Survivors

Chapter 3: Nature's Call

After being assaulted by a sonic weapon of some sort, and seeing the dirty humanoid with the metal stick the sound must have originated from, Kara decided two things. She had apparently stolen the round brown objects and humans dealt with theft in a different manner than Kryptonians. Rather than finding out if there were other punishments or even what happened to the man who punished her for the transgression, Kara ran. Bag in one hand, Kal El in her other arm, she ran fast and did not stop.

The blonde ran through the night, avoiding the sounds she had come to associate with pain, the mechanical contraptions that rolled the black paths, the sounds of human voices, the smells of large dwellings, the smaller villages and anything she associated with noise. She ran through the day, not stopping with Kal El, who slept in her arm, until he absolutely demanded food. The land was flat before, flatter than what she was accustomed to, without the tall rock structures and streams. In Nebraska she had found a stream, a very large stream, much longer than and wider than the one she had drank from earlier. She was thirsty and knew Kal needed more water with his food and by sundown the next day, the blonde decided it was safe enough to stop along the river in a small patch of trees that, unknown to her, bordered the Kansas, Missouri State line.

Taking out one of the few remaining food rations, she tasted the river water, thought it was dirtier but it seemed drinkable. She dripped a bit onto Kal El's food tray and luckily the food had the same reaction, even if Kal El did not. He did not seem to enjoy the food as much, whining in between bites and spitting half of it out, but hunger won over so most found its way into his belly.

Kara's stomach was a different story. Instead of hunger for once, her stomach was not happy. Looking around she decided there was no refresher here and the girl simply refused to do her business outside.

"This is not good. I don't think my stomach agrees with the vegetables I ate. Or maybe I shouldn't have eaten so many." Kara sighed, talking to Kal El or herself. She suspected most of the time she was talking to herself but having Kal El there made her feel as if she wasn't losing her mind, or as lonely.

Then Kara smelt the most wonderful thing she had smelt since arriving here. Turning to pick up Kal, she was thankful he was asleep, as she wasn't certain about him actually drinking the water here. It tasted very different, much grittier along with other tastes. She could see the vague movements under the water that she took for biological entities and wondered if they contributed to the taste. This water was much deeper than the brook she had found and moved much quicker. Deciding to investigate, despite being scared out of her mind at the moment, Kara gently picked Kal up and walked slowly towards the smell that had captivated her.

Luckily the smell was still in the thicket of trees she had found herself in. Peering out behind a large trunk she was transfixed by what she saw.

A large group of people, many in fabric, small dwellings were walking about, talking and seemed to be having a generally good time. It reminded her of the parties she used to attend with her parents. Instead of lavish tables, and artificial lights, this party seemed to be in the open, under the skies. She spied the fires and the metal contraptions over them. They were loud but not as loud as the cities she had neared. Despite the smell and wish to rush the gathering, eating everything in sight, despite her stomach pain, Kara waited uncomfortably. If these people had congregated so far from a large or even small city, they had to have a method for waste, right?

Taking a deep breath, Kara investigated further with her nose. She saw a male humanoid moving towards the back of the gathering towards a small blue rectangular structure. When he opened the door, the smell hit her immediately.

"I can't believe he is actually going in there, voluntarily. That is a worse punishment than the Phantom Zone." she whispered to herself, yes talking to herself. Kal was still fast asleep.