End of the Suburbs

Chpt 8: Help

I follow Casper's tracks south.
I notice the end of the woods up ahead.
I also hear the sound of singing.
*"Sweet Hooooome Alabama, duh duh duh duh"*
I recognize the voice.
I draw the bloody sword and slowly step out of the brush.
*"Sweet Hooooome Alabama"*
He's lying on the hood of the car drinking from a bottle.
I can't help thinking about how thirsty I am.
I notice Casper in the back seat.
I lower my mask to speak.
"Let him go." I demand.
He stops singing and sits up.
"A well trained animal like that can be very useful out here. What do you want for him?" he asks.
"He's not for sale." I tell him.
He hops down off of the hood and tosses me the water bottle.
"Everything has a price." he says with a sly smile.
I tighten my grip on my sword.
"Let him go." I say again.
"Alright."he says
He walks up to me staring me directly in my eyes.
He reaches out and opens the car door.
Casper jumps out.
He starts to rub his back against me.
He's happy to see me.
"I do have another proposition for you."he says.
"We work together. I help you get to the Skulker camp and save your friends."he continues.
I turn.
"What do you want?" I ask.
He notices my interest in his proposal and smiles.
"All I ask for in return is a tank of gas." he says.
"Do we have a deal?" he asks extending his hand for me to shake it.
I hesitate.
He holds his hand out waiting for my response.
I consider the fact that whether he's trustworthy or not he is useful.
I reach for his gloved hand to shake.
"Alright alright alright."he says.
Casper and I head back into the woods for the gas tank. I left it on the dirt bike.
We get close when suddenly Casper stops.
He starts to growl facing the direction that we're heading.
I start moving slowly.
He probably smells the dead bear. It's body is still there.
I reach the point where I can see the carcass and discover the real reason Casper was growling.
Standing there is two 700 pound elk.
It's infected.
Their skin is covered in the same abrasions as the bear.
One of them stands with a mouth is full of flesh as the other is bent over the bear's dead body feeding on it's remains.
I set my bag down leaning it against one of the trees
I try to be as quiet as possible but now it's no use.
It sees me.
I send Casper away.
Just in time for one of the to let out a monstrous roar.
Immediately one of them jumps over the bear's body and charges me.
My adrenaline kicks in.
I jump up grabbing one of the branches and swing over the elk.
It's antler pierces the trunk of one of the trees.
Luckily for me it's stuck.
The second buck lifts it's head up.
It's mouth is dripping with blood.
It starts to charge me.
I take my sword and swing straight across.
I miss.
It's enough to make it stop.
He rears back on his hind legs and starts to flail his giant hooves.
I see an opening.
I roll to the side.
In one motion I swing, slicing his body and leaving his intestines to spew out.
It drops back to all fours.
It starts to take a step but stops.
It's blood and guts start to dribble out of it and it drops dead.
I hurry and grab the gas and run back to the truck where the cowboy and Casper are waiting.
I step onto the road, my sword is dripping with fresh blood.
The cowboy is leaning up against the car.
He's shocked when he sees me.
"Woah. Wanna talk about what happened?"he says.
I push the gas tank into his chest and walk past him to get into the car.
I open the door for Casper then I walk around to get inside.
After I close his door I notice Casper's tail go up. He starts to growl facing the woods.
I turn and grab my sword.
One of the elk dives out of the bush and charges towards me.
The buck had managed to free his antlers from being impaled in the tree.
I act fast ready to defend myself when all of a sudden I feel a gust of wind shoot past my ear.
The buck drops, it's lifeless body slides towards me. A large knife protruding from it's skull.
I turn and look at the cowboy standing there.
"Let's get a move on." he says.
I exhale in relief.
The usefulness of this partnership already is showing itself.
"Grab that knife for me, will ya." he says as he jumps down into the driver seat.
I carefully pull the knife from the buck's skull and wipe it off in it's fur.
I climb into the back seat and hand him the knife.
He takes it and tucks it into one of the many holsters he has in his coat.
He hands me a full bottle of water.
I drink about half and share the rest with Casper.
Once we finish the bottle I hand it back to the cowboy.
"Buckle up." he says with a smile as he starts the car and speeds off.
We're headed west.
I feel compelled to thank him.
"Thanks for the help back there." I say.
"No thanks necessary, compadre. We're partners now."he says
I look up into his eyes in the mirror.
He seems genuine.
That goes against my previous perceptions.
He starts to tell me about the animals.
There's a storm rolling in.
It's coming from the south.
The infected are migrating to avoid the rain.
The bear and two elk were just the first.
From what he says there would have been more close by.
The fact that I'm out of water means there's almost no way I'd have survived without his help.