It wasn't Matthew.
That was perhaps the biggest disappointment of all.
I was tucked away in the security of someone else, surrounded by their warmth, by their kindness, and somehow, I couldn't care less. They weren't Matthew. They weren't even the slightest bit familiar to me.
I was tired of living in fear, and for the first time in a long time, I strangely felt secure despite the fact I had no idea who the hell was carrying me. I felt whole. And it felt good.
I buried my face deeper into their shirt - the shirt that wasn't Matthew's. My tears eventually became soft sobs as I tried to calm myself down so they could no longer flow freely from my eyes. The coolness I had created on the stranger's shirt was soothing against my face as it became damp with a salty taste. My nose, although clotted and sniffling, could detect a slight manly perfume coming off the shirt like the sea but sweeter. It reminded me not of the ocean, but of fresh linen, a luxury I wish I could have.
It was strange. I felt vulnerable, yet, somehow, I didn't. This man reminded me of warmth, like hot cacao by the fireplace, and it made me wonder where Matthew was. I may have severely disliked him when we first met, but deep down, I felt a growing urge to be near him, like a lost child finally being hugged by its frantically worried mother. I guess I wasn't so good at playing the lone wolf after all.
We must have walked for ages, because by the time I unburied my face from the shirt the sun was already descending on the horizon behind a treeline that towered above me. Like strangely allotted paintbrush strokes, the trees resembled sparse sponges dotting the purple hues now reaching far across the sky. Despite the beautiful celestial heavens, the person holding me ceased to stop and stare at the wondrous sight.
Sticks continued to break heavily under their feet as they crunched over the undergrowth and ducked under low-hanging branches that scratched at the base of my calves whenever they happened to latch onto my torn pants. It wasn't long before we reached a makeshift camp built on a bare spot of grass surrounded by equally tall trees and the darkening blue hues of night. A fire sat in the middle and flames licked up at the air in a rain dance type fashion, and a small table to the left of the clearing was laden with stolen tins of food and hunted roasted rabbits.
My eyes drew to a rustle by the fire, the leaves picking up around it. A rather large, portly man was standing in the clearing; hands on his hips and an annoyed, almost angry look written on his aging face. We continued to walk towards him. The closer we got, the more panicked I became, until finally, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.
"I send out a lone scout, he shoots some government guys, forces them to move away, and what does he bring me back? A friggin' god damn useless girl!" the portly man shouted. "We needed food, Bryce, not more damned hostages to ransom!"
"We have plenty of food," the man holding me replied, moving his head in the direction of the table. "Besides, I dunno what you want from me anymore, Maurice!"
"Bryce," Maurice paused, clearly not content with Bryce's suppressed outburst. "Mate," his tone softened, "I send you out on a mission. You report back. Then we make a move. Together! As a team! T.E.A.M! Team!"
"Well, it wasn't my fault they were carting precious cargo, now was it!?" Bryce shot back, pacing slightly so I had to force my body to become rigid. "Where can I put her?"
"It's a 'her' now? Have we really progressed so far as to genderise them now?"
"This one's special," Bryce stated softly.
Maurice sighed heavily, clearly not impressed that they had another problem to deal with. "Just dump her over there."
Bryce hesitated, not wanting to conform to Maurice's demands, but clearly at the mercy of the man in whatever he did in life. It made me wonder what relationship they had; what had caused this young, fit man to be totally at the dispense of someone who was the complete opposite of him? Surely the pair weren't related?
Bryce's feet moved a couple of steps away anyway, my cradled body following his feet. Gently, my body was shown to the ground and delicately placed on its side as though I was a fragile piece of china bestowed upon him by his Grandmother. Carefully, he held my head as he grabbed something soft and slid it underneath, before throwing a blanket roughly over me. His footsteps thudded lightly away when he was finished, his feet carrying him back to Maurice.
Slowly, I opened an eye. The campfire sat five feet away and a makeshift tent I hadn't noticed before was strung up next to the base of a sturdy tree. The canvas covering was patched with mold and clearly had all the aging signs of being tossed around in whatever weather this new world had thrown at it. I glanced across the clearing, spotting Bryce's torn navy-blue t-shirt, a small patch of darker blue now across his left breast. He had strewn his leather jacket over his shoulders and let it sit there exposing his assortment of weapons as he piled food onto a plate.
I watched him from where I lay as he carried it over to where Maurice was by the fire and began to pick apart a piece of bread, deep in thought. He stared blankly at the flames jumping out of the pit they'd created, popping a ripped piece of bread into his mouth and chewing it slowly.
"You know, I coordinate these attacks, right?" Maurice said as he gazed into the fire, clearly annoyed that his efforts to coordinate such an attack were destroyed by Bryce's recent actions. His matted hair flopped in his eyes as he nodded at his own remark, his pants struggling to stay up over his immeasurable belly. "I don't appreciate you going against the plan. What am I supposed to do if you die? How will I live?"
"You're not incapable," Bryce replied, still staring blankly into the flames. "I'm sure you'll survive."
"Survive?" he piked up." No. I will not survive! How will I eat?"
"Catch some fish."
"I'm allergic to fish."
"Catch some rabbits then."
"I can't set traps!"
"Oh, shut up!" Bryce snapped, his eyes sliding over to stare at Maurice in distaste. "You might be the brains, but you certainly don't have any other use right now."
"Are you seriously threatening me right now?" Maurice piqued up. "What the hell are we going to do with a girl?"
"I dunno."
"Which one are ya answering too? Ya dunno about the girl or-"
"I dunno about anything anymore, Maurice!"
"What do ya mean ya don't know? You're the one that brought her here for Christ sake!" Maurice yelled over at Bryce, standing up and teetering on his feet.
Bryce remained oddly quiet as he silently plopped another bit of bread into his mouth and began to chew it thoughtfully. "We could take her with us. Might be able to, you know, get something for her?"
Maurice screwed his face up slightly at the idea. I wondered if he was the greedy type or the type to reminisce in success. Either way, the possibility of getting a reward far greater than he could fathom appeared very alluring to his menial mind. "Well, where would we take her?" Maurice eventually said.
"Same place we're headed?" Bryce said, still distracted as he chewed his food.
"Hmm...and she could fetch a fair price..."
"Suppose so. I mean, she was a runaway, she'll be wanted," Bryce concluded.
"You make a good point, Bryce."
They returned to silence, contemplating the thought of selling me off. I didn't want to be sold. No one would want that fate - especially me. I didn't want to go back to tagging bodies or back to Sergeant Hill. Who knows what he had planned for me at his new city?
"But then again," Bryce started. "Is it morally right to just...sell someone?"
Maurice grunted and began to pace. "Who said morals were a thing anymore? This is a new era, remember."
"I still don't think it's morally right..."
"It was your idea and she's ours now!" He thudded towards me and, in a panic, I shut my eyes. I lay there breathing heavily and hoping he wouldn't realise I was awake. I caught him huff with effort as he stepped over me and went to the edge of the clearing.
Soon, I heard a sigh of relief escape his mouth as a fountain of water jet sprayed onto the leaves below him. A long groan escaped from the beast the longer he relieved himself. He finished soon enough with the signature jingling of his belt as it was pulled up over his large stomach.
"Ya know something?" Maurice said as he leaned back over me.
"This food is disgusting?" Bryce answered his mouth still stuffed with food, a pause hanging in the air as Maurice intently stared dead straight at him.
"I think," he started.
"I think I'm tired and need to sleep," Bryce said as he cut him off. "Goodnight."
"But I-"
"Goodnight, Maurice. We'll deal with her in the morning."
"No. We won't! We'll deal with her now!" Maurice demanded, stamping his foot down beside me so I cringed slightly. I could tell this man didn't like it when anyone was rude to him, and I made a mental note not to do just that.
"No, we won't," Bryce quickly replied, his footsteps heading towards the weathered tent.
"Yes! Yes, we will!" he yelled back.
Bryce sighed. It was a sigh that said he was done with life and was more than done with Maurice.
"Without me, you're useless! And you know it!" Maurice yelled at him.
"What does this have to do with anything?" Bryce replied, clearly confused at the sudden lash out from Maurice.
"You're useless without me! I tell ya!" he went on.
"The heck?" Bryce said. "What are you on about?"
Maurice was slowly working himself up. I could hear it in his voice as I lay ridged under the blanket. "Fine, be like that! But we aren't bringing any more strays into this camp! And I won't have her stealing my stuff!"
"Fine then. Do what you want Maurice."
"Fine then!"
Maurice stood there heaving for a moment before he left and came trotting back over with something in his hand. I felt his hot breath against my cheek as he knelt and took the blanket off me, my palms becoming clammy with anticipation. I waited patiently as he overlapped my stiff, damp hands and tried to tie them up.
But before he got any further, I flicked my eyes open, turned over and whacked him clean in the nose.
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Thanks for reading another chapter! How do you think this scenario will play out?
Let me know in the comments below!
Also I would like to say a massive thank you to all the people who have critiqued this story so far! I appreciate all of you for reading through this story and providing your feedback, so thank you again!