The Magician's Assistant

8

The next morning came quickly. Rachael had spent the previous day buying up food. Most of the other supplies she would need were available at home, all she had to do was ask her parents.

She grabbed matches, a compass, sleeping bags, any anything else she remembered using on those camping trips she took as a girl. She managed to stuff all of the supplies into two old backpacks and a large bag.

She grabbed the bags of supplies, said goodbye to her family and set out just after sunrise. Gramps would be waiting for her at the tavern again.

Rachael knocked on the door to Gramps' room. There was no answer.

She knocked again, still no answer.

She knocked again, more loudly than before. She finally heard activity on the other side of the door.

"I'm awake! I'm awake! Give me a few minutes!" Gramps said, sleepily.

There was several minutes of rustling and commotion. Rachael stood and waited with her arms crossed. She knew she wasn't running early, at least not by more than a few minutes.

"Hurry up in there," Rachael said.

"I'm almost out. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm really not a morning person,"

"Neither am I, but I'm still here,"

"You're also the one that's getting paid to do all this,"

"Aren't you getting paid too? I thought this zombie hunting stuff was your job,"

Gramps fell silent.

"Fair enough, but I'm also several decades your senior," he finally said.

"I thought old people loved to get up early,"

"Not this one,"

The door opened. Gramps looked half asleep. His hair was a mess from sleeping, and his facial hair looked even worse than it had yesterday. He yawned loudly, and carried a hastily packed bag of seemingly random items.

"I assume one of those backpacks is for me?" he asked.

"Do you want the lighter one, or the heavier one?"

Gramps looked at the two bags for a moment. They were roughly the same size.

"Your preference,"

Rachael handed him the slightly smaller of the two bags. Gramps put it on.

"So, where are we heading first?" Rachael asked.

"Well..." Gramps began, before falling silent for a moment.

Rachael waited for his answer.

"I believe our best start would be where we found the bushranger. Other than that, I'm really not sure,"

"We could follow the trail and look around. That'll keep us busy for awhile,"

"Yes, that's a perfect way to start,"

Rachael and Gramps headed down the trail Rachael had followed a few days earlier. It was still overgrown, but at least she had managed to clear out some of the smaller obstructions during her previous walk.

The pair hiked for some time, finding nothing of interest. They were surrounded by featureless forest, but somewhat reassuringly, the forest was far noisier and far more active than it had been the last time Rachael had been in it.

Birds flew overhead, filling the air with their song. A menagerie of forest animals, deer, foxes, and even a single bear occasionally wandered close to the trail. None were willing to approach the pair.