Rise

Chapter 3•

          They let the silence speak for them. A few minutes pass, the sun was still high in the sky. It was a pretty warm day the weather just right, the exact opposite of what had happened or how the two felt. James had been rubbing his hands on his pants trying get off the blood that had started to dry.

          Now all at once his mind took this pause in action as a chance to bombard him with the questions that all still waited to be answered. With concentration he trys to put these thoughts into in organized formation giving attention to each one when its turn had come. First and probably most important, why? Why had this happened? Why did whoever did this want to take out as many civilians as they could? He thought this to himself but couldn't come up with an answer. Before he could start focusing more on these questions he looks over to Sarah on his right. She stared upwards, head resting on the smooth concrete wall. She was looking dazed maby about to fall asleep before James broke her trance. "Hey, don't fall asleep or anything. You've probably got a concussion, fall asleep and you might slip into a coma." He said it with a cousious tone and feeling sorry for probably scaring her. She turned to look at him with an expression of concern.

          "Yeah I'll try not to." James Leaned in to adjust her bandage for not much of a reason than sat up right again and resumed scrubing his hands off.

          The wall wasn't as cold as it seemed I'd be, Their body heat had broken in the areas they lyed on. James let the endless stream of questions return, flipping them over and over again in his head. He didn't want to start asking Sarah so many questions just yet because each thought would just be a strain on her head. So he sat there scrubing his hands, flipping thoughts. One thought in particular crossed his mind. It embaresed James the moment it popped up, he looked at Sarah for a moment than back to the ground. It was that even covered in blood and in pain, Sarah was actually a pretty good looking girl.

          James holds back the blush feeling emmbaresed for thinking this at such a time. He cuts the feeling off and looks at Sarah, pushing away the hormones. "We've got to do something about food, sleep, and what not ya know."

          "I underdtand, but just a few more minutes. Walking for so long is gonna give me terrible migraines."

          "But the longer we wait the more potential damage to your brain, I need to get you to some kind of medical center there's got to be some already set up by now. I'm sure they're doing something about this, the local government." She hesitantly nodded in agreement. James stood up, stretched, and patted off his pants, ironicly because it was already stained with blood. "Here," he offered. He held his hands out to Sarah standing in front of her to help her get to her feet. Sarah gave him her right hand and he pulled. "If you want put your arm around me," he said, than without waiting for a response lifting her right arm over his right side to support her. He was three inches short of six feet and she nearly matched him.

          Sarah was unbalanced at first, she almost fell until James caught her, but A few steps and they'd began to keep a slow pace. James had spotted a giant of a tower standing in the distance. It was maby a mile away and he'd announced that as they're destination, hoping on the way they might find some essentials, food, water, some medical equipment, maby a patrol of local police or anybody infact.

          The ground was still entirely littered with rubble. Concrete, wood, and destroyed furniture stuck out at them. some cars a short distance away were still on fire and leaking oil when the two had stumbled past them. while it stayed wrapped around a street light pole. They had almost reached an intersection but a small corner store partially hidden by a short but wide tree, forcing James to bring himself and Sarah to a hault. The trees smaller branches were swaying in the wind as it layed on the building, giving the area a creepy bone chilling and abandend atmosphere. You could hear the eary sound of light wind wisteling through the leaves as the two stood for a moment examining the masked store front. "I think there might be something in this store for us, something to eat maby. I'm going inside to check it out," He stated before motioning Sarah to start walking again. As they stepped closer he noticed half the store sign had fallen backward onto the roof. What remained read, General Store, in big florecents but not illuminating at all. Sarah finally responded. "Alright anything helpful, maby you can find a backpack or something to carry more things with us."