Dead Souls

Chapter Seven

After walking in silence for 15 minutes in the trees, Meredith says, "How'd you end up in Evanston?"

Jax slows his pace and faces Meredith as he speaks. "1-15 is pretty much a straight shot to where we're headed. This town seemed vacant enough to camp out in to get a few days of rest."

Meredith knows her jaw is hanging, but this is the most Jax has spoken to her in all of their encounters. "Makes sense. This place seemed like a decent one to stock up on supplies," Meredith replies. The walk becomes steep as they hike farther into the forest. She hasn't questioned where they are going. There's something about Jax that she trusts. Trust is hard to come by now a days. But the matter of the fact is that he has saved her life; twice now. If someone wanted to harm her, they sure wouldn't go out of their way saving them ahead of time.

As they near the top of the climb, Meredith gets a whiff of something cooking. The smell is a familiar meat, but she can't quite place it.

"Now... we typically keep to ourselves. My brother and I that is. Considering you have fancy gadgets and seem to be headed in a similar direction, I suggest we keep together to keep any swindlers away or to have extra protection against any unwanted company," Jax says calmly. He continues speaking, with a hint of pride in his eyes. "It's been just us for some time now. So I can't guarantee that you won't lose your sense of hearing after Mak talks your ear off. He's a good kid." Meredith looks in the direction of smoke coming from a small campfire. Seated in the grass with a skinned rabbit above the fire sits a younger version of Jax. He has soft brown curls atop his head, a short build and a black bandana tied around his face. When he sees them walking towards him, his eyes light up. He jumps to his feet, and waves enthusiastically in their direction. He looks to be about 13 if Meredith had to guess. He also appears to have the opposite demeanor of his older brother. She likes him already.

Meredith suddenly finds herself lost in a memory- Jane is running ahead, much faster than she could keep up. "Jane! Janie! Wait for me!" She yells at her sister. Jane continues to run ahead, giggling. "Come on, Mer! Run faster! We're going to miss it!" Meredith continues to run after Jane, panting heavily. They were near the clearing when Jane slowed and stopped, waiting for Meredith to stand at her side. "I told you it was worth it," Jane says as a herd of elk are 75 yards in the distance. They graze in the field- all 50 of them, approximately. Meredith finds herself giggling, going to a crouch next to Jane. "How did you know they would be here?" Meredith inquires. "The same way mama knows we'll eventually make our way back to the cabin," Jane grins, looking down on me.

Meredith comes back to reality. Mak is walking towards her and Jax as she schools her features. He pulls down his bandana to expose a radiant smile. He wears a similar attire to Jax, minus the combat boots.

"Hey! I'm Mak!" He says quietly yet enthusiastically. "Are ya hungry?" Mak asks.
"Do eagles fly?" Meredith teases back. "You bet I am. I'll take what I can get," Meredith says with a kind smile.
Meredith follows Mak back to the fire and takes up a seat next to him. Jack lingers near the top of the hill, looking the opposite direction. Most likely ensuring we weren't followed, Meredith thinks. There were certainly some unhappy swindlers out there, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.
"So, what's your name?" Mak pries happily. Meredith doesn't hold back when she says, "Meredith. It's nice to meet you, kid. How old are you anyway?"
"I'm twelve, but I turn thirteen in a couple of months. I caught and skinned this rabbit myself. I might as well be thirteen already. It's silly to think about birthdays, don't ya think?" Meredith smiles widely at Mak as he continues to ramble on about how important birthdays were prior to the apocalypse and what they mean now. They each rip off pieces of the rabbit and begin eating.

Meredith tries to remember the last time she celebrated a birthday. She wouldn't consider it celebrated, but she thinks of her first birthday without her parents. Unfortunately, they were claimed by the DeSos before much was known about them and what to avoid. Her first birthday without them was the year the world turned into a living nightmare. She and Jane had found an abandoned house and decided to stay for the night. Jane had picked up a Twinkie at a nearby gas station along with a candle and lighter. She showed up after making a supply run with a lit candle atop the Twinkie. She had told Meredith to make a wish. The gesture alone brought tears to her eyes, but the comment caused a tear to escape as she closed her eyes, and made a wish.

And now Jane wasn't here. She finds herself still staring at Mak as he talks, now on the topic of the sports he used to play in school. She blinks the burn away that had began at the memory and takes another bite. 
"Even though I played soccer, it really wasn't my favorite. It's practically a sport of running and anyone who enjoys running is crazy," Mak says as Meredith refocuses her attention onto him.

"Well Mak, call me crazy then because I used to do track; the 100 meter dash," Meredith says with a grin. Mak was easy to talk to. Meredith can't remember the last time she talked out of enjoyment and not necessity.

As Meredith and Mak continue to talk sports, Jax wanders back to camp from some nearby brush. Their camp spot was in the middle of the woods, far from any civilization.

"I'll take first watch if you two want to catch some shut eye," Jax offers, with the implication that it is time to call it for the night.
"But Jax, it's been a while since I've had someone to talk to that wasn't you. No offense, but the conversations aren't very two sided, if you know what I mean," Mak finishes his sentence with a whine, smiling up at Meredith.
"Mak, we can talk some more tomorrow, I promise," Meredith says, and absolutely means it. Meredith grasps Mak's shoulder and offers him a comforting smile. Mak sighs, walking to his sleeping bag and getting nestled in.

"The kid likes to talk. I think I warned you," Jax says to Meredith quietly.

"I don't mind the conversation or the company," Meredith replies, glancing back towards Mak as he fishes out a book from his sleeping bag with a book light attached. Meredith moves to grab her sleeping bag from her pack, when Jax blocks her.

"Mak is..." Meredith sees the internal struggle Jax is fighting to get the words out. She's well aware of that fight, the pressure it comes with.

"Jax, I would never jeopardize the kid. He's safe," she says, emphasizing the last word. Jax nods, adjusting a hat over his curls. He strides off towards the direction they came and sits against a tree. She takes the cue, and unravels her sleep pack near Mak. She sits on top of her sleep pack, taking out a tooth brush. Apocalypse or not, wretched breath was not an option. After she finishes brushing her teeth and spitting to the side, she takes her hair out of the pony tail it was in. She braids it, straight down her back. She glances over at Mak and notices the title of his book, 'Kensuke's Kingdom'.

"Appropriate," she says, with a nod to his choice of book.

Mak grins from ear to ear before saying, "you've read it?"

"Yeah, kid. I read it when I was a kid and it's been my favorite since," Meredith says as she lowers herself into the sleeping bag. She lays on her back, looking above, glimpsing stars in between the gaps of tree branches that act as a canopy.

"This is my second time reading it. I enjoy reading, but there aren't always opportunities to read as much as I'd like to," Mak says.

"We will talk in the morning, okay Mak? Let's get some rest before the chaos starts all over," Meredith supplies. Mak mumbles his agreement and turns off his book light before turning his back to Meredith.

Meredith lies there, listening to the forest around her. Today was filled with a lot of violence, as well as many memories. As much as she loves Jane and her parents, her heart aches at the memory of them. It yearns for the sound of their voices, just one more time. Her goal is to be reunited with Jane again, hopefully soon. After all, it wasn't her choice to separate.

Meredith glances towards Jax, to find him watching her. The look on his face sends a chill down her body. Her cheeks burn, reddening under the stars. Thankfully it's dark and not noticeable. Hopefully, she thinks. Meredith turns on her side, facing Mak's back.

As she closes her eyes and wills sleep to find her, she makes one more wish