Birds of a Feather (Apocalypse AU)

Chapter 5 - Smoke Signals (Kor)

TW: cursing, weapons

Zii woke up, rubbing his eyes and stretching his arms out to either side. His hands hit something hard, and he jerked away, almost falling off of his branch. Zii's eyes flew open, and he jolted upright, hands scrambling for the branches around him.

After a few seconds of panicking and wobbling back and forth in the tree, Zii regained his balance, heaving a sigh of relief. He looked over to Kor, who was sitting still, watching the trees and listening. Annoyed Kor hadn't noticed that he had barely avoided falling out of a tree, Zii moved to poke him, but realized that Kor wasn't sitting idly.

Kor had broken a long, straight branch off of the oak and, throughout the night, fashioned it into a menacing point with his pocket knife. He was now polishing the sides of the staff, making sure there were no holes and covering up any abrasions that he might develop holding it.

Zii whistled softly as Kor's eyes snapped up. "Didn't sleep well?" Zii mumbled, yawning again as he wiggled closer along his branch.

"You know it," Kor responded as he put his pocket knife away. He held his weapon with two hands, testing its balance. His eyes narrowed as he gave it an experimental swing, followed by a quick stabbing motion.

Zii mumbled in appreciation as he stretched his legs. He had forgotten that they had slept in a tree, and his spine was numb from the contact. Groaning, he opened an eye as Kor handed him a granola bar with a smirk on his face. Scoffing, he ruffled Kor's brown hair and leaned against the trunk, opening the rapper and munching on the dry bar.

The sun had just risen, painting the trees in gold and yellow. Birds had begun to rise, chirping and flying around without a care. Kor relished the silence, although it was rudely interrupted by Zii's loud chewing.

Kor didn't sleep well. Even before they had to flee, he rarely slept through the entire night and, if he did, he could never do it consistently. Well, at least in a situation like this, he could keep watch throughout the night.

Kor looked down at his spear. He always had loved spears and staffs, not only because he could use them and not mortally injure people, but because they were ranged, and provided a useful distance between him and the person he was fighting. He twirled his spear, attaching it to a belt he slung across his chest. He could easily take it out if he needed to.

He looked over at Zii, who was quickly consuming the entire granola bar. Sighing, he realized he should probably eat as well. Taking out another granola bar, they both sat on the oak as the forest woke up.

About 15 minutes later, after some intense complaining from Zii, both teens descended from the branches and continued their path away from the city. They both knew that Canadian winters were harsh and unforgiving, but there was little choice when the alternative was the highly populated area around the Great Lakes. Zii was familiar with one of the natural parks, and they would be able to navigate the area and find a place to set up camp before the winter.

Before they had left, Kor had handed Zii the pocket knife. Zii had given him a wicked grin as he twirled the knife with a precision that made Kor blink in surprise. Hopefully no one would try and bother them if they had weapons.

Kor marched forwards as Zii strolled along besides him, whistling a tune they had learned in grade school.

"Dude, shut up. The zombies might hear you," Kor hissed at Zii.

"Well, at least I'll be popular then," Zii retorted with a frown. Kor crossed his arms as Zii stopped whistling, grinning at his friend. They continued walking in silence, the only sounds being the crunch of brush beneath their feet and the whistling of birds as they passed.

Kor noticed when Zii began to slow down, turning around to look at him. Zii squinted, holding his hand over his eyes. "Is that smoke?" he asked, pointing to a column of dark gray and white rising in the distance. Kor sniffed, smelling a tinge of wood smoke, like the type he would smell on winter evenings.

"It certainly smells like it," Kor agreed, putting his hand on his hip and staring in that direction. The smoke was over a small hill, and they could easily walk there in under an hour.

"Do you want to check it out? Could be dangerous," Kor asked, turning to look at Zii.

Zii smiled quickly, "I live for danger." He started walking towards the smoke, and Kor jogged a little to catch up. Despite their weapons and confidence, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the thought of seeing other survivors, especially given the fact that they were both teenagers. People rarely took them seriously when they went about their normal lives, and Kor doubted that would change much now.

They chatted about not having to go to school and the different ways they could make their favorite foods with the limited supplies they had as they approached the column of smoke. They quieted as they neared the top of the hill, dropping close to the ground to avoid detection. As they crawled to the top of the hill, they peeked over, seeing the camp being set up below them.

Groups of heavily armed men wearing black athletic clothes were walking around the perimeter of the camp, which was protected with a combination of wooden planks from downed trees and barbed wire. The inside of the fence had been flattened, making way for the several red and black tents that had been set up within the boundaries. Kor noticed that there were several dogs that were also loose around the grounds, sniffing and sitting at various entrances and gaps in the wall. A cabin had been built in the middle of the camp, and its chimney had a line of gray smoke coming out of it.

"Hooooly shit," Zii muttered as the two took in the heavily armed group occupying the camp.

A dark figure sat inside the cabin with his feet propped up on his desk. He twirled a knife in his hand as a group of men came in to report. He let out a slight grin.

The game was afoot.