Survival

Chapter 43 Departure

Peyton grabbed her arm with two hands and she felt herself lowering with his body. Suddenly, she was in motion, and before she knew what happened, she looked up at the two men from the ground, still trying to force air back into her body.

"Are you alright?" Mr. M asked and extended his hand.

"I have to say, this is a first." She accepted the gesture as he pulled her up.

"Then we should switch to give you more practice."

Cynthia became the next victim as Mr. M coached her through loosening Peyton's hold and using her body to drive him forward. Once she started to use her body the way Mr. M coached, she realized the action didn't take as much strength as she imagined. 

"Cynthia, you are a born fighter."

She laughed and pulled her hair out of the ponytail. A smile grew on her lips as she stood taller. It was a first to hear that praise. John, had had plenty of endearing terms for her, and she loved each one, but a fighter implied her strength and independence.

"It feels good, realizing that I have that much power over someone if they attacked me."

"How did you survive out there with everyone fighting for resources?"

"I started out with a few co-workers from the hospital. We had all been going on shift and I tried to bring in two teens, badly injured, who didn't make it. The hospital was badly hit in the earthquakes and the tornadoes got the rest of the survivors. We took shelter in a nearby building on a floor with no windows and cement walls."

"Intelligent choice."

"We all thought someone would come to rescue us. That's why I didn't rush off to find John and Winston. I thought... I was so naive." Cynthia closed her eyes and massaged her forehead to relieve the growing pressure of an incoming headache.

A warm hand gently soothed the fabric on the back of her shirt. She froze for a moment. Physical contact during the exercises had been necessary, this was... She had to settle on comforting and hoped those were his only intentions. After all, he had just shown her how to take down a man his size.

"Even if you had made it, John was gone far before you could have reached him."

Cynthia sniffled and nodded, despite the tears forming. Why couldn't she let the past rest in its rightful place?

"But Winston-" A chill ran through imagining all the death that surrounded her precious son. How frightened must he have been?

"Now you are both here and both safe. Against immeasurable odds, you were drawn to this building, to your son."

He dropped his hand from her back to his side and looked around. Their third party had vanished during the conversation.

"Peyton?"

Only the wind responded. Cynthia and Mr. M's eyes scanned the area for the hippie. After a quick walk, they found him drawn to a nearby garden patch only partially ruined by the storms.

His voice became distorted by the wind, but he was kneeling down and speaking with a small plant. Cynthia and Mr. M exchanged looks. She swallowed hard and prayed this was part of his garden tending habits.

"Would you go with him?" Cynthia asked. 

It didn't feel right to let Peyton walk off to what Mr. M was convinced would be his final journey. She didn't know if it was the stress or other factors, but Peyton's mind hadn't seemed as sharp as usual.

"Even if I could leave Nouveau Depart in good hands, there is far too high a price on my head should I return to those mountains."

Cynthia couldn't stop the question from jumping off her lips. "What did you do?"