The Disbanders

Chapter 13: Reflection and Revelation

In the past few weeks, I've been able to better suppress the thoughts and memories of my past, and thinking of my fortunes of finding this place. Chuck's words certainly stuck with me. Then again, I've been kept lying awake at various times, for one reason or another. Luckily, those nights seem to coincide with times when Will can't seem to sleep either. There have been several occassions when we'd stay up late, talking into the night.

In those conversations, we'd find out little things about each other. The kinds of things you'd only know about someone if you were really close, understanding the subtleties of their being and who they truly are. For instance, his middle name is George, so he's William George Harrison, because his parents liked The Beatles. It's also because Will shares a birthday with him. I'd also tell him more about my trips to the hospital with Jessica, even if I have to make it sound like medicine is no longer of interest to me.

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The weather has been getting colder, compelling us to prepare for the winter––my first winter. We've been layering up more and using our fireplace more often. We're also approaching our final harvests, which could be concerning for the months ahead. I'm not sure what that will look like, but I'm sure I'll find out.

I've also been getting better at hunting, particularly with the bow and arrow. This morning, I've been practicing by myself, since I'm one of the first ones awake––as usual.

As I fire an arrow into the centre of the target, Will comes from behind the target tree.

"Will! What are you doing? You scared the crap out of me!", I exclaim. "I could've hit you, you know."

"I'm sorry," he says genuinely. "Do you want a real target to shoot at?"

"What do you mean?"

"There are some wild turkeys near the house. I think we can get them." I lower my bow, thinking about it.

"How many?"

"About six or seven," he replies. "If we got even one or two of them, we'd be set for a while. Are you up for it?"

"Yeah, let's go," I reply. I run to the target tree to pluck out my arrow, as well as grab some more.

As I follow Will to find the turkeys, I feel a rush of excitement. Over time, hunting has become easier. The one way that my past has helped me cope with it is having learned to not get attached to anything.

"They're over here!", whispers Will, grinning. "Come on!" I crouch alongside him. "Okay, you go first. It's all you." I nod, readying my arrow. For a moment, I feel a guilt build up, similar to when I made my first kill. I hate to have to kill for us to eat. Hunting definitley takes my emotions on a rollercoaster. I then feel a rumbling in my stomach, anchoring me as to why I'm doing this.

Pulling myself together, I narrow my eyes and focus. Releasing the arrow, it strikes one of the turkeys, causing the others to begin to run away, as they gobble comically. Will and I stand up quickly, as he readies his rifle.

"Go, get them!", I exclaim. A rush passes through me, filling me with excitement once more. Will quickly aims, as the gun goes off with a loud bang. He got one too.

"Got it," says Will to himself.

We walk a few paces towards the dead bodies, letting the other birds roam free. It's the least we can do after killing two of their friends. Seeing the corpses, I look away from the eyes of the birds. Some aspects of this will never get easier. Will and I each lift one and bring it back home.

"We got two big ones," I say, as Will and I make our way to the others. We each slam the birds down.

"Yeah, nice job," says Will, sticking out his hand. I high five him, as we smile at each other.