Jay shook his head. "No. Not really." He said slowly. "There was somewhere I was supposed to go, but…" He shook his head again, eyes fastened on the road ahead. "I really don't want to go there." He spoke slowly, as if weighing each word before speaking.
She nodded, fine with his answer, there were places she didn’t want to return to and she figured he had reasons just like she had, “Then are you alright with heading towards the west coast?” Delia didn’t have a compass but she usually just followed the way the sun set and she was all good.
He hesitated, then nodded. "Sounds good. We just need to steer clear of gang territories, alien sweeps, and the military. If we ran into the military, they'd forcibly recruit at least me, and probably you." He explained. "Gang territories and alien sweeps are obvious ones."
“I know, I know, I’ve survived all of those things so far, haven’t I?” She didn’t really bother to glance at him as they made their way slowly away from the town, her gun slung back over her shoulder with some debate. It was hard enough just walking and dealing with the pain from her leg with every time her good leg hit the ground.
He nodded. "I know you have." He replied. "I just don't know want you to forget." He said. He kept walking, keeping an eye out for people coming. He glanced up at the sky to look for alien aircraft, then back at the horizon. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then shook his head and closed it again.
They walked in silence for a while before Delia said something, checking the sky for anything besides birds, “The military drones come over right away in the morning and and sunset, the alien ones come durning night and durning the day around noon.” The military drones were also ten times smaller than the aliens ships and pitch black. None of the information was new to her, but she figured she should share it with someone else besides herself, maybe her time studying the sky would be helpful to Jay when he left. She didn’t want him to die or be recruited.
Jay nodded. "I've noticed that. But the alien ships are also the more likely to break that pattern, especially if they're looking for someone." As they had when they looked for him, a year and a half ago. That was the first time he hadn't…he bit his lower lip and pushed the thought away quickly.
“Nice to know,” She replied, adding the little tip to her memory for if she ever needed it. Their walking was slow and by the time it was noon her arms and foot hurt from both the crutch and just walking. Sore feet were nothing new, but sore arms? That was definitely new. Her stomach growled every so often but she didn’t say anything, just telling herself it was like any other day she didn’t eat anything. They were walking on an cracked and car strewn highway anyway, nowhere close to anywhere to look for food.
Jay heard her stomach, and looked at her. "You need to eat." He said to her, then turned his attention back to the road they were walking on. "There's a forest nearby, we can stop and do lunch." He added. "I can hunt and trap pretty well, we should be able to at least get a rabbit."
She shook her head, protesting even though her mind was telling her to say yes, “The we have to make a fire and repair the whole thing, and I don’t want to be stuck in one spot when the alien drone come by soon.” It was nearing the time she usually spotted the surveillance and from experience waiting in one spot wasn’t good, your only option if you did was to hope there was a cave or something nearby since the surveillance couldn’t see through ground or rock easily.
Jay hesitated. "Actually…" He debated whether or not to give up this, one of his most guarded secrets. "The drones can't see me. I don't know why," that was a lie, he did know. He just wasn't about to say why. "But they can't. So if you hide, I can do the hunting." He said. "There are a lot of abandoned fires, so that's all it'll look like to them. A fire started, then abandoned. Unless I'm unlucky enough that they're using cameras instead of scanners, but they usually use scanners."
Her eyes widened from learning he couldn’t be seen and she looked over at him, “That must be helpful when you’re wandering. Wish I had that.” She thought for a moment before sighing, “As long as you’re not going to be captured or anything I guess I could use a break, I don’t know how helpful I’ll be With gathering things for the fire though with my broken leg and all.”
Jay nodded. "It's helpful, except when they use stuff other than they're normal scanners. When they use infrared, or cameras…those capture me just fine, and then I'm in trouble." He led her over to the edge of the woods. "I can do the hunting and stuff alone. Just stay hidden so the scanners can't find you."
She nodded, looking around for a suitable place to hide. Delia eventually decided next to a giant pine tree at the edge of the woods work and she made her way over to it, shrugging her pack off her shoulders and dropping it to the ground. “Well, you go find something to eat, and be safe.” Carefully, she got rid of her crutches and set them to the side, bracing herself against the pine tree as she slid down till she was sitting.
Jay made sure she was situated, then set his backpack by her, taking some supplies out of it first. Then he left, walking quietly into the woods. He went deep into the woods, where there was less chance of either human or alien incursion and meddling, and started setting traps along game trails. He kept an eye and ear out for creatures, people, and aliens.
Resting her head back against the tree, her eyes fluttered shut. She knew it wasn’t a smart idea to fall asleep when she could be spotted by alien surveillance, but she was tired, and now was a good of time as any to get a quick nap in. She pulled her pack into her lap and tucked Jay’s next to her so no one would take it, holding around hers like a teddy bear as she slowly fell asleep.
Jay came back after about an hour with a dead rabbit held in one hand. He had gathered up the traps, too, and taken them apart. He set the traps down. He had already cleaned and gutted the rabbit, and set it down on a clean stone while he started the fire. The pelt hung tied to one of his belt loops.
She was still passed out with her bag held tightly to her chest, not even waking up like she usually would when he came back and got a fire started. Her face was peaceful as she slept and it was like the girl that survived in this crazy time didn’t exist, only a happy and quiet version instead.
He glanced at her for a moment, then turned back to the fire. Once it was going steadily, he impaled the rabbit on a spit, turning it slowly. Taking out the pelt, he scraped it off, and started to work with it, trying to soften it and keep the leather from hardening as it dried and aged. If he could keep it soft and workable, then it would work well for gloves, or a hat, or something soft and warm, at least.
As the rabbit started cooking, she shifted around, waking up from the smell of good cooking food. “You’re back already?” She asked sleepily as she rubbed her eyes, yawning and setting her bag next to her.
He looked up. "It's been like an hour and a half." He replied, a faint ghost of a smile flickering around his mouth. He looked down at the rabbit, turning it on the spit again so it would cook evenly. "I don't have anything to put on it, so we'll have to eat it plain." He told her.
“That’s ok, it’s still food.” She looked at the rabbit and her stomach growled loudly, protesting being next to food without being able to eat any yet. Delia just smiled and wondered when it would be done and they could be on their way again, she didn’t like staying in one spot for too long. That was how people were found either by the government or by the aliens, and most of them didn’t return.
Jay nodded. "I'd say we should walk and eat, but…I don't think you could manage that." He said with a small laugh. Once the rabbit was done, he handed her half, taking half for himself. "Eat up." He said. He kicked dirt over the fire to put it out.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, happily taking the piece of chicken and digging in after saying a quick, “Thanks.” The rabbit was actually quite good, at least to her hungry stomach, even without any seasoning. She defiantly didn’t have the best manners either, but they weren’t terrible.
Jay nodded, sitting back down. "No problem." He replied with a small smile. He started to eat. The rabbit tasted pretty good. He had actually been surprised to find one so quickly. He had thought most of them would be hiding or further into the forest, but no, this little thing had been right out in the open for the taking. Luckily for him, otherwise he might have returned empty handed.