Look for the Light (Joel Miller fanfic)

Knife Practice

   When you woke up the next morning, the sun was high in the sky and Joel was already awake. How long had you slept and why didn't he wake you up to keep watch during the night?

   "Mornin'," he said in a southern accent. He was in the middle of cleaning off his hunting knife. He took a damp cloth and smoothed it over the knife, cleaning blood off the blade.

   "Good morning," you said back cautiously. Was he in a better mood than yesterday or was he just trying to be nice? You couldn't tell either way, but you decided you didn't want to push your luck.

   "Here," he tossed you an open can of beans and let you have the half that was left.

   "Thanks," you said as you took a bite of the cold beans. It wasn't like having a fresh steak, but it was better than nothing. You'd probably have to start hunting soon before you both starved. Your body started to get used to the hunger. You never knew when your next meal would be. Hell, these beans were one of the best meals you'd had since you got to the Boston QZ. You traveled so many miles before getting there that by the time you arrived you were famished.

   You finished off the rest of the beans quickly and set the can down next to you. It was a warmer day than yesterday, no rain in sight. There were no clouds, just sunshine. It was a nice change. You'd take the sunshine over the rain any day. You'd had enough rain in Seattle. That's where you were from. It practically rained every day there.

   "Do you know how to fight?" he asked curiously.

   "Huh?" you asked confused.

   "Do you know how to hold your own against the infected and people?" He was waiting for you to respond, tapping his thumb against the knife.

    You had fought off plenty of infected before. People were a different story. You still had trouble with that aspect. "Umm, I mean yeah. I can hold my own," you said as you looked down at the ground nervously.

   "Show me," his deep voice urged as he held out his knife for you to take.

   You froze at that moment. He looked at you impatiently and nodded his head for you to take the knife. "I have my own knife," you said timidly as you slid the knife out of your own pocket.

   He walked over to you and shoved the knife back in your pocket. "Just take the damn knife and show me how you fight. I need to know you can defend yourself if a hoard comes through," he said as he placed the knife in your hand.

   You squeezed the end of the knife and looked up at Joel. Fear struck through you. What if you accidentally hurt him? What were you supposed to do in that moment?

   Joel crossed his arms and huffed. "I don't have all day, Aly. Show me what ya got." He motioned for you to get a move on and to stop being a coward. You took a deep breath and lunged for him, but he was too fast. He quickly moved out of the way before you could get to him.

   You went for him again, this time ducking as he tried to take the knife from you. You were too slow. He stole the knife from you in an instant before you could react. "Too slow," he said as he waved the knife in your face.

   You grabbed it from him and tried again. This time you stepped up on a stump and leapt at him. He caught you before you could react and you both tumbled to the ground. The knife fell from your hand and ended up a few feet away by the roots of an oak tree. By the time you both stopped moving, he ended up underneath you and you on top of him.

   You took a second to process what happened as hurried breaths came from your mouth. You looked down at Joel's face just inches from yours. His salt and pepper colored hair was tousled in a mess. His facial hair looked so soft to the touch. You noticed a small scar right above his right eye. But what caught your attention the most was his eyes. His eyes were a pretty honey color. They looked lighter today. Almost like the color of chestnut. They were warm and golden, and you could get lost in them. Your breathing slowed as you laid there for a minute, until Joel interrupted your thoughts.

   Joel cleared his throat, and you seemed to wake up from a trance. His eyes turned cold as he threw you off him. You landed with a thud next to him. He picked himself off the ground and dusted the dirt off his pants. He didn't even offer to help you up. Asshole.

   "That's enough of that. You're slow and need more practice. If you want to survive out there, you need to learn to be quick," he said as he picked his knife up off the ground and put it back in his pocket.

   You quickly got off the ground and defended yourself. "Hey, I've survived out there for months so don't tell me that I'm slow and don't know how to fight! You're just faster than I am," you shouted back.

   "Then do better," he growled.

   You wanted to hit him right then and there. God, he made you so mad. Why did he have to be the biggest asshole to you? You couldn't wait to part ways with him. You'd leave right now if you could.

   "Come on, let's get back on the road. We're wasting daylight," he said as he grabbed his gear off the ground and threw it in the back of the truck. You did the same with your gear.

   Before you got back in the truck, you stood at the door lost in your thoughts. What if you just left right now and didn't go with him?

   "You comin' or are you gonna stand there all day?" he asked as he rolled down your window.

   You looked behind you into the ever growing forest and looked back at the truck. You locked eyes with Joel and sighed. "I'm coming, I'm coming," you said as you rolled your eyes and got in the truck, closing the door hard behind you.

   Joel started up the truck as it roared to life. Suddenly you were back on the road as the engine hummed lightly against the seat. "Where are we headed?" you asked questionably.

   "We're gonna head to the highway that's going southwest and see how far that'll take us. I outlined a path we can take to get to Salt Lake City. I'm not sure what the road looks like from here to there, but I'll figure something out."

   You opened the map and looked at the markings Joel had made. There was a clear blue line marking the way, connecting the states together. You should be in Pennsylvania by the end of the night if the truck would take you that far. You weren't sure what you'd do without the truck, but you'd figure that out when the time came.

    You decided to sit back, relax and not think too much into what was going on. You had to believe this would all work out in the end. You had to keep the faith.