08. Watering Hole
Chloe
After our incident with the Rabids, our journey is going surprisingly smooth. No Raiders, Rotters, Rabids, or Bestials. The only part that's been off is Brody, he hasn't uttered a single word, and it's stupid because it's Brody—he's always doing something playful whether it's an action or something verbal. To say it's bugging me is accurate, and it's occurred for what would be approximately thirty minutes in the normal world.
Is he tricking me into talking to him?
This is crazy, I'm an adult for heaven's sake.
"Why are you being quiet?"
His eyes swing to me for a second as his shoulders lift with his huff and fall roughly. "I'm pissed about what I did, OK? It was stupid, and I shouldn't have worried you like that."
Great, he's still beating himself up over it. If anything, I thought it was water under the bridge. Thinking hard on what to say, I consider taking a 'Brody' approach.
"Why don't the infected make good dance partners?"
The visibility of his lips curling up signals I'm on the right track, so my failure of a punchline shouldn't matter.
"Because they can't cordyceps."
Brody makes a pointed look at me, and embarrassingly my cheeks heat up.
Turning away, mumbling, "You know, coordinate steps, cordyceps?" for a poor explanation.
A booming laugh fills the overgrowth, and it sends tingly vibrations through my system. It was one you could tell belonged to a young man in his prime, yet it was soft and musical. There has never been a laugh quite like his in my life, and as much as it shouldn't, it puts me on edge.
"You're learning, that makes me happy." Brody's eyes twinkle as they stare into my own.
Biting my lower lip, following the movements of his limbs lazily stretching high over his head. Pausing on the way down, he hesitantly inches his face toward the pit under his arm. Taking a quick whiff, his nose crinkles like a rabbit's after scenting something before resuming a natural position.
"I stink."
Keeping pace, I retort, "That sounds like a you problem."
Brody tugs at the fabric fitting his upper half, and there are in fact faint damp patches under his arms, around the collar, and faintly over his chest. "Come on, you must smell too, we did do a lot of cardio back there."
Walking pass, I share a quick, "I'm fine."
Warmth envelopes my wrist before I'm spun around, something firm pressing into my back. Judging by the prickling, it's bark and Brody is inching from me as he inhales softly by my neck, the exhale from his lips tickles the skin and my body instinctively squirms.
"I think you need to clean as well . . . we need to keep as many of those things off our scent as we can."
Controlling my breathing along with my slumping posture, his eyes look like they're lighting up in amusement until he glances down at our nearing bodies. Backing away with a quick clear of the throat, his cheeks gain the faintest of flushes.
"Sorry, we should make a move." He swings his arm to the side to allow me the space I need to take the lead in the direction we were heading in the first place.
Brody isn't wrong, I need a bath too and the fact that a Bestial and a Rabid could sniff us out if our odour is too strong is correct too. On the other hand, I'm not comfortable bathing with a man nearby.
I'd rather face a swarm of Rotters.
When the bridge comes, I'll cross it. For now, we need to get as much space travelled as we can before nightfall and create a contingency plan for when we reach sector seven. I'm sure there will be more infected in the area since people tried to flee the earlier sectors, so the more ammunition we have, the better we will be covered on the road.
If Barren's still alive, I wouldn't be surprised if he has men protecting him since he's a business man and can bribe Raiders who will do anything for whatever they can get their hands on. If not, then it's back to the drawing board.
Brody on the other hand, I'm going to need to be careful around. Intentionally or not, his carefree behaviour is going to get one—if not both of us hurt, and I don't mean just with the Rotters. He means well, but I can't trust myself to let anyone in.
The twigs crunch beneath my feet the further we trek, bendy branches try to swat at us after passing by, and the thorns are a pain but evadable. Other than birds and a few critters, there's been no other sign of life. Sometimes I'm never sure if that's a good thing or not.
"Hey, come here."
Peering over at Brody, he's lowered his stature and is keeping his footsteps light as he travels toward an opening in the shrubbery. After a hand gesture, my body follows stealthily behind him, and my . . . I'm pleased I didn't flip him off and carry on.
It's like something straight out of a fairy tale with the clearing hidden away in the overgrowth, sun rays beaming down through the canopy, creating a curtain of light around a glistening watering hole; the light brings out the beautiful shades of aqua framed by a clear bank followed with bright strands of grass. To top it off, there's a beautiful buck standing in all of his prime not that far from us. A beautiful doe prances near the further part of the tree line, a leg bent in an elegant pose.
The male looks over to her, then at us for a moment longer before bowing. To my surprise, Brody bows his head.
"It's respect, earn it, reciprocate it . . . go on, he's waiting for you."
And he was. Big brown eyes stare into mine, blinking subtly as he bows once more, his antlers catching the light on the way up. Carefully bowing my head like Brody did, a gentle call comes from him before he bounds off after his partner, leaving me in awe.
Before I can help myself, I'm gushing. "Brody, this is amazing!"
We face one another, and he's smiling widely at me. "I wish I could say I knew it was here, but I guess the surprise is nice for the both of us."
My head bobs in agreement, noticing the log stretching alongside the water. Sitting down on it, my body starts the relaxing process. "How do you think this came to be?"
Scratching at his jaw—something I've noticed he does a lot while he thinks about things, he replies, "Perhaps with the overgrowth and change in climate since the virus . . . the ground could've started crumbling, and the rain over the years has formed a pool."
It makes sense, and as much as I hate to admit it, his view on things is refreshing, everything seems to amuse him, or please him. He finds beauty in all things apart from the horrible, but even then he seems to find something other than negativity toward them.
What must he have thought about me?
"What is it you like about the world since the infection took over?" he asks once again, this time I feel as if he's deserved a response.
"Nature. It's something I have loved since a young age, and now that it has taken over again, I feel more at ease about facing the world."
His eyes hold understanding as he sits beside me, and it adds to the easy atmosphere. We remain quiet for a few minutes after that, and that's when he asks, "If you don't mind me asking, what is your mission? You obviously came from an earlier district, that's why I never saw you before."
A rough breath passes my lips. "You're right, I came from sector three. We made runs to district one and two for survivors, but nothing was there. Then I moved on with the intent to find someone, three sectors later, I stumble across you on the way."
Brody chuckles at the end of my explanation. "Yeah, you can hardly miss me," he jokes. "I was originally from sector six. I couldn't abandon it, so when I was old enough, I chose to clear it from infected—at least until I realised things will always stray in. So, I was planning to head off to sector seven and where ever possible . . . then I met you."
"Does meeting me change your plans?" I query, determined to know the answer. It may even help me piece together any other intentions he isn't up to sharing.
If he says no, then I'm not really sure how to respond. The first thing I would want to know is probably why it wouldn't change anything since we hardly know one another. If he ends up saying yes, then that makes sense because I have my own goals to accomplish, and separating ways will simply fix it. Until we get there, we are helping one another, it's what we agreed, and I'd be a bitch to back out of an agreement.
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