Death By Dawn

➽Chapter 12

You never know what you have until it's all gone.

The crowd of pine encircled him as he washed not only the dirt away, but his harsh reality along with it.

Delicate rays of light seeped through the sporadic layout of the branches and the little sky that peeked through was a melting orange, slowly creeping away as a dark sky prepared to take its place.

The wind was stilled and the glorious songs of birds resonated in Alex's ears. He was sure Scott could hear them as well but he was too caught up in the moment to check.

The spring was large and had a bolder in the middle of it, causing the water to bend around it. It was where Alexander and Scott kept their soaps and could be used to gain privacy if needed.

On land, rested against the trunk of a pine tree, were the plastic bags of clothes, the bottles, and the bats, close enough that if anything were to happen, they could easily grab them.

Alex looked to the sky and a smile tugged at his lips.

"I wish you were here." He muttered.

After bathing and washing his dirty clothes, Alex used the clean towel to pat his skin dry. A wave of peace washed over him as he was now clean of the filth the world had been stained with, even if it was momentarily.

He now wore a white polo shirt that stopped a few centimeters shy of his waist. The cotton felt smooth against his skin and so did the black denim that stopped at his ankles. Covering his feet were his black sneakers that had been clinging onto dear life by their fingertips. They were clearly nearing their end and soon needed to be replaced.

Across from him was Scott, dressed in all black from head to toe. Droplets ran down his face from the strands of blonde hair that were pressed against his forehead. Under his eyes, laid darkened bags that held the weight of many sleepless nights and exhaustion.

It had been one long week and a half since the meeting took place and countless missions to acquire adequate supplies for the long trip.

"So, um, how's she doing?" Alexander broke the silence between them.

"Olivia? She's getting better. I just wish I could stand right in front of the bastard that did that to her. I'd take great pleasure in taking his life as slowly and as painfully as possible," Scott snapped.

"H-He? I thought you, um, said she didn't know who shot her?"

Does he know?...

Dammit is he playing with me?...

"She said she didn't see the person but I just assumed, you know?" Scott responded.

Alexander sighed in relief, scratching the back of his head slowly.

"Yeah, I get what you mean."

"I mean how can you just shoot a girl, in the leg of all places, in a damn zombie apocalypse. How heartless can you really be to do something like that? I swear-"

"Scott, um, the doctor told me to collect some water samples from the stream south of here," Alex interjected, grabbing the bottles from against the trunk.