"I'm not sure there's enough fuel left to get another to Europe by boat. You'd have to resort to using wind. And you'd need and experienced sailor for that." Ariella was not an experienced sailor. She'd been on a few boats in her lifetime. Normally she would just stand behind the wheel and turn it.
She could surf decent enough. She'd never be in a competition. Though it had been long enough she wasn't sure how well she could on the waves.
"Why are you looking for survivors?" Ariella certainly wasn't. At least not strangers.
"Oh, there's definitely not, unless you're in good with the Barons." Lucky had been in his fair share of scrapes with the Barons, ruthless men who had hoarded the resources when the world stopped working. Gasoline, diesel, oil, they hoarded it all when the shipments stopped coming in to ports.
Lucky was, indeed, lucky to have Sinjoro. Anybody trying to travel by car this far into the plague was out of gas and at the mercy of those who had it.
"I'm looking for survivors becauseโฆwellโฆ" He wasn't really sure. "I guess because I feel like we need to stick together? Maybe?" Better than dying aloneโฆ
"I'm sure you could find a sailor along the coast who could get you there. It might take a lot of searching. And the price would be high. You'd likely have to leave your house behind too." Ariella finished the granola bar. Disappointed set in as her stomach hadn't been filled but it didn't matter. She would ask for more. Instead of dumping the wrapper in the ground, she placed it in her duffle bag. It was a bad habit, wanting to put trash in the trash can. It wasn't like there was anyone to deal with it these days.
"Perhaps. There are many survivors who are too far gone. You best be careful who you come across. People take and take without consequence." Ariella knew that from experience.
Lucky hugged Sinjoro's neck. "And that's a problem too. I can't leave him behind." He may be the only family I have leftโฆ
He watched as she finished the bar, before digging for another one and tossing it her way. He didn't say anything about it.
"There are always a lot of bad people. You just have to find the nice ones." He smiled at her. "Like you. You haven't tried to shoot me or anything, and we've been talking for quite a while."
Ariella caught the bar, surprised he was giving her another one. What did he want for it? She do just about anything to survive.
The look she gave him was vulnerability. He just kept sharing things with her. And he hadn't asked for anything yet. She hadn't had that in a long time. If she was smart, she'd save the bar for later. But her stomach was grumbling too loudly. So she opened the bar and slowly munched on it.
"Maybe im waiting to kill you in your sleep and take all of your belongings." She wouldn't do that, but he didn't know that. "I might even steal your horse." She wouldn't do that either
Lucky laughed, a warm sound that filled the space around him for a moment. "Oh, I don't think you'd want Sinjoro, he's grumpy."
As if on cue, the horse looked directly at her with indifference, chewing on some grass it had found growing in a crack in the road.
"And you have to be around me when I sleep to kill me. Are you sticking around?" He smiled at her again, hoping she was starting to relax. He really wanted to get off the open road.
Ariella shifted her gaze to the horse. She narrowed her eyes at him. She never thought she would see herself glaring at a horse and yet here she was, glaring at this horse. As the horse moved his attention away from her, she lifted her head.
"Do you want me to?" She was on dangerous ground right now. She could be signing her life away. But she was also lonely and tired of fending for herself.
Lucky's eyebrows shot up. That was a much more open answer than he'd been ready for. "Well, let's start by me getting off this road, then we can talk more, ok?" He slowly picked up the reins and guided Sinjoro off the interstate, over to her clump of trees, giving her plenty of time to run if she preferred. He didn't want to push anything.
Ariella shifted on her feet as he moved closer. She didn't feel the most comfortable with his nearness but he hadn't given her any notion that he would attack. Still, she took a few steps away from him, keeping at least a little distance. Her hand itched to grab her knife but she didn't. She was afraid that any sudden movement would have him running her down.
"No problem," Alastor said, smiling warmly at the teen. He turned around and beckoned to Zeus with a quick flick of his wrist and the muscular dog walked up to them, sniffing the kid curiously before licking his hand.
"This is Zeus," Alastor said, fondly petting his friend. "He's really sweet around people once he realizes they aren't a threat. And I'm Alastor. Who are you?"
"I'm Liam." He said reaching out to pet Zeus. He took another bite of the food and looked around the warehouse. "Do you live here?" he asked as he threw the rest of the food into his mouth then gave Zeus a friendly rub-down.
Lucky noted her moving and stopped once he got off the road into the trees. "Thanks. I just don't like being exposed like that. But I won't crowd you, don't worry." He checked his watch, a mechanical one gifted from his dad years ago. It was around 5, and he should be looking for shelter soon. "Do you have a place you're staying?"
"I'm Liam." He said reaching out to pet Zeus. He took another bite of the food and looked around the warehouse. "Do you live here?" he asked as he threw the rest of the food into his mouth then gave Zeus a friendly rub-down.
"Temporarily," Alastor said, smiling as Zeus flopped over on his stomach, requesting a belly rub from Liam.
"I found this warehouse around a week ago, but as you can see I'm running out of supplies so I was planning on finding another place to stay either tomorrow or the next day," he explained.
Ariella forced herself to stay still. She didn't want to give away her emotion too much. She was pretty much an open book before the apocalypse. She had worked so hard to conceal herself ever since. She had learned from her mistakes.
"No. I'll usually find a tree to climb if there isn't a house nearby." There. That wasn't too much information to give away.
"D-do you think I could maybe come with you?" He asked not daring to look from Zeus.
"If not, th-that's ok too." Liam stood up. "You know, you probably have a lot to do, I should just go. Thanks for the food." He gave Zeus one more rub and turned to climb back out the window.
"I was about to ask if you'd like to come along with me," Alastor said, his voice betraying the amusement he felt. "I'm just guessing here, but I'm assuming you're traveling alone and I don't like the thought of a kid going out in that wasteland all by himself. As long as you're okay with hearing Zeus snore when he sleeps, I'd be happy to have you stay with me."
"No. I'll usually find a tree to climb if there isn't a house nearby." There. That wasn't too much information to give away.
He blinked at that. "A tree?" To each their own, I guessโฆ
"Wellโฆ I was going to go a little further up the road here. Looking for someone named Lucas. You're welcome to come with me, if you want." He held up his hands again. "You're also welcome to tell me to go away. Your call."
Liam turned back around. "Realy?" He asked and then turned pink with embarrassment, he hadn't meant to sound so eager. "I mean, If your shure." he said trying to cover it up.
"I've accidentally wandered into a few national and state parks. There's a lot of forests in Montana." Ariella scratched her cheek. She had never been good at directions and found herself lost more than a few times. It was a miracle she was still alive. "I don't travel with others very often."
She turned her head to look further up the road then back at the man. "Why should I go with you? I don't even know your name?"
She wanted to face palm herself. Why was she so contradicting? A moment ago she sounded ready to follow him wherever he went and now she was back to being cautious.
"I'm sure," Alastor said with a small smile. He glanced around the warehouse, his face forming into a frown after seeing the place he'd been living in.
"UhโฆI don't have any sleeping bags or anything, I've just been using Zeus as a makeshift pillow and wearing a hoodie or two if got cold. I know it's not ideal, but unless you have some supplies you brought with you, are you okay with sleeping on the concrete?" Alastor asked, starting to regret giving away the last blanket he had.
๐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ข๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ, he thought, looking back at Liam.
She turned her head to look further up the road then back at the man. "Why should I go with you? I don't even know your name?"
He grinned and bowed from the waist down, still on the horse. "My name is Lucky. Lukas Devereaux, to be exact." He sat up and acted normal, as Sinjoro turned his head to look at him. "And there's no particular reason for you to trust me, or come with me. Justโฆ thought I'd offer." He thought for a moment, before speaking quietly. "Also, I get lonely. I love SInjoro, but he's a horse." He looked away from her. "So there's thatโฆ"
He did get lonely, but he also suspected she did, and he wanted to alleviate that.
"Oh, I'm good." Liam said relieved. "That's what I've been doing anyway." He sat back down in front of Zeus and gave him some more snuggles. "Other than the part about using this wonderful beast as a pillow that is."
"Oh, I'm good." Liam said relieved. "That's what I've been doing anyway." He sat back down in front of Zeus and gave him some more snuggles. "Other than the part about using this wonderful beast as a pillow that is."
"He is pretty great," Alastor chuckled, petting Zeus on the head which resulted in the dog happily thumping his tail against the ground.
"I don't mean to pry, but do you have any family that you've been able to get in contact with?" Alastor asked, rummaging through the contents of his backpack before finally finding a treat to give Zeus.
He did get lonely, but he also suspected she did, and he wanted to alleviate that.
Ariella's lips pulled up into a small smile at his bow. Had they met before all of this, she would have giggled, even tossed her hair back. But that was before. This is after. "Ariella Karrington." She introduced herself. She thought about holding her hand out, but she figured he wasn't going to get off the horse.
It could be dangerous to join him. But it would likely be dangerous if she didn't join him. If he rubbed her the wrong way, she could always leave. Or kill him in his sleep. It was the coward's way but if it kept her alive she would do what she needed to.
"Do I have to get on your horse?"
"Do I have to get on your horse?"
Ariella. That is a lovely name that I am Never going to be able to pronounce correctly. he thought to himself.
He shook his head. "No, not with me anyway. You can ride him if you're tired of walking, I'll keep up." He slid out of the saddle. "Or we can both walk, whatever you want." He held out another granola bar, noticing the second one he'd given her was gone. "I found a box of these recently. Hope you like granola. Or-" he turned and dug around in the saddlebag. "I have some fruit in here, I think. Do you like apples?"
Ariella's gaze stuck to him as he slid off the horse. He was getting off his horse. To walk with her. Because she was walking. Either he was really good at acting or he really was genuine. She was also relieved she didn't have to ride his horse. She had been told they can sense fear and react to it. She didn't want to know what he would do should she get on him.
Her eyes narrowed in wonder. "Apples? Where did you get apples from?" She hadn't had fresh fruit in ages. She couldn't put a date on it. Time was lost to her these days.
.png)