Hunt and Hunted

Chapter 9: The Begining of The End

 "H-how d-did th-this happen?" I stuttered. I fell down, but Gage caught me before I hit the ground.

"I'm not sure. I walked down here, and this is what I found." I covered my eyes with my hands so I wouldn't have to see this. I had such a close relationship with my mother and sister. Now I don't have any family. They are all dead. Life is supposed to be good. Wait no it's not. It's a piece of shit. There we go. Now it's just Gage. He's the only reason I should live. I wiped the tears from my face and straightened up.

"We need to leave."

"What? Again?" I walked up stairs to grab my stuff.

"Yes again." I put my things in my bag and through it over my shoulder. "OK, look I'm leaving. You can stay if you want. I'm leaving."

"I wouldn't leave you."

"Good I wouldn't leave you either!" I turned around and kissed him. He looked surprised but then smiled. "Let's go." Gage followed me out the door. I couldn't find the man so I just left a note saying thank you and then Gage and I left.

"Where to now?"

"I don't have a clue."

*****next day******

  I pulled my long hair into a bun and moved some branches out of my path. I was covered in dirt and mud, my hair was super messy, and I was tired. Gage and I had been walking for over a day. Without stopping. My legs hurt really bad. Having long legs doesn't mean you can walk forever without them hurting.

"Can we take a break?" Gage asked from behind me. I jumped over a tree that fell into the path we were taking.

"Yeah. I'll climb a tree and see if I can find a source of water. And then if I find one, we can go there and rest."

"OK, there's a clearing up there where we can stop and you can climb your tree." We walked a few more yards into the clearing. I put my back pack down in the middle of the clearing, which was just a circle made of dirt, but it was surrounded by trees, leaves, grass, and branches. I found a tree worthy of climbing. Just meaning it was tall, sturdy, and had enough foot holes so I could actually climb it. It didn't take me long to get high enough to look around. Scanning the view I found a stream a few hundred yards from where we stopped. I hurriedly climbed down and found Gage, who seemed to be looking for edible plants and berries. Without any luck.

"There's a stream a few hundred yards from where we stand. Let's go there and then we can rest." I was breathing heavy from the climb and all the walking.

"OK, sounds good." I picked my backpack up, which suddenly felt like it weighed a ton, and then walked in the direction of the stream.

    As soon as we reached it I threw my backpack on the ground and ran to the water. I cupped my hands together and poured water all over my face. I rubbed it on my legs, my arms, my neck, my feet, until my whole body was no longer wet with sweat, but wet with water. It was cold too. Which made the feeling even better. I crawled over to my backpack, weary of leaving the cold water. I pulled out my canteen and threw Gage a spare one. We each filled it up with the water, eager to drink it.

  I downed three bottles in about five minutes. Gage did the same. It's unbelievable what thirst does to you. And then you don't want to stop drinking when you start. That's exactly how I felt.

  When I had gotten enough to drink, I filled my bottle with water and poured it on my hair. I at first shivered at the cold water, but then sighed at the nice feeling. When my hair was completely wet, I pulled it into a side braid. With one last splash of water on my face, I sat back and sighed. I was startled when I felt Gage wrap hid arms around my waist. I relaxed when I realized it was just him.