Chapter 13- The Family Of Three
"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" Stephanie asked out of the blue, knocking Nick out of his deep thoughts.
Their hands were still intertwined with each others making both their palms quite sweaty now, as they've been walking for a little longer.
Slowly, Stephanie peeled her hand away from Nick's grip, in which Nick did the same, making her chuckle slightly under her breath.
"Uh, yeah… I mean who?" Nick answered, now looking down at the black haired woman as she burst into one of her famous fit of giggles.
"That lady and the little girl…" Stephanie replied, using one of her hands as a fan to cool her face down.
She'd never known herself to be hot in such breezy and chilly weather…
"Oh, them…" Nick said out of realisation, grinning slightly as Stephanie laughed at his lack of memory.
"Yeah… them!" Stephanie retorted, but still smiling happily at the taller man.
Nick smiled back at Stephanie before adjusting the straps of his backpack on his arms.
"I guess we could… but I don't really want to…" Nick replied, now looking straight ahead to see something in the distance.
"Why not?" Stephanie asked back, unaware that Nick was busy focusing on something else.
"Because…um…" Nick tried to explain but immediately forgot what Stephanie and him were even talking about.
"Nick?" Stephanie's voice quietened, looking at Nick then to whatever he was looking at.
"Hey, do ya see that?" Nick questioned, pointing his rifle beyond the towering trees before looking towards a confused Stephanie.
"I see tree's… and it's the only thing I've been seeing for a long time…" Stephanie replied simply, a slight humour in her voice.
"Oh ha ha, it's a building…" Nick stated, squinting his eyes a little more to make out a small brown building.
"It is? Oh… yeah, I see it…" Stephanie said after moments of trying to figure out what felt like riddles.
"We should go…" Nick replied, now walking towards the building.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa… um, Mr hostile, since when did casually walking over to what could be an occupied house or something, a safe thing to do?" Stephanie questioned, slightly anxious as the two edged nearer and nearer to the building.
Nick turned his head towards Stephanie.
"If there are people in there, they could help us find out where my group are…" Nick explained, hopes suddenly being lifted up, which was rare for Nick…
"Yeah… or they could shoot us." Stephanie said back, trying not to sound too fond of going against the idea.
"I could've shot you but I didn't…" Nick said back teasingly, his mouth forming into a smirk.
"Nick, I'm being serious!" Stephanie whined back, playfully punching Nick in the arm.
"Look, I know, I know… but we could try at least. I have a rifle and you have a knife, if shit goes down…" Nick explained to Stephanie.
"And they could have twenty people behind that door ready in the waiting to peel our weapons away with ease from our very fingertips…" Stephanie shot back, smiling slightly as Nick replied with nothing but a raise of the eyebrow.
"Please…" Nick now, almost begged.
Inside, Stephanie knew that this small house or cabin could have supplies and maybe people who could help them… but was the chance worth taking?
"Fine." Stephanie finally said after moments of deep considering.
"Thanks Stef, I just really need to know where my folks are… they have my uncle, best friend… they're all family to me." Nick explained before turning back to walking cautiously towards the small cabin.
"Yeah I get it… lets just get this over with…" Stephanie replied, walking over to beside Nick.
As Nick and Stephanie approached the cabin, the choice whether to run or stay started to eat Nick up.
"Um, you still wanna do this?" Nick asked Stephanie who had her arms folded, waiting for Nick to knock or open the door.
"I dunno. It was your choice." Stephanie replied, now walking up and down the wooden porch to peek inside of the boarded up windows.
"It was a shared choice." Nick said, chuckling as Stephanie rolled her eyes.
"Well c'mon, open it or we leave…" Stephanie explained, growing impatient as the light wind started to pick up, making goose bumps rise on her pale skin.
"Alright, alright." Nick said while raising a hand to the door.
With slight hesitation, Nick knocked onto the wooden surface three times before waiting for nothing but an echo to reply.
"Well that sucks…" Stephanie said, now standing beside Nick, watching the door eagerly.
"Lemme try again…" Nick said before raising his fist again to knock; however Stephanie reached the top of her impatience metre and opened up the door herself. The two were surprised that the door just opened the moment Stephanie's hand made contact with the handle, pushing it slightly so that the door's hinges loosened… but it opened…
"Stef…" Nick almost snapped, jumping slightly the moment the door swung open.
"Hello?" Stephanie called out, ignoring Nick and taking a step into the cabin.
"Stef, keep your voice down!" Nick snapped again, following behind Stephanie, leaving the door open just in case of need of a quick escape route.
"I know what I'm doing." Stephanie whispered back, pulling her knife out in front of herself while Nick had his rifle at the ready.
The cabin was surprisingly empty of furniture and from what it seemed like, people…
"Let's check upstairs…" Nick said after both him and Stephanie finished silently scanning the lower floor. They found nothing but empty cans, a wooden chair and a shattered light bulb… of all things.
Slowly and quietly, Nick led the way up the creaky stairs with Stephanie right behind him.
Once at the top, a foul smell came from one of the rooms, leaving Nick and Stephanie's faces to crease due to the immense stench.
"God, what is that smell?" Stephanie muttered, holding her fingers to her nose.
"Something disgusting." Nick replied while opening one of the closed doors gradually and little by little.
"Oh my god!" Stephanie nearly cried, pulling herself that she was practically hugging Nick's side.
"Holy shit…" Nick said while wrapping an arm around Stephanie, looking away for a few moments.
Lying on the hard ground was a man, a woman and a little girl, most probably around six years old.
The three were huddled close but their bodies were sprawled across the ground, bathed in their own blood. Each one of them had a bullet hole through the temple and their mouths were wide open and bodies decaying.
"I can't look, Nick…" Stephanie said, now crying and pulling her face into Nick's side.
"Don't look, I'll deal with them…" Nick replied, rubbing circles on Stephanie's back before pulling away and walking up to the three corpses while Stephanie stood awkwardly trying hard not to look while sniffling.
"Nick… were they… family?" Stephanie asked shakily, biting the skin around her thumb.
"Yeah, looks it… husband wife and child…" Nick replied sadly, picking up what seemed to resemble a Glock 17, or in short words… a gun.
"Oh God…" Stephanie whispered.
Nick then checked the gun for bullets but it had none so he left it on the ground from where it came from…
"What do we do now?" Stephanie asked Nick who stood up and walked beside her.
"I would bury them but we don't really have the time to… if you know what I mean." Nick explained, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"Yeah, I get it…"
"Were we planning on staying here for the night?" Stephanie casually asked, eyes now fixed on the three corpses that lie on the cold ground.
"It would be safe…" Nick explained, standing in front of Stephanie so she wouldn't have to stare at the dead family.
"What about them?" Stephanie gestured towards the people on the ground.
Nick turned around before looking back sadly at Stephanie.
"I… I would but we have to leave them here… we'll close the door and stay downstairs…" Nick explained, guilt trailing within his voice.
"Okay…" Stephanie replied before turning around and heading straight for the door, not looking back once.
Nick followed behind and turned to close the door but whispered: "I'm sorry." to the family before fully shutting it.
"I don't think they lived here…" Stephanie said once Nick closed the door.
"Me too… there is no furniture or anything." Nick replied, now following Stephanie into another empty room to find nothing but a few blood splatters.
"That wasn't long ago that they shot themselves though…" Stephanie said, thinking back to the family whose bodies hasn't fully decayed yet.
"I guess people came in and out here and they were the last…" Nick explained now walking into yet again, another empty room which only contained the same as before.
Once all rooms were checked, it finally came to a conclusion that everything had been picked clean…
"Hey, Stef… we'll be okay…" Nick said after noticing Stephanie's silence.
The two had walked downstairs and sat down on the ground in what seemed big enough to be a living room, surrounded by the echo of the emptiness enclosing them.
"It's not us… it's them." Stephanie said sadly, pulling herself closer to Nick.
"I know, but they're in a better place now…" Nick explained, holding Stephanie close.
"Okay, I believe you… um, will you promise that we'll stick by each other till the end… just like that family?" Stephanie questioned, looking up into Nick's blue eyes.
"Of course… yeah, I'll make sure." He replied, smiling.
Stephanie smiled in appreciation before leaning up to place a gentle kiss upon Nick's lips.
"Thanks Nick… that was really kind of you to say that." Stephanie whispered soon after.
"What else would I say?" Nick questioned, a small grin forming on his face.
"I dunno, but thank you anyway…" Stephanie giggled before pulling Nick close.