Apocalyptic Princess

Chapter 5

     When Rick returned to the path, he couldn't see the man up ahead. Further along the path, there was another break in the trees, and Rick began jogging in an effort to catch up. After the patch of woods, Rick reached another overgrown yard, but this time there was a house in the middle, surrounded by several trees. It was a brick house without any light shining from the inside. Rick heard the noise of a door closing around front, and moved quickly to catch up. Knowing the man was angry, Rick was unsure of how to approach the situation.

      Sitting his bag of beans down at the corner of the house, Rick slowly proceeded to the front porch. Taking his approach old school, Rick knocked on the door, and backed away into the yard, taking cover behind the porch. From inside, Rick could hear commotion, as the man was frightened by the arrival of a visitor. Visitors nowadays didn't always have the best of intentions. When there wasn't an answer, Rick called out, "I'm here to help."

      Rick sat in silence, not getting a reply.

      "I know about your wife," Rick called out. "The old woman is lying to you."

      A few seconds passed by before the man answered, "How do you know?"

      "I overheard. Now can you open the door so we can stop yelling? It makes me nervous."

      The door cracked open, and the man talked to Rick from inside. "You're making me nervous."

      "I understand. This goes against my better judgment, but I felt compelled to tell you what I heard."

      "Go on."

      "The woman sounded like she was having a conversation with herself. She spoke about having the antidote. She's just using you to get what she wants."

      "Get inside."

      "What?"

      The man opened the door. "Get inside now."

      Rick was confused, but made a motion toward the door.

      "It has its eyes on you. I'd move a little faster if I was you."

      Looking over his shoulder, Rick couldn't see anything in the distance, but he wasn't taking any chances. Skipping the steps of the porch, Rick entered the house, and the man closed the door behind him. The man was of average build. He wore hunting gear, and had disheveled blonde hair. His beard was longer than Ricks since he was already growing one before the fall of civil society happened. They stood in silence as the man stared out of his window.

      "Do you mind telling me who it was that had their eyes on me," asked Rick.

      "Not a who. A what...It's gone now. I think that old woman put a curse on this land. Nothing comes down here, but you can't be too safe...Tell me more about what you heard."

     "That was pretty much it. I heard her tell herself that she had the antidote...Could you tell me more about what's out there, because I have to go back out there pretty soon."

      "Come look at this," the man said as he left the room. Before walking down the hall, the man grabbed a candle on lit it with a lighter.

      "Do you have any more lighters," Rick asked.

      "Do you have anything to trade?"

      "I have some beans."

      "We'll talk about that in a minute. First take a look at this."

      The man led Rick to his bedroom, and stepped out of the way. The candle lit the room enough for Rick to notice a woman lying in the bed, asleep. Rick looked at the woman, and then back at the man. From the information that he had already gathered, Rick assumed what was going on.