Apocalypse

17: Lost & Found

I reached down as fast as I could and grabbed Ryan's arm.

He was panting and trying to make his way up the wall.

"Stop, I will pull you up."

"It's no use. I would pull you in."

"No you won't, I'll be fine."

I reached my other arm down and started to pull him up. My body started slipping in.

"Arizona, stop."

Tears filled my eyes. I knew I couldn't do it, but I couldn't give up.

"I'm not leaving you."

"You have to. You have to go back to civilization. You have to survive."

"I'm not surviving without you!"

"You have so much going for you. Don't let it be thrown away."

"Stop! I have nothing to live for without you! Nothing! You think my family will accept me when I go back? After they think I'm dead? Who knows what Jim will do next?! I would rather die with you right now than live another second without you! Now just rest for a minute and I will help you up when you're ready!"

Tears slipped down my cheek. I needed him more than anything right now.

My arm ached from holding him. But I couldn't let go, I had already lost him once, I wasn't going to lose him again.

He finally mustered the strength to heave himself up.

He flopped on the grass and we both panted with exhaustion. "I did it again." He panted.

"What?"

"I left a man behind."

"I already told you it doesn't count, I'm a woman."

He rolled over and kissed me.

"No, you're my woman."

I giggled girlishly.

We sat up and tried to come up with a plan. We decided to stay here for the night. Luckily, Ryan had thrown the duffle bag up the wall so we still had most of our supplies.

We settled in a patch of tall grasses, laying on our backs as we watched the sun set.

"You know, when I was little, my dad and I used to always go fishing at dusk, and we would watch the sun set together. It was awesome."

"Do you miss your dad?"

"More than anyone else."

"You know, I've been thinking about it, and maybe you think I am crazy but have you ever thought of going back to Arizona? To see your family?"

"They won't accept me again. My girlfriend told everybody."

"If they love you, they won't turn you away."

I don't think that it was fair that he didn't get to go back to his family. He deserved so much more.

"I don't know if they love me after what I did."

"Well I did."

I kissed him on the forehead.

He smiled. "You are very hard to please. It's an achievement I must say."

I laughed. "How could anybody stop loving you?"

I took first watch. He needed a break.

I carressed his hair while he slept. There were no words to describe how perfect he was. He was so happy with the broken world around him. When Mother Nature throws a rock, he asks for a boulder and laughs as death misses him. I never thought I would be in love with somebody like this. I never thought it would be the person that I hated in the beginning would be the person I loved in the end.

I couldn't wake him, I ended up taking the whole night as watch.

He woke up the next morning. "Why didn't you wake me up?" He yawned.

"I wasn't tired."

He kissed me on the cheek.

"So what's our plan?"

We decided to head into a small local town to load up on supplies, then we would go from there.

We said goodbye to the large field and started walking in the woods.

He told me stories from when he was in the navy. He told me how his dog tags fell off the boat once and he jumped into the chilly waters of the Atlantic to retrieve them before they sank to the bottom. And once when they recruited him and a few other men to go on a submarine mission. I didn't care about his stories as much as I loved hearing his voice. His soft and deep voice that made me want to kiss him over and over. The way his hair flopped up and down as he jogged through the forest with me. His bright blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires. Abosolutely perfect

I heard the snap of a twig from somewhere behind us.

I whipped around and aimed my gun. It felt odd in my hands since I was so used to my crossbow.

There was nobody there. I walked a few steps forward and scanned the area. Nobody.

All of a sudden, a brown sack was being pulled over my head.