Meridian | The Second Life III [COMPLETED]

30 - The Beginning of Something

- ~ two months later ~ -

- P E A K E -

That's a hell of a buck.

I walk through the leaves, Caden walking alongside me as we drag it towards the house. It's not common a deer comes this close to our town, but I'm certainly not complaining. "Good shot, Peake," he huffs as dead leaves crumple underneath our boots.

"Glad you came," I laugh, gritting my teeth as we get it over a hump in the grass. "I don't think I could carry this myself."

"That makes two of us," he groans, lifting it and pulling it past the makeshift fence.

I laugh, tugging harder as we make it back within the camp. After the battle at Central Park, we had escaped New York City and made it to the Catskill Mountains. We've been at this summer camp we found ever since. Infected are sparse here; we hardly run into trouble. It beats the danger of the city.

Sometimes, I honestly miss the action of the concrete labyrinth. I'm thankful, though. Our biggest problems are usually boredom and food; the latter is settled for now. Marseille's big garden is also quite helpful.

A gust of wind blows through the treetops as we drag the buck to the butcher room. Nick's eyes go wide as he sees it from behind the desk. He gets out of his chair, a smile plastered on his face. "No shot!"

"Mind lending a hand?" I grunt, Caden and I exhausted. Nick rushes over, helping us heave it onto the table. "You got your work cut out for you, dude."

"That's a good problem to have," he smiles like a kid in a candy store. "Good shot, too."

"Knocked it right out," I reply simply, wiping dirt off my gloves. "No suffering."

"That's what we like to see," Nick replies, laying his hands on the table and sizing it up. "We'll eat good for a while."

"I hope so!" Caden laughs, Nick and I smiling in response. "Need any help, let me know."

"Thanks, I'll take care of it for now," he states, walking over and grabbing some knives. "I may take you up on that later."

"See ya," I smile, waving him goodbye. Caden exits before I gently close the door. "I'm not watching that," I whisper, leaning towards Caden.

"Eh," he mumbles. "It's not so bad."

"Speak for yourself," I reply, zipping up my fleece. The spring weather is a welcome change to the snowdrifts we'd had earlier. Still, the air can bite sometimes, and today is one of them.

Caden and I turn our heads toward the entrance as an engine whirs in the distance. That's Catey and Rivian, who went out for a scavenging run this morning. Turns out it's easier scavenging for a small group than a whole community. Their ATV appears at the bottom of the hill, kicking up a cloud of dust on the dirt road beneath it.

The two of us walk up towards them as Rivian parks the vehicle. "Welcome back!" Caden exclaims as the two jump out. I walk to the passenger side, hugging Catey as she walks up.

"Missed you too," she laughs, hugging back. I let go, and the two of us stand as Rivian and Caden begin unloading supplies. Catey looks at me with a smile and an eyebrow raised. "I got something."