Is This the End?

Chapter Three

Nate

I press my back to the door and take a second to catch my breath. The witch looks at me and seems to be about to say something but then changes her mind. I push off against the door and head to the back yard. Or at least what was once a backyard. The grass is patchy and anything still in the ground is brown. I start to climb the chained fence lining the property. I look back and see the witch is gazing up from the ground.

"What are you doin'?" She looks up at me and shakes her head.

"I'm not a climber." I take a breath and close my eyes. I jump down and grab her.

"Don't scream."

"Don't wha-" I launch her into the air and she lands on top of the fence. Luckily she clings to it and doesn't fall back down like a dumbass. I climb up the fence and jump down to get to the other side.

"Alright jump down." She looks shocked and skeptical. I can't say I blame her. "Don't worry I'll catch you." She looks at me and seems to be mumbling to herself before she lifts her left leg and then her right over the fence though her grip stays firm. "Now this is the part where you let go." I try to keep the amusement out of my voice but the glare on her face tells me I definitely failed.

We continue inside the house and I lead her up the stairs. "Is there a reason for all the bunny hopping?" I walk into a room and rummage around until I find what I'm looking for.

"Here put this on." I throw her a couple of shirts and a pair of sweats that look light and around her size. "If we're goin' to keep movin' you gonna need that." I move and stand outside in the hall. The old, cracked wood groans with each step and movement. I hear the rustling of clothes and the bu-bum of her heart but besides no other sounds are heard.

She eventually comes out and I look her over. She put all the shirts on and the sweats have a couple holes throughout but it is a big improvement. She looks like a street rat but not a homeless one at the very least. Her hair might get in the way, seeing as it goes past her waist but that's a problem for later.

I don't say anything and just start heading down the rickety stairs. It takes a few moments but she starts following me out of the house. We do this several times. Going in and out of the houses. Sometimes we leave straight away, others I grab some necessities. I found a sturdy backpack and lightly start to pack it.

Inside I put an emergency kit stacked with gauze, thread, several needles, and tape. A bottle of rubbing alcohol. A bottle of salt. A roll of duct tape. Along with a few lighters, matchboxes, and pocket knives, I found. The little stuff everyone thinks is unimportant in a crisis, or is dead and can't appreciate it.

"What are we doing?" I pause and stop to look at her. She takes this as a sign to keep going. "I mean I obviously know what we're doing, but why all the switching? The NTSCU can probably still track us through them. It's not like we were covering our tracks."

I look at her and contemplate just letting her wonder what the hell we're doing but I figure there should be some communication between us. At least for now. "A lot of these houses are interconnected through their yards. We moved a couple streets over and circling back to the area we came from."

Her eyes widen and her mouth opens a little. "Hopefully we'll lose them for good or at least buy some time." She nods her head and then rocks back on her heels while gnawing on her lip.

"Why did you help me." I smirk at her and decide to have a little fun.

"Well, I guess I could tell you." I walk past her and start to walk backwards keeping eye contact while heading toward the front door. "But I think I'll save that for if you make it out of this mess alive." She narrows her eyes at me. She starts to move forward with confidence and completely passes me.