u don't want to." They put off the fire in silence. Then picking up all their things, she turned to Matt saying, "I can carry my bag."
"I know you can. But I'd like to be in the company of your books for sometime."
"You peeked into my bag??!"
"I just put your gun in it."
"And??? And u don't just push a gun inside a bag with moving objects"
"See this is your problem! You just can't give up on correcting me! Fine I peeked inside your bag because it was so darn heavy! And I hadn't returned the lyrics book you keep writing in it yet and didn't want you to find out."
"I'm just cautious not a nagger. And you read my lyrics? Why? You left the band!"
"That's because you always were so good at it. At everything! 'That's not the right note Matt', 'That's not in harmony Matt', 'Do you even know the intensity of that motor?', 'That's the wrong chord..you should know this!' ". As Matt spoke Drea found herself crying. Matt went on, " 'Metallica is a legend...we can't play them!', 'Those are the wrong lyrics', 'That's the wrong way of loving me'!!! No wonder I left Drea! You're way too perfect for anyone's liking!!"
Drea was now sobbing. Through her uneven sniffs she yelled, "Then why are you still here?"
"Because you can save me! Fine? Isn't that what you wanted to hear?"
"You're horrible Matt. You're mean!" She pulled her bag off Matt's shoulder and stomped away towards the city.
* * *
The two of them were creeping in the shadows of the wrecked city. Matt had his tiny flashlight guiding them both. Upon reaching a departmental store, Drea whispered,
"Get everything you feel will be useful. Take my bag and remove the books to make space. I'll do the same." Taking Drea's bag off her shoulder Matt proceeded. Drea on the other hand tried to adjust her eyes in the sudden absence of the light. She heard footsteps and slowly spoke, "Matt is that you?". No one answered so she kept walking. She first stumbled upon clothes and picked out random T-shirts, sweatpants and hoodies for them both. In the mirrors she saw someone walk past her and turned immediately. Footsteps started shuffling away. Quickly pulling off a rain jacket for Matt she ran the opposite way calling out for him. He waved his flashlight and asked her what was wrong. She whispered, "Let's leave. There's someone here. If its a brander he's gone to get more and we need to leave before that."
"Hey relax. I was just about to search for you. There are survivors here. Food aisles are almost empty, medicines are done, knives and camping equipment taken away. What else could be the explanation?"
"Mutagens?"
"Drea, the branders have no blood and so won't need any food. Haven't u seen most of them? They don't feel cold. They don't even need to sleep maybe! They don't have a life remember? C'mon let's go see."
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me. I have my bow if you feel the need to be safe. Oh and having said that, 1-0 now?" ,asked Matt mentioning the rule of three again.
"Whatever I'll catch up"
They walked scanning the aisles when Matt felt a hardcover cover slam at the back of his head. Terrified in pain, he let out a scream and Drea turned spotting someone sneak away 2 aisles afar. Dropping her bag she started chasing down the shadow deeper into the department store, and Matt followed with two overloaded bags. With swiftness she caught hold of the girl's collar and slammed her against the shelves. The girl however, was strong and wouldn't stay still. Matt ran into the fight and both, him and Drea tried to hold the girl still. All of a sudden, they felt numerous hands pulling them off her and Matt and Drea went lifeless as they scanned into the crowd of about two dozen people. They threw Matt and Drea on the floor, and one demanded, "Take your shirt off" Matt gave Drea the 'I told you', look and sarcastically whispered, "Stripping seems to be a common tradition with survivors". Drea lifted her hair and turned for the other people to examine. Matt complied as well. After a good scan, a well built man in his thirties, spoke, "Sorry kids. Gotta do it! I'm sure you must know. But now, welcome to our gang. We are 35 of us here and I'm Jose." "Matt and this is Drea", introduced Matt on both their behalves. Never would they have thought of running into an entire resistance group. While both of them spent the next fifteen minutes introducing themselves to the other 34 people around, Jose opened up canned soup in the office for their feast. They talked about their encounters with Jose who seemed to be the leader around the area. Then as if like tradition, one by one everyone started speaking about their "updates" of the day and encounters if any. Drea looked around their little camp and admired the thought of staying sheltered in the most convenient spot. Jose further explained, "Each one of us here is divided into groups. Mapping, Spying, War and Watch. Mitchie was on watch today and followed you two."
"Sorry. I didn't wanna hurt you but that was my only closest weapon. Did it hurt?", asked Mitchie giggling.
"Surprisingly, yes it did! Don't think I didn't know it was a Lord of The Rings hardcover you threw at my head! It was the only book I had left in that aisle."
"You removed my Lord Of the Rings!? You were jealous of Legolas weren't you?!", teased Drea.
"Woah woah woah now! You said I could remove any and that book is fat AND heavy. It'd be the first to get rid off!!"
"And then they become great weapons!", added Mitchie, as they all laughed. Jose walked up to them and said, "You folks came in with a bag full of bullets, bows, knives and a gun." Suddenly brought to attention, Matt spoke, "Jose....I....I mean we would prefer if those things were untouched.."
"Slow down there boy. We know the rules and we respect them- You found it, you keep it. All the ammo and weapons are yours. I would like to know though, how good are you two at them?"
"She's amazing with the gun"
"He's a mindblowing archer"
Matt and Drea, surprisingly found themselves saying together at a time. "Good because we need people in the war department", said Jose with a wink. He added, "Oh and also, you two might be the only ones yet. It's just some crashing the alien party grounds and killing them. Will be fun! You start tomorrow. Sleep well tonight", said Jose walking away. Matt and Drea stared with the mouths wide open. "He's kidding right?", asked Drea. "It was nice knowing you guys! Keep safe and call me if you need something", said Mitchie and walked away, already assuming it was the last she'll know of them. Matt and Drea shook their heads in disbelief.
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