[IC] Promises left on the sand(megatrash/freedom)

[freedomliveson]

The spot Cameron had staked out was a good one, Justin rather impressed by how quickly she managed to fish out an oasis in a wasteland such as this; however, the locale didn't necessarily conform to what one would think of as a wasteland. Most end of the world scenarios dealt in nuclear arms and radiation, but this was different. Nature wasn't destroyed by man, but instead aided in cleansing man off the face of the planet. It took some help from some crazy bio-terrorists to get the process in motion, but once it kicked off, there was no stopping the purge nature intended.

Justin threw himself on the verdant grass, savoring the feel of the earth underneath him. Most of his excursions featured laying on cold wood or metallic floor, so this...this was a vacation. His eyes closed, Justin mumbling something about closing his eyes for a minute. Contrary to his statement, it was about an hour before his eyes opened again, the bright rays of the sun glinting into his eye. Groaning, he turned on his side to find Cameron relaxing herself. He gave her a brief wave before telling her:
"Sorry if I held us up, but a guy needs his rest, you know?" It was then she asked about their mission. He blew out a sigh, sitting up and planting his elbows on the ground as he responded:
"We don't know. That's the whole point. If we can actually figure out what those scientists were working on, we could possibly help restore the soil fertility, purify the water and actually give mankind a chance at living again." He shifted a bit as he continued:
"To think that we wouldn't have to worry about dying if we drank from a water source that wasn't treated first, to pick an apple off a tree without worrying if the first bite would be our last..." He sighed.
"It's almost unimaginable. Totally worth hiking up to Portland. I guess it's all about hope, right? It may be an imaginary, totally impractical thing, but it's what keeps us going...well, keeps me going." He chuckled as he sat up fully, crossing his legs before rummaging through his pack to find a package of nuts and dried fruit, which he tore into, chucking most of the package's contents into his mouth. After swallowing, he mentioned:
"We're actually close to Hartford. If we can skirt around the edges, then maybe we won't have to paint a target on our back. I don't really trust going through a place that could be staked out by one of the tribes." He stretched his arms out over his head, but then they came down rather quickly, a look of thoughtfulness crossing his face. Then, he spoke:
"The tribes around here are rather hostile, so how on earth did the guys who attack Omega set up camp here? And where did they come from? Assuming that they set camp up here in the first place. They don't seem like the wandering types to me. Too organized, too precise and way too high powered. They must...they must have someone helping them, right? Someone giving them access to high powered assault rifles and the ability to cast high-quality armor." He brushed some grass off his legs as he stood up.
"Is there anything you can remember from Chesapeake that could give us some insight on these guys? We know they're brutal and take no prisoners, but why..." He trailed off, hands on his hips, then one of them left, fingers snapping.
"Ok, so get this: if those guys siege every large settlement on the East Coast and just wipe em out completely, then they would have total control over the Eastern seaboard. Yeah, there would be raiders, tribes and drifters, but they wouldn't pose a real threat to them. If they get a hold of this technology, they would have all the power in the world...clean food, clean water..."

[megatrash]

Cameron thought about Justin’s questions for a moment before answering them and looked past him at the trees that rustled gently in the breeze. It’d be a great betrayal to tell all the secrets of Chesapeake to someone from another settlement, but then again, there wasn’t anyone left to betray. Plus, she was sick of turning a blind eye to the mystery that surrounded the elders’ agendas.

“Well, when the elders’ decided to let guns into the village, they’d go on ‘trips’ frequently. They would be gone for two or three days and would come back with equipment. John, the one who gave me the box, would refuse to go. I never knew why,” her hoarse voice muttered as she remained seated, fiddling with a twig she had plucked from the ground. “The rifles they used looked the same as this group’s. But we didn’t have armor like that.” Cameron desperately attempted to claw back at the deepest parts of her memory to think of anything that could help. “I don’t think…” she trailed off as her mind began to place the pieces together. “I don’t think they would work with a group like that, because why would they destroy Chesapeake? Unless a deal went south, or they found out…” Her eyes moved up from the twig in her hand to Justin, “that John had the box.”

If what she was thinking was true, that meant Chesapeake was in bed with these monsters and that John was the only one who didn’t approve. Maybe they thought that the elders knew about the box, and that was why they destroyed Chesapeake. Retaliation for betrayal, and also to find the maps and blue liquid. The settlement and those who led it were selfish – it would make sense that they would not care to save anyone but their own – but to this level? Cameron’s head was spinning.

She reached out a hand to signal him to help her up, and once she was upright, she brushed her pants on and looked him dead in the eye. “If Chesapeake was in bed with these assholes, then that probably means they had the same mentality – save your own. It’d make sense if that was their endgame.” Cameron didn't know what types of settlements were scattered along the coast, only what she had seen herself. They kept them in the dark to avoid members of the settlement leaving for a better place to live.

After a moment of them looking at each other – a silent agreement that they were on the same page – a snap came from behind the rim of trees. Cameron immediately grabbed her knife from her thigh and the gun from her waist and attempted to spot where the noise was coming from. She figured that maybe she was just being paranoid, so she dropped her guard for a moment and looked to Justin. “Probably nothing,” she whispered, smiling and shaking her head at how paranoid she was being. She'd drive herself mad if she constantly expected an attack, she just needed to --

Snap. It was definitely branches breaking. But from where? She was back on defense, scanning the trees. “Do you see anything?” she whispered with her back to his to make sure they had eyes on as much of the landscape around them as possible.

[freedomliveson]

"A fair point. Maybe we can-" From what seemed like the south came a snap...then another. Justin turned, hand quickly going to the hilt of his knife. The snapping stopped for a few moments, Justin's eyes scanning for any hint of disarray, but to no avail. Cameron mumbled something about it being nothing, but Justin knew better than that. They were in hostile territory, isolated from any remnant of civilization and were being hunted by the armored bandits that had slaughtered two(probably more) settlements. More snapping came, Justin nodding to himself as he looked south to the path they had taken to get to the clearing.
"Step back." He commanded, the scout complying with his own directive as he slowly unsheathed his knife just as two forms appeared in the clearing. The sun's beaming rays revealed that it was one man and one woman, their faces marked with dark green paint underneath their eyes and across their chins. They held curved wooden bows in their hands, arrows loaded, but not pointed at the duo. Justin's hand lingered on the hilt of the knife, totally unaware of how they would behave. He knew stories, but this was his first time encountering anyone from the tribes on his own. He would have to read them, fast.

The man pointed at Justin, then Cameron, speaking in a hoarse, gravely tone:
"You both do not belong here." The woman shook her head, adding in a very similar delivery:
"The land rejected you, yet you come. Why?" Their slight builds tensed as they moved forward, hands steady on their bows. They wore little clothing other than coverings for their more modest parts, which consisted of aqua colored cloth cinched together, allowing Justin to see that while they weren't large by any stretch, their muscles were defined, trained. Around their necks were small, glass beads with liquid inside them. While the jewelry was a nice touch, it was the trained reflexes he was worried about. He assumed that within a few seconds the bows could be leveled, aimed and fired.
He needed to be careful.
"We just need to move through your land. We won't touch anything, harm anyone. We just need to move through." The woman smirked.
"That is something we hear rather frequently, but that is never the case."
"You desire what the others seek, do you not?" Justin's brow furrowed.
"I don't know what you mean."
"The Life-Giver, nourisher of the Earth. Many have come. They offer us steel, wood and coverings. We reject them and they killed many of us in retaliation, yet we continue on. The Life-Giver created us, made us whole and sustains us." The man closed his eyes as the woman spoke, seeming to lose himself in the proclamation of faith.
"What exactly is the 'Life-Giver'?"
The duo looked down at their necklaces, then back to the intruders.
"The Earth gave us the Gift. She revealed it to us in ruins of stone and steel in the vast North. We use the Life-Giver as a way to ensure our people are safe...from you." Their bows were now parallel to the ground, arrows kicked back on the string.
"We're after the same people." Justin placed both hands in the air as he continued:
"Those people that killed your friends...we want them gone just as much as you." He looked to Cameron, whispering hurriedly:
"Help me out here!"

[megatrash]

Cameron was lost. The Life-Giver? What the hell did that mean? But the pair holding arrows to their heads didn’t seem to want to explain much further, so she slowly dropped her weapons to the earth beneath them and raised her hands. The liquid around their neck. Blue. "Ah. The life-giver."

“Look, see? I’m unarmed,” Cameron said as she kept her eyes trained on the primitive man and woman. They were in better shape than she was, that was certain, and possibly even more paranoid than her as well.
“Those same people, the ones who keep coming here, they burnt my village to the ground. Killed everyone. His too,” she raised a hand to point to Justin, but that caused their stances to widen as if ready to attack. “Whoa, whoa. Please, take it easy,” she panicked, putting her arm she had moved back in the raised position.

The man began to approach her with stealthy footsteps, bow still in position, as the woman kept her eyes and weapon on Justin. Cameron squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the man’s presence slowly circle her, as if to observe her.

“Please,” she whispered. “We don’t want any trouble, we just need to – “

Thump. Darkness.

The man had butted her in the back of the head, rendering her unconscious.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Cameron’s blurry vision cleared, her stomach sunk. Her mouth was gagged and hands bound behind her back. She looked up to see a makeshift cell-door, twigs overlapping each other, which she figured was to keep them from escaping. Darkness and stars peaked through the branches. A single torch lit the large, dug out prison on the opposite side of Cameron and Justin. Justin! He was a few feet to her left, gagged and bound like she was.

With as much strength as she could produce, her legs pushed her up against the dirt wall until she stood, and she quietly walked over to Justin, turned around, and leaned down so that she could try to remove the cloth band from his mouth with the hands behind her back. An apology was attempted for their close proximity, but it just came out a muffled grunt. Cameron tugged until she felt the cloth, wet with saliva, come out of his mouth, and a smile, or the best she could do, appeared on Cameron’s face. She knelt down in front of him so that he could return the favor when voices were heard above them. She nearly fell over as she attempted to scurry back to the position she was, and as soon as she plopped down, the door above them swung open.

A rope-and-pulley system was used to lower a small pail of water and some sort of charred meat. A small knife carved from stone was on the tray as well – both to use on their gags and bounds, and to eat the food provided. Once the meal hit the floor, the rope was dropped, and the cell door closed once again with a large rock moved to sit on top of it. Cameron looked to Justin with wide eyes and grunted again, this time hoping he’d get the hint to cut her loose. Her mind was exploring ways on how to get out of the hole, but she was coming up short.

It was roughly 15 feet deep and 10 feet wide, and the dirt walls had been mixed with other elements, making it hard and smooth, so climbing it wouldn’t be possible. They had a torch, a rope, a pail, a wooden tray, and a knife. The wheels were turning in Cameron’s mind, but before she decided their escape route, she would need to see if Justin was holding up. As stoic and seemingly strong as he was, a person can only take so much in such a short time.

Now, the real question. Why didn't they kill them when they had the chance? Based on the soldier's body they had seen on the highway, this group didn't shy away from killing an outsider. Brutally. They must have needed them, either for answers or to barter with. That could mean, Cameron realized, that the pair could be handed over to Omega's attackers - maybe as a last-ditch bribe to keep them out of the savages' territory. The thought of what would be done to them if they were handed over sent chills down her spine.

[freedomliveson]

Taking the cloth out of Cameron's mouth was difficult and rather awkward, considering he had to turn around and extract the cloth with his rear end dangerously close to her face. He issued a chuckled apology as he managed to finagle it out before leaning up against the dirt wall, slumping against it as he lowered himself to the ground.
"Well, that went off as planned. Didn't know it was my plan all along to get us captured by these guys? It's all brilliance, really." He looked to the meager portions of food and water they had been provided and snorted.
"Well, I think that's a bit insulting, isn't it? I can't exactly use a knife with my hands tied behind my back." He rose, walking to the tray and then sat backwards, hands grasping for the handle, eyes cast backwards.
"I would ask for help, but I suppose you're a bit tied up at the moment as well." He chuckled a bit at his own joke.
"I'm terrible, aren't I?" He managed to grasp the handle with his right hand, angling the knife upward and very slowly began to cut the cloth around his wrists. It was difficult and consisted of many grunts, but he managed to free himself of the bindings. As he walked over to Cameron and cut her bonds, he told her:
"I don't remember a thing after they knocked us out, but I do know that based on what we can see from above us is that we've been for several hours. That might actually help our cause, you know. With this slight detour, maybe our pursuers won't be as passionate in their search." He blew out a sigh as he brought the tray over and motioned for her to eat.
"Then again, we'll need to figure out how to make this just a detour rather than our final destination." Justin ran a hand through his ash brown hair and felt some odd flecks on the back of his head, withdrawing the hand to find dried blood.
"Wonderful." He brushed the blood off onto the dirt floor before looking up again, noting how brightly the stars shone out in this part of the state. It was a wonder to see. In the city, the ruins obscured whatever they could see of the sky, dimming the natural light of the stars. To think that was the canopy under which so much violence occurred...

His thoughts were interrupted by voices approaching the entrance to their makeshift cell. A couple of figures loomed above them, one of them kneeling down and removing the twig lattice before the figures descended into their space. The man from before was present along with a different woman. Her hair as illuminated by the torch looked a pale blonde, her hazel eyes examining the both of them closely. She didn't look much older than Justin or Cameron, but wisdom seemed to emanate from her very presence. She was also garbed in more clothing than the duo Justin and Cameron had encountered, a sleeveless shirt and shorts that came down to mid-thigh covered her slim figure, yet she still wore the same necklace. It was a few moments before she spoke:
"You both trespassed onto our Mother's lands. My people say that you have come to pursue our attackers. Is this true?"
"Yes. Yes it is. We're here to ensure that whatever those monsters did to your people will be avenged. They took many of our people away as well. We want them gone." The woman searched Justin's eyes, stepped forward and placing a tanned hand on his cheek, turning his head to the left before nodding in satisfaction.
"Your eyes seem to speak the truth. Is it just revenge you seek?"
"No, no...we...we want to save our people. With the Life-Giver." Her brow raised.
"The Life-Giver? It is a sacred thing that you ask for, yet you claim it is for others. Where do they belong?"
"The South." She clucked her tongue.
"A dangerous place. We explored there many moons ago. That is where we found some of the Life-Giver. We tried many more times, but our scouts did not return." She looked to Cameron with a smile, moving to where she stood in front of her.
"You are a beautiful reflection of what our Mother gives us, sister. Do you travel for the same reasons he does?"

[megatrash]

Justin seemed to be way more polite to the tribal group than she wanted to be. Dried blood pulled at the back of her neck as Cameron moved her head, making her wince. The woman getting close to her, observing her, made her tense up as if she was ready to be attacked, and it was noted by the group surrounding them. She couldn't push herself to answer the question.

"Please, do not be afraid, girl. The best thing you could do for your people is be grateful for the hospitality we've shown you." A finger lifted Cameron's chin so that she'd make eye contact with the considerably taller woman.

"You're fine, you're fine, you'll be okay."

Cameron opened her tightly sealed eyes and looked into the swirl of green and brown that was staring at her piercingly.

"Y-yes. We want the violence to end and to provide the means for our people to sustain life."

The woman's fingers on her chin tightened, and pulled Cameron closer to her face. "Those eyes. Almost no color in them. Your people were in Chesapeake."
Cameron winced. This was what she feared.
"Your people, girl, were responsible for the death of many of my men. My warriors."
She avoided eye contact with her until the hand that held her chin struck her across the face, followed by spit in her face after she nearly ricocheted off the dirt floor.

"Our guests are staying," the stern voice boomed in the cell as she tugged on the rope. Men above worked to pull each of the savages up out of the prison, and after all were on ground successfully, the door was closed and the large rock was moved back it its place.

Cameron wiped her mouth with her arm, and the blood smeared as it mixed with her sweat. Her white shirt was also spattered with a deep red hue. She didn't bother to look up at Justin. Any chance of them leaving the settlement in a peaceful arrangement were thrown out the window because of her. Where she was from. At least it confirmed her suspicions of Chesapeake's elders being in bed with the wrong group.

A sigh escaped her as her head landed in her heads, blood still pooling at her lips. "I'm sorry," she muttered. Cameron finally gathered the courage to look up at the man. "I'll get us out. I promise."

On that note, she stood up with a grunt and collected the supplies they had left them. She eyed the rope and then the latch sealing the hole.

"If we throw this rope up and hang it over the door, we can light it, and it should burn the branches and make the rock drop." Cameron sighed. "Then we wouldn't be able to use it to climb out."

She paced back and forth until she grew exhausted and looked to Justin. "I know you're probably sick of hearing it, but I'm sorry." After plopping down onto the ground next to him, her eyes met his green ones. "We'll figure it out."

A few minutes passed in silence, and Cameron laid down and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible. "Good night, Justin." As much as she would like to think she could get them out, save the day, her options were limited, and the chance of them working were slim to none. Her thoughts when back to the man with arrows jutting out of his neck, his eyeballs missing, and the fact that it could be their fate soon was becoming more and more probable.

[freedomliveson]

"Yeah...yeah we will." He watched as Cameron laid herself down on the ground, sorrow permeating his gaze. To think of all the stuff she had gone through and for her to potentially die as a tribal sacrifice would be an insult. No, he wouldn't allow it. She, like so many people, deserved a second chance. He would do whatever he could to make sure she got it.
"I'm gonna get us out of here." He mumbled, looking up at the twig lattice with scrutiny. There had to be a way to get up there...just had to be.

It took him a couple of hours, but he believed he had a solution. Quietly, he had thrown the rope through one of the holes in the lattice, managing to secure it snugly in place before grabbing the knife they had given them for the burnt roast and securing the crude instrument in the pocket of his pants, hilt down and blade facing up. He continually checked for movement above as he made his preparations, wondering silently why there wasn't any guard movement. Maybe they believed that their prison was impregnable and that they would be stuck in the grip of their power for as long as they wanted. He snorted, tugging on the rope hard. No twigs broke. Good. Thankfully Justin wasn't too heavy, but he couldn't be absolutely sure that his weight wouldn't collapse the covering. He had to take the chance, though. Cameron needed to be on the ground so just in case he got captured, Cameron couldn't be blamed as an accomplice. He tugged one last time before he walked to Cameron, putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently.
"Cam?" He shook her again.
"Cam, come on, get up. I think I've got a way out." He rose and slid the tray they had been given out of the way before walking to Cameron and telling her:
"So here's the deal: I've got the rope attached to the gate. I'm going to climb up the rope and use the knife they gave us to cut the branches away. If that doesn't work, I'll try and cut the hinges off. Either way, I'm going to have to move quick and grab onto the ledge before I lose my grip on the rope. If I can get up there, I can tug you up and we can make our break." Justin walked over to the rope, hands secured.
"Unless you have a modification to the plan? I'm all ears." He tugged on the rope again, sighing as he looked to Cameron, chuckling a bit.
"Well, if that's the case, I'm heading up there." He grabbed on and pulled himself up a couple of inches, the lattice grate bending inward.
"No no no...just stay there..." He moved himself another few inches, the gate groaning under the pressure, but didn't bend any further. The pace was slow, but he managed to climb up to the top, noting that with his new view there were indeed no guards to either side.
"Here goes nothin..." He hung onto the rope with one hand, withdrawing the knife from the other and began to saw at the left hand side of the grate. The branches were thick, but the blade they had been given was sharp enough to cut through some of the thinner branches. As he cut, he could feel the grate beginning to loosen, his grip solidifying on the rope. Upon cutting another branch, the grate gave way, forcing Justin to swing his body to the left as far as he could, hands grasping the edge of the pit. With as much effort as he could, he muscled his way up, sighing in relief. He looked down, telling Cameron as quietly as he could:
"Get the rope up here and I'll pull you up!"

[megatrash]

Cameron smirked after Justin had woken her up and executed his plan for escaping. She was lucky to have found someone with the will to live and carry on, because hers was feigning, and with the wrong influence, she would have probably been dead by now. Or worse.

It took one or two throws for her to successfully get the rope up to Justin, and as he braced him, she flexed her hands a few times before grabbing onto it. After a silent struggle, minus a few curses, Cameron had made her way to the edge of the pit, wrapped her arms in Justin, and was lifted out. There was no time for a break, as it was uncertain how long they would be alone on the ground, so she nodded to him, and they both crouched down and ran out silently to the edge of the settlement that was lined by a thick wall of trees that danced slowly in the breeze. It was dark, albeit a small amount of light cast by the full moon above them.

Once they got into the dense forest, they had to move slowly: 1) to avoid making too much noise, and 2) because using a torch or light would give away their location. Any time they heard the noise of rustling leaves or a twig snap, they would freeze for a minute, but those minutes felt like hours in the dark silence that engulfed them. The fact was that with every hang up that they faced on their trip, they were losing precious time, time before they were caught by someone who had move evil intentions for them than the primitive group they had just escaped from.

Based on the moon’s position in the sky, they had been walking north for almost two hours. Cameron tugged on Justin’s shirt to signal him to stop, and after checking the floor of leaves and dirt below her, she plopped down and took a deep breath. Her stamina was increasing with her latest “adventures,” but she still had her limits, which she had just reached. Between deep breaths, she whispered quietly to Justin.

“So,” she smiled briefly as she spoke. “I have no idea where we are. Or where we were.”

A few breaths.

“But, we’ve got to get to Portland before anyone else does.”

A few more.

“Unless they have already.” Cameron’s eyes scanned their surroundings but ultimately landed on the man in front of her. “Thank you for getting us out of there. I, uh, lately I’ve been a bit hopeless. I’m glad I haven’t brought you down.” She smiled faintly and stretched a hand out so that he could help her stand, and once she was vertical, she swept the dirt off her lower half, dug around for the fabric she used in her hair, and quickly maneuvered the black mane up into a knot on her head. She was sweaty. Tired. Blood spattered. But that didn’t matter right now.

“Are you okay to continue? You haven’t gotten much sleep since we’ve crossed paths.” She stepped closer to him to observe his face, or at least what she could see. “You look pretty beat, no offense,” she laughed as she stepped back again and looked around them, a habit she had picked up since her long walk. A paranoid habit. “I’m good to keep moving or good to rest. Your call.”

In all honesty, Cameron was exhausted, but Justin had done so much for her at this point that she was willing to do what he asked. He deserved it. But she also had a feeling that he may push himself to his limits before he took care of himself. A redeeming quality, sure, but in a time like this where split second decisions need to be made, it may have been for the best if he got to rest.

[freedomliveson]

"I don't think we have much of a choice to keep moving until we're far enough out of their territory." He rubbed his eyes vigorously, attempting in vain to keep them from wanting to close for a very long period of time. Cameron was more than correct about him looking terrible, even if he didn't have a way to verify her assessment himself. He had managed to sleep for an hour over the past two days and he knew that his body was going to break down sooner rather than later. Yet, as he alluded to, what other choice did they have? They needed to keep plodding forward and hope that they could find shelter. Of course, that would be a monumental task. After all, in their rush to get out of the encampment, Justin hadn't stopped to consider that they had left their gear behind. No food, water, weapons or even the map that directed them to Portland. They could try to double back to the settlement, but more than likely they had scouts already on their way to try and intercept them, so getting closer to the source of danger wasn't the smartest ploy.
"So I know we're headed north." He looked up at the moon before examining the dense forest around them.
"I'm just going to assume that if we keep heading north, we'll wind up somewhere upstate and from there we can reassess ou-" The whistle of an arrow flew past Justin's left ear, the scout dodging to his right as he wildly attempted to scan for enemies. He could make out the outlines of two figures coming directly from the south, another just southwest. Just three? They didn't think much of their ability, did they? He got behind the trunk of a rather wide tree, the clunking of arrows against the natural barrier audible. Their attackers didn't make any other sounds, which was a testament to their natural ability to exploit the environment. He popped his head from cover just in time to find one of the attackers, a lithe woman with burning green irises, leveling her bow to deliver an arrow into Justin's skull. He grabbed the bow and cocked it upwards, the woman grunting as they struggled for control, arrow dropping from it's once elevated position onto the ground as they wrestled for control. The woman delivered a strong kick to Justin's stomach, knocking him back before dropping her bow and glided over to him, elbowing him in the ribs before attempting to deliver an uppercut. Justin threw his shoulder forward, blocking the uppercut as he wrapped his right arm around the attacking arm and bent it backwards. A snap came from the woman's shoulder girdle as she fell onto the ground, a shriek escaping her lips as he slammed his knee into her back, head going limp. He grabbed the bow and arrow now on the forest floor, loading the arrow to find that another attacker, this one male, was charging towards him, a blade gleaming in his left hand. Justin readied the arrow and let it fly, but the attacker dodged, intent on destroying his prey. That intent was quickly shot off by a burst of harsh noise and light. Another burst saw the tribal warrior fall to the ground, his brains littering the ground.
"If you wanna get out of here in one piece, you're comin with us!" The source of the voice was disembodied, but it was just as loud as the gunshot that had ended the life of Justin's assailant.
"Well, don't just stand there, ya knucklehead! MOVE!" More shots were fired as Justin shouted:
"Cam, we've got no choice! We've gotta move!"

[megatrash]

It all happened so fast – too fast for Cameron to truly process what was happening in front of her until Justin was at the mercy of the second attacker, who did not look like he was going to stop until he achieved his goal. The ear-splitting sound that the weapon produced made her fall backwards, and she shielded her eyes with an arm as she squinted to get a grasp on the situation. Before that could happen, a hand lifted her to stand and dragged her to run along with their liberators.

Her mind was buzzing with questions as she huffed and puffed to keep up with the group –
”Who the hell are you?”
”Where the hell are we going?“
”Why do we have to run all the time?”

For what seemed liked hours, they moved through the dark in silence, staying closely knit as they navigated through a thick forest of lush greenery.

At this point, Cameron had gotten a good look at the two scouts that had rescued them. Both were male. One was large and muscular with a shaven head and an unchanging, stern expression on his face. The other man was slender and moved slyly. He seemed to be the more endearing one of the pair; he periodically slowed down to wait for Cameron when she fell behind or assisted her in navigating through patches of lifted roots that she would not have noticed.

“We’ll stop here,” the larger man grunted as he surveyed the area. A sigh of relief was all Cameron had to offer at the suggestion as she dropped her pack on the ground, her body soon following suit. As she kneeled down and dug in the bag, the same man addressed her in Justin.

“Where are you coming from?” His voice, although speaking quietly, still seemed to boom throughout the silence surrounding them.
Cameron’s eyes darted up to his. “Omega.”

He signaled his partner to follow him about ten feet away from Cameron and Justin to talk amongst themselves. Cameron looked over to Justin and eyed him quickly. He must have been exhausted – god knew she was.

Both men returned, now focusing their questions at Justin.

“We know of Omega. We have special instructions if we find survivors from your settlement. But before we can carry out our mission, we need you to prove Omega is your home.” The man stepped closer as he vocalized what he wanted, causing her to scoot back a bit, then to look at Justin. He was so unreadable, and she decided then that it was probably better to make him their ambassador. Her temper mixed with the confusion she had from everything happening to them would make her a poor choice.

[freedomliveson]

"That's fair. You guys did just get out of a terrible situation." Of course, they could be lying to them and in reality they're working for the same people that slaughtered Omega and Cam's village, but at this point, they didn't have much of a choice. It was either comply with their directives or get slaughtered by their former captors. Justin felt for his pack and groaned.
"So, our gear is back at the camp an-"
"Got it right here." The wiry one pointed to the pack on his back before handing it to Justin, the scout's brow raising in surprise.
"How on earth did you get through all of them?"
"We caught sight of you both when you were being taken in by the mongrels. Tracked you back to their village, knocked out a few of them and waited to try and bust you out."
"I'm impressed."
"Yeah, you should be. Our boss didn't want us to commit ourselves to saving you, but we don't normally see people we don't know out here that are alive, let alone ones who manage to escape with their skins intact and fresh gear. Figured you were from the south." Justin brandished a small key found at the bottom of his pack with a cross emblazoned on the wide end.
"A key to a lockbox I have back home. The cross on it is our mark." The large one stepped forward and grabbed the key out of Justin's hand, examining it closely before passing it to the skinny one, the latter glancing at it before nodding.
"You could have gotten this off of a body, but normally I can tell when people are lying to my face."
"Nice skill to have." The wiry one snorted at the comment, tossing the key back to Justin as he told the duo:
"Just need to hike up a trail not too far from here. We'll get you both a bed, then you're presenting yourselves to the boss in the morning."
"I really don't know how to thank you guys."
"Oh we'll come up with something."

The "hike" felt more like climbing a mountain with Justin's level of fatigue, the scout having to stop a few times on the way to catch his breath. He apologized the first time, but every occurrence after that was received with silence. After turning past another curve in the path, they reached a level clearing which had ramshackle fencing consisting of rusting metal and corrugated aluminum that were barely illuminated by torches mounted around the wall. There was a gate that they walked through which was flanked by two guards brandishing slick, black assault rifles with knives snugly secured at the ends. There were a number of smaller shacks made of wood and metal, but what caught Justin's attention were the small gardens in front of the makeshift homes. There were oblong shaped vegetables and spherical produce...growing...
"You can...you can grow here?"
"Working on it. We'll explain all that later." The skinny one brought them to a shack, opening the door to reveal a rather plain interior with two single beds tucked in either corner of the room.
"We'll get you. Food and water are in that cabinet over there." The door rattled behind as their rescuer left. Justin blew out a sigh, peeling his shirt off his sweat stained back and throwing it on the ground.
"You know, for some reason, I think I'm going to sleep well tonight." He chuckled as he looked to Cam.
"How are you holding up?"

[megatrash]

Cameron’s concern for Justin’s wellbeing was reaching a boiling point – she would have asked them to set up camp – when they reached the destination they had led them to. Her now paranoid disposition caused her eyes to mindlessly and repeatedly scan the landscape around them, in case an escape was necessary or an attack was made. Both had become regularities,.

Nothing was abnormal about the settlement they entered; if anything, it reminded Cameron of Chesapeake. But, one thing caught her eye that caused adrenaline to course from her. Plants. Plants with food growing on them. She involuntarily gasped as she she saw the small gardens scattered about.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as they were led to the room they would be staying in. Although not much too it, a bed and a roof over their heads was surely a luxury. “Besides needing a week long shower, I think I’ll be fine,” she smiled back to him as he lifted his shirt.

Instead of sitting around to observe him undress, she immediately moved to the cabinet, which had an assortment of different sized canteens marked “filtered,” and a few marked “unfiltered” as well. She searched the cabinet to find… what was that?

Fruit.

“Jesus Christ,” she whispered as she took out a tray. “Look at this, Justin.” Bananas. Grapes. Blueberries. Apples. “I’ve only ever heard of this before.” She set the tray down on the table that separated their beds and immediately began to pick at the blueberries, groaning as soon as she was able to taste them. “Wow.” Her eyes closed as if it would enhance the flavor even more.

She tossed Justin a canteen before making her way back to the cabinet to remove the bottle of unfiltered water. “Sorry.” A warning shot.

Cameron faced away from him and removed the white shirt, stained with blood, dirt, and sweat, leaving her in her sports bra, jeans, and boots. She took her hair down from the linen strip it was tangled in, and poured the water over the top of her head, sighing in relief, then poured some on her punched up shirt and wiped her face, noting the dirt that appeared, along with dried blood from her lip. “Why didn’t you tell me I had something on my face?” she joked, making herself laugh.

After tossing the shirt into the corner with Justin’s, he eventually plopped back down on the bed across from Justin and began to unlace the combat boots. “They seem to be a bit more accommodating than our lasts hosts, huh?” Cameron looked up to him and smiled. “I’m not very excited about our presentation, though.”

She maneuvered the boots off of her feet, then the socks, and did her best to remove all the dirt that had accumulated in them before tucking them under the bed and laying down on it. It was soft enough for comfort and wasn’t lumpy like hers back home. The pillow, however, was fairly flat, so it was folder over before being stuck under her wet, black hair.

A single lantern hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room, illuminating it in short and rapid bursts. Cameron faced him as she wiggled her body into a comfortable position so she could face him. “Hopefully they deem us acceptable enough to help out Omega. I’m sorry my affiliations with Chesapeake took us from guest to prisoner status earlier. I’ll keep my mouth shut this time.” She smirked to let him know she wasn’t offended. Out here, with no rules or laws in place, it was probably best that she listened instead of spoke, or at least, until she learned more from Justin.

“Get some rest. Good night, Justin.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were awoken by to familiar faces standing in front of the bright light of the sun blasting through the door way. “Start getting ready.” They tossed a single change of clothes for both Justin and Cameron. “We’ll come back in ten.”

Cameron woke up slowly and reached over to the closed they had tossed at her. A gray shirt, a bit too large for her, a pair of olive green cargo pants, tailored to the ankle, and a white pair of socks. She remained sitting as she worked the jeans off her legs and replaced them with the clean pair, standing up to shimmy them up to their rightful place at her hips. She slid the tee shirt over her head quickly and began to try to work her fingers through some of the knots that had formed on their journey.

She stood up abruptly as the door swung back open. “Let’s go.”

They were led to an indoor meeting area, a dozen chairs making a semicircle around a wooden podium. Eight of the seats had already been filled, mainly by older leaders, but there were one or two who looked to be her age. As they were brought to the podium, the empty seats in front of them were filled, and they all rose to greet the pair.

“This,” the muscular man that had saved them the night before addressed the group, “is Justin and Cameron. They are from Omega.”

A woman with silvery hair remained standing as the rest took a seat. “Hello, Justin. Hello, Cameron. My name is Avery, and welcome to our settlement. Who will be speaking on your behalf?”

[freedomliveson]

"You don't have to apologize. Not your fault that your entire village got murdered." He had laid on the bed with his back on the somewhat lumpy mattress, eyes cast upward at the solid wooden beams that formed a steady bracing for the roof. It was difficult to have the logs stay in place like that without some kind of super adhesive or measuring with extreme precision. Not only were these people on the verge of saving the world's population with food growth, but they were also excellent engineers. Why would they stay secluded? Why not promulgate all these advancements to the rest of the United States? People needed hope more than ever and it felt strange that this group seemed to be holding out on the rest of mankind. He hoped there would be some explanation for their behavior. His head turned to face Cameron upon hearing her greeting, responding:
"You get some rest yourself. See you in the morning." As his head resumed its former position, there was a part of him that felt happy Cam was around. Not in a weird way, just...to have someone else in the fight. It was a nice change of pace. A small smile crept onto his face as his eyes closed, his head sinking into the pillow.

______________

He heard the door slam open and a familiar voice grumble about getting ready, the scout wanting to jump out of bed and deliver a nasty uppercut to the voice's chin before resuming his place in bed. A groan escaped his lips as he sat up, rubbing his eyes furiously before looking to Cam.
"So, I must look terrible, don't I?" He said with a chuckle as he picked up a pair of worn denim jeans with the knees ripped to shreds and a solid black t-shirt with white socks and tennis shoes of a faded red hue. Although the condition of the clothing wasn't up to par, the way it felt...the material didn't poke into the skin or make him itch profusely. Must have been made from materials they grow here. As he slipped on the tennis shoes, the wiry one stormed in and led them through the village, which in the morning sun's rays looked even more like a promised land than last night. Men and women both were tilling gardens with ripening vegetables, sewing clothing together by spinning white tufts of cotton and placing it in buckets of dye and feeding chickens that would haphazardly cross the main path that wound through the village and up to a covered pavilion that had ten of what Justin assumed to be the leaders of the place. After being gruffly announced by the large one, a woman named Avery asked who would be speaking. Justin looked to Cam, remembering what she told him last night. He would do the talking, which made him slightly uncomfortable, but he understood her deference. Nodding to his companion, he then looked to Avery with a polite smile.
"I will, Avery. First, allow me to thank you and your group for being so generous to us. We would have been dead without your assistance."
"It is rare to find sane humans in this part of the land, let alone ones who are from one of the more renown settlements."
"Renown?"
"Yes. We send some of our people south to scavenge for supplies. They have met some of your scouts and have had nothing but positive things to say."
"I'm glad, although I would've remembered our scouts running into your people. We don't have nearly the advancements in technology that you do."
"We tend to keep this very secretive."
"May I ask why?" Avery brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, staying silent for a brief second before responding:
"We do not believe that the world is ready for this level of advancement." A couple of the council members stirred in their seats, lips pursed.
"You probably know how our village came to be so advanced?"
"The vials of liquid we found..."
"That we found first, that I..." She paused, looking to the man seated next to her with equally grey hair.
"That I created."
"You were one of the scientists we read about? The ones who-"
"Yes. We were on our way to Portland when we were ambushed by raiders, the precursors to the tribes that frequent the area. Some died, others were taken captive, but a few of us managed to escape during the attack and flee to a remote area." She motioned to the village as she continued:
"We realized that without the security detail swept up by the raiders, we would be easy prey. We decided it would be best for us to stay at this spot until we could figure out a plan of action, but then groups of survivors stumbled onto us. They needed food and...well, we had the key to their survival."
"The others, Avery..." The man sitting next to her chimed in.
"Of course. The others, as far as we know made it to Portland with most of the serum. We've been attempting to send people up that way for years, but none ever return."

[megatrash]

Cameron perked up at the mention of Portland, focusing her eyes on the woman, Avery, who was speaking to them.

“And you, Cameron, are you two on a mission of sorts? What is your objective?” Heat rose to her cheeks as she took a step forward. It was a smart move on Avery’s part to call on Cameron, she thought, because if they did have something to lie about, the nervous girl in the corner would definitely spill the beans.

“Well,” she cleared her throat and glared at Justin for a moment as if to try to steal some confidence from him, “I had, um, I had been given a lock box with no key. My settlement was burned to the ground, no survivors to my knowledge, and I set out on a quest of sorts to find someone who could open it. Justin here,” she stuck a hand out towards him, “found me as I was just giving up and brought me to Omega. They had also been attacked, I guess assuming that I would have been there already. We were on our way to Portland when we were taken prisoner.”

Her eyes had been on the floor nearly her entire monologue, but she forced herself to look up at the council members before her.

“And, Cameron, who was the one who instructed you to take the box?” Avery and the rest of the board behind her peered at her quizzically.
“John. An elder of Chesapeake,” she admitted, berating herself mentally for it instantly.
But Avery seemed pleasantly surprised at her response. “Ah, John. He was a good man. Probably the only good man left in that godforsaken gun-weilding settlement.” After realizing that she may upset Cameron by speaking of her home like that, so she offered an apology.
“No, that’s quite alright. I never agreed with their ways and how they handled business. Or, at least, what I knew of. They tried to keep us in the dark, usually at all costs,” she explained, passion growing a bit in her voice. “I assure you, my goals align with Justin’s and all of Omega’s. We want to save what is left of not only their people, but everyone out there. To keep the formula out of the wrong hands and use it correctly.”
“Thank you,” Avery nodded, “I shall convene with my councilmen and will retrieve you both when we’re finished.”

Cameron thanked her and walked out of the meeting room with Justin and the two guards. “I’m sorry,” she said as she put a hand on her arm. “I didn’t mean to get carried away in there.” She swiveled around to one of the guards. “Hey, is there any way we have time to shower?” Her skin was still crusted with dirt and blood that had been collected on their journey.

The guards looked at each other and nodded. “I don’t see why not. They usually take their time in these types of meetings. Follow me.”

He led them to a row of stalls lining the trees, all with a fixture hanging above each one that functioned as a showerhead. “It’s not warm,” one guard spoke up, “but it gets the job done.”

Cameron nodded and thanked the pair as they handed them fabric to use as towels. She slipped into a stall, closing the latch on the wooden door, and hung her clothes over the side so that they wouldn’t get wet. A lever was pulled to unleash the cold water, and the shock Cameron experienced from its temperature made her curse aloud. “Shit, shit, shit.” The soap provided looked like it was made in-house; she assumed it was some mix of herbs and some sort of cleaning agent.

After drying off, dressing, and exiting, she worked her fingers through her hair first and the the laces of her boots, the guards approaching soon after that.

“They’re ready for you two.”

After being led back up to the podium, all of the council members were standing as they waited for them. Avery stepped forward into the center of the semicircle. “We have decided to extend an offer to Omega, one we have rarely – in our settlements history – have done. Your people are welcome to merge with us on the condition that some of their men will be used on a mission to Portland. We’ve lost too many, or have never heard back, and without the proper manpower, we will never find out what is happening up there.”

She stepped forward. “I understand this will be up for discussion with your leaders, Justin. I will let you decide how to handle delivering this information, along with bringing back your decision to us.”

[freedomliveson]

"That's extremely gracious of you...really, it is. We'll make sure to deliver the news personally. If it wouldn't be too much of a burden, however, we would greatly appreciate having a scout or two to guide us back to the border of Manhattan. We'll need the added protection." Avery nodded, whisps of her gray hair fluttering as she responded:
"That is a fair request. We will send two of our best to help you navigate the path back along with some supplies that will hopefully catch the attention of your leaders. We have much to offer, as you know, and if your people are as resourceful as I believe they are, I believe we would be amiss to not join forces. These are dark times, Justin. We all need each other to survive." Although Justin agreed with the sentiment, the tone in which she delivered her last statement could have been perceived as veiled foreboding. Maybe he was being paranoid, but the seed had already been planted. Was there some kind of ulterior motive behind her merging? Was this settlement a way to coax other growing settlements to their cause only to envelop them in servitude? The scout mentally shook the thoughts away, fully aware that he should be grateful that he wasn't being served up as a steak to the cannibals they had just escaped.
"Please, return soon. Much hinges on this decision."
"Of course. We'll plan to be back within the week."
"Be safe on your journeys, the both of you."

And safe it was, although it was a tad encumbered by the weight of the gifts Avery sent with them. Justin's old pack had to be swapped out with a new, larger rucksack that he could sling across his shoulder. It contained blueberries, apples, peaches, cucumbers and other bits of produce that made Justin's mouth salivate with the expectation. Of course, that expectation was met with reality when he was able to sample a peach for himself...then another. Real food! He couldn't stop talking about it to both Cam and the scouts, the latter nearly splitting their respective sides with laughter at Justin's childlike enthusiasm("WHO KNEW PEACHES COULD TASTE THIS GOOD?!?!?"). They were led to the border of the city where he and Cam's journey had begun just a few days ago, where Justin took over for guidance. It was about mid-afternoon when they arrived to the thick, concrete walls of Omega's protective barrier, some of the carnage from a few days still in place. Chunks of the wall littered the ground as they walked through the main gate, men and women dragging stretchers with covered bodies that Justin could only assume were recent deaths from those mortally wounded. Most of the settlement had been cleaned up, however, including central command. Boards covered the windows that had been shot out and the interior hallways were now being filled with caulk by some of the younger men who were beginning to learn the trade of construction. Justin found the remaining members of the council in the same meeting area discussing something quietly. Ryken was the first to rise from his chair, a glowing smile on his face.
"Good to see you're both alive...yet so soon?" His smile disappeared.
"Well, we've got some news for you that may...change everything." Justin recounted their adventures and ended with Avery's offer. June instantly chimed in after Justin said his last word:
"Well we do it, right? They've got access to actual food, shelter, water...so what if we spare a few men to go up to Portland? I'll go if that's what it takes!"
"I'm a bit...unsettled by how quickly she wanted to offer a partnership." Ryken rubbed some of the silvery scruff on his face, looking to Cameron as he asked:
"What do you think?"

[megatrash]

Cameron was shocked at the fact that they considered her opinion to be of any importance; Omega must have genuinely been how Justin had described them, not just some 'do-gooder' front they put on for the masses.

“I, um,” she cleared her throat, feeling the glare from the rest of those in the room, “I can’t pretend to understand their motives behind it. They could truly want to merge to increase population, add more to the gene pool, and continue to thrive. Or, it could be something more sinister than that. I really don’t know. But, I think with the circumstances we’ve been presented with, it may be our only option. We should keep our guard up though, in my opinion, until we get a better feel for what they are wanting from us.”

Cameron looked around the room to try to read the faces that were intently listening to her. She couldn’t.

“They did treat us kindly, though. I did not see anything alarming or suspicious while we stayed there. I don’t think they’re used to running into anyone other than the savages that live up north, which we would need to be extremely careful of.”

She looked over to Justin and smiled faintly. His positive outlook was definitely starting to rub off on her; she never gave anyone the benefit of the doubt anymore, especially after what she had gone through at Chesapeake, but now she was ready to move a group of people into a civilization she didn’t know much about. Maybe it was positivity, maybe it was stupidity.

“I think we should do it. I, um, I will need a new knife though. Mine unfortunately stayed up north with the camp that took us prisoner.”

Cameron breathed a sigh of relief to finally have said her part and have the spotlight taken off of her. Everyone surrounding her seemed so wise. Even Justin, although he wasn’t much older than her. It was a bit intimidating to say the least.

The council decided to sleep on the decision, which was understandable, since whatever path they took would have a severe impact on Omega.

A moment after they had stepped out of the meeting, a woman led Cameron to a small room for her to retire in, complete with a small bed, a cabinet, and a wooden chair. Once the door had closed behind her, she wasted no time to get into bed, setting her clothes and boots on the chair and climbing under a thick blanket. Exhaustion was constant so far from all the extensive travelling, but she wasn’t complaining; it was better than being dead with the rest of Chesapeake or being cooked and eaten by savages. Plus, along with Omega taking her in, she made a friend. A good, selfless friend.

She sighed before wiggling her body into a sort of fetal position and falling asleep. But the deep sleep didn’t last long, and her eyes soon fluttered open to stare into the dark room. After a half an hour of tossing and turning, she decided to get up and talk to Justin. She didn’t really have a chance to see how he felt about the situation, and part of her desperately wanted to know where his head was at,seeing as he was one of the most level-headed people she had ever met.

She got dressed and slipped out of the room quietly into the dark quiet night, and after speaking to a guard or two, she found her way to Justin’s room and knocked lightly. “Hey, it’s me,” she whispered into the wooden door. “I’m coming in.” She entered the room quietly and sat on the chair in the corner. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about everything, and,” she shook her head. “What do you think they’re gonna do?”

[freedomliveson]

With the council deciding to reconvene in the morning, Justin actually had some time to check up on the status of the settlement, which was a relief considering that he hadn't been able to walk around the place since their attackers were shoved out. When they had stepped outside, a middle aged woman with dark skin and bright green eyes came up to them, telling Cameron she had a place to stay.
"Glad to see you made it in one piece, Sarah." The woman smiled maternally.
"And I'm glad to know that you're not being served up as the catch of the day at the local cannibal feast." He snorted a laugh.
"You see any meat on these bones? I'm a stick. A rail, if you will." Sarah chuckled in her deep, hearty way as she looked to Cameron.
"Come on, honey, let's get you sorted out. And you..." She pointed at Justin.
"You try to get some rest, too, scout."
"I'll see what I can do." Justin placed a hand on Cameron's shoulder as he told her:
"I'll be around if you need me. Just ask some of the guards. They'll know where to point you to." His gaze lingered for just a brief moment, noting how the dull glow of the lanterns posted around the square seemed to illuminate Cameron's facial features at just the right angle. He had never noticed how soft her cheeks looked, how her eyes seemed to sparkle with a subdued intensity. Shaking himself internally, he turned around, blowing out an exhale as he snaked around the department store he and Mike just a few days earlier had used as cover from the armored menaces.
"She's pretty...so what? Why would that...why would that bother me?" He muttered to himself as he walked past the old dumpster and hung a left to get back onto the main street that was flanked by the remnants of old brownstones and townhomes that had been converted into living quarters of the post-apocalypse. Missing walls had been fortified with sheet metal or tightly nailed together wood planks, doors loosely swaying in the breeze due to their not matching with the original doorway. He glanced around, spotting brief signs of activity through open windows. At least most of them were alive. That counted for something...but would they remain alive if they left the confines of their settlement? Sure, staying complacent was dangerous, but they were trying to establish themselves as a beacon of stability and hope. Would they be able to offer that if they merged with Avery and her band of former scientists and laborers? Would they compromise on their ideals?

His reverie was interrupted by catching sight of the remnants of a small convenience store at the end of the block, Justin walking through the open doorway to find the living area was completely empty. Most of the others were probably on scavenging duty, which gave Justin some welcomed solitude. He walked past the worn out couches and chairs to the rear of the store, opening another door to reveal a makeshift bedroom with a full size bed frame and homemade mattress that, when Justin laid on it, he sunk into.
"Home." He mumbled as he sat up and unclothed himself down to a pair of shorts that went down to mid-thigh before collapsing into bed on his back, eyes closing for just a brief second...

It was a couple of hours later when he heard Cam knock on his door and walk in, the scout rubbing his eyes as he sat up groggily.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about everything, and...what do you think they’re gonna do?”

"I dunno..." His upper half fell back onto the mattress, eyes half closed.
"Sounds too good to be true." A wide yawn escaped his throat.
"But...I mean, if this is the ticket to restoring civilization, then why not?" He turned his head to look at his companion, examining her for a moment before asking:
"Why are you still here?" He thought about the question for a moment, then added:
"I mean, here with me? You didn't have to go with me up north, you could've stayed here, helped with cleaning up. Now you're in my room talking to me in my underwear and you aren't batting an eye. It's not that I...I don't appreciate it, it's just...I don't know, with the experiences you've had, I guess I wasn't expecting you to take to me that well. I mean with the men in your village basically being scum." He shook his head.
"Is ANY of this coming out right or do I sound like I'm awkwardly hitting on you?"

[megatrash]

Cameron fought a smile as Justin spoke, but ended up succumbing to a chuckle. “A little bit of both,” she joked, but soon she began to ponder the question he asked her.

“Well, I guess if the men from Chesapeake taught me anything other than how to fight, it was what a scum bag is. And you, you’re not one. I can tell. You took me in when you didn’t have to, plus you didn’t hate me after what happened to Omega.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “And, I mean, no pressure or anything, but you’re kind of the only friend I got left in the world. I’d hate it if you went out without me and something, I don’t know, happened to you. Especially if I could’ve been there to stop it.” She made the hand motion of throwing a knife and chuckled.

“Well,” Cameron started as she stood up from the chair, “I’ll let you get some sleep. Something tells me we’re gonna have a long day tomorrow. Good night, Justin.”

She quietly exited the room and began to navigate her way back to her quarters when the distant sound of men shouting attracted her attention. She veered off the path she was taking and began following the voices until they were in her line of sight.

It looked as those two of the men were dragging in a body from the line of trees encompassing the area, and awaiting them were four other guards. Cameron still couldn’t understand what they were saying to each other, though, so she began to inch closer until their words were audible.

“You were supposed to be with him, Smith!” A man shouted at one of the guards pulling in the body.
“I was! He told me to go back to camp and that he’d be right back!” Smith pleaded to the man. “We went to go find him when he didn’t come back.”

Cameron had enough with hiding in the trees, and she stepped out of the shrubbery towards the men. “Hey, what – “ she gasped in shock.

The body that they were dragging in was an Omega guard, and he was in the same condition as the body they saw on the highway: arrows jutting out of his body and eyeballs removed.

“Who the hell would do this?” Another guard shouted out for someone to answer.
“From the North,” Cameron replied quietly with her eyes glued to the man on the ground.
“Who!?” Smith asked as he approached her.
“The more primitive villages to the north. Justin and I saw someone with the same injuries up there. It’s, uh, it’s a message,” Cameron explained, feeling a lump growing in her throat. “They must have followed us back.”

At the realization of her own words, her head snapped up to the man that seemed to be in charge. “If they followed us back her, they may attack. You need to alert everyone. We aren’t sure what they’re capable of.” She grabbed the boots of the lifeless body and signaled the other two holding his arms to pick him up. “We gotta hurry. Come on.”

They carried the man to a room nearby that had medical equipment sitting on wooden shelves, along with vials of different liquids and powders.

“Smith,” the same man called out again. “Go alert the other guards. Make sure all women and children are inside. Also – go get Justin.”
Smith nodded and dashed out of the room quickly. He turned to Cameron.
“What do you remember about these savages? Anything helps.”
She squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to replay everything that occurred. “We were knocked out, then put in a makeshift prison deep in the ground. The, uh, the camp. It was large. But, they were definitely primitive. No guns or advanced weaponry. Justin may remember more.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”

[freedomliveson]

Justin had expected more of a conversation between the two of them, but then again, the moment Cam left was when he drifted back to sleep. One of this last thoughts was to thank Cam for her being there for him when he needed her most. She was a good person...and she was really gro..ww..ii..ng...on..hi..

_____________

"Justin, we've got a situation!"

The voice sounded fuzzy, distant. The voice rumbled a few other things before he felt something cold and metallic poke against his ribs, prompting the scout to sit up violently, eyes opening to find Paul Smith, a wide eyed twenty year old guard, inside his bedroom with his pistol drawn.
"Woah there, Paul...what's...what's going on?"
"Manny got killed on patrol and his...his eyes were scooped out of his skull and arrows...all these arrows..he got shot with them and..."
"Wait, wait...breath..." Justin rose to his feet and rummaged through a rickety wooden dresser before clothing himself with loose fitting cargo pants and a breathable light blue t-shirt, all the while hearing faint shouts of command. To his credit, Paul had stayed quiet, albeit nervously. He placed himself outside the bedroom, gun extended in front of him as Justin came alongside him, adjusting the scabbard on his belt as he asked:
"So Manny had arrows sticking out of him?"
"The lady you're traveling with...Cameron, right? She said that you guys had run into another guy like that."
"We had..." The scout withdrew the fourteen inch blade as he asked:
"Are the rest of the guardsmen out on patro-" The last syllable fell to the ground as Justin caught a slight pounding in the air...the pounding was beginning to grow in intensity along with a kind of primal scream that Justin remembered all too well.
"Get to the south gate and fortify the entrance! I'll round up some others and cover the north. Hopefully we can fend them off without them getting inside." Smith complied, sprinting out of the store and to the right while Justin followed suit in tempo, banking left and down the street, the main square laying straight ahead. As he got to the entrance of the square, he saw sinewy forms with bows and arrows gliding over the stone wall that separated the square from the outside. There were two bodies near the wall, arrows jutting out of their necks. Cursing silently at himself for not bringing a firearm, Justin planted himself against the wall of one of the many buildings that flanked the square, tossing alternatives through his mind. They were more than likely attacking from multiple directions, which meant that he could either engage this squadron here with his knife and face certain death or...

The armory.

He sprinted across the square, arrows shrieking through the air, one singing the sleeve of his shirt as he made it into the base of operations, which was now beginning to come alive with a few of the guards stationed to command now on their feet.
"Justin?" Jessica, a tall brunette with arms just as muscular, if not more, than some of the strongest men in Omega, approached Justin, wooden rifle in hand.
"Jes, good, you're here. Get the rest of your squad ready to go, we've got an incursion at the south entrance and the square."
"Thought I heard some trouble brewing."
"What gave it away, the screams of agony or the faint sounds of gunfire?" Jes rolled her eyes with a smirk as she motioned to the four guards filtering out of the barracks down the hall opposite from the council chambers.
"We take care of the attackers in the square, then fortify the south entrance! Move out!" Justin arrived at the armory, selecting a rather gleaming pistol along with two clips of ammunition, silently thanking Yessenia and Gerel for their crafting abilities as he ran back to the entrance. Jes and her squad had taken out a couple of the attackers and were now in cover behind some of the sandbags left over from the previous siege. Justin could only hope Cam was faring just as well as they were now...

[megatrash]

The man, who she learned was named Jared, retrieved two guns for them to use until they could make it to a larger group of guards.

“I’m not very good with these things,” Cameron whispered as she kept her eyes on the horizon.
“Don’t sweat it,” Jared replied. “If you see someone with a bow and arrow, shoot ‘em.”
She nodded and wiped the beads of sweat forming on her head with her arm.

They were crouched down on a small wall that lined a short building near the perimeter of the camp; Jared’s rifle stuck out over it while Cameron sat on the ground watching their backs.

“I think it’s time we move,” he mumbled. “I’m hearing most of the action coming from the south. We aren’t doing much being this far north.”
“Okay,” she agreed, and without either of them breaking their sight from their designated landscape, she grabbed his hand and stood up.
“Follow me,” he signaled with a hand as they began to run in a crouched position, bobbing and weaving through the town. He finally put his back against a wall which Cameron mimicked.

“We need to get to the armory, then the entrance. We’ll get you some knives,” he smirked as his head swiveled to scan the horizon.
“How did you know?” she asked.
“There’s been a lot of chatter about you since you’ve arrived here. Let’s go.”

Again, they quickly dashed towards the armory to see two people going through their inventory.
“Hey, Gerel,” Jared greeted in a hushed tone. “I need some more ammo for this rifle here. And for the lady, knives. Whatever you got.”
The man went to work as he bustled around the small room collecting what was requested.
“Here, Jared.” He provided him with the ammo, then looked to Cameron. “We have three knives, good for throwing. Be careful, though, they – “

Cameron didn’t wait for his warning; one was immediately strapped on her thigh, one in her boot, and the other now in her hand. “Thank you.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the meek man nodded.
“You ready, Cameron?” Jared asked.
She smiled. “Yes.”
They both took a deep breathe before exiting the building to see a group holding the entrance. That was there destination.

“Shit, look!” Cameron pointed as she saw a group of savages beginning to scale down a wall to the east, not far from her and Jared’s position.
“Detour!” Jared yelled light-heartedly as he began running towards it while he fired with precision at the assailants. A few dropped to the ground lifelessly while others readied their bows.
”Zzzzzing” One whipped pasted Cameron’s head, causing a small shriek from her. She began to run behind Jared before an arrow flew by her again, this time from behind them. She turned her body and ran towards the man as he readied his next arrow. After lunging at him, she sunk the knife into his neck and used a boot to hold his body down while she pulled it out.

The man grabbed his throat as blood began to bubble in his mouth. She couldn’t watch, so she turned away and began to run towards Jared when she saw him sink to his knees.

“No!” Cameron sprinted towards him to see an arrow sticking out of his chest. “Jesus, Jared. I’m so sorry.”
He was smiling yet struggling to keep his eyes open. “Don’t sweat it, kid.”
This made Cameron laugh, as he only looked to be a few years older than her.
“I’m not scared to die. Go tell the others at the gate about the east wall. Don’t try to fight ‘em here alone.”
She nodded as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. “Okay, okay.”

Cameron began to spring towards the group to see Justin with the others. “Justin!” she shouted as she slowed her pace as to not run into them. “Jared’s hit,” she was breathing heavily. “They’re coming over the wall on the east. Fast.”