The Realm

Chapter four

I woke in a bed, a very comfortable one at that, with a slight breeze traveling through the room I was in. I sat up and looked around. It was a wooden structure with a log pillar holding up the roof. In the middle of the wall that was next to me, there was a doorway leading out to a porch overlooking a valley. Meaning I was up high. On the wall across from me, there was a kitchen. The wall that the bed was against had a door to the outside world a ways away from me. From behind the pillar came a boy that looked to be around my age, he held a cup in his hands and walked to me slowly and cautiously. Next to where he emerged from I saw the gear and rifle and internally panicked.

He stopped in front of me and handed me the cup, it was water, and the boy said nothing. His movements were slow, most likely trying not to scare me but he was failing miserably. He kneeled beside my bed. Where's my cat? Where's Alex? I almost yelled. He pointed to a corner of the room and there Alex lay, curled up in a blanket in a woven basket. The boy turned back to me, Welcome to my home. He spoke softly. I still looked at him fearfully, for all I knew he could be trying to gain my trust and then kill me. I wont hurt you, I wouldnt even dream of it. his words werent convincing me, however, it wouldnt make sense why he would do that. I decided to take in his features. He had light brown hair that almost covered his eyes, blue eyes, strong freckles, was very tall, and had a bit of muscle. He wore a white T-shirt and black jeans.

This boy didnt seem like he would harm me, his demeanor wasnt that of a killer. I had calmed down slightly, seeing that he left Alex relatively unharmed made me think he wasnt bad. But there was still a question on my mind, Why did he shoot us? There wasnt a way to get an answer by just staying quiet, I had to ask. May I ask why you shot us? I asked him in a monotone voice, I wanted to seem like I wasnt afraid of him too much. I wear the gear to protect myself from the things out there, whether thats people or these creatures. he paused for a moment after speaking, And someone might take me as a treat with the gear on, so I put them to sleep and bring them here to show that I am no threat, and maybe to get the chance to work together. He explained it like he had done this before, but I saw no evidence of anyone being here other than him.

I nodded in response to him, his explanation made me a tiny bit less skeptical but I still had to be cautious. This boy must have noticed my nervousness and he spoke again, more confident this time My name is Nate. He smiled as he said his name, he was proud of his name even though it was one of the most basic ones out there. He stuck his hand out to me, the suddenness startled me but I grabbed his hand with a firm grip and looked this man in the eyes, a sign of respect. He may scare the shit out of me but hes survived this long, and thats admirable. Ruby I spoke proud of my name like he did his and gave his hand a firm shake.

He smiled at my name, he had a sort of goofy smile, but that means good people in my experience. Ruby, I love that name. He said with a light hearted tone Well Ruby, its nice to meet you. This was the start of a partnership, and we both knew it. Come with me.'' He stood and walked to the arched doorway on the wall at the opposite side of the house. There was a balcony and it overlooked a beautiful valley. Nate was leaning on the wooden railing, letting the wind blow through his hair. This valley was plains below us, but it had a massive forest off to the side of the house. There wasnt any civilization I could see and this made life a little less nerve racking for me. Maybe this apocalypse wasnt so bad.