The Dead Live (Book 3)

Chapter 45: Weapons (Christians POV)

We had been walking for quite a while, as we were now in quite a deep section in the woods at this point. There was no use to even be looking at the map, as I would not have a clue as to where it was that we were at any ways in the first place either.
I felt like it was going to get dark at any moment now, due to the fact that I had slept in so late, as well as the fact that the sun was not out as much as it usually was around this time of the year. When I looked up in the sky, it was quite a bit hard to see, but I felt like I could see some sort of reflection of the sun off of the pine trees.
I shook my head though, as we had been walking for a few hours now, as it was clear to me that what Ben had told me about the fact that they had kids, was in fact true, due to the fact that some of the foot steps were from a lot smaller shoes than the rest of the foot steps that I saw in front of me.
I also noticed that the foot steps also seemed to be getting just a little bit closer to us, as I was fairly certain that they were no more than 10 minutes ahead of us now, and for all that we knew, they might have taken a bit of a break at some point, and could be right at the bottom of the hill.
I had to keep that in my head at the same time too, as I could tell that it was in fact a possibility that they could be just ahead of us, and we had to be a lot more sneaky than we were now. I had thought that we had been going at a good pace all Day, as we had gone at least 5 miles, but it made sense as to why they were going faster, as they did not have to track foot steps such as we did.
I looked behind me once again, as I was still getting a little bit worried, as to the fact that Ben might have stopped following me, or I might have lost him some how. I had told him not to yell for me out out side of the walls, unless it was a really desperate situation, that he needed me right away.
He also knew not to yell for me either right now, due to the fact that we were tracking some people, and we for sure did not want to have them hear it, and to know that there was some one right behind them. I had learned that at this point, that every one in the world knew that most people that were out side were not good people.
I breathed in heavily to my self, as I let out quite a loud sigh of relief at the same time too, as I saw that Ben was right behind me, and he had actually taken in the fact that I had told him that he needed to be more quiet, as he had been very loud whilst he had been walking through out this day.
I nodded to my self, as I suddenly felt a bit more safe, now that I knew that he was okay, as I had not looked back to check on him in nearly an hour. I saw he had a bit of a worn out look on his face, which surprised me, as I had thought that he was over that, and he had gotten used to this a few months ago.
Maybe he had not gotten all that much sleep last night, due to the fact that he had in fact been rolling around for a lot of the night, as well as the fact that he had gotten up before me this morning. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I had slept in quite a bit how ever, at the exact same time too.
Either way, I could tell that some thing was up with the kid, as perhaps it had to do with the fact that he had some thing in his head, which I was tempted to ask him as to what it was, as I was a little bit upset due to the fact of what it was that he was doing, as he knew that I had told him long ago, that he needed to keep his focus on his surroundings, and not his thoughts when he was out here.
I guess it was a lot different how ever, due to the fact that we were out in the woods, and it was just a slight bit more safe. I still could not help but be worried for him, rather than be upset at him how ever, as I then nodded to him, to let him know that I was about to speak to him in the first place too.
He stared down at the ground, with his head a little bit low, which I was not sure if that were due to the fact that he was too tired to think at this moment, or if it might just be the fact that he had not seen me nod to him in the first place. Perhaps he was a bit embarrassed about the way that he was acting right now though too, as that could be a very strong possibility too.
I sighed a bit of a soft sigh to my self, as I then shook my head at the exact same time as well, as I did my best to try to shake off all of those thoughts and all of the questions that seemed to be racing through my head at this very moment in time, as I then did in fact finally begin to speak to the kid, a bit loud so that it got his attention.
"What's going on kid? We are close... We gotta keep going..." I said to him, as I squinted my eyes at the kid at the exact same time too, to let the kid know that I was dead serious with the question that I had just asked of him to answer in the first place too, as I waited for the kid to respond back to me.
I know it was a bit harsh, as I really was more saying it, to let him know that we needed to keep going, as I really did not care all too much about what it was that he was thinking on at this very moment, as I knew that we had bigger things to be focused on at this current moment in time.
I felt like the kid knew that I did not seem to care all that much at all to what it was that he had to say either, as I saw him dip his head even lower than it had been not too long before now. I rolled my eyes, as I felt like I was kind of about ready to give up on the kid, as I really just wanted to make sure that he was at least focused enough to keep following me, and ready to pull the trigger if we got in to a little bit of a skirmish at the same time as well.
The kid seemed to notice me roll my eyes at him, as he looked right back up at me, as I could still see that he had a bit of an embarrassed look on his face at the same time too. I could tell that the kid was braining storming some sort of response to what it was that I had just said to him not too long before now at the exact same time too.
The kid seemed to stare at me now with a bit of a blank look on his face as well, until after just a little while longer, he did in fact finally nod to me, as it was clear that he was about ready to speak to me after quite a bit of some time of silence. I sighed just a little bit to my self, as I then nodded right back over to the kid.
Ben seemed to look my in the eyes for quite a bit of some time still, not due to the fact that he was trying to test me at all, but more just to let me know that he was there, and he was well aware of his surroundings, which did in fact make me feel quite a bit better, and a lot more safe, as he then finally began to speak up to me, as I then listened as to what it was that he had to say to me at the exact same time too.
"Sorry... I just left my can to put my water in to, at the gas station... So I guess that is gone now..." He said to me, as I was a bit annoyed with what it was that he had just said to me at the exact same time too, as I knew that what he had just said to me was useless, and it did not help us at all.
It was going to take us a couple more minutes back wards, as to the fact that we had stopped ourselves for a little bit of some time, due to the fact that Ben had lost him self in his head, over a simple can for water, that we had plenty of back at the community any ways.
I was quite a bit upset by it, as I did my best to try not too show it, as I vented out my anger on him, by simply squinting my eyes at him, as that made me seem to feel just a little bit more relaxed, as I saw the kid could no longer keep his eyes locked on with me for any more time.
At this point, it was not me worried as to the fact that we were not going to find them until dark, as I still knew that we had plenty of time in the day to catch up to them, especially if they had kids. It was more just the fact that I had not a clue as to where it was that we were at right now for one thing.
Another thing too, was the fact that I had as to not a clue as to how far we had been side tracked trying to go and look for these people. I kind of felt like it was a waste of time, but if it were true that these people did in fact have kids, like Ben had said that they did, than we needed to find them, as our group did need new people for one thing, as well as some kids, as we had less than 15 kids left in the community after the attack.
I shook my head how ever, as I did my best to shake off all of those thoughts all at once, at the same time as well, as I knew that we needed to find these people, as they were a lot safer at our place than they would be out where ever it was that they were trying to go over to right at this moment, even after the fact of the other community attacking our own.
I shivered a bit to my self, as I kind of felt a bit sick to even have all of those thoughts flow through my head in the first place, as I did not like to think back on the attack that had happened to our community nearly a year ago at this point now, as I knew that Ben was coming up on his 15 birth day very soon, which I felt like I needed to make that a special day for him.
I shook off those thoughts at the same time too, as I was starting to realize that it was now I that was the one that was wasting a bunch of time. I kept my eyes focused on Ben, who I saw that he did not have his eyes back on mine still, as I then nodded to him, to try to get his attention back on me.
Ben stared down at the ground for a bit more time, as I wondered just how lost he was right now, simply over a water can. But how ever, after just a little while longer, I saw him lift his head up to me, and nod back to me, letting me know that it was now safe for me to speak, as it was clear that I had his attention, which I did in fact begin to start to speak up to him as well.
"Well... You have bottles in your bag... Get over it... We can get you a new one when we get back to the community!" I said to him, as I rolled my eyes at him at the same time too, which he did in fact see me do this time, as I could tell that he was quite a bit embarrassed as to the fact that he had seemed to make a bit of a big deal over some thing as simple as that.
Surely he did not view that can as some thing that was special to him right? I remember getting that can for him a few months ago when we had been at the market together, which felt a lot more empty than it used to be, even though we had got every thing back to normal practically, at this point.
I shook my head, as I did my best to shake off all of those thoughts from my head at the exact same time too, as I then got my focus back on the task that was in front of us, which was of course at this very moment, the fact that we needed to keep on going, as we needed to catch up to them, as I knew they could not be too far ahead by now.
I turned my head back to Ben, as I saw him reach in to his bag to get a bottle of water from out of there at the same time too, as it was clear to me that he had in fact listened as to what it was that I had just said to him in the first place. He opened the bottle and began to gulp it down, as I could tell that he had not drank any thing in quite a bit of some time.
At least, if I had to guess, that the last time he had drank any thing, would have been back at the gas station, if he had in fact drunken any thing there when he was awake. I sighed a bit to my self, as I shook off all of those thoughts all at once, as Ben finished off the full bottle in just a few seconds.
I squinted my eyes at him, as I could tell that he was thirsty, but he did not need to be drinking a whole bottle of water that fast. I shook my head as I waited for Ben to just throw the bottle down some where, like we always did when we had an empty bottle, but he instead put it back in to his bag.
It was as if he thought we were going to find another source of water, and fill up the bottles a bit, which made very little sense to me, due to the fact that we always brought plenty, and some extra just in case, when ever we went on our trips. Though I suppose, if he was going to be drinking at that rate, it did in fact make sense.
I was not so sure as to what was going on with the kid right now, but I shook my head, as I shook off all of those thoughts at the same time as well, as I then got my focus back on to the present, and what it was that we had been doing before all of this in the very first place too.
Which was of course the fact that we were following the trail of foot prints out in to the woods. I saw Ben nod to me at the same time as well, as it was clear to me as to what it was that he was trying to say to me in the very first place. I blinked a few times, but I did in fact nod right back over to him all at once.
I then turned my head back behind me, as I then nodded to my self as well, as I then began to start to follow the foot prints that were in front of us, as to my surprise at the same time too, after just a few more steps, they seemed to be getting closer than they had been even before, after we had taken our little break.
It kind of had me in a little bit of some state of shock, as I began to look around to make sure that they were not simply just waiting for us, and were about to shoot us. Perhaps they might have taken a bit of a break at the same time too, not too far ahead of us. If we had ended continuing to keep on going, than we might have actually been able to catch up to them.
That would have been a lot easier to know that they were stopped, and we could have hid behind some trees before we began to speak to them. We could do as such of course at the same time too, but it was going to be a lot harder for us to hide, and then speak to them on time for them not too get too far ahead of us.
I sighed to my self a bit, as I then shook off all of those thoughts, and I then kept on going forward, trying not to get too upset at my self, nor Ben about the good bit of an opportunity that we had missed, as we had not expected that to be the case in the first first place any ways.
I shook my head, as I nodded to Ben, to let him know that we needed to be even safer than before, as I was fairly certain that we were getting very close to them. I did not want to scare them, as they might be good people, and they might shoot at us, which meant of course, that we then would have to shoot right back at them, to defend ourselves.
At the same time too, I also wanted to at least be a little bit careful, just in the case that these were not at all good people, as I knew that Ben was not the best at reading people in person, and on their face, much less trying to read a person off of the way of their tone of voice that they had.
I sighed just a little bit, as finally I saw Ben nod right back over to me, to let me know that he was paying attention, and that he was ready to keep on going. It made me feel a lot more safe, as I then kept on going ahead just as I had planned on doing in the first case as well.
As we kept on going, I suddenly saw that the foot prints seemed to stop on the dot, as they did not seem to be going any further at all. At first, I kind of got a bit freaked out, due to the fact that I thought that they might be right in front of us, and I just had not noticed at all, as they very well could have guns pointed at us for all that I knew.
I looked up, as I expected to see the face of an evil man, with quite a creepy grin on his face, but as I looked up, I saw that it was not the case at all. I was a little bit lost, as I really did not have a clue as to what was going on at this current moment in time, as it kind of freaked me out a bit, as that was one of my pet peeves, of things that I did not like at all.
I shook my head, as I noticed that no one was there, as it kind of got me even more confused than I had been before, as I stood in place for just a little bit more time, as I looked back at the path out in the woods that we had been walking down for quite a bit of some time, following those foot steps.
I did not see any thing left in the track, which confused my a lot, as there were no dead leaves to stop it, as well as the fact at the same time too, that the dirt was muddy, as there had been some snow and some rain over the past few days, and that there was no sun to burn down the water either.
I tilted my head, as I was quite a bit lost as to where they had suddenly disappeared to. I felt like I was going crazy, as I could clearly tell that the prints were very recent, at least within the last 5 minutes. I looked around, as I was quite a bit lost for quite some time at the same time as well.
I shivered, as I was about to reach for my gun, and shoot right where I heard the first set of noise come from, until I heard the voice of Ben begin to speak up to me, quietly, as thankfully this time, he was smart enough to know as to the fact that there had to be people that were very close to us... Surely right? I shook off those thoughts, as I did not turn my head over to Ben, but I did in fact listen as to what it was that he had to say to me, as he whispered to me as well.
"Where did the tracks go?" He asked me at the same time too, as if I some how knew the answer to the question that he had just asked of me. Some times I felt like the kid was a bit of an idiot, even if I knew that he was actually smart, as it was times that he said stuff like that, that made me think things such as those thoughts.
I looked at Ben, as I squinted my eyes at him as I rolled my eyes at him at the same time too, as I could tell that he was a bit lost as to what was going on at this very moment in time. To be fair, so was I, as I did not have a clue as to where those people might have gone off to, as their track had gone stale.
How ever, I knew that me and Ben were confused as to completely different reasons, as I knew that he was lost, due to the fact that he thought that I would some how have an answer to the question that he had just asked of me not too long ago. I was more just lost as to the fact that I had not a clue as to where they had gone off too.
I sighed just a bit to my self, as it was quiet enough so that Ben had not noticed it, even with the dead silence that was in the woods at this very moment in time. That was also what kind of freaked me out even more, as I knew that they were very close, but I did not hear a single noise any where near us.
I looked but over to Ben, as I shrugged my shoulders at him, with not too serious of a look on my face, as if I thought that this was some sort of game right now, and that it was no big deal at all, as to the fact that there were total strangers very close to us, but we did not have a clue as to where it was that they might be at.
Now that I thought on that, it did in fact start to freak me out a little bit more than in had done before, as I shivered on the thought that they might be ready to shoot at us at any moment. It was kind of what I had told Ben, which was of course, 'be ready for the worst to happen to us out here.'
I reached my hand over to my belt, as I then kept my eyes on Ben at the same time too, as this time I had quite the serious look on my face, as I knew that I needed to make sure that he knew that this was not some thing that we needed to put off lightly at all, as for one, these could be bad people, ready to shoot at us, but they also could be good people that were freaked out that they knew that we were following them, and were simply trying to hide from us.
Either way, I sighed a little bit to my self at the same time too, as I suddenly nodded to Ben, to let the kid know that I was about to speak to him, and that he needed to be paying his full attention as to what it was that I had to say to him in the very first place, at the exact same time as well.
Ben squinted his eyes at me, as if I was doing some thing that was oddly suspicious at this very moment, but after a little bit more time, he did in fact nod right back over to me, to let me know that he was ready to hear what it was that I had to say to him, as I finally then began to speak up to him.
"Kid... They are near us... Get your gun out... We might need to shoot..." I said to him, as I needed him to know that we could not be too safe about all of this, as just because they had kids, did not necessarily mean that they happened to be good people. It seemed that it was enough for Ben to think they were safe how ever, as I saw him tilt his head back over to me.
I was a bit annoyed by that at the exact same time too, as I then squinted my eyes at him, to let him know that I was serious with what it was that I had just said to him in the first place. Ben looked at me for quite a bit longer, as he then blinked just a few times, and then he let out quite the heavy sigh back at me.
At first, I nearly expected him to say some thing back to me, but I saw that he instead reached his hand over to his belt, to grab his pistol, as just like me, he was ready to shoot just about who ever, or what ever it was that might be near us, or might be coming up on us at the exact same time too.
Me and Ben put our backs together for just a little bit, as the both of us began to look around, to see if there was any one near us at this very moment in time, which I was fairly certain that there in fact was some one that was near us right now. I shivered a little bit, as I did not like to think that there might be some one stalking me.
Just as I thought those thoughts through my head, I heard some noise further back out in to the woods, which was some thing that had moved, as it was neither me nor Ben. Odds are, it could simply just have been a bird, squirrel, or a rabbit, but there was never a such thing as being too safe out here.
I turned my head over to it right away, as I saw Ben do the exact same thing as I did, as the both of us looked over to where the sound had come from in the first place. Just as I had done so how ever, I suddenly heard a gun shot, as a almost felt the wind of a bullet, as it grazed past my ear.
I turned my head over to it, as me and Ben both ducked our heads a little bit low to the ground, to be able to dodge any more shots that came our way, as we then turned out heads over to where the shot had come from, as just before I saw who it was, I heard a lady begin to yell to the both of us.
"We don't want any trouble! Just please lay down your weapons!"