The Dark Haired Boy/10k [Z Nation]

Part 5- The Great Escape

I laid awake on the small hammock nestled in between two pine trees on the outskirts of the camp. It was a full moon and the pale light lit up my surroundings. So many thoughts were rushing through my head. I thought About how far I had come since this whole shit storm happened. I thought about my life after my family died, and before I met 10k. Living on my own for four years, surviving with no one but myself. I had grown up alone, and I was sure to die alone.

I glanced to my right where 10k was sitting against the base of a small tree, his trusty rifle laid across his lap. He lazily scanned the area and struggled to keep his eyes open. A stray beam of moonlight gracefully danced across his face. He had not noticed that I was awake and I took advantage of his inattention to truly admire him. From the moment I saw him I found him attractive, but now I was able to see just how beautiful he was. His dark raven hair strewn messily atop his head, his lean muscles shifted under his baggy worn shirt, his jaw line flexed as he mindlessly licked his full, inviting lips, his piercing blue eyes that hid such great sadness.. All I wanted from that moment on was to be by his side. It was no longer my duty to get him back to his people, it was a desire. I wanted to reunite him with his friends in hope of seeing just a hint of happiness in those sad blue eyes. And maybe, just maybe, we could stick together, and I would once again have a family.

I was jerked to my senses as he shifted his attention to me. He was staring at me with a quizzical look and before I could respond we both shot upright at the sound of trouble. I hopped out of the hammock and grabbed my axe and slid my gun into its holster on my hip, we crouched down and exchanged nods before slowly creeping towards the course of the noise; it was coming from Mr. Gordy's cabin. We snuck around the side, careful not to be seen or heard and stopped under a cracked window. We stood in silence for a moment and then all of a sudden a huge crash came from inside, as if someone had hurled a desk chair across the room, and then voices.

"I don't care how harmless and innocent you think they are! We need them. If you won't do it then I will!"

"Will you lower your damn voice and stop making such a huge fuss! You're gonna wake up the entire camp for Christ's sake!"

That was definitely Mr. Gordy's voice, but who was he talking to? A low thump indicated that someone had just sat down on the couch.

"Now, as for those two. I told you time and time again, we don't need anymore! We have more than enough to sustain ourselves."

"Fine"

"Well alright then.... How many do we got?"

"We picked up another 3 yesterday making that 18 in all"

"Excellent! When will they be ready?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at the latest"

"Wonderful! Just wonderful! You see? We are perfectly fine without those two scrony things. Now run off and get some rest, we got ourselves a big day tomorrow!"

We heard footseps inside and 10k reached around to place his arm across my chest, silently telling me to stay still and quiet. He glanced around the corner of the house just enough to see Sam huff down the steps and off into the darkness of the camp.

Were they really talking about what I thought they were? Why would they resort to such vile measures with a shed full of perfectly good food?

10k lowered his arm and leaned in close to me, so I could hear what he was about to say

"We need to get out of here" he said sternly.

I nodded slowly in agreement with wide worried eyes. We crept back to our camp, careful not to stir any of the other sleeping residents. We quickly packed our things and soon realized we had no food or water. Now was our only chance to restock before running off to wherever we we're headed next. I grabbed 10k's shoulder and motioned to the shed that held an abundance of food. He shot me a scolding look and lightly shook his head no.

"Look, if we want to survive out there we need food, We have no idea how long it will take to find other supplies, this could be our only shot at making it far enough to find more."

He looked down at the ground, contemplating what I had just said.

"You're right, but it's just too risky. What if we get caught? We already heard what they will do to us"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take"

He huffed out a defeated breath and looked up at me once again.

"So what's the plan?"

"Alright, we know it's locked and Sam has the key, there's no way we are going to get it from him. Sam's a big guy and it makes him slow, we can use our speed to our advantage. We'll sneak over to the shed, bust the lock, grab as much as we can and bolt it over the fence behind Gordy's cabin"

"It'll have to work"

We gathered all of our belongings and snuck over to the shed, careful to stay low and quiet. I stood guard in front of the doors to make sure no one had seen us while 10k raised the end of his rifle and brought it down hard on the lock. It snapped and fell to the ground. We snuck inside and started filling our bags with anything we could grab. We turned to escape but the doorway was blocked by a tall stocky silhouette, Sam.

"Well, well, well, look what we got here"

We both froze in fear, not knowing what our next move was. Before I knew what was going on 10k shouted duck! And I hit the floor. He grabbed the neck of a wine bottle and hurled it at Sam, it exploded on impact with Sam's head and glass and red wine splattered everywhere. It didn't knock him down but he stumbled back, stunned by the blow. 10k grabbed my arm and pulled me up and we both shoved all our weight into the giant of a man knocking him to the ground. There was no time to fight, we had to get out of there. We rounded the shed, threw our bags over the fence and climbed over. We stumbled to our feet, grabbed our bags and ran as fast as we could into the thick pine trees. Voices and movement could be heard on the other side of the fence as Sam woke the others up. The further away we got the more anxious I felt. We had no idea where we were going, and I didn't want to die in the middle of the Californian wilderness.

We ran for what seemed like hours, but it had only been a few minutes. Finally we reached a clearing with a river barely visible on the other side.

"C'mon! If we cross the river we can lose them on the other side!" 10k shouted to me. We continued running and it felt like my legs were on fire. We reached the riverbank and stopped to catch our breath. Faint shouting could be heard behind us and we knew we didn't have much time. Without warning 10k heaved his rifle above his head and waded into the water, I had no choice but to follow. I lifted my bag over my head and inched in. The piercing cold of the water seeped into my bones, but I had to keep going. By the time I reached the middle of the river it was up to shoulders just a little bit further, it can only get shallower from here. With one last burst of strength I hauled myself and my bag onto the shore. 10k helped me to my feet and gave me an apologetic look.

"We have to keep moving" he gasped out, trying to catch his breath. I nodded silently, unable to speak for fear of wasting precious air. We jogged further into the woods and came to a small hill. Fucking fantastic. We crawled up the slope on all fours and rolled over on to the flat ground on top. We no longer heard the shouting of Sam and the others; all was quiet. We took time to really catch our breath and finally I pushed myself up on my elbows. I scanned out new surroundings. A small grove stretched out in front of us and the other side was encircled with tall thick trees. The river could be seen below us peeking in and out of the tree line. We would be safe up here for now. The trees provided cover for us and the open area allowed us to see anyone or anything that would approach us.

"We should set up camp here tonight. We need to rest and regain our strength before we can try and get out of these fucking woods" I said as I pulled myself to my feet. 10k was still sprawled out on the ground, his chest heaving heavily as he still struggled to breath. He shot me a thumbs up and I chuckled lightly. After a few more minutes he slowly sat up and looked around for the first time. He heaved himself to his feet and ran his hand through his damp hair, spiking it up in the front. He took a deep breath and whispered one word, matter of factly

"Fire"

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Hi! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I have no excuse except for who I am as a person... I'll try and do better! Thank you for still reading I appreciate it! :)