Escape From Thera: Chapter 6

We managed to get quite a few blocks away from the dorm. I was eager to put as much distance as possible between myself and that infernal place. And whatever the hell that growling was. While we walked my stomach had begun to make sounds of protest at me. Sounds I had ignored mostly. Bread and cheese weren’t going to last long enough if I ate every time I got hungry.

Though any sort of food would be welcome right now. “You know how to hunt?”

She tapped twice and pointed with her hand at the street. I followed the direction and whistled softly. Huge pile of shit. Deer pellet kinda shit from the look of it. Though these were like decent sized rocks instead of the tiny ones. Shaking my head at the sight I was going to make a comment but Javi was gone.

I looked around for sign of her but it wasn’t because she was invisible. She’d just walked down an alleyway faster than I could have kept pace with her. She was a fast woman that was for sure.

The alleyway was dark and smelled like shit. The walls were high and blocked out what little light that could reach down here. Windows were broken and glass littered the ground but there were pockets of grass shoving their way through the concrete. The grass was a dark green, greener than healthy grass before. In certain angles it looked closer to purple or blue.

“Wait up!”

She whirled around and glared at me sharply. Her hand came back and went to her mouth. I guess it was quiet time. “You can seriously hunt?” I whispered aggressively as I approached her.

She did the silence motion again and if looks could kill. Fine. If she wanted me to be quiet I could do that. For a little while. Just to see how this paid off. Skirting around a dumpster we broke into a split path. She glanced down both of them and then walked forward. A metal railing was poking out of the wall, probably formally apart of someone’s stoop.

Javi went to it and picked off a tuft of green fur. She turned it through her fingers before handing it over to me. I rifled my fingers through it slowly. It was thin but packed together thickly. As I messed with it part of it flew away on the air.

When I looked up she was already gone. Whipping my head back and forth on either side of the alleyway I heard a quick tapping of metal on metal. Turning toward the left hand path I walked over quickly. The path opened up into a lot that looked like some sort of garden gone awry.

There was once a gate that locked in a huge block of land but it was rusted and broken down. The grass and flowers there were a rainbow of florescent greens, oranges, reds, and blues. They actually gave off the light they received to a dazzling array around. Where thick trees casted shadows the saplings gave light from the branches and leaves. It smelled fragrant, sweet and beautiful. It was a small pocket of paradise in hell. I could live out here.

Tapping on metal snapped me from my daze and I stumbled out of it. Jerking toward the sound I quickly stumbled first then walked toward the sound. Javi was crouched on someone’s porch. I walked the steps quickly before crouching next to her and staring at this beautiful landscape.

There were small bugs flying around, birds as well. I hadn’t seen a lot of animals around here before. Then again not a lot of things liked to roam the streets these days. I couldn’t figure out what she was pointing at or even looking at. I strained my eyes to see through the trees and the rest but it was just plants to me. Nothing special.

She didn’t budge an inch and I couldn’t resist not knowing what the hell was going on so I leaned down and tried to whisper the best that I possibly could. “Alright. What are we looking at? What are we looking for?”

She glanced at me and I expected a glare or silence. Instead she pointed and I moved to follow where her finger indicated. It was deep within the saplings. A large deer was grazing on the glowing grass. It was hard to see initially, its hide matching up pretty well with the rest of the irradiated nature.

It was male, I could see the beginnings of antlers on his forehead. Just tiny little nubs of brown that were protruding from his head. Alright let’s see if we can figure out a plan. Turning to my side, the empty space waved at me. Where the hell was my new friend? Sensing with my magnetism for a second, I could guess at where she was.

Alright so she wasn’t much of a planner. Very much a woman of action. You know what maybe she knew how to run this and I was holding her back. Holding onto the banister I kept my eye on the deer that wasn’t moving. It continued to graze, noising about the grass and chomping down on what seemed tasty. I think. I don’t know what runs through a deer’s brain.

Snap! Loud and echoing.

I looked up. The deer looked up. Javi probably looked up too. It didn’t take more than an instant for that deer to start sprinting off, fear clutching its heart. It didn’t know what it was but getting spooked wasn’t new. It was going to get away.

Pulling my bow from my back and the arrow from my quiver I drew, knocked, and fired in a motion that was smoother than I gave myself credit for. The arrow hit home but not that well. It hit the flank of the creature, somewhere near the thigh.

It grunted and stumbled but kept running. It made more sounds that died as it ran away. I hopped over the railing and stumbled toward. Javi came toward me as well and I pointed toward the alley. “Chase after it. It won’t get far with that leg. You can take it down. You know how to you know, skin it or at least get meat?”

She hesitated and then tapped twice.

“Cool. Now do you know how to cook at all?”

She tapped once and I laughed. I guess she couldn’t do everything. I knew that I didn’t have anything to really cook these things. Then again all I needed was a few sticks and a way to start a fire.

“What have you been doing? Eating it raw?” Shaking my head, I pointed my bow after the deer. “Take it down. I’m going to raid these houses. Maybe find some pots and pans to with. I’ll find you afterwards. Sound like a plan?”

She tapped twice and faded from my sight. I could just barely hear her footsteps echoing away. That left for me to go and break into these homes. Hitting the stairs and the front door of one of what looked like apartments, I was struck by how sturdy the door was. Like seriously. Getting inside without powers would’ve been an impossible pain in the ass.

But with powers I wasn’t so concerned. Flexing my fingers, I yanked with both hands and the door jerked once, twice and then cracked off the hinges and hung there limp. My chest hurt and I had to catch my breath for a moment. I’d never felt a strain like that. Like actual pain radiated from my chest but I smiled. I was getting better at this.

Stepping into the house I smelled garbage and other awful shit. It needed to be aired out that’s for sure. Shaking my head, walked around until I found a small kitchen area. The tiled floors were peeled off revealing the dirt underneath. The carpet right next to it was oddly colored and the rug was rolled up roughly.

There was a table missing two limbs but on opposite sides but somehow it was still in one place. And standing. That was the really incredible part. The couch was missing cushions on every portion and the lining beneath was ripped and I could see the weird corded wiring underneath.

From the window near the door I could see very thin streaks of sunlight. It was just barely coming through and provided almost no illumination for the place. Not enough at least. Letting my eyes adjust to the gloom I walked toward the kitchenette. The fridge was there and doors were closed. I was actually hesitant to open that one so I let it be. I pulled open all the cupboards and they were empty. Checking under the bone dry sink, I let out a sound of pleasure.

There were cast iron pans and pots. The pan was like the size of my full outstretched hand, fingers included but the pot was more oval shaped. I could probably manipulate them to be circular if I wanted to give it a go.

Putting them both on the kitchen counter I peeked backwards for a second. Behind the fridge, against the wall there was the stair case. It was hard to see in this darkness but it looked like a mix of wood and tile over concrete. Grasping at the wall I climbed them two at a time in a circle to the second floor.

Dust. So much dust. Fucking dust everywhere. Christ.

Swiping my hands back and forth everywhere I coughed into my hand. The windows were more open out here and illuminated a bedroom. Somehow this was pretty intact. The bed was lacking sheets and the dressers were all open. Some of them still had clothes left.

Shirking off my bag I set it on the bed and held onto my bow. I did a headcount of my arrows really quickly. Only seventeen left. I really wished I could go back and get the ones from the dorm or hopefully the one in the deer.

I should start experimenting with how to make some new ones. Going to the window I brushed the blinds open and looked over the small garden. We could do something with this. Hell just chill here for a little while.

But speaking of my partner, I had to go meet up with her. Leaving my bag behind I grabbed my bow and quiver, heading down the stairs and outside. I looked at the ground from where I shot the deer and saw the blood splatters. There was a trail that wasn’t easy to follow but it was there. Time to go on a wild deer chase.

Sticking close to the wall I stumbled a few times over trash. Stepping carefully over the shit I managed to find the blood as it lit across the sunlight. The deer had been pretty big. What the hell were we gonna do with that? Could we even carry it all the back? Hopefully it was closer.

Walking toward a corner I hesitated because I could hear scuffling. Lots of movement and suddenly shouting. Drawing an arrow immediately I peeked around the corner and I could see Javi on the ground with someone standing over her. They had an axe raised high above their head.

Stepping out of the shadows I aimed at his chest but a second thought hit me. Even though the arrow hovered in my hand I pointed my finger at the axe and narrowed my eyes. I felt the magnetism and the axe was a target begging to be hit. And almost immediately the man’s arms were jerked backwards. He shouted in surprise as the fell backwards and dug into the ground.

He stumbled backwards and Javi moved immediately scrambling to her feet and turning around to face him. I lowered my bow again and fired the arrow taking him in the shoulder. He stumbled backwards and Javi charged forward, shoving her shoulder into his stomach. Closed fist slammed into his chest and jaw, fast as lightning. With one final uppercut she sent him reeling onto his back. He was out cold at least from where I was standing.

“Whoo. Looks like I saved you this time.” I grinned at her and she turned to face me eyes wide and pupils tiny with adrenline. Giving a slow nod she pointed at the deer which was lying very much dead on the ground now. My arrow was protruding from its thigh but sadly that was broken now. Must have collapsed on it. That’s another arrow gone. Letting out a soft sigh I nodded.

She went toward the ground and picked up her machete. She must have been ambushed by that guy. Walking back toward him she flipped it around then stabbed it into the man’s chest. He jerked but she didn’t hesitate and slit his throat as well.

“Take no prisoners huh?”

She shook her head and wiped the blade off on his pants leg before sheathing it against her back. Silent she went to stand beside me over the deer.

“Alright, let’s see if we can drag this thing back with us?”

We went to either side of the deer and on a count of three lifted. With heavy grunts it wasn’t anywhere near light. This was a big boy and the apocalypse didn’t do much to encourage losing weight. Javi didn’t show any sign that the strain bothered her but in the way we wobbled together I could tell it wasn’t easy.

It took us the better part of half an hour to drag it back to the former park. “Alright. So you have your machete. Skin it and get the meat.”

She nodded and brought the blade out of the sheathe. And so began the process of skinning, cleaning and figuring out a way to cook the deer. By the time we got a fire started and the pans greased and ready the sun had dipped below the horizon. Using what was left of the living room and some plants from the park I set to cooking what Javi had skinned. Granted cooking was a loose term when I was essentially trying to fry this thing. Never had to make deer before.

Sitting in the living room, illuminated by a crackling fire it was weird. It smelled good. Like really good. We had a stack of meat beside the fire on top of a pot away from the floor. Sitting across from my masked friend, who didn’t add much to the conversation, it was kinda home sweet home.

“So. Let’s play 20 yes no questions. Sound fun?”

She blinked at me slowly with the flames dancing against her face. The red light was pretty against her skin. Lights flickering from eye to another I had to look away quickly and get my bearings again. Smiling I started.

“So the bandana. Did you wear it before the meteor?”

She shook her head.

“Is it connected to why you don’t talk?”

She gave a nod this time. She reached toward her face then hesitated and lowered her hand. Tapping her bracelet twice she stared at me.

“Alright that’s a yes. So then. Oh! I got it.”

Jumping to my feet I rubbed my hands together and started moving them slowly. Making symbols, moving them back and forth and trying to remember if I had all the words together. It wasn’t perfect but if Jeri was still around I would be able to communicate with him. “I don’t take it you know sign language at all?”

She just started at me, blinking slowly. “Okay I know it was a bit of a reach. Alright, can you at least tell me your name? Kinda?”

She closed her eyes for a long moment and then started to move her hands. First she pressed her hands together making a triangle with her fingers and thumbs. I stared at it slowly scrunching up my nose. “Is that a… A?”

She nodded and then started moving. The next was an L which was a no brainer. I-C-and then a very awkward E. “Alice?”

Alice nodded staring into the flames and then at the food as it popped then sizzled. “You want to know how to spell it with sign?” I asked eagerly. She raised her eyebrow and shrugged nodding. It felt weird to go back to the basic alphabet after learning conversations but just signing again was fun. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. Frowning I looked down and she stared at me, tapping her bracelet.

I smiled at her and shook my head. “Just. Just thinking about my little brother. Did you have any siblings?”

She nodded held up two fingers. “Two? Brothers?” she tapped twice. “Older?” She tapped once. “Younger. How old were they and you?”

She held up her hands. One hand with a finger up and the other with five fingers up.

“Six?”

She shook her head and shook both hands at me.

“Fifthteen?”

She nodded this time then held up two fingers on both hands.

“The other was twenty-two?”

She nodded and lowered her hands. Her shoulders hunched and she seemed down. “How old are you?”

She raised the two pairs of twos. “Was your brother like your twin or something?”

Once again, she nodded and now I felt bad about asking. Frowning hard I glanced down at the deer on the pan as it popped again and the fire crackled. It didn’t look quite done yet but it wouldn’t take much longer from what I was looking at. When I looked at her I could see the raw pain in her eyes. It was shielded like looking behind me through my phone but it was raw.

“Mine was sixteen. Little shit. We had just started looking at colleges before all this.”

“What made you do this? Side with me? I mean I’m just some girl that smashed through your window right?” I chuckled but I didn’t really look up from the food. I couldn’t meet her eyes because her pain was so raw.

Tapping of metal got my attention and my head went up. I read the paper and couldn’t help laughing. “You’re a Lions fan. Lions fans are good people. Is that why you saved my life twice?”

She held up three fingers and I puffed out my cheeks. “Alright three times. And I’ve saved you once. I owe you two more.”

She shook her head but from the light dancing in her eyes I knew she smiling. I smiled back and this felt nice. Easy. It was nice. One question nagged at me thought. With a long sigh I glanced at her again and mumbled. “Think me and you can be friends?”

She made a sound that I couldn’t explain but I heard two metal taps on the edge of the pan. I smiled then panicked after a particularly loud pop from the pan. I jumped but after a quick check I saw that it was done. “Alright sweet. Let’s see if this was worth it.”

We ended up using a shirt to hold the food and let it cool off. However, I kinda dug in prematurely and ended up burning the top of my mouth and tongue in the process. I could hear her laughing at me and as much as I wanted to glare I couldn’t help but laugh with her.