Damon drove the camper down the road for about twenty minutes, to get enough distance between him and the town where the man had been left behind. He wanted to get far enough to assure that the man couldn't catch up to them on foot and retaliate against him and Bonnie. Even though he very much doubted that the man would be able to move much with that broken leg. But, one could never be too careful or cautious. Since he was sure that there was a safe distance between the camper and the man, he pulled the camper to the side of the road and stopped it.
Taking a moment to gather himself, as he was pumped for what they had pulled off in getting the ride that they needed. He called back to Bonnie, who remained sitting in the back.
"Well, that certainly worked out well for us didn't it." Damon stated.
"So, it did." Bonnie agreed.
"We worked perfectly together back there." Damon went on. "Had each other's backs."
All Bonnie said was. "Hmmmm."
He checked her out in the rearview mirror. "Admit it, Bonnie you know that we can make for a kickass team when it comes down to it."
She could admit to herself that her adrenaline was high from how they managed to overtake the man and get away with his camper. "It has it's perks more and more."
Damon smirked. "I'll say we made an impression on the hobo back there, leaving him in our dust. And taught him a valuable lesson."
"His broken leg will leave him unable to move and subdued for a while. I don't think that we need to worry about him." Bonnie commented.
"You're right, he won't be able to get around much on that leg." Damon agreed.
"The way that you handled him, I figure it's great to have you around as my muscle." Bonnie showed some amusement.
Damon looked over his shoulder at her. "I don't mind being the muscle on this team. But, you can still handle yourself though."
Her lips slightly curved. "I certainly can do that."
He just smirked again in response.
Bonnie spoke again. "I'm curious, where did you learn how to drive, I mean you seem to do it quite well considering."
"Because it's so rare that working vehicles are found now and days, which means that it's so rare for a person to know how to drive." Damon understood where her curiosity was coming from.
"Exactly." Bonnie gave him a nod.
"Well, from where I am from there are some working cars and trucks, even though it's not a lot." Damon told her. "And it's why I know how to drive."
She looked over at him from where she sat. "Where is the place that you are from, where you can get so many working vehicles."
He started to answer. "I…." Then he thought about him having access to cars and trucks because of the fact that he was in the milita. And remembered her angered bitter response towards the milta. And knew that it wouldn't bode well for him at the moment if he revealed to her that he had been a part of something that she seemed to hate so much.
Bonnie waited for him to answer.
Damon hesitated to reveal the truth of where he was from to her. He didn't want whatever personal thing that she had against the milta to be taken out on him. So, he paused and thought quick. "I thought that you said no personal questions remember, Keeping it on a strictly business relationship between us."
"How was I making it personal?" Bonnie furrowed her brow.
"Wondering where a person is from is personal, isn't it." Damon diverted smoothy.
"Fine, if that is how you want to play it." Bonnie rolled her eyes.
He corrected her. "It's how you wanted to play it and I'm just going along with you."
She pursed her lips. "Hey, you don't have to tell me where you are from. But, don't flatter yourself if you think that I wanted to know for a special reason. As I said I was just curious for the sake of knowing where to find a working car or truck would be useful. If you know where they were located."
Damon returned. "I see. Well, the place where I am from is far behind us now and we can't turn back. So, let's just move forward with this camper as far as we can go. Perhaps we will luck out again and find another car on our journey ahead."
"Perhaps." Bonnie sighed. "How far can we get travel in this thing anyway?"
Damon eyed the gas gauge. "Uh, we have a little under a half of a tank left."
Bonnie returned. "And?"
Damon mentioned. "And it means that this camper won't take us anywhere close where we want to go. I'm guessing it will last us a handful of hours before we run out."
"A handful of hours. Is it really how far we can travel in this?" Bonnie questioned.
"That's what I'm guessing, something this big eats up a lot of gas. So, we'll have a few hours of travel at the most before we run out." Damon explained. "Maybe it's the reason for why that man drove into the town back there. He was looking for some more gas to put in here knowing that it wouldn't last him for much longer."
"Oh, I guess I can't complain. At least we'll get a break from walking for those handful of hours." Bonnie mumbled.
He rubbed at his thickening beard. "It will cut the time in half in which we need to get to the border with New Mexico in if it won't get us all of the way there."
She thought to herself again that she couldn't complain. Even if she wished that they had lucked out and had a full tank of gas, they still lucked out overall by finding this camper.
Damon tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "So, Bonnie do you know how to drive?"
She shrugged. "No…..Not really."
"Not at all?" Damon added curious.
"I have done the majority of my traveling on foot. And sometimes on horseback. But, have not operated enough vehicles to be an expert at driving. As you know finding working ones are very rare." Bonnie explained.
"In that case maybe I could teach you." Damon suggested.
Bonnie arched a brow. "Teach me."
Damon nodded. "Yep, teach you to drive once we reach our destination in Virginia, if you want to learn how that is."
Bonnie thought about his offer. "Maybe…..we'll see."
And with that he pulled back on the road, driving as far as the gas tank would let them go.
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
The under half of a tank of guess allowed the two of them to be on the road for several hours, allowing them to travel much further than they would have gotten on their feet. Although they were still in the state of Arizona, with hundreds and hundreds of miles to go until they could reach the settlement that they wanted to go to.
They had been on the road for slightly over six hours, as Damon drove all of the way. He pulled off at the three hour mark to take a break for himself and then drove for three hours more. In result having them be on the road for about six hours. The drive was mostly silent as Bonnie had kept to herself, but it was no surprise to him as she had made it clear that she wasn't too interested in having friendly conversation with himself.
He kept to himself in return, singing quietly to himself to overtake the silence of the ride. He glanced at the gas tank, as was expected the camper had ate up a lot of gas. At most he figured that they had an hour or maybe two more on the road before the tank completely ran empty. He was planning to use every bit of the gas, until the camper came to a stand still.
His plan worked out for forty additional minutes on the road, until something ahead forced him to step on the brakes to stop the camper.
Damon cursed.
Bonnie who was dozing off from where she sat, woke fully back up when she noticed him stopping the camper and cursing.
Damon cursed once more as he eyed the mess ahead of him.
"Why are we stopping?" Bonnie wondered.
"There's a roadblock ahead." Damon replied.
"Huh?" She didn't understand what he was saying at first.
Damon repeated. "We have a roadblock, this camper won't fit through and we won't be able to drive any further."
Getting to her feet, Bonnie walked to the front of the camper to see what he was talking about.
He sat in the driver's seat staring ahead at what was before them in the road.
Looking out of the windshield of the camper, Bonnie spotted what he saw. The scene before them was of the two lane highway completely blocked with old, rusted cars. As far as the eye could see, even the shoulders of the road was blocked with cars. Cars which had all been going in the same direction, like a bunch of people had been trying to drive out of the area at the same time and got stuck as a result.
The road was totally blocked and there wasn't a passable area before them. Not even a small car could pass, much less the big camper that they had. Damon was right when he said that they wouldn't be able to drive any further.
"Damn." Bonnie went with equal disappointed.
"Yeah, that is a good old traffic jam right there." Damon clicked his tongue.
"There's no way we are getting this thing past the traffic jam." Bonnie muttered.
"Nope, there isn't." He popped the p.
She looked out. "What in the world do we do now then?"
He answered. "We'll have to get out in walk it seems."
Bonnie's lips curved downward. "Too bad, there is still some gas left in here."
Damon gestured to the gauge. "Just enough to last us for about an hour or two more. We would have had to get out and walk on foot soon either way."
"Right." Bonnie headed to the back and picked up her bag pack. "I guess we should get out then."
"That is for the best. We can make a little more progress on foot before night fall." Damon mentioned.
She slung her backpack over her back and proceeded to head towards the exit of the camper.
Grabbing his duffle bag, Damon followed her outside. It was evening time now as they started to walk down the road and towards the traffic jam.
They observed this traffic jam as they got closer, within arms distance of it. It was obvious that this traffic jam had happened decades ago, somewhere around the time of the apocalypse happening. These people were running from whatever threat that was in the area at the time.
The two of them approached the car packed road with caution. They were bumper to bumper, with the age of years not being used showing on them. It wasn't a pretty sight to imagine them desperately trying to escape whatever was a threat to their lives and well being.
For a moment Damon and Bonnie just stood there eyeing the grim scene before them.
Then she broke the silence. "These people they were trying to get away from something."
His expression turned serious. "Definitely they were trying to evacuate and get out of this place."
"Evacuating from what exactly?" Bonnie glanced briefly at him.
"Most likely from a weather disaster. I mean that is what wiped out a lot of the human race back then, a whole bunch of natural disasters which carried out for months." Damon stated.
"A major disaster of some sort was about to threaten to come to this area. Maybe a big storm of some sorts and these people knew that it was coming and tried to get away." Bonnie put it together.
Damon put in. "Then they got trapped here in this traffic jam, because too many for trying to leave at the same time."
Bonnie shook her head. "How long had it been before the planet start going to shit when these people were trying to escape. If it had been days or weeks then I imagine how nerves would have been frayed and couldn't blame them for trying if they learned of a disaster heading this way."
His eyes scanned over the cars and trucks. In a few he spotted skeletons. Skeletons that had once belonged to people, who had passed away those thirty years ago when it all had started. Their flesh had decayed away and now all that was left was bone and the tattered clothes that hung off of them,
It wasn't a pretty sight at all. "Some tried to get out and died being stranded here." He added.
"It must have been a terrible ordeal, the panic and the hopelessness in which they felt." Bonnie said as she had seen the skeletons too. Even though her living in the post apocalyptic world had made her witness a ton of horrendous things. Including countless deaths and killings.
She still found herself feeling some empathy for what she saw before her. Imagining the emotions in which the people back then had to go through. The fact that some died in their cars, never getting the help that they sought made the situation even sadder.
Looking out Damon felt pity those people, thinking about how the situation must have played out decades ago. "They most likely never saw it coming before it all happened. Then one day the planet's weather system starts to go haywire and they lose everything that they ever knew. Their lives and the world never being the same again."
"I guess it was extremely difficult for them, losing what was a normal, daily routine life for them. Because of what happened, we now live with the consequences of a harsh place in present time." She was somber, as she was well aware of the millions who had died back then, even though she wasn't around to witness it.
"Truthfully, I can't even act like I would know what it's like to lose what was considered a normal world back then. All I know is of this post apocalyptic planet is our 'normal', as melancholy as that sounds. It's the brutal truth. Now the normal is just fighting tooth and nail to survive each day." Damon added.
Bonnie didn't want to stand there for much longer and look out on the traffic jam and the skeletons. It was really downing to her mood. "We better move along."
"We should. I think that it would be best if we took a detour from the road." Damon told her.
"You don't think it's safe to keep walking on the road after what we ran into." Bonnie wondered.
"I don't." Damon turned away from the traffic jam to face her. "This area is too crowded with vehicles on the road. Which means it could attract some unwanted people if anyone is around."
"In return attracting their unwanted attention to us." Bonnie got it. She had enough experience to know which places could attract the bad people. Finding people could be few and far between, but there were some areas that tended to have more people, even in an underpopulated world like this one. And one where there were a bunch of cars piled up together was one of them.
Someone like bandits might come to try and look into the cars for supplies or something useful for them in which they could take. If these bandits had spotted the two of them, then they one hundred percent try to rob her and Damon for all that they had on them.
"Correct, we have weapons to defend ourselves with. But, I'm all for avoiding any confrontations if we can. If we take a small detour off of the road, we can still head East but just on a safer path hopefully." Damon pointed out.
"Better safe than sorry." Bonnie thought.
"Let's get out of here." Damon added.
Because she knew that one couldn't dwell on the awful events that happened no matter how tragic they were. Bonnie put her thoughts and feelings on the subject aside as she and Damon detoured from the road.
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
The detour took them on the path that was parallel to the road for about a half mile on so. And it was a half mile into the woods that they had found. They kept pressing their way ahead until it was near dusk, then they settled down into a clearing in the woods. And that is where they camped down for the night. After having a small meal of dinner, with the food that they had, the two of them went to sleep.
Bonnie slept through the night mostly well, despite being outside. And when she started to stir from her sleep it had nothing to do with the elements outside, but the dreams that appeared into her mind. Dreams which were nightmares, the type of nightmares that she had occasionally about a horrible event in the past that still haunted her. And caused her to have bad dreams from time to time.
It was one such nightmare that had Bonnie jerking from her sleep, waking up in a startled fashion. And she opened her eyes to the morning sun just starting to make it's way over the horizon and to Damon watching her as he had already been awake.
Damon noticed the way that she had woken up. "Morning."
"Uh, Morning." Bonnie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Those nightmares can be something else." Damon quietly said.
"What?" She blinked questioning to herself how he knew she had a nightmare.
He gestured gently. "I figured you just had a nightmare right now."
She sat up. "Who says I did."
Damon insisted. "I can tell. I would recognize it, as I had some myself."
"Why do you care?" Bonnie had more annoyance in her tone than she meant to. It wasn't like he said anything wrong, but being the closed up person that she was, she didn't feel comfortable with him seeing through the fact that she had a nightmare.
"I was just observing, I didn't mean any offense by it." Damon directed.
In response Bonnie remained silent refusing to show any emotion.
Damon eyed her. "You could talk to me about it if you'd like, I'm all ears."
Unconsciously Bonnie rubbed at her arms. "Why would I want to talk with you about it?"
Damon shrugged. "Just for the reason how telling a person about a nightmare might help one cope with how they had it."
"There is nothing for me to tell you." Bonnie denied.
"Are you sure?" Damon tried once more to get her to open up about what he knew she had experienced.
"Damon." Bonnie said his name in a soft but firm warning.
The black haired man let out a breath. "Too personal?"
"Too personal." Bonnie confirmed.
This time it was he who remained silent, he just sat there and studied her with his eyes.
Bonnie looked away from his sapphire gaze, diverting her attention away, as she dream faded in her mind. "What are we doing next."
He saw how quickly she had changed the subject but decided not to press. "Let's explore the forest, see what we can find."
"Fine by me." Was all that she said.
They gathered up their bags and their items and began to move deeper into the woods. About forty minutes into their hike they came up upon a mid sized, river. Which had clear water and a gentle flowing current.
"We need to stop here and have some breakfast." Damon spoke up.
She just nodded in agreement, it was the first body of water that they had come up on, ever since they had started on this journey together.
He placed his duffle bag on the ground and eyed the river for a moment. "You know, how would you like fish for breakfast?"
She turned to him. "Fish."
"Fish." Damon confirmed. "This river is streaming with them I'm sure. I can try to catch a couple and cook them up."
"Sure, sounds like a plan. But, what are you planning to fish with, we don't have any fishing poles." Bonnie pointed out.
Damon grinned showing his teeth. "Of course Bon-Bon, I'm going to make a fishing weapon with something that this forest provides for us."
Bonnie paused at the fact that he had called her 'Bon-Bon' and brushed it aside. "Okay then Damon, show me what you are going to make a fishing weapon with."
"Just wait here." Damon pointed a finger in the air, then turned towards a set off trees.
Watching him closely Bonnie stood where she was, curious to see what he was going to create to fish with.
Damon looked on the ground, searching until he found what he wanted. Then he grinned more as he picked up a long stick. "I've got it."
"You're planning a catching fish with a stick." Bonnie raised both eyebrows.
"Patience, I'm using this stick but it's not quite ready as a weapon yet." Damon carried the stick over and then retrieved his knife out of his bag. Then he started to run the edge of the knife over the top of the stick.
Folding her arms over her chest Bonnie kept watching what he was doing. It didn't take her long to figure it out. He appeared to be sharpening the top of the stick with his knife.
He continued to run the blade of the knife over the stick, shaving off little pieces and a time. Until his effort had him now holding a stick with a sharp, pointy end. Sharp enough to stab something.
"Oh." Bonnie mouthed as she saw the finished product.
"There, a perfect spear for fishing!" Damon exclaimed.
"It only will be perfect if it actually succeeds in catching fish." Bonnie mumbled.
"It will, you'll see." Damon said to her.
Bonnie waved a hand towards the river. "Then show me because I'm getting hungry here."
Taking his spear Damon went over to the river with it. He quickly kicked off his boots and socks and stepped bare footed into the middle of the river. Peering down into the clear water he waited with patience. It took a few minutes but fish soon some fish started to swim by. Which included a few large schools of fish.
He tried stabbing his spear down into the water to catch some fish, but he missed as they were swimming very fast. And it was harder to catch them than it looked. He made several attempts with his spear but for about five minutes kept missing.
"Need some assistance?" Bonnie asked out from the shore line.
"No, I've got this." Damon grumbled.
Bonnie just smirked, but cheered him on in the inside since she really wanted to be able to eat some fish now.
He forced himself to concentrate on the fish more and tried again. After a few more attempts, he thrusted his spear into the water and it finally stabbed through a fish. Then he tried again and the spear caught onto two more fish.
Now he had managed to get three fish onto his spear. Damon stood in the river and head the spear over his head with the wiggling fish on it. Letting out a holler of celebration. "Wooo Hooo."
"Wow, you actually did it." Bonnie deadpanned.
"I told you that I would." Damon went in nearly a gloating tone.
"So you did." Bonnie shrugged.
He took the steps out of the river and stepped onto the shore where she was. "It wouldn't hurt to congratulate me, you know."
She arched a brow. "Uh huh."
"Congratulate me on being quite the fisherman." Damon wiggled his eyebrows.
Being honest with herself she really was impressed with how he had caught the fish, especially with just using a spear and not a fishing pole or bait. However, she didn't let how impressed she really was show too much on the outside.
"You did alright." Bonnie waved her hand in a back and forth motion.
"I did more than alright, I'm did awesome!" Damon did a dance to show how happy he was at his accomplishment in catching the fish.
And the way that he was dancing combined with the goofy grin on his face had Bonnie pressing her lips together to fight the urge to laugh, so he resisted the urge by clearing her throat.
Damon clutched the spear in his hands, as the fish died. "Just like at the size of them."
Bonnie's did and her eyes widened. "I do have to say, they are rather large."
"Exactly, that is some good eatin right there." Damon commented.
"I'm looking forward to eating them then." Bonnie returned.
"It's going to take me about twenty minutes to clean them, also to build the fire to cook them." Damon directed at her. "Do you mind waiting for that long."
"I'm sure that I can manage." Bonnie rubbed at her stomach.
He paused collecting his thoughts and then came up with an idea. "The river is nice, clear and looks clean enough. It could be used for more than fishing, like we could use it to also get ourselves clean."
She looked over the water. "Bathing you mean."
He nodded. "That's correct."
Hygiene and bathing or showering wasn't always a first priority in this world. Finding food, surviving and self places to shelter were much more important. Still Bonnie had tried to keep herself clean as much as the available sources allowed her to be.
And she hadn't been able to get a decent bath in since she left with Damon. The river provided the best often for some kind of bath, since she had been traveling with him.
"Yeah, I could use a cleaning." Bonnie agreed.
"I could too. Why don't you go and have one while I clean the fish and build the fire." Damon suggested.
"I could use some privacy though…..no offense." Bonnie went with a look around the woods which surrounded them.
"None taken, I promise I won't be a peeping tom." Damon jerked his thumb. "If you head down the river some you can have privacy."
Bonnie gestured. "I'll head downstream, but I'll be back."
Damon made a verbal sound letting her know that he had heard her.
Bonnie took her bag and walked downstream. She walked enough distance until he was out of sight and she couldn't hear him anymore. Making sure that she was far enough from him where he wouldn't be able to see her. Then she got the soap out of her bag, and stripped out of her clothes.
Naked, she approached the river and tested it with her toes. It was cool, but because of the time of year just warm enough to allow for a person to swim comfortably in without getting cold. And to her it was good enough to get some of the dirt and grime off of her body. She stepped in until the water was around her waist.
Then used the soap to wash her body off with her hands. After over five minutes of bathing, she rinsed the soap off of her body and took some time to enjoy being in the river before stepping out. She let the air dry her body off before putting her clothes back on. And felt cleaner than she had in days. The river did a decent job of washing away the dirt and keeping her body odor down.
Bonnie grabbed her bag and headed back in the direction where Damon was. When she came up on him, she saw that he had finished cleaning the fish and had built the fire using some sticks, twigs and brush. He had found something to make a makeshift pan out of and was using it to cook the fish over the fire.
As soon as the scent of the fish cooking hit her nose, her mouth started to water. Maybe that had to do with how hungry she was, but it made her mouth water nonetheless.
"Damn, that smells good." Bonnie confessed.
"Have a seat, it will be ready shortly." Damon told her.
She took a seat next to the fire and watched as he tended to the fish.
It took some moments more, but soon the fish was ready. Damon gave her one big fish and kept one for himself. They took some of the food that they already had gathered when they left Bonnie's home and used the powerade that Damon had found to drink.
Damon sat next to her with his food and drink. "We have quite the delicious meal here."
Bonnie took a sip out of her bottle of powerade. It tasted refreshing since she was used to drinking water. "Yeah."
Then they two of them began to eat their late breakfast.
She ate the cooked fish which was the first warm food that she had in awhile, and ate the crackers she had spilt with Damon. Looking around the quiet forest, and the light breeze in their air, under the warm sun. As they sat next to the fire. And at the time she appreciate the quiet and peaceful moment.
"You know." Bonnie admitted. "This isn't half bad."
He ate some fish with his fingers and gave her a half smile. "Nope, not half bad at all."
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
They picked up their stuff and put out the fire once they had finished eating their meal. They had rested for hours and were planning to move out again in an hour or so. But, Damon needed to get his bath in first.
He took his shirt off, then walked pantless and barefooted in an area away from where Bonnie was. He wasn't as modest about his nudity as she was, but he figured that she wouldn't be interested in seeing him bare assed. So, he went in another area out of respect for her as much as he did for his privacy.
Damon took off the rest of his clothes, then got into the river to wash himself up. He stayed in long enough to wash off the grime from him and to scrub off the stink. After he was done he pulled back on his pants, then headed back in the direction that he came.
Bonnie sat in the ground waiting for him to return so that they could get moving again. She watched as he approached in his shirtless well toned torso and arms. With the strong V shape structure of his pelvis showing through. And a trail of thin hair starting beneath his belly button and disappearing beneath his pants.
Thought to herself that he had a damn fine body, before she could stop her thoughts. Then he turned his back towards her to get his shirt and she was caught off guard and startled by what she saw.
On his back from his shoulder blades down to his lower back were scars and lacerations. Not just any type of scars, but the type of scars that had shown that he had been burned perhaps someway in the past. And they covered almost his entire back. The scars were old and they were healed however, still were signs that he may have been injured at some point in the past.
And they look like they were severe and really painful at the time in which he got them. Suddenly without explanation she found herself bothered and concerned about how he had gotten hurt. Questioned if he had gotten burned in some sort of accident. She was about to open her mouth and ask him what had happened to him, then closed her mouth and pulled back on that question. Asking him such a thing would be considered very personal and she didn't want to seem like she cared, because by her rules she refused to get too friendly with him. This was just a business agreement after all between them.
He pulled the shirt over his torso, covering his back and his scars, following that he put on his shoes and socks, turning to her. "You ready?"
Bonnie kept her face blank. "I'm ready."
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
For three and a half more weeks they slowly made their way East on foot, passing by through mostly rural areas and coming across the small town or a group of buildings every now and then. It took them long hours and days to travel from place to place, doing their usual routine of settling down to rest for the night, then walking more when day time came.
Yet at the same time, time seemed to go by quickly. Since they had met it had now been a full month and one week since they had traveled together. And in that time Bonnie had treated Damon as less than strictly a business partner and more of an acquaintance. Which was far from her treating him as her friend, but he considered that a progress even if it was a slight one. It appeared she was trusting him more and more with each passing day they spent together.
She still kept him at a certain distance personally. Whenever he dug too close into comments or questions about her or her life, she would shut him down or close herself up. He wondered why she hesitated so much into getting close with anyone.
Their slow but steady traveling on foot had now gotten them just over the border and now they were a couple of miles into New Mexico. Their food supply had just ran out a couple of days ago, as they had a limited amount of what they could pack into their bags. And between two people the food ran out faster than they thought it would. Even though Bonnie had originally stored enough food to last herself for a few months, the limited amount of food that they could carry, combined with being on the road for slightly over a month had dwindled their food supply.
They searched high and low every where they went for some food, but so far their search was futile. Leaving them without having anything to eat for two and a half days, and both of them starting to grow famished. They just had about six bottles of water left between them to help sustain them from going thirsty as well. Not even a deer, rabbit or squirrel could be found for at least Bonnie to be able to hunt with her bow and arrow for some wild meat to cook up and eat.
They spent half of the day searching and not finding what they needed before they had to stop for a rest.
"Damn it." Bonnie cursed. "We're not having much luck at the moment."
"We're not, Our luck has to pick up sometime though and we will find food soon." Damon said.
"I hope that you are right." Bonnie sighed.
He opened his bottle of water to take a few sips.
She reached grabbed her flashlight to test it, just as she expected the batteries had ran low and it was no longer working. She searched through her bag to try and find more to put in, but couldn't find the batteries with her items.
"Need something?" Damon questioned.
"Batteries for why flashlight. Do you have any." Bonnie replied.
"I do." Damon confirmed. "Just look through my duffle bag."
"Alright." Bonnie went and did that. She opened the zipper on his bag, rifling through his things to find what she was looking for. Shortly she find a pack of batteries and grabbed them. Then she noticed something shiny in his bag that had been underneath the batteries.
She squinted her eyes to see what they were. And one she identified what it as her mood went from contentment to shock, then to anger within a blink of an eye. And she stared down in the bag for a long minute without saying anything.
Damon witnessed how her mood had changed suddenly to an chilly anger. "Are you okay?"
Bonnie didn't say a word. She just continued to stare down at the shiny item which made her blood begin to boil.
"Hey, Bonnie." Damon waved his hand to get her attention.
She looked up at him and eyed him with a steely stare from her emerald green eyes.
"What's going on with you." Damon frowned at her.
"You're a fucking Militia." Bonnie finally spoke with her tone being so icy cold that it could have froze the air around them.
He nearly choked on the water he was drinking. Taken by surprise, how did she found out that he was in the Mitila?
Bonnie knelled their eyeing him with anger waiting for him to respond to her discovery.
"I have no idea where you get the idea that I'm in the Militia." Damon gave a nervous chuckle in hopes to play it off.
"Really." Bonnie went on coolly. "Care to explain these dog collar tags with your name on them? They read Damon Salvatore." She yanked the shiny, sliver tags out of his bag and tossed them on the ground for him to see.
"I've ran into enough Militiamen to know that they wear these types of tags, the same types of tag in which you have. No need to play stupid with me and deny the truth of who you belong to." Bonnie added darkly.
He had an 'oh shit' moment in his mind, he had been caught by her. He had totally forgotten that he tossed those tags in his duffle bag. "Bonnie, listen to me I can explain."
She cut him off, her words spitting out like a whip. "Explain what, are you in the militia or not."
Damon swallowed. "Well, sort of but….."
Bonnie interrupted him. "There is no sort of you're one of them."
"Yeah, it used to be like that." Damon admitted.
"Used to be like that? What in the hell does that mean." Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him.
"Meaning I was in the Militia but it's not like that anymore. I'm no longer part of them." Damon told her.
She let out a humorless sort. "Right."
He insisted. "It's true…..I was part of the Militia but I left them a few weeks before I ran into you."
Bonnie got to her feet. "And just when were you plan on telling me that you are a member of the Militia?"
"I don't know." Damon returned.
"So, you were never going to tell me then." Bonnie spat.
"After you let it be known how much you hated the Mittilla, I hesitated to tell you, because I was concerned it might have you reacting in a negative fashion." Damon licked his lips.
"Bullshit." Bonnie placed her has on her hips in a disapproving manner. "You didn't tell me because you were watching out for yourself, knowing I would never agree to travel with you if I knew you were a part of that group."
Damon groaned. "Okay, yeah I was looking out for myself. But, I honestly didn't want to upset you since the subject of the Militia does so."
Bonnie was steaming. "You lied to me."
Damon shook his head. "I didn't lie to you, technically you never asked me what group I was a part of, leaving me never to deny it."
"I repeat bullshit." She scoffed. "You mislead me, and have been misleading me for weeks. Keeping a major truth about yourself from me, knowing that it would have a change into accepting you. I should have known better than to trust you."
"You can trust me." Damon directed.
"I refuse to trust anyone who is a part of the scum that is the Militia." Bonnie countered.
He opened his mouth to defend himself.
She held up her hand to stop him from talking. "Your own actions prove to me that I can't trust you. I spared your life back in Arizona, spilt all of the damn food we could carry with you, to the point that we have now ran out. And you repay me by keeping such a big detail about yourself away from me."
Damon took a step forward. "And I meant it I appreciate you for that and that I owe you and will return the favor."
"Don't you dare take a step closer to me. I can't believe that I trusted your word. This was all just a ruse on your part to step me up with a trap with your fellow Milla psychopaths." Bonnie accused.
"It wasn't a ruse, it's not a trap. I'm sincere about leading you to the settlement in Virginia with me. For sure I'm not leading you to any Mitila psychopaths. My goal for while in fact has been to get away from them." Damon commented.
"Your word means nothing to me at the moment, because you are one of them. The Militia are filled with nothing but cruel, heartless sociopaths who spread terror and kill for the simple thrill of it. They're all cold blooded murderers." She snapped out.
His eyes scanned over her. "That's true, a whole bunch of sociopaths are in that group. However, I am different from most of the Militia."
Bonnie challenged. "How they are known for murdering innocent people in cold blood, tell me the truth Damon, have you murdered innocent people along with them?"
Damon tensed up at the question. "I did what I had to do at the time."
She sneered in disgusted. "Then that tell me you have murdered innocent people."
"Yes, I confess to having killed innocent people. But, it's definitely, one hundred percent something that I'm not proud of." Damon felt guilt with admitting this.
"How can you claim to be different if you murder just like they do." Bonnie lifted her chin.
"Because I didn't do it for the thrill, and I feel bad about it while most of them could care less about killing." Damon implied.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Telling me that you feel remorse for what you've done."
Damon confirmed. "I do indeed feel remorse."
"Please don't give me that just because you're trying to backtrack out of the fact that I caught you. You had me fooled for a minute that you could be a decent, trustworthy man. But, I know from experience that anyone in the Militia isn't capable of being anything but cold blooded pigs." Bonnie snapped out.
"Obviously the Militia must have done something personal towards you in order for you to hate them so much." Damon observed.
"Hate is an understatement. I despise the Militia with every fiber of by being, for everything that they represent. And for good reason considering they are the reason why my Father is dead." Bonnie revealed with her anger growing.
"Wait a second, they played a hand in your father's death." Damon was taken aback.
She didn't intend to reveal such a personal detail of her past to him, she was just so pissed at him during the moment it slipped out. "They more than played a hand, they are the ones who directly murdered him before my very eyes. And he did not a thing towards them to justify it. They just ended his life in cold blood because they wanted to."
He had sympathy towards her. "It's terrible that it happened to your father, you have every right to be furious with the Militia about it. Still I I played no part in that, so you don't have to hold it personally against me."
Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "If you're a member of them, directly or indirectly you agree with the disgusting acts they stand for."
"You don't understand, the reason why I left is because I could no longer be for what they stand for." Damon grumbled.
"What else do you do that other Militiamen do besides slaughter innocent people, do you go around raping women like they do to." Bonnie shook her head. She hadn't been raped herself, but she had ran upon women who had been raped in the rampage of the Militia coming through the area.
Such an accusation for her had Damon getting offended. "Watch your step there, I only have ever slept with willing women who had wanted me."
Bonnie retorted. "Still you have murdered innocent people."
Damon focused on her trying to remain steady. "I needed to do it in order to survive, to live. Just like you have had to kill in order for survival."
"Did you just try to compare the two? Because they are nowhere near the same. I kill only in self defense, when I am threatened, and when it is necessary." Bonnie lashed out. "The Militia the group that you're apart of only kill for the sake of it, because they want to hold power over defenseless, weaker human beings."
"And wouldn't we like to live in a world where we wouldn't have to kill at all. The reality is that such a place ended a long time ago. Now we are forced to live by the rule of the survival of the fitness and as ruthless as it sounds that is the truth. I had to come from somewhere, where moral grounds needed to be crossed." Damon raised his tone. "Maybe if you stopped judging me enough long enough to listen, you would understand why I had to make some immoral decisions."
"Save it, no need of trying to explain why you choose to help murder innocent people, because I'm not interested in listening and want nothing to do with you any longer." Bonnie stated through gritted teeth.
"Bonnie, just wait a minute." Damon pleaded.
She nearly yelled. "No." Then grabbed her backpack and put it on her back. She started to walk away from him.
He called out. "Where do you think you are going?"
She paused in her steps. "Away from you, as far away as I can get."
"Now, hold on I know that you are upset, but you can't be so hasty." Damon went in disbelief. "You just can't roam off without me."
"Watch me do it, and it wouldn't be smart on your part to try and stop me." Bonnie warned him.
"That's it then, you're just going to go off all of this way trying to get to the settlement by yourself." Damon croaked in disbelief.
Bonnie gave him a long glare. "I don't know where I'm going now. Just as long as it's not in the same place you will be."
Damon rubbed at the back of his neck in irritation. "You're just going to go off alone for hundreds of miles to fend for yourself, by yourself because you are caught up in your emotions. That doesn't seem like a smart choice to make for surviving."
She made a wild gesture with her hands. "Guess what Damon, I've been living off on my own, surviving alone for years. I've been doing it long before you, so I damn sure don't need you to survive now."
"You're wrong, don't be so irrational." He lowered his tone.
Hearing him call her irrational set her off even more. "Let me tell you something, just leave me the fuck alone and let me go. You have the nerve to call me irrational, when you belong to the lowest scum on earth in the Mitlia. Wherever I choose to go it will be different from where you're going. Because I wish not to see you ever again, In fact I couldn't careless if you dropped dead off the place of the earth." Bonnie finished with fury.
The dagger of her vicious words hit their mark square center, it bruised his ego and more so hurt his feelings. So he responded in kind. "If that's the game you wish to want, then I'll play it. If you want to continue to be a frigid, closed off person then so be it. I see now why it's not surprising why you are a loner, because you drive off any one who might want something to do with you, by your stuck up personality" Damon said harshly.
"If your request is to leave." He pointed. "Then get the fuck out of here."
"Glady." She returned just as harshly, then stormed up leaving him there by himself.
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
Thank you for those who took the time to read and review the last chapter on this story. And who have read this update. More feedback is appreciated.
I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors I missed.