Trifa Aranea
I awoke while feeling a draft in my down under. I peeked under the blanket to see my panties missing along with my suit. I glared at Evan, who had put his clothing back on. He looked over at me.
"Your clothes were soaked so I washed them for you," he explained to me. "I got you some spares," he continued, motioning to the neat set of clothes laid out to my side. They were a pair of blue jeans, a tan crop-top and a duck-billed camo hat. There was also my panties folded neatly on top of my suit.
"Thanks. Hey Ev, I think we should bury them…" I said with hesitation.
"Are you gonna try and kill yourself again?" He asked, turning to face me.
"No. I think it was the adrenaline with the regret and heat," I explained.
"I see, well here's how we're going to do this. I'm going to get the bodies and you dig the holes."
"Should we hold a ceremony for them?" I felt guilty for their deaths so it was reasonable to do something for them.
"Do you know their names?" Evan asked.
"Of course not!"
"Then you don't need to say anything. We'll bury them and put a wooden cross at their grave site and be done with it. No need to waist time," he said in a matter-of-fact way.
"Why would you say that?!" I erupted in anger.
He simply gave a labored sigh before giving his response. "There's no point in worrying too much over a mistake. You did something fucked up, and there's nothing you can do to fix it. So if you get hung over every person you kill, you won't survive more than a week. I know it's not going to be easy to get used to that sort of mindset but you have to if you want to keep any of your sanity."
I lowered my head, tears began to fall. "I killed a child Evan, i'm a mon-"
"No. You're not, you're just a stupid girl," he said, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.
"Please let go of me," I pleaded between my weeping.
"Only after you're done crying," he replied. I smiled, the small response only cementing how much he cared for me. I cried for another five minutes until I felt thirsty. I dug the mother and daughter a shallow grave. I saw them being carried by Evan as he slowly lowered them into the grave, the child in the mother's arms. The blood from their wounds had dried and their skin was pale and their eyes were closed. I saw a bit of dirt fly onto them. Then another. And another.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Evan asked as he handed me a shovel. I piled up some dirt over their heads, then the rest of the body. I stabbed the shovel into the ground as Evan walked over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Are you ready to go?" he asked me. I nodded. He stabbed a small wooden cross at the head of the grave. We packed up our things and Ev handed me the woman's rifle. He led on as we walked into the sunrise.
"So where are we going now?" I asked.
"A settlement, we should be able to find some work and rest up. Then we can keep traveling," He explained. We reached the end of the neighborhood, spoiled earth and a forest of dead trees awaited us. We walked through the dead forest for hours, eventually finding a hill to rest on. We sat down staring at the vast emptiness that lay before us. Only dead, shriveled trees to the horizon.
I felt something rumble beneath my feet. "Is that an earthquake?" I asked, Evan looking at me.
"There shouldn't be any happening here…" he replied, palming his rifle.
Then a reptilian quadrupedal creature with a serrated beak and sharp talons for claws emerged from the earth. It clawed at me, I hit it in the face with the butt of my rifle, Ev firing a shot at the creature's head, but the bullet deflected and hit a nearby tree.
"It looks like it has some powerful defenses!" He shouted.
"No shit!" I replied. "You think it's eyes are shielded?" I asked as I evaded the snap of its beak.
"I fucking hope not!" Evan answered as he dodged a swing of its barbed tail. Just as I aimed my rifle at the ocular organ, it leapt at me exposing its stomach. I took a shot at it, the round piercing the softer scales. It cried out in pain and thrashed around slashing Evan in the chest. He collapsed to the ground, firing two more shots, one missed, the other hitting the creature's belly. He collapsed from the blood loss. I took out my dagger as I rushed the beast and stabbed into its belly, running blade down the length of its stomach, the creature giving off a horrid screech as it died seconds later. I cut off some of its scales and pocketed them. I then ran over to Evan, wrapping his wounds and making a makeshift sling that I used to prop him up on my back. I noticed how his breathing was uneven.
I walked and walked, looking at the map he had, going to the closest settlement Ev had marked. It read 'Merchant Town' and two more marked that were far away from Merchant town. The first read 'Home' and the other read 'Final Target'. I folded the map up and pocketed it. 'Final Target? Wonder what that's about…' I thought as I carried my unconscious companion to shelter.
I saw a small cabin in the middle of the Dead Forest. I entered it and found the bedroom, laying Ev in the bed, covering him with a heavy blanket. By this point, I had noticed that his condition had stabilized and he was breathing normally again. I made some dinner with some food I found in the pantries and went to bed.
Alright so I know I haven't posted in Willow's Journey so I'll be releasing another chapter of that before Y'all get another chapter of this.