17. At least we are alive

Lincoln barely dared to raise his head. Terrified, he heard all the shooting and screams of pain and agony. Then, everything went silent for a couple of minutes; until he heard the sound of footsteps that removed the rotten leaf litter, and a sweet voice that spoke to him in whispers.

"Linky. It's me, sweety. We can't talk now, but everything is fine. We must remain alert for a while.

The girl approached. Even with the faint glow of the clouds, Lincoln saw her coat dotted with bloodstains.

"Take out your gun, stay seated, and lean on my back when I do. If you hear any noise, give me a nudge. It's okay?

Lincoln obeyed. Lori sat down and lean on Lincoln's back; with her eyes closed and the gun ready to shot. It didn't take two minutes to hear the noise of the truck, and its lights moving away through the road.

"Lori..." Lincoln whispered, scared.

"Shhh.

Lori said nothing nor made another sound.

They remained alert. There were minutes of anguish for the white-haired boy, but Lori remained as calm as she could. The sound of the truck went lost in the darkness.

The men in the truck fled after the shooting. When heard their comrades fall, they didn't dared to investigate.

But they avenged their buddies. Lincoln and Lori learned that when, taking all sort of cautions, returned to the side of the road. Their hearts felt in desmay when they found the cart ransacked and destroyed beyond any possible repair. No doubt, they had hit it against the rocks and the pavement.

"Our supplies..." Lincoln muttered, his eyes filled in tears.

"And most of our ammunitions! Those bastards took their revenge!" shouted the girl, enraged.

Without saying anymore, she went through the trees and Lincoln followed her. They knew what had to do. Carefull searched in the bodies of their enemies, and found all their weapons and ammunitions. They might not be good fighters, but they were certainly well armed.

Unfortunately, their clothes were useless. There was nothing for them. Even their shoes were old, broken, and tied with galvanized wire. They carried no provisions or water. Just a few LED lamps with spare batteries.

They collected everything. In other circumstances, Lincoln would have admired Lori's skills, and congratulated for her abilities and incredible victory; but they were too sad for that. They had lost almost everything, and had no idea about when or where would recover their losings.

They won, yes. But their victory had been Pyrrhic.

The dim light of dawn was already shining when returned to their makeshift camp. Along with the cart, they lost the mats, all their plastic canvases and their blankets. They had nothing against the rain and cold. The only thing that would prevent them from sleeping on the ground be the raincoats that kept in their backpacks.

They registered all the ground, very carefully; but they found only a small jar with honey, a flint, some pliers, and a tinder with which they made fire.

This time, Lincoln couldn't help crying. Lori hugged and kissed him all over his face, trying to comfort him, but she was crying too.

"Do we have any hope, Lori?

The girl thought a few seconds before answering. She wanted to sound optimistic, but without evading reality, and the terrible predicament in which they were.

"As long as we're not dead, we can have hope, Linky. We have to be alert and look for food, wherever. Do you remember that you found the first house we looted? I need you to help me, sweety. We will stay alive thogheter.

The boy barely nodded, taking refuge in her arms. Lori was so hurt to see him like that... The girl sat on the floor, and held out her arms.

"Come here, my love.

The kid embraced her. Despite his sadness and their situation, he felt very excited. Lori had called him my love! It had been ages since anyone said that to him.

"We need to try, it's all we can do, okay? Do you remember what you told me when we saw the Appalachians for the first time?

"Yes...

"Well, I need you to remember that. Always, you understand? Because if you forget it, I could forget it, too. And if I forget it, maybe I wouldn't want to fight and live anymore. I really love to stay alive with you, sweety.

The boy looked up and stared at the girl, trying to read the truth in her eyes. She was smiling. It was a smile full of concern, but sincere and hopeful.

Lincoln realized, and was able to smile. For Lori, his smile was like the sunrise. She felt that her heart filled with heat and hope: Lincoln was a really tender and cute boy. The girl ran her hand over his face to wipe away the tears and stroked his white hair, almost gray with the dust and ash.

Then, something very curious happened: for a moment, Lori felt that the time went backwards, to the day when the world changed forever. That day that began full of magic and hope, when she and her sisters knew that they were about to meet their little brother. The first boy of the Loud family.

Lori had imagined her lost brother many times, in different ways; and one of her most beloved fantasies was about a little boy with white hair, like his grandfather Pop-Pop.

Lincoln looked so much like that boy...

Of course, it was impossible. Her little brother had died, along with her parents. But since she met Lincoln, felt a very special affection and attraction for him. Now, while he was in her arms, Lori felt that combination of affection and attraction stronger than ever. The feeling was irresistible, and Lori couldn't restrain herself: she gave a soft and tender kiss on his lips.

The kid sighed and felt really happy. Lori was so beautiful... Her lips felt so soft. Lincoln kissed her cheek, and clung to her body with all his might.

They stayed that way for a long time. The heat of their bodies was almost as pleasant as the rampaging beat of their hearts.

"Be brave, my love" Lori said. "Not everything is lost. Let's have breakfast, and we'll continue our way. At least, we are alive; and without the cart we can walk faster than before. Okay?

"Okay, honey. Thank you" replied the kid, before giving a new kiss on her cheek.