Natural Disaster

Chapter 31

Around a week later, after far too much of fumbling with her knee, Launa was glad to be able to walk again without his help or having sit and rest it several times. They spent much of the day travelling in silence, only interuppted when Avi would ask for her knee was holding up.

"You know what I miss?" she groaned, sitting in the tent and stretching her leg, carefully, "Having a car."

He nodded, prying open a can. "I know. I tried the truck at the house, but it wouldn't start."

It doesn't matter. It probably wouldn't have made it very far in this snow. None of the vehicles, here, were made for this kind of winter. She studied the map, approximating the distance between his estimation of their location and their next destination of Ash Fork. It looked to be about another day's worth, given her current hobbling speed.

"You know what I miss?" he asked, offering her a bowl of cold soup with a grimace, "Actual food. Warm food. Non-canned food."

Launa grinned, watching his eyes go distant, fantasizing about food. "Hey, come back from burgerland," she called for his attention, waving a hand in front of his face.

"But," he whimpered over-dramatically, reaching out into empty air, "It's so beautiful."

They burst into childish giggles, desperately ignoring what was actually in their bowls.

______

Launa woke suddenly, tense, and unsure of what had disturbed her. She rubbed her face into his shoulder, the friction waking her up some and she sat up, glancing around to locate the disturbance. She froze when she heard it, going completely still as ice slid into her stomach.

There was a shuffling noise just outside of the tent.

She shook Avi to wake him, fingers curled tight in his shirt and wincing when his snoring abruptly cut off as he awoke. She held a finger to his lips, and he gave her a bewilered and confused stare.

"There's something outside," she mouthed, gesturing to the front of the tent. He stilled, flicking his eyes to follow her gesture, moving his hand slowly to the knife sitting beside him.

Everything was silent as he slowly, carefully moved to crouch be the tent's entrance, gripping the knife tightly. Taking a deep breath, he edged the zipper open to peer out. Tick. Tick. Tick.

He exploded into motion, wrenching the flap open and launching out into the snow, tackling whatever it was to the ground. Launa, panicking, scrambled to follow him and watch his back, reaching for the stiletto blade she'd long since stolen from Moab. She found Avi struggling, not with an animal, but another human.

He got the younger man pinned under his weight, his knees digging into the intruder's forearms, pressing the sharp blade to his throat. "Who are you?!" Avi shouted, leaning over to get into the stranger's face, "What do you want?!"

The guy couldn't have been any older than 18. He was pale, his eyes sunken and his cheeks hollowed. "I'm just hungry," he mumbled, whimpering as Avi leaned harder on him, his hand digging into his shoulder to hold him down, "Please, don't kill me! I was just sent to get food!"

"So, you thought you would rob us?" Avi hissed, pressing the blade harder against the kid's neck, just short of drawing blood. Launa watched, horrified, as her partner's eyes grew wild, snarling as he demanded an answer. The kid nodded, frightened, but not daring to look away. "There are more of you?"

Another nod.

"Are you the kid from Flagstaff I chased?"

A whimper and a nod.

"Why were you there?"

The boy swallowed as well as he could against the blade. "Food," he whispered, "We've been using Flagstaff as a food supply."

"That's why it was empty," Launa interjected, standing outside of the tent and crossing her arms, "We're lucky we had supplies to last us until the next town."

Avi eased the pressure of the knife on the kid's throat, his voice softening. "How many of you are there?"

"About fifteen," he answered, taking in a relieved breath, "A few men, women, and a couple of kids."

Launa watched, wary, as her partner lifted his hands off the younger man, keeping his arms pinned as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "What should we do?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

Before either knew what had happened, Avi had been flipped over onto his back, the boy quickly and deftly overpowering him in his dropped guard, smashing his face into the snow and holding the stolen knife to his throat. "You think you can just threaten me and live?" The boy hissed, cutting off as Launa leapt onto his back, pulling her arm tight around his neck, crushing his windpipe just enough to make him choke and release Avi.

He fell onto his back and onto her in an attempt to crush her, and she flailed, scraping the heel of her boot down his leg as her partner recovered, standing quickly and lifting the assailant off of her by the front of his shirt. He swung his fist hard into the young man's face, his jaw making a sickening cracking noise, and he fell to the ground, coughing.

Launa set her foot against his exposed throat, daring him to move, again. She shared a look with Avi. "I don't know what we should do," she whispered, sure that the stranger couldn't hear her over his wheezing, "If we let him go, he'll tell his group that we're dangerous, and we'll be out of luck."

"We can't kill him, though," he murmured, bending to pick up his lost knife, "If he never returns, they'll know something killed him, and we'll still not be trusted."

She sighed, her face hard as she looked down on the helpless boy. "We're damned if we do, and damned if we don't," she murmured, flicking her eyes over him, frowning as something occured to her, "Why did they only send you?"

She eased the pressure of her foot to allow him to speak. "My Dad took me hunting," he answered, "I know my way around, here. No one else was available to go with me."

Avi gave her a dubious look. "We should let him live," he said, finally, after a long pause, earning him an incredulous stare. He gestured to the tent. "I'll be right back. Keep an eye on him. Or a foot. Whatever."

She nodded, understanding as her companion disappeared into the tent, and allowed the stranger to sit up, but kept a foot precariously placed on his crotch with just enough pressure to keep him uncomfortably pinned. "Which way did you come from?" she asked, watching as he pointed down the highway.

"We're settling near Needles," he replied shakily, "They should be there any day, now."

Launa patted his cheek. "Thanks for your cooperation, kiddo." She released the pressure on him just as Avi swung a pan into the back of his head, knocking him unconscious with a sharp crack.

______

They packed faster than they ever had before, flinging things into their bags and leaving the young man propped up against a tree, and they had never been more thankful for wind and snow to cover their tracks. The early morning provided them just enough light to set out on the road at a quick, silent pace, fleeing from the scene as fast as their feet could carry them.

They were silent, a sense of urgency in their travel. They shared a brief, panicked look. They were definitely no longer alone, and it was more than likely unwelcome company.