Chapter 2 - Two Different Worlds
Day 3
The town had turned into a skeleton of its former self-void, lifeless, and swallowed by time. Kelly approached cautiously, scanning the crumbling facades of buildings, the broken windows like a jagged-toothed mouth. Through the breaks in the asphalt, weeds shoved their way through, to retake the street for nature while rusted cars hulked like abandoned sentinels. Kelly didn't like the idea of scavenging in a town, there were too many hiding places in the towns for both living and dead. But hunger had ways of peeling caution away, gently pushing her into places she would rather not be. She crept through the shadows, her knife clutched tightly in her hand.
The farther into town she'd walked, the more one thing had called to Kelly.. the faint rustling noise, like that of cans falling over. She slipped between two structures, went to a crouch behind the remains of an overturned cart, and peered around the edge. A boy, he couldn't have been much older than her with a lanky frame and messy red hair. He fumbled over a pile of supplies, his hands trembling as he tried stuffing cans into an oversized backpack. He was clumsy, unfocused, and entirely oblivious to the dangers around him. His inexperience radiated off him like a beacon, begging for trouble. Walkers, raiders, anyone would make him an easy mark.
Kelly leaned her back against the wall and weighed her options, he still hadn't seen her. She could slip away, disappear in the town, leaving him to his fate. It was the smart thing to do. Because anyone who was that unprepared didn't last long out here. But something in her kept her roots firmly in their place. There was a vulnerability to him, a kind of naive innocence that seemed almost foreign in a world like this. Kelly narrowed her eyes, irritated with herself for caring. Really, she should have known better by now. Compassion was a weakness, something that got people killed. And yet there was something else. More. A pull she didn't quite get. It wasn't pity or sympathy.. not exactly.
"Help him." The voice was soft, a whisper from deep within Kelly, urging her onward, urging her to reach out.
Kelly shook her head, fighting the emotion down. It wasn't her job to save people. Not anymore. She had enough on her plate just trying to keep herself alive. And yet as she watched the boy struggle with his backpack, oblivious to the sounds of danger creeping closer, the pull became undeniable.
"You can't leave him like this," the voice insisted, though it still felt like it could be her own thoughts.
Kelly swore quietly, her hold on the knife tightening. Bad idea, she knew. But the part of her that was already walking away.. that part of her that had told herself to move on.. suddenly felt like it was betraying something important, something not just within her but something larger than the world around her. She let out an impatient sigh, shoved herself off the wall and stalked towards the boy. "Hey!" she snapped.
The boy jumped and nearly dropped the can he'd been holding. He spun around, wide-eyed, panicked. His gaze alighted on Kelly, and for a moment, the look in his eyes was relieved before immediately returning to one of abject fear. "What-" he stammered.
"Shut up," Kelly hissed, cutting him off. She nodded toward the backpack he wrestled with. "You're being way too noisy." The boy blinked, apparently confused but too afraid to argue. His hands fumbled with the straps of the backpack, trying to quiet his movements. The more he rushed, the more noise he seemed to make. Kelly groaned inwardly, she was already regretting getting involved. "Look," Kelly said, moving closer, "you're gonna get yourself killed if you keep doing this. Do you even know what you're doing?"
The boy's face flushed with embarrassment. "I… I was just trying to-"
"Trying to what? Draw every walker in a ten-mile radius? Cause that's what it sounds like."
He swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the side as if expecting something to come barreling down the street at any moment. "I didn't know… I'm just looking for food. I haven't been out here long."
"That's obvious," Kelly muttered under her breath.
Something in his expression softened then, Kelly could see he was scared.. scared in a way she hadn't seen in a while. Most people by now were either hardened or broken but this boy.. he still had something left. Something fragile, but there. "I don't know what I'm doing," He admitted, sighing. "My dad always took care of this stuff.
"Then where's your dad now?" Kelly asked, frowning.
The boy hesitated, his eyes dropped to the ground. "I don't know. We got separated."
Kelly cursed herself again for even engaging in this conversation. But she couldn't help it-there was something about him that made her pause. He looked so… lost. And, as much as she hated to admit it, that feeling tugged at something deep within her. "Well if you keep acting like this, you're not gonna make it long enough to find him." Kelly said, shaking her head. "You need to be quiet. Move slow. And stay hidden."
The boy nodded, though his eyes still reflected a mix of fear and uncertainty. "Okay… I'll try."
Kelly huffed. "Come on. Let's get out of here before you really do bring something down on us.
Kelly didn't know why she was helping him but as they moved through the town together.. her guiding him, the boy stumbling along behind.. there was a part of her that just couldn't seem to shake the notion that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't quite so alone.
-_-_-
The edge of town fell away behind them as the thick forest swallowed the path. Kelly strode smoothly, her feet quick and silent.. her ears focused on the gentle hum of the wild.. leaves rustling, the periodic call of a bird, and the eternal whispering of the wind through the trees. Beside her, Justin struggled to keep pace, his awkward footfalls crashing through the underbrush like a warning bell to any nearby danger. Every step he took grated on her nerves. She froze, her eyes slitting as she glared at him. "You have to be quieter."
Justin nodded, though the look of confusion on his face was impossible to miss. "I'm trying," Justin muttered, his voice a shade too loud for her liking.
Kelly rolled her eyes and cast a quick glance around to make sure nothing had been drawn in by the noise. So far, they seemed to be alone. In the back of her mind, she was already calculating the odds on an ambush.. either by walkers or something worse. She squatted, scanning the earth for signs of life. Her belly growled weakly, a sharp reminder she hadn't eaten since the day before. Justin hovered behind her, staring at every little detail of her actions as if he was observing something from another planet. "What are you doing?" Justin asked, curiosity lacing his tone.
"Hunting," Kelly answered shortly, not bothering to turn back towards him.
"Why?"
Kelly bit back frustration. "To eat," Kelly said, as though talking to a toddler.
Justin fidgeted. "I don't know how to hunt."
"No kidding," Kelly muttered under her breath. She stood and turned to him, her face hard. "You're going to get yourself killed if you don't learn how to survive out here. You can't just sit around and let someone else do all the work."
Justin's face fell slightly, but he did not argue. Instead, he offered a hesitant smile. "I'm a fast learner. I can help… if you show me how."
Kelly glared at Justin. "I'm not here to babysit you." The words tumbled out far sharper than Kelly meant, immediately she didn't regret them. She'd known this boy for a few hours and he was already getting on her nerves. He was dead weight, a liability she couldn't afford. For that matter, she had no idea why she had let him follow her out of town in the first place.. something she was starting to regret. "You're on your own," Kelly said, turning back to the woods. "You don't belong out here."
Kelly moved to leave, to continue on without Justin. But when she glanced back, he was standing there, his eyes wide and pleading. He didn't say anything, the desperation was written all over his face. He was alone, like her and whatever hope he had left was now hitched to her. "Just leave him," Kelly thought. "He's not your responsibility."
Kelly took another step, her feet felt heavier weighed down by more than just the fatigue. The pull in her chest returned, stirring inside her once more. "Don't abandon him," the voice whispered, right next to her mind, its words so similar to her own thoughts that Kelly nearly found herself wondering if it wasn't.
Kelly swore under her breath, instincts and voice at war inside her skull. Everything in her wanted to walk away but there was that other part, smaller and quieter that remembered what it was like to be alone.. to have no one. "Fine," Kelly spat, turning and making her way back to Justin. "But if you slow me down, you're on your own. Got it?"
"i won't," Justin said, nodding furiously. "I promise."
Kelly turned away before he could see the scowl on her face, stalking deeper into the forest. Justin followed close behind, his footsteps still clumsy though now more cautious. Irritation and the urge to find food tussled in Kelly's brain as she hunched down again peering along the ground for tracks. But she was having a hard time focusing, because Justin just wouldn't stop asking questions. "So… how do you know where to look for animals?" Justin asked for what felt like the millionth time, his voice too loud even though he whispered.
Kelly's grip on her knife tightened. "You look for signs.. tracks, broken branches, droppings. You don't just stumble around blindly like you're doing."
"Right," Justin said, nodding. "And… what do we do once we find something?"
"We kill it," Kelly said flatly.
Justin hesitated. "Have you… have you killed a lot of animals?"
Kelly looked up at Justin then, her face hardening. "I've killed a lot more than just animals." The weight of her words hung between them until Justin's face paled, he didn't ask any more questions after that.
The next hour was spent walking in silence through the woods, Kelly focused on the hunt, Justin doing his best to imitate her movements. It was clear he struggled.. his inexperience was all too painfully obvious with every fumbling step, every nervous glance. A rabbit, finally, small and quick, darting between the trees, caught Kelly's attention in the underbrush. She raised her knife, steadied her breath, ready to strike. But just as she was about to move, Justin tripped over a root, crashing to the ground with a yelp. The rabbit bolted, disappearing into the forest.
Kelly whirled around, fury ablaze in her eyes. "Are you kidding me?"
Justin struggled to his feet, red-faced with embarrassment. "I'm sorry! I didn't see it."
"I told you to be quiet!" Kelly shouted, her voice shrill. "You're useless out here!"
Justin's eyes went wide and for an instant, Kelly saw something break in his face-a flash of hurt, quickly smothered by that inane optimism he seemed to cling to. "I'm trying," Justin said softly. "I'm really am."
Kelly groaned, running a hand through her tangled hair. "Well, try harder. I don't have time to teach you everything."
Kelly turned away, her frustration boiling just beneath the surface. She couldn't keep doing this, couldn't keep dragging him along. He was only going to get them both killed. But as she stalked away, she heard Justin's voice, soft and hesitant behind her. "I just… I don't want to be alone."
The words arrested Kelly, she closed her eyes as a wave of guilt lashed through the dark. She knew that feeling, knew it all too well. "You are not alone." Kelly muttered.
As the day waned, the golden hues of the sun sank below the horizon.. casting long shadows among the trees, dancing in tireless gestures. The alive, vibrant forest, now grown heavy with twilight, could be felt chilling into Kelly's bones. She moved with purpose yet each rustle of leaves echoed in her ears, reminding her of the silence she had come to dread. Food was as good as nonexistent, her hunt yielded nothing but the incessant rustling of underbrush, seemingly pointing at her for a fool. She had been searching for hours upon hours. Every second gnawed on her resolve. Each corner she turned heralded the hope of finding something, anything, to stave off the hunger clawing at her insides. As the darkness began to deepen, she decided that tonight was not a night she would walk under the stars.. she needed to set up camp instead. So, she checked around and found a small, open area, relatively minor, flanked by heavy trees that would serve to afford some degree of protection from the chill factor of night. She started off in a flurry, scrabbling together fallen branches and scrub forming them into a rough shelter. Her fingers fumbled to form the structure as frustration bubbled below the surface.
"Need help?" Justin's voice cut through her concentration, a hopeful lilt that set her nerves on edge.
"No," Kelly snapped, sharper than she'd meant. "Just stay out of the way."
Justin watched Kelly for a moment, his eyes darting uncertainty before he finally gave in and stepped back to watch her movements. Kelly could feel the weight of his gaze upon her, an invisible tug that begged her to turn and acknowledge his presence but she pushed the feeling aside. Having made the shelter at least a little secure, she turned her attention to the scant supplies they had. She rummaged through her pack, grimacing at its emptiness. That was when Justin stepped forward, a shy smile breaking across his face.
"I.. I have some food," Justin offered, reaching into the knapsack. After some fumbling, he brought out a few small cans and a half-eaten granola bar, holding them out to her like treasures. "It's not much, but you can have it."
Kelly hesitated, staring at the meager offerings. It was hardly enough for one, let alone two and the thought of taking charity.. especially from someone like him.. set her teeth on edge. But she was hungry, the desperate flutter in her stomach drowned out her pride. "Thanks," Kelly muttered, taking the supplies and inspecting them closely.
They sat in silence for a moment, the quiet wrapping around them like a thin veil. When the first stars started to glitter in the night sky, Justin shifted from one foot to the other with his hands balled into fists as if in some kind of inner battle against speaking.
"Do you want to hear about my dad?" Justin suddenly burst out, his eyes shining with an eagerness that made her chest squeeze tight.
"What is there to tell?" Kelly replied, neutrally enough.
Justin didn't bat an eye. "He was…protective. Kept me safe always. Most of my life I spent in in an hardware store. He didn't want me to go outside. He said it was too dangerous."
"Sounds like a nice life," Kelly said, the words felt bitter in her mouth.
"It was, until it wasn't." Justin's voice had gone low, and a shadow crossed his features. "He made sure I never had to fight. Never let me learn how to defend myself. I thought he was just being a good dad."
"Good dad or not, that left you completely unprepared," Kelly said, irritation spilling over. "You cannot just hide from the world forever."
Justin looked down, his fingers fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. "I didn't want to hide. I wanted to learn. But he was so scared. He'd tell me stories about what happened to people who went outside. The raiders, the walkers… it terrified him."
"That's why you're struggling now," Kelly said, her voice softer though still edged with frustration. "You've never had to face any of this. You don't know how to survive."
"I know," Justin said, the admission heavy on his tongue. "I'm trying, though."
Kelly snorted, folding her arms. "You say that, but you've got to do more than just try. You need to be alert. A moment of distraction can get you killed."
Justin nodded, his face sober. "I know I'm not good at this. But I want to learn. I don't want to be helpless anymore."
For the first time, Kelly felt a flicker of something other than annoyance.. perhaps a glimpse of empathy. She remembered how she felt on her own for the first time.. lost, so alone. The world had shifted under her feet, the struggle to survive had been relentless.
"Then listen," Kelly said finally, an instructive tone entering her voice. "I'll teach you what I know. But you have to listen, and you have to trust me."
"Okay," Justin said, hope flooding back into his features. "I will."
As they settled into the growing darkness, the crackling of the small fire they managed to ignite filled the air, comforting against the chill of the night. Kelly glanced over at Justin, looking into the flames.. the expression upon his face one of awe and wonder, as if he were witnessing a miracle. In that moment, she felt that beneath all that inexperience, there was a spark.. a resilience that she had not expected. Maybe he was not as helpless as she had thought. As the fire danced and wove in and around them in shadowy tendrils, she felt the first tenuous filaments of connection between them. Fragile, tenuous but there.
Justin sat cross-legged, his hands cradling what remained of his meager stash of food. "Okay, so what do I need to know?" Justin asked suddenly, his tone tentative and eager. "What's the first thing?"
Kelly continued to gaze into the fire, though she could feel the weight of his anticipation. "You need to learn how to fight," Kelly returned briefly, stating it with the finality of the most obvious thing in the world.
Justin blinked once, his features flickered with confusion. "Fight? But… I mean, can't we just avoid it? Isn't there another way?"
"Other way?" Kelly shot back, incredulous. "You think you can just walk around and ignore the walkers? Or raiders? You are living in a dream world if you think that is possible."
"But I don't want to hurt anyone," Justin protested, his voice going up slightly. "That's not who I am, I believe there's good in people.. even now."
"Good?" Kelly repeated, snorting. "Look around you, Justin. It's not about good anymore, it's about survival. You cannot afford to cling to ideals. They will get you killed."
"Perhaps you just don't understand," Justin said, his cheeks suddenly going bright red. "You do not have to use violence to survive. There are other ways-"
"What?" Kelly interrupted, the patience wearing thin. "Sing to the walkers? You really think that they will just let you walk away? Innocence is not going to save you out here. You need to toughen up."
"I know it is hard, but... kindness counts." Justin said, taking a breath.
"Kindness?" Kelly spat back, the word low and poisonous. "Tell that to the raiders who killed my guardians. Tell that to the walkers who would tear you apart without a second thought. They don't care about your humanity."
"I know they don't," Justin answered, quieter but no less firm. "But that doesn't mean we have to give in to that darkness. We can choose to be better. We can help each other."
"Help each other?" Kelly mocked once more, incredulity bursting forth. "You think that'll make a difference? In a world where trust can get you killed, you really want to gamble on that?"
Justin eyes so full of innocence only a moment before, shimmered with a depth that startled her now. "I don't think it's a gamble. I think it's a choice. We can't lose ourselves, Kelly. Otherwise, we're just as bad as them."
Kelly's heart throbbed in her chest, an uncomfortable tangle of anger and something else.. something akin to respect. He was stubborn, there a fire in him, a spark she'd almost forgotten existed. She wanted to dismiss it, to beat down his beliefs with the cruelty of reality, but words tangled in her throat. "What do you know about being human?" Kelly shot back, her voice sharper than she had intended. "You've never had to fight for your life. You've been coddled like a child in a toy store while I had to claw my way through hell."
"And maybe that's why I want to fight so hard to hold on to it," Justin said, looking Kelly in the eyes. "You can't just give up on hope because the world is dark."
Kelly looked away, the glow of the fire limning her face in harsh lines in contrast to his softness. The battle raged on inside her, torn between the harsh realities she'd faced and the fragile ideals he clung to. "I cannot afford to be weak," Kelly said finally, quieter now.
"You're not weak for wanting to keep your kindness," Justin insisted. "You're human. You're allowed to feel, to care."
"And what if it gets me killed?" Kelly snapped back.
"Then at least you died as yourself," Justin said so simply, with enough sincerity that his words cut through her defenses like a knife.
For a long moment, the silence wrapped itself around them with only the crackling of fire as a rhythm to their thoughts. The walls Kelly had put up started to shake, fragile cracks appearing where none had existed before. In that silence, she saw the world from his eyes.. imperfect and raw, tinged with the glimmer of hope. That was a perspective she had discarded, for in her heart she knew it had the capacity to hurt. Yet at the same time, it did promise a flicker of connection.. no matter how tenuous.
"Perhaps," Kelly relented, her voice barely above a whisper. "But you can't expect everyone to hold onto that. Not out there."
"Maybe not," Justin agreed, his voice softer now. "But I have got to believe that goodness can still exist."
With that, they said no more with the shadows dancing upon the walls as the battle raged with their beliefs within the warm clutches of the fire. In the quiet of those moments, something wordless began to weave itself between them-a weak tie being forged in the fires of battle, lightened by a hope that neither had been desperately seeking. The night wore on, its darkness laced with the uncertainty of tomorrow. Yet for the first time in a long while, Kelly could feel the stir within her-the uneasy acceptance of something she had long suppressed. The fight for survival was far more than a battle of flesh and blood; it was nothing less than a struggle for the very essence of what it meant to be alive.
-_-_-
Day 4
The trees turned pinkish gray as morning dawn stole between, the world outside their fragile shelter waking slowly to the sounds of the forest. A soft rustle disturbed the quiet and Kelly stirred, already attuned to the perils surrounding them. She blinked against remnants of sleep, feeling the warmth of the fire beside her. Yet below that warmth, an undercurrent.. one that screamed to be alert.. was there. Then suddenly through the quiet morning, there came an unnerving sound.. the unmistakable groan of walkers, resounding in the stillness with portentous certainty like some kind of omen. Kelly's heart was racing at once as adrenaline coursed swiftly through her veins. In one instant, she sprang up while instinctively reaching for her knife while surveying the perimeter of their camp. "Justin!" Kelly hissed urgently, shaking Justin awake. "Get up! We have company!"
Justin stirred slowly, confusion clouding his features as eyes blinked against the dim light. "What? What's happening?" His voice was thick with sleep, an innocence that infuriated her in that moment.
"Walkers! Move!" Kellt yelled, sharp and commanding.
But instead of springing into action, Justin just froze, his eyes wide with fear as he registered the noises.. groans and shuffles growing closer, the unmistakable sound of death approaching. "Kelly.." he whispered, shaking in his voice. "I don't know what to do."
"You need to run!" Kelly yelled, her own pulse racing with sudden intensity as the figures materialized from the shadows.. their rotting forms lurching forward with ravenous intent. In an instant, instinct prevailed. She charged forward, her knife glinting in the morning light as she lunged at the nearest walker with the blade slicing through the air. The creature fell, a guttural sound escaping its decayed throat as she pivoted, taking out another before it could reach her. "Come on!" Kelly yelled over her shoulder, desperation tinging her voice. "We have to go! But Justin just didn't move, his wide eyes remained plastered on the scene of grotesque unfolding right before him. A statue of terror, his legs refused to cooperate as reality washed over him. Kelly felt a surge of frustration boil within her. She ran back, tugging his arm and yanking him into a sprint. "Run! Now!"
Using her strength, Kelly dragged Justin away from the sea of rotting bodies and deeper into the woods. The pounding of their feet on the forest floor mixed with the cacophony of the walkers behind them. The weight of his fear clung to Justin, she could feel it dragging him down.
"What are you doing?" Justin gasped, his breaths coming in short, panicked bursts.
"Surviving!" Kelly snapped, pushing him forward. "You have to keep moving! You can't stop!" Finally, they were free from immediate danger with the sounds of groans fading as they stumbled into a clearing. They fell against a tree, both panting heavily with hearts pounding from the fear and adrenaline coursing through their veins. "Why didn't you move!" Kelly spat, frustration pouring out as she rounded on Justin in a fierce glare. "You almost got us killed, Justin! This isn't a game. You can't just freeze like that when there's danger right in your face!"
Justin swallowed hard, her words like a tidal wave pouring down on him. "I.. I didn't know what to do," Justin stuttered out, shaking his head. "I have never seen them up close. I thought I was ready, but.. I wasn't."
"That's the problem," Kelly said, softening her voice just a little. "You need to face this. You can't afford to be weak. We're not safe here."
"Can't you see?" Justin's voice cracked as realization finally washed over him. "I am not strong like you, cannot fight, cannot bear it."
"Then you need to learn," Kelly said, her voice low with her emotions simmering just below the surface. "I'm not going to be able to protect you much longer. You'll have to harden up, or you won't make it out here. You'll have to find your strength."
Justin watched Kelly, the weight of her words a palpable pressure upon his chest. The terror he had felt a moment ago still clung to him, beneath it was growing in his mind the realization that he was no longer a cosseted boy who worked at the hardware store.. the world had changed, so must he. "I… I want to learn," Justin said with a whisper, the conviction in his voice threatening to be snuffed out by his gaze. "I don't want to be some kind of liability."
Kelly nodded, though her heart panged at the sight of him so agitated. "Then we'll work on it. But you have to be ready to fight back. No freezing up. No doubt.
"I promise," Justin said then, his voice steadier now,. "Whatever it takes."
-_-_-
Morning sun hung high in the sky, casting dappled shadows across the forest floor as Kelly and Justin settled into an uneasy routine. After the chaos of their recent encounter, the world was both more perilous and strangely invigorating. Every breath was tinged with damp earth and pine-a reminder that life still breathed in a world where death threatened to overtake them. "All right," Kelly said, folding her arms across her chest as she stood before him. "If you want to survive, you have to learn some basic stuff. I will teach you how to use that knife properly."
Justin brightened, his eyes aglow with an eager light behind them. "I'm ready. Just show me what to do."
Kelly pulled out her own knife, the blade shining with a purpose. "First of all, you gotta realize this ain't just a tool.. it's a lifeline. You use it to protect yourself, to hunt with, to start fire. Treat it with respect." Kelly extended the knife to Justin, watching as he took it gingerly, almost reverently. "Now, hold it like this." Kelly said, correcting Justin on the finer points of holding the knife tightly enough-but not too tightly. "You need control, but don't overthink it. It's an extension of your hand." She watched Justin awkwardly imitate her grip and clenched her teeth in annoyance.
"Okay, but how do I actually use it?" Justin asked, furrowing his brow.
"Find something to cut. Look around for a branch or some leaves." Kelly nodded toward the underbrush, her impatience was beginning to shine through. "And make it quick."
Justin started feeling on the ground, his fingers grazing over the flora, each touch infused with eagerness, frustrating and intriguing Kelly at the same time. She knew way too well how far removed his sheltered life had been.. innocence just seemed to seep from him, even now while he was trying to adjust. "Here!" Justin exclaimed, holding up a dead small branch. "Is this good?"
"Yeah, that'll work.." Kelly said, more neutrally than she felt. "Now cut it in half." Justin sucked in a deep breath and set the knife gingerly to the wood, his hands shaking slightly as he started to bear down. The branch hardly moved. "Not like that!" Kelly exclaimed. "You have to put your weight behind it. Try again."
Justin looked up at Kelly, his eyes flashing with uncertainty but he steeled himself and readjusted his stance. This time, the blade bit deeper, the branch splitting under his effort. "I did it!" Justin exclaimed, a triumphant grin breaking across his face.
Kelly forced herself to nod, validating the small victory. "Good. But it's only the beginning. Next, we'll work on starting a fire."
They moved to a small clearing where fallen leaves and kindling lay scattered. Kelly demonstrated the technique, her fingers quickly fashioning a pile of tinder before she produced a small spark from flint and steel. Tiny flames leapt to life, crackling and dancing in the breeze, illuminating determination in her eyes. "Now you try," Kelly told Justin, stepping back to give him room.
Justin watched Kelly closely, then knelt beside the fire pit. His first tries were awkward, with sparks flying every which way without anything catching fire. He looked up at Kelly, frustration etching his features. "This is harder than it looks."
"Keep at it," Kelly urged again, this time softer. "Focus on where you put your tinder. It's all about patience. Fire is a living thing, it needs to be coaxed."
Another few tries later, Justin finally succeeded in bringing a small flicker. The small flame went on to sputter for a while, then suddenly caught well on the dried leaves.. it grew and grew with increased kindling. "I did it!" Justin shouted, smiling.
Kelly couldn't help but smile at that, though she quickly masked it with feigned indifference. "You still have a long way to go, but that's a start."
They spent the entire day walking through those woods as Kelly taught him how to pick out places where it would be safe to rest. She taught him to recognize the dangers, small signals the forest gave about safety or death. As they trekked beneath the underbrush, she found her turning back to him more and more often, noticing how he absorbed each lesson, his attention never faltering even when she was sharp.
"Kelly, what's this?" Justin asked, pointing to a clump of berries nestled among the thorns.
"Those are edible, but don't eat anything you're not sure about," Kelly warned. "Not everything out here is friendly."
"I get it," Justin said, nodding. "I won't take any chances."
The sun began its fall, casting that golden hue over the treetops. Kelly felt a warmth, which she hadn't expected begin to rise inside her. Through all the frustrations, the vulnerability she had so despised in him began to transform into some sort of camaraderie.. he was trying, he was learning. They sat around the fire that night, the shadows dancing in their faces like ghosts of times past. The tension that had been riding them most of the day was dissipating now, replaced by this uncomfortable sense of camaraderie. Justin poked at the fire, sending fireworks spiraling into the night sky. "Thanks for teaching me today," Justin said, his voice sincere. "I know it's not easy, but I appreciate it."
"Just remember what I said, this world…" Kelly searched for words, the weight of her words heavy with the truth she'd borne alone for far too long. "It doesn't care, it's unforgiving."
"I know," Justin said, his eyes reflecting the firelight. "But I want to help. I want to be strong."
"Then you'll have to keep working at it, I won't go easy on you."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Justin said with a grin.