The Prospect's Deal

03

Ezra was silent for a few moments as he absorbed this piece of information. he sighed and rubbed his chin. "A year, that must've been rough, right? You've been surviving all by yourself in those woods?"

I nodded.

"Was it hard at first? You've been all alone, did you ever get scared?" He asked, still holding my hand as we walked.

"I am always scared." I spoke very quietly.

His heart broke for me when I spoke so softly. He wished he could make all the fear go away. Ezra tightened his hold on my hand slightly. "Do you want to tell me what made you so scared?"

I shook my head.

Ezra nodded. He had a feeling I wouldn't want to talk about it. "That's okay." He paused for a moment before he spoke again. "I'll keep you safe, okay?"

I nodded slowly before I spoke quietly. "A deal right?"

"Yeah, it's a deal. I promise you, I will keep you completely safe at the base." He was trying to make me comfortable and ease off on the fear at the same time, it was hard. Ezra continued to hold my hand as the two of us walked.

I nodded slowly and decided to go mute again.

The two of us were silent for a few moments as I walked. The base was still a ways away, but it was visible in the near distance. After a few more moments of silence, Ezra spoke again. "You never told me how old you are."

"18." I answered shortly.

"A teenager. You've survived out in the woods for almost a year all by yourself, and you're only 18." His words were almost admiring. Ezra continued to hold my hand as he looked ahead at the base in the distance.

He seemed genuinely impressed. Ezra smiled at me, still keeping his hand in mine as we walked. "You're very strong you know, right?" He said in a soft and gentle voice.

I just shrugged.

"You must be very smart as well in order to survive out in the woods all by yourself. How have you been surviving?" Ezra asked, genuinely wanting to know more about me.

I just shrugged again as we walked to the full base.

"I assume you know how to hunt and collect water, right?" He asked. Ezra was trying to get an understanding of my skill set, as he was curious how a young woman like myself was able to survive so well out in those woods. He still had his hands wrapped around mine as we walked.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said quietly.

Ezra noticed the change in my mood. He paused briefly and sighed. "Alright. That's fine, I can respect that, darling." He squeezed my hand lightly as if to try to reassure me. He kept his focus forward and walked in silence, keeping his pace slower.

Ezra looked around at the base when we finally made it to it. It was quite a big camp, filled with multiple building and shacks. A lot of men were roaming around the grounds, some of them were carrying weapons.

Ezra kept his pace slow as he walked with me past all of the men. He kept his hand in mine. He glanced around the camp, he could sense the hostility from some of the men as the two of us walked through the grounds.

Most of the men ignored the two of us, but Ezra caught a few men glancing at me. He tightened his grip around my hand again. It was an attempt to let me know that he was there and was protecting me in case anything did happen.

Ezra led me through the grounds until we reached a large shack. The other partner was in front of the shack with a few other men. The partner looked surprised when he saw the two of us.

The partner's eyes went wide as he saw me in Ezra's grasp. He exchanged a few words with the other men in the shack, but Ezra didn't hear what they were saying. Ezra continued to keep his grip around my hand as he lead me up toward the shack.

Ezra started to ease up on his grip around my hand as he got to the front of the shack. The partner was watching me and Ezra carefully as the two of us got closer. He was clearly paying attention to my movements.

I felt a bit intimidated by the men as I kept my hand inside my pocket where my knife is.

Ezra could see my expression shifting as I noticed the men and I got slightly more nervous. He turned his eyes to the partner for a moment, before they returned to me. Ezra was still holding my hand. He started to talk to me in a whisper. "I'll handle him, alright? You just try to stay calm. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, got it?"

I nodded slowly as Ezra led me to his shack.

Ezra kept his grip slightly tight around my hand as he brought me into the shack. It was a small but cozy shack. There was a small kitchen, a small room and a bathroom.

He led me into the cabin and closed the door behind the two of us. He loosened his grip around my hand and let go of it as he closed the door. He looked down at me. He knew this was all a lot for me to take in, so he tried to appear as gentle and as soft as possible.

He walked over to the couch, sat down on it and patted the spot next to him, inviting me to come sit next to him.

I put my backpack down and walked over to the couch to sit down next to him.

He smiled at me as I sat down on the couch next to him. Ezra sighed as he relaxed on the couch, looking down at me. He could see I was still on edge, he just wanted to make me feel more comfortable and relaxed.

We could finally take off our helmets as I took mine off.