Chapter 35: HUNGER
Riley had been moving for almost a week since she escaped those men at the hospital. Every day, she got closer to home and more healthy, but she still didn't feel close enough. Her wound was healing nicely and hadn't gotten infected since she found the medicine. The necessary evil of killing hadn't weighed on her as much as she thought it was going to, and over the days she decided that nothing was going to stop her from getting home. For once, she had to actually fight to stay with the people she cared about and not run away.
So she stuck to the highway, following the signs and watching as the distance to Alexandria shrunk. But yesterday, a herd had passed through and she needed to divert off the highway, leading her into the woods. It was much harder to navigate through and she soon found herself lost. She was frustrated, but determined more than ever and pushed on, even when her food supply had dropped to nothing over the last few days.
With her energy nearly drained, she struggled to push on. Luckily since her health had gotten better, she had more strength and stamina to get through her hunger pangs and weakness, but there was only so long she could go without eating. Her spirit was all in, but her body wasn't. Things were like a roller coaster, going up and well one day and down and bad the next. Today was another down.
She had waited an agonizingly long time in one spot to try and hunt, but the only critter that came nearby, a rabbit, scurried away before she could even pull out her gun. Her legs ached from being stationary and the hunger was consuming her inside out. She was sure that the acid in her stomach was probably eating away at everything in her by now.
Everything seemed to be going horribly and it only decided to go further downhill when she heard voices and rustling. Carefully, she positioned herself behind a larger tree trunk, waiting with baited breath. Nothing seemed to be getting louder, which meant that whoever it was remained stationary somewhere up ahead. If she was careful, she could just take a quick peak to make sure they weren't a threat and move on from there.
So quietly, she crept forward, keeping a keen ear out as she did so. As she got further, she could also hear the telltale tinkle of running water. A river or stream. Something she also needed. She still had water on her, but it wasn't a lot and she definitely needed more for the rest of her journey. Whoever it was had to be getting water from the stream as well. And it was confirmed when she stopped at the top of a drop to look down.
Below a very steep drop, a small stream carved through the earth, water gently running along it in a journey of its own. Beside the stream was a dark green tent in a camouflage pattern, obviously to try and blend in with the surroundings. A man and a woman were trying to finish setting it up by putting the stakes in the ground. Who even camped anymore? Buildings were much more secure and safe, though she figured if these people were moving constantly, it was less likely for them to get targeted by other groups.
However, the one thing that caught her eye was silver gleaming from within one of the backpacks discarded by the riverside. The shiny wrapper was a sign of food. Food that she desperately needed and wanted. It wouldn't be hard to shoot these people down and steal the food, but could she even do that?
The better side of her was merely a whisper in the back of her mind, telling her to leave these people be and move on. But the primal side of her was louder - begging. It was the side her mind decided to follow within a split second. She had plenty of ammo left from picking up at the hospital and she had a clear shot. Whatever good side of her that was left was drowned in desperation. A desperation to get home. A desperation to eat.
Riley blew out a breath, getting down on her stomach and pulling the rifle from her shoulder. Carefully, she shifted into a better position, deciding on the male first since he would likely be harder to fight if he came after her. With her shot lined up perfectly, she deposited a bullet in the chamber and...
Her finger froze a centimeter from the trigger.
A little boy bounced out of the tent, his little mop of brown hair bobbing as he went and laughed about something. Then followed a girl, older than him, but still a child. The mother picked up the little boy and laughed along with him, clearly trying to be happy despite the situation they were in. She couldn't shoot them now, could she? It would mean she would have to shoot the kids too. They wouldn't survive a day without parents or someone to look after them, and she definitely wasn't going to do that.
But she needed that food. She needed to get home to her own family. What family mattered more, this one or her own?
A necessary evil.
Slowly, she sat back up, putting the rifle back on her shoulder. Maybe she wouldn't be able to kill them...but she could steal from them. It would leave the parents alive and able to find more food.
Who are you kidding. Stealing from them will kill them all. You just won't have to see it happen.
But it was a necessary evil, right?
Her stomach growled and she tightened her fists. Without food she wouldn't be strong enough to get home. After everything she went through? No. She wasn't going to stop herself from getting home.
Silently, she shifted until she was behind a bush but still able to see the camp clearly. Now wouldn't be a good time to grab their stuff if she didn't want to shoot. She could wait until night fall when they were sleeping to grab the stuff and go. That would be the least messy way possible.
Sucking in a breath of air, she sat back and got comfortable, knowing that this wait would be a long one. It was only around midday, so she would need to stay stationary for a few hours until the cool of night crept in and these people were comfortable enough falling asleep. For now, she would wait and try not to focus on her hunger or the running water so easily within her reach. Or the horrible thing she would be doing.
She clenched her fists, looking down at her bruised knuckles, and begun the wait. For a while, it was easy not to think about it and she could focus on the small minute things around her and the joy she would feel when she got home. After about two hours, her whole body got sore and stiff, but she didn't move, even as the sweat from the heat trickled down her neck.
Another hour passed and the only thing that had changed was the position of the sun and the activity of the family below. While the children played together, the parents began to set up elaborate little sound traps around the camp. Smart. They must have been doing this long enough to know what to do. Sound traps were always useful when sleeping, especially if someone was alone. It made her assume that they all slept at the same time, which wasn't exactly the smartest idea. However, if it worked for her advantage, she wouldn't question it.
She took note of where every sound trap was, branding it into her memory so she wouldn't trigger any of them later. It was about that point when she began to question whether what she was doing or not was really the best option, but every time she started to contradict her decision, the nagging voice pushed her to go through with it.
You are hungry. Feed me.
She narrowed her eyes and continued to wait.
Finally, the darkness had settled upon them. She began to drum her fingers on her legs, anxiously waiting for the first of them to suggest sleep. They had made a fire to cook some fish they caught earlier and it was still running strong, but she could see the little boy beginning to slip into sleep in his mother's arms. Soon. Soon her hunger would be satiated.
It was only when the girl fell asleep too that they rustled. The father carried them both into the tent while the mother stomped out the fire until it was just embers. And just like that, they had all turned in, leaving only the sound traps and dying fire outside of their tent. She would need to go inside to get it.
Carefully, she started to move. All of her muscles sighed in relief and she slowly stood to stretch herself out. A huff of relief escaped her lips and she then crouched back down to get a good route down. The steep drop would be noisy and dangerous. She would have to go around, to the shore, and then to the tent, avoiding all the sound traps on the way.
Riley bit her lip and started to shuffle along the drop, looking for an easy way down. A little ways and she was able to find a part where the drop decreased to a slope easy enough for her to get down without making noise. She kept her body tense and ready, scanning the area as she approached it. She remembered where each of the traps were, but didn't worry about them until she got close enough.
Before she embarked on her mission, she bent down next to the stream and quietly lapped up some water until she was satisfied. She then filled up her two water bottles and put them back in her bag before continuing to move.
As she approached the first sound trap, she paused, trying to remember exactly what it was. A small rope across the ground just high enough to trip over and low enough to be inconspicuous. It would rattle a crate of bottles if she tripped over it.
She located the rope and then slowly stepped over it. Easy enough. Most of the traps were similar to that one and she was able to slip through with ease. All she had to do was locate the rope in the darkness and then step over it. There were several, but after she got to the firepit, there weren't anymore and she could breathe a sigh of relief. The tension was almost as bad as it was when she was sitting for hours and she let herself plop down beside the fire for just a moment to breathe.
The dull light from the embers danced in her peripheral vision, like glowing red eyes watching her every move. She waited in that spot for a while until she was positive that the family had to be sleeping. And as she braved enough to approach the tent, she could hear light snores.
Her shaky fingers reached for the zipper and slowly she opened it, stopping every few seconds so the sound wouldn't disturb the silence too much. She successfully got the tent open without any trouble and lo and behold, the family was all sleeping together in the corner, curled up tight. A flicker of sympathy and guilt ran through her as she stepped foot in the tent, but the gleaming contents of the backpack across from the family wiped out those feelings almost instantly.
Silently and slow as a snail, she inched forward until she was right next to the bag. With all the care in the world, she slipped her own bag off her back and started to stuff some of the food inside of it. With each crinkle of the wrapper, she became more anxious, but continued to go, her pace speeding up slightly after each noise she made. She pulled out the last box of crackers and a noise to her right made her almost jump.
Slowly, she turned her head to look, seeing that the little boy had awoken. He looked at her with curious eyes, oblivious to the fact that she was stealing all of their food. From here, she could see that he looked very similar to his parents, his mother's brown hair and his dad's facial structure.
An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. What was he going to do? Not what she expected, it seemed.
He carefully climbed out from beside his parents and took the box of crackers from her hands, opening it up and then taking one out. She blinked down at him, swallowing thickly as he offered her a cracker. For a moment, she sat in bewilderment. He was offering her a cracker, unaware that she was going to be taking them all.
He began to get more frantic and offered her the cracker again and she took it, looking down at it for a minute before slowly sticking it in her mouth. Her stomach snarled until she swallowed and then it hummed in content before begging for more. But instead of offering her another one, he took one of his own and munched away happily. He just wanted to share his crackers.
Guilt twisted her stomach and she looked down as he offered her another cracker. She carefully took it and didn't hesitate to eat this time. For a moment, the two of them shared crackers together in the darkness of the tent. It was nerve wracking but peaceful at the same time. A weird mix that she couldn't really describe.
It was only when one of the parents started to stir that the moment had to come to an end. With a rock in her stomach, she zipped up her bag and nudged the box of crackers back to him. The only thing she would leave.
Before she could get caught, she slung the backpack on her back and made a quick exit from the tent, looking back just in time to see the small hands wave at her from inside. The rock in her stomach only got heavier at that moment, but the further she made it away from camp, the lighter it got. She had just stolen from a family. A family with children. And left them nothing but a half-empty box of crackers.
Little did she know that the food wouldn't satiate a deeper hunger growing inside of her.
A/N: credit for the idea of this chapter goes to my friend. Now I know what you're thinking: one, this chapter was insanely short. Yes it was. I needed a more character centric chapter and those tend to be on the short side. Two, Riley has done something out of character. No, not really. Yes, she's been overly good for most of the story with a small bout of darkness, but there are some important things to note. The killing spree she had in the last couple of chapters has really changed her view on things, and among all of this, the only thing left in life that makes her want to live is her family at Alexandria. If this little family was standing in the way of her getting there and the only way to get past was kill them, she would. Desperation makes people do things they typically wouldn't like to do. We're also going to see a lot of inner damage coming out for the next story arc beginning the next chapter. She has been through a lot and for the most part has kept herself together, but she's going to use some darker means to try and heal her hurt. Anyway, that's just some of my thought processes through this change. I'm EXTREMELY excited for the next chapter because she's going to get home finally and some insane things are gonna go down. Get some tissues ready and brace yourself for a twist! Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading and I appreciate hearing all of your comments in the reviews, you guys rock so much!
P.S. to guest who commented that Riley is too good and lovable, don't worry, I have much planned for her, I got you covered ;)
