A Future To Die For || Nano 13

17

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Chapter Seventeen

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We moved slow. Sullen with the heaviness of death on our shoulders. Blake was taking it the hardest, losing both Samantha to the Hunters and having Erin run off. He was silent on his horse, allowing the black gelding to jitter around instead of calming him. It set my own mare on edge.

After heading to the town like planned, we were directed north to Thunder Bay. Which was apparently only an hour and a half drive up the road. With the horses, we got there a little faster than expected.

We have been wandering down the highway for a while now and all I kept thinking of is that cover of The Walking Dead. Only, accept for one man on his horse in an abandoned road, imagine a cluster of horses, 4 being rode, down a road that had an abandoned wreck of cars. It was a large spoilage of dry blood and rotten, half frozen flesh everywhere. Who knew a human body could be preserved so well through the winter.

I rode closer to Blake, "Are you okay?" I asked. Blake didn't turn around. He stared straight ahead with unfocused eyes. 

"I hate it when someone treats you like crap, but you still worry about them," he said when he finally spoke. He turned his head towards me, his eyes watering and searching for answers to questions I couldn't answer.

"It will be okay, Blake. Everything will work out," I told him with a soft smile. "I'm sure Erin's alright," I added.

"Not just Erin. But my mother," he gave a heavy sigh. I stayed silent, Blake never talked about his parents.

"I'm sure she's fine too."

"Drew, I really respect people like you. People who know what they are doing, or at least act like it. People who can keep their head up high and lead the pack even when everything goes wrong," he told me gently. "Thanks for that."

I stared straight ahead, his words racing through my head. I appear strong? I don't feel strong, "You're welcome," I replied, a tad hesitant.

"Drew," Blake said after a couple moments of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Gun or knife."

"Knife, I'm sort of into that whole close contact thing," I replied instantly. "What about you?"

"Gun, definitely."

"They make a lot of noise, it risks you getting caught. Why?"

"Because no one can throw a rock or a knife at 1000 feet per second," he shrugged. I almost laughed. 

"Pistol or rifle?" I asked.

"Rifle."

"Why?"

"Pistols seem like too much of a chance. You need a strike of luck to hit something with a pistol. It's like wildfire," he explained.

"How so?"

"Rifles, you can stare down the scope and give off a level, even shot. If you know how to work a rifle, you'll almost never miss."

I keep my eyes on the cracked pavement in front of me, allowing my mare to find her way through the metal jungle. She lead the pack much more carelessly than me. "I guess,"  We rode 2 miles down the abandoned interstate, just off exit 175.

 After a couple more minutes, we will be in a city that is rumored to be holding security camps. As I looked forward, I could see the crumbling city that was left to rot. It looked absolutely unsafe, one of the cities the government never bothered to control and left alone to die.