Chapter Nine
"Wake up. Emily, wake up."
Lucas leaned over the bed, shaking Emily's shoulder, trying to wake up the woman.
Emily groaned, mumbling something that Lucas couldn't decipher, and tried rolling over.
"Come on, get up already," he muttered, shaking her shoulder more intensely now.
"Alright," she groaned, rolling back over, her bleary eyes opening. "I'm awake damn it."
Sitting up in bed, Emily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and glanced at the nearby window.
"Really?" she asked with an unamused face. "You woke me up at the crack of dawn?"
"Of course," Lucas replied, readying their supplies. "Once breakfast's been eaten, we'll leave with the rising sun. It will allow us plenty of time to make it to Milton."
Emily sighed, pushing the covers off her, reached down to grab her boots, and started to tie them.
"What's for breakfast?" she asked, looking up at the stove while tying the various laces. She saw on top of the stovetops two cans, their labels long since peeled away.
"Sausages and beans," Lucas answered, bringing over two bowls, each with a spoon resting inside. "Might not be the fanciest or visually appealing, but it will give us plenty of energy for the trek up to Milton."
He poured the now-heated cans of food into their own bowl, and the two ate in silence.
"Lucas?" Emily asked, "I've never really thought about it, but why do most of the people on the island call you 'Orion'?"
Lucas paused eating, a spoonful of beans suspended in the air.
"Well," he explained, "I'm arguably the best hunter and tracker on the island. I've also been all over it. Soon, people started calling me Orion as a nickname, after the Greek hunter. Mind you, this was before The Collapse, so everyone started calling me that out of respect for my skills, which proved lifesaving for many people after The Collapse and later First Flare."
Emily nodded, and the meal continued without conversation. Emily waited outside whilst Lucas went about cleaning the bowls and utensils with some water he had melted down from ice, and then boiled to sterilise it. Coming back outside, he saw Emily crouched in front of the crosses that stood beneath the rocky outcrop the house rested on.
"Who are these for?" Emily asked, not looking up at Lucas, instead brushing the snow off of one of them.
"My family," was all he said.
Emily froze, quickly looking at Lucas.
"I-I'm so sorry, I-"
"They died years ago," he said, cutting off Emily's apology.
Walking around, he came up to her and crouched down with her in front of the graves.
"Mum and Dad," he said, pointing at the backmost graves, "and my sister," pointing to the middle grave, and the smallest. "Dad died from a bear attack, not from the wound, but from the infection. Mum died soon after from heartache. My sister, Lynette, died from pneumonia at six."
He stood up, brushing snow off his knees, and over his shoulder said, "I'm almost glad they died when they did. At least they never had to suffer through this quiet apocalypse."
Emily stood up and followed him, keeping quiet. He led her through a cave near the house, which after only a minute of walking, opened into a frozen river. As they walked along, the sound of the wind rustling the Cat tails that lined the frozen river bank and the crunch of boots treading on ice sounded out through the area. Walking past some Cat tails, Lucas plucked two stalks, snapped off the heads and placed them in his pocket. He turned to Emily, offering one of them.
"You want to try one?" he asked. "They're good trail food. Light, high in calorie density, got enough moisture in them to keep you from getting thirsty just by eating it."
Emily hesitated, before taking one of them and bit off a piece, chewing it.
"It's quite tough," she winced, needing to put in effort just to chew it.
"Yeah, they sure are," Lucas chuckled, eating a piece of his own Cat tail stalk.
They continued to chew their stalk as they walked, passing by a small waterfall, then emerging upon a ridge that allowed them to look out over a small basin of land, walled off by cliffs on all sides. A fallen tree created a bridge across a gap, allowing the pair to cross over into a small open area.
"By the way," Lucas asked with a cheek full of Cat tail, "how good are you at rock climbing?"
"I've done it before, why?" Emily asked.
"Well, to get to Milton, we'll need to descend this rockface, then climb back up another. You up for it?"
Emily glanced at the rocky outcrop Lucas had gestured to, noticing that it had a red and white mountaineering rope tied around it. Walking over, she peered over the edge, seeing that the rope descended to the snowy ground below.
"So we need to scale down the wall without a harness?" she asked, backing away from the edge for her own peace of mind.
"Pretty much," Lucas confirmed. "If you don't think you can make it, we can double back. There is another path…"
Lucas trailed off as he saw Emily grasp the rope with her hands, grinning towards him.
"Who are you trying to convince?" she teased, slowly letting herself down the rockface.
Lucas chuckled, amused that he had been caught red-handed by her. He waited for her to get a safe distance from the lip of the cliff, then took a deep breath and swung himself over the edge. Slowly, centimetres at a time, they made their way down the rock wall. Emily let go of the rope near the bottom, dropping the last metre, soon followed by Lucas.
The pair walked across the basin, using the opportunity to catch their breath and make small talk, the looming rock wall growing closer and closer. Reaching the base of the wall, Lucas and Emily took a short break to ensure they had regained their strength for the much harder climb up.
This time Lucas went first, taking hold of the rope and using the natural outcrops and divots in the wall as footholds, aiding in his ascent. Emily came after him, allowing for a few metres of distance between her and Lucas before starting her climb. As they had expected, the climb down had been much easier than the task they now faced, having to haul themselves up the rock wall, rather than simply abseil down it. While it took some effort, neither Lucas nor Emily were out of shape in any way, and both managed to make it up the wall without issue. Emily slowly moved herself to an ageing picnic bench, plopping down to catch her breath from the climb. Lucas soon joined her, and the two sat next to each other, their breaths becoming steadier and steadier.
"Right," Emily breathed. "Where is Milton from here?"
"We follow this path, which will lead us to the old Orca Gas Station, then we follow the road north to Milton. We should be able to see the town from the gas station if the weather holds, assuming a snowstorm doesn't roll in or a blanket of fog.
"Well then," Emily said, dusting her pants off, "let's go meet my parents."
Walking through the old picnic area, the pair noticed the old, out-of-use gas station up ahead. The windows were closed, and signs hung on the pumps, bearing messages that they could read as they approached, saying, 'Out of gas', as well as red Xs being painted across the large display showing the old prices of gas when fuel was still available. Passing by the gas station, Emily and Lucas could see the town of Milton ahead. A sign stood before the entrance to the town, displaying the name of the town, as well as the year it was established, 1911. Both Emily and Lucas could see the occasional resident, most of them going about their daily routines. Emily turned her head to Lucas, giving him a grin. Lucas returned it, knowing that they were almost there. Yet a wolf's howl nearby chilled him to the bone. Snapping his head around, he saw the wolf in question. It had snuck up behind them, only now alerting any nearby wolves to a potential meal. Emily gasped, being caught off guard by the sight of the predator.
"Stay calm," Lucas warned. "If you act panicked, it will think you're easy prey and target you."
He started to back away slowly, never taking his eyes off the wolf. Emily did the same, slowly walking backwards whilst attempting to slow her panicked breathing.
"If we keep a low voice, stay calm, and back away slowly, it might not attack us," Lucas reassured, slowly interlacing his gloved hands in Emily's own, using the contact to try and reassure her.
The wolf continued forward, its hackles raised, and it started to let out a low growl, which only grew in volume.
Looking around at the ground, Lucas laid eyes on a round, smooth stone beside him, and slowly reached down to grab it, holding it in his hands as he moved.
The wolf barked, starting to move faster towards them. Behind them, Lucas and Emily could overhear the concerned noises of the townsfolk who had noticed the standoff.
"When I tell you to, I need you to turn around and sprint towards the town. No matter what happens or what you hear, don't stop, slow down, or even turn around. I need you to run as if the Darkstalker was after you," Lucas said quietly, trying his best not to further antagonise the wolf.
"What's a Darkstalker?" Emily asked.
"I'll tell you later, just run with all your might," Lucas responded.
The wolf, seemingly having enough of a slow pursuit, dashed forward, a cloud of snow erupting from where its hindlegs had kicked off from.
"Now!" Lucas yelled, pushing Emily as he sprinted to the town with her.
Lucas and Emily sprinted with all their might, their arms and legs pumping, their adrenalin spiking, as they made a mad dash towards the town. At the edge of the town, all of the gathered people were urging them on, calling for fighters, or rushing out to aid them. Behind the pair, the wolf could be heard, barking and growling, its feet rushing along the snow. Lucas knew that they wouldn't be able to make it to the town without one of them being pinned by it, and he feared that it would target Emily. So mentally steeling himself, Lucas spun around and threw the stone in his hand with all his might.
The stone struck true, sounding out a crack as it struck the wolf in the muzzle, causing it to let out a yelp and flee, its tail tucked between its legs as it fled.
Panting, Lucas did a quick scan of the area to make sure there weren't any other wolves in the area, before making his way back to Milton. Emily had made it, and noticing that he had stayed behind to drive off the wolf, ran back to him, almost bringing him to the ground with the force of her embrace.
"Idiot," she muttered, her head resting against his shoulder.
She held the embrace for a moment, before letting go and looking at Lucas, determination in her eyes.
"Don't ever do something that crazy without me, got it?" she demanded.
"Alright, I promise," Lucas said, an apologetic smile on his face. Moving towards the town, the majority of the residents had gathered, all of the younger residents who could hold a weapon were doing so, while the older residents stood nearby.
"Why are you here, Orion, and who is this woman you have with you?" one of the elders of the town asked as Lucas and Emily drew closer to the entrance of the town.
"My name is Emily Scron," Emily said to the townsfolk. "My parents are Matthew and Elizebeth Scron. Could someone lead me to their house?"
The crowd became silent, until one of the elders spoke up. "Follow me."
The crowd dispersed, with the younger members returning to their duties, while some of the elders led Emily and Lucas further into the town. Emily kept asking questions about what they meant, and where her parents were. But no reply was given.
The elders stopped at a house, one that Emily recognised. Still at a distance, Emily moved towards the group, only to stop short.
"No, this can't be right," she whispered.
The house was desolate, no smoke came from the chimney, no movement behind the glass windows, but most striking was the orange X spray painted across the door.
Emily kept murmuring to herself, until her eyes landed on a set of graves in front of the house. Her breathing stopped, she seemed frozen still. Her shoulders started to shake, small movements at first, but then becoming more and more prominent, as tears and wails accompanied her. She stumbled to the graves, before collapsing in a sobbing heap in front of her parents' graves. Lucas knelt down next to her, an arm going around her shoulder, pulling her into him, which she collapsed into, crying and sobbing into his chest.
"I'm so sorry," one of the elders said to Lucas. "They passed away last month. They both died in their sleep, there was no pain."
The elders drifted off, leaving the newly orphaned woman clinging to her companion. They stayed like that for what felt like hours. The sobbing subsided, until Emily had no more tears to cry, only able to give small gasps and choked breaths.
"I-I never go-got to say g-goodbye," she sobbed, tear streaks still present on her cheeks. "I ne-ever got to t-ell them ab-bout my time away."
Lucas just kept his arms around her, not sure what to say.
Emily looked up at him, her eyes red. "Does it ever go away? Does the pain lessen?"
Lucas hesitated, not sure if to comfort her with lies, then decided against it. "No, the pain never goes away. It will lessen, but there will always be that pain that exists. But I think that the pain has a reason for existing."
Emily tilted her head in confusion.
"Your heart weeps for them because you cared for them so deeply. I'm sure that wherever they are, they feel no animosity towards you. I'm sure they already know how much you loved them, and are proud of what you've done."
Emily's breathing calmed, taking deep breaths to steady herself. She calmed herself, leaning against Lucas shoulder, her head resting on the side of his.
"You alright?" he asked, rubbing her shoulder.
"Yeah, just, let me stay like this for a bit."
They leaned against each other, staying like that until the sun hung in the sky between peak and horizon.
"What will you do now?" Lucas asked. "Do you want to stay in Milton, or…"
Emily pondered the questions, both the spoken and the unspoken. Turning her head to face Lucas, she spoke with a slight blush on her face.
"Do you reckon there is room in your cabin for one more?"
The wind watched on as the two marched across the snowy ground. Climbing their way into then out of the basin, it watched as they made their way back to the man's home, now also the home of the woman. The wind brushed against them, pushing them on until they made it back home. The wind watched the door close, content knowing that a seed had been planted in their hearts, and with care and nurture, would grow a relationship of great beauty. But the wind also saw that this relationship would not only grow, but also inevitably bear fruit. All it had to do was wait.