Our chance to try again

Nick- 03

"hi, I'm Alex" she said reaching her hand out. Nick took it shaking his hand, she had a firm grip. "Carlos and Codie, tell me you picked up some kids" Freya asked "yeah guy and his girl floating down the canal, the poor guy had a poll going through his dam leg" she said looking in-between nick and her mom. "Okay, well I'm guessing Ellie had a look at them" "yeah shes up there with them right now"
There was a silence for a second, nick felt like he was intruding on their conversation. "okay, that's good, are you planning on going back out?" Freya asked. "No I'm sticking around for tonight" Alex replied. "You wouldn't mind showing our friend around, would you" Freya asked, patting nick on the back, he winsed at the touch. "Yeah sure" she said looking to nick, she walked out the door. Nick looked to Freya, she nodded at him then he followed Alex out.

"So how long have you guys been here" Nick asked Alex after he caught up with her. "For a while now, almost sense the start of the end" she replied as they walked. It went quiet, nick hated when it was quiet, it gave him time to think. "Who were the kids you found" nick asked, trying to start up conversation. She turned over to him "well the girl was out the whole so I didn't get her name but the guys name was" she paused like she was trying to remember, she spun the hands around each other as she thought. "Uh, it was something like, Trent or tony I think, I can't remember. I was more concerned about the pole sticking through his leg"
Nick looked grossed out by the thought of it "was it like right through, bone and everything" Alex shook her head, "not right beside his bone, right through tho" she said.
Nick continued the conversation with another question "do you guys do that a lot, go out and find people" "No actually, not often, you three were just lucky." Nick noticed that when she talked she used her hands to gesture alot.
She continued to show nick around, they had a barn that they kept, cows, chickens, pigs and a couple horses and on the other side they had a motel looking thing.
"How did you guys build a motel?" Nick asked "we didn't it was here first, we just built everything around it"
"So is everyone around here family?" "Yeah there are a lot of family, but it's also built up of trained people" Alex said "we got anyone we could, firefighters, teachers, doctors, builders, anyone who could really help."

At this point they had done probably 4 laps around the lodge, talking about the most random thing, "so, what was your dream job" nick asked looking back to Alex, "I was going to be a photographer" she paused "I went to school for it, I still have my camera. What about you?" Nick thought about lying, but what good would that do. "I'll be honest, I lived each day thinking I wouldn't wake up the next. I didn't plan to live past 16, let alone make it to 19."
Alex stayed quiet not know how to replied. Nick felt he had made the whole thing awkward "where did you get that bracelet? Its very beautiful" nick asked trying to bring back the flow of the conversation, it was a rope bracelet with a dark green stone in the middle. "My dad gave it to me for my 10th birthday, it's an emerald, for my birth stone"
"cool, does your dad work here?" Nick asked "um, no he died"
"Oh, I'm sorry"
"don't be, we all have our stories." Alex had a good way of looking at things and Nick respected that. "What's your story" Alex asked "It's a long one" nick replied." If you haven't noticed, it's the end, we have all the time in the world"

Nick chuckled before thinking about where to start, he told Alex about being hit by a car, running away from the hospital, his dealer being one of the first effected. He talked about Strand, Daniel and Ofelia. He talked about his, mom, sister, Travis and even Chris. He talked about everything. "When we got to the ranch it was Troy's dad who owned it, I ended up killing Troy's dad and my mom killed troy" "wait go back" Alex said, "Yeah I know pretty messed up family" "No, well yeah but I mean the name, what was the boys name"
"Troy?" Nick said, worry grew on him, what if Alex's family was in alliance with the Otto's.
"That's funny, the boy I saved earlier, I think that was his name" she said.
This weirded nick out before Troy Otto, nick had never heard of the name 'Troy', there was no way it could have been him, nick's Troy.

They continued to walk in circles until the sun started to set,
"How long have you been doing photography" Nick asked,
"10 ish years, maybe I could show you my phone some day"
Alex had induced Nick to every person they passed. Alex had shown nick to where he would be sleeping, it was a nice room, a good amount of space, with its own bathroom.
When Nick was done looking around they made their way back to the lodge.
As they entered the lodge nick was overwhelmed with voice's. Alex had told him that there were about 30 people staying here.
So many voices and yet only one stuck out

"Nick?!"

~~~
Authors note: Ive really got nothing to say for this chapter, I mean I don't know if anyone is even interested in this 👍
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Words: 936
Published: 29/01/2024