Days of Decay

Chapter Six

They turned around swiftly. Asha held her torch and knife out shakily in front of her. Both their beams landed on a guy who stood at around 6 foot 3; he wore a grey t-shirt, a dark green jacket, and black jeans. More notably, he was wearing a creepy old-fashioned gas mask. It obscured his face completely. His hands were covered by black gloves too.

He was hiding his skin, which would usually leave Asha to believe he was a Hunter. But it was dark, there was no need to cover up. She was left confused by his appearance, and equally as confused at the offer he had laid on the table.

Max began to walk towards the guy who took a slight step back before standing his ground. 

"What do you mean, boy?" Max questioned; his voice sounded rougher than before somehow. 

"I have everything," the guy mumbled through the mask. One of his hands went behind his back, like he was reaching for a weapon.  

"Max, wait," Asha urged. He looked to her and took a step back to be with her once again. She didn't want any conflict; she just wanted the medicine and to get out of there. She looked to the gas-masked guy. "What's your name?" She asked. 

"Finn Thorne," he answered quickly but with uncertainty, like he wasn't supposed to say it. 

Asha was still for a moment, judging the situation along with Max. Could they trust the perfect stranger? In times like that there wasn't really an option. 

"Right, well, Finn Thorne, how about you take off that mask? We're not gonna hurt you. And it ain't the day," Max ordered.

Finn hesitated for a moment; silent and unmoving. He looked like something out of a nightmare, the kind of thing that would chase you until your lungs burst and you shot awake with a scream. A few more seconds went by before he began to fiddle with the gas mask. He wiggled it off, and underneath was a boy who looked around eighteen. 

He held up a hand against their light, but Asha could make out his key features.

His skin was lightly tanned, and he had this chestnut, messy hair which stuck up in light peaks. From behind his hand, she could just about see his face; he had these almost quaint lips and a pert nose all of which lay under squinted golden eyes. Moles scattered across his face.

She felt an unusual flutter across her chest, a foreign feeling, an unwanted feeling. Of-course she knew what it was, attraction, lust. But she pushed that aside. The most important thing of all was his skin; he was Pure, and he was alone. 

"That's better," Max grinned, giving him a solitary clap of the hands.

"Listen, I'll give you what you need," Finn said, his voice a lot clearer now, though he looked a little nervous. "But I need to ask you some questions first."

Asha was a little thrown by this. They had all the weapons they needed to bring him down in one easy attack. Who did he think he was?

"What?" Max asked, taking a threatening step closer to the honey-eyed boy. 

"It's just what I ask everyone," Finn chirped, holding his hands up in defense. 

"So, a lot of folks pass through here?" Max asked, his voice taking a more serious tone. 

"Not anymore. In the beginning, there were lots... I haven't seen anyone in a while."

"Mierda! Would you hurry up with the 'all important' questions? We don't have fucking time," Asha urged. 

"Okay, okay," Finn started. "What are your names?"

She let out a deep breath. "I'm Asha; he's Max, next question."