Staring out across a cold, wintry plain, Ellie steadied her hand. She felt the bowstring pull, the arrow tightening as it was aimed.
A deer, eating some leaves it had found under the snow, was silent and content, unaware of the danger it was in.
Behind Ellie, Tess muttered some encouraging words into her ear.
"There you go, Elle. Just let it fly naturally. Don't tense up, just shoot."
Things had not gone well since the incident at the university. Ellie had found some medicine, enough to keep Joel from dying, but he was still too weak to be of much help. As a result, Tess had been forced to take responsiblility for finding food and shelter, but being an experienced smuggler, it wasn't as hard for her as she had feared. Just today, she had managed to find some houses near an old resort in Idaho or South Dakota or wherever the hell they were. There were places to hide Joel without having to worry about him being discovered or harmed.
And now she and Ellie were out hunting for some fresh meat. Tess knew some things that Joel had taught her years ago, but aside from a good-sized dog or buck, living in a city gave you few chances to put them to use. But damn it, she was going to try. For Joel.
Ellie took a deep breath and released her finger. The arrow went flying, striking the deer right on its hind quarters. The beast let out a shriek of pain, then ran off into the woods.
Ellie drew a new arrow and followed it, with Tess code behind. Eventually, they found the deer's corpse, the snow around it soaked with blood.
Tess brought out the carving knife she'd found in the house where Joel lay. "Here. This'll work a lot better then your little pigsticker."
With her help, Ellie managed to get a few pounds of flesh off the creature, which were then wrapped up and placed in her bag. "Let's keep looking".
Further down the field, they came across an old lumber yard, abandoned and covered with ice. It looked to be picked clean, but perhaps there was something left to salvage.
The first place they checked was the foreman's shack, near the sawmill. As they began to rummage through drawers and boxes, the door opened. On instinct, they turned around with their weapons pointed forward.
"Don't shoot!", came the reply. A bearded man in a blue coat, holding a long machete. Next to him stood a young man with a rifle in his hands.
Ellie kept her bow trained on them. Tess asked the inevitable question.
"Who the hell are you?"
"The name's David. My friend and I are hunting for some meat, and it seems our paths have crossed. You two ladies wouldn't happen to be in need of some food, would you?"
The words came out in a comforting voice, like an old preacher or father figure. Tess didn't feel like she could trust this man, but the reality was simple and straight-forward: she and her group were lost in these woods and if these two knew where they could find better shelter or more supplies, then they had to accept their help.
"Ellie, let them go. Now."
Reluctantly, Ellie lowered her bow. David put away his machete in turn.
"Now, we've got some food and fuel stashed in the old lumber yard nearby, and you can take some if you need it. Otherwise, this is where our paths end."
Tess and Ellie decided to take him up on his offer. The supplies were kept in a large, elevated room through which rusted rails were the only tangible sign of prior human activity. Just as they were prepared to leave, they heard the characteristic roar of a Bloater.
David and his companion retrieved some homemade Molotovs. "Throw these at my signal, and we'll roast this bastard!"
As he predicted, the Bloater quickly went down, its massive frame smelling of burnt fungi. Unfortunately, the fire quickly spread throughout the small, airless room, and both Tess and Ellie found themselves short of breath.
As they fell into unconsciousness, they could hear David running over. "They're still alive. Bring them to the house and..."