Error 16

Chapter 14:

For five days Boone was kept outside and tied up against the wooden pole while the rain continued to pour down from the sky.

By the end of the second day both his legs were cramped and aching from being forced to bear his weight for so long. (His fractured knee just made the pain worse)

By the time the third day arrived hypothermia was beginning to set in Boone's weakened body, his breathing was shallow and he could barely think straight as he stood strung up and shivering day in and day out.

Despite the severe weather, Derek and Morgan made sure to feed him and give him water once a day, giving Boone just enough energy to stay lucid and alive.

- Mid June of 2041.

In the present time Boone was once again huddled in the back of his cage, his knees tucked to his chest as he blankly stared into space.

Distantly he heard Derek enter the room but he just ignored him, no longer caring about the punishments he would no doubt receive from his disobedience.

In all the hell Boone had been put through over the years he managed to find something (or someone) to help him continue fighting.

But now, with his lover dead, his daughter hating his guts and the rest of his family most likely angry with him for his "death", Boone could honestly say he had no reason left to continue fighting.

In his bitter state of mind, Boone could just barely register the familiar shock of the cattle prod against his stomach.

Boone whimpered from the pain and looked up as Derek unlocked the main door of his cage. "You know, Morgan and I have been thinking, what if we tracked that pretty daughter of yours down? I'm sure she misses you".

Boone narrowed his eyes as he felt his adrenaline beginning to pump from the threat against his daughter, steeling himself as he swung his foot out and gave Derek a solid kick in the face when he pulled up the flip top door.

Derek cried out from the sudden pain and stumbled backwards, falling to the floor as Boone rushed to get up and went up behind him, strangling him with the chain of his handcuffs.

Once Derek's body went limp, Boone let him drop back to the floor and rummaged through his pants pocket, grabbing the handcuff key and releasing his raw wrists.

After he tossed the cuffs away, Boone took a moment to steady himself out before quietly limping out of the room and up the hallway that would lead back outside.

Morgan was still nowhere to be seen so Boone was able to slide the door up and walk outside, where the sun was shining with renewed vigor, almost as if Mother Nature herself was taking part in celebrating Boone's escape.

Deeming the town square an unsafe option, Boone ducked into the woodlands, hoping the leaves and trees would conceal him as he kept walking.

He made it about halfway through the woods before a gunshot rang out and a bullet whizzed past his left side, embedding itself firmly into a tree.

Boone whipped around and saw Morgan about six feet away from him, leaning against a tree with his pistol aimed at him.

"I guess this is where it ends". Morgan taunted, smirking and stepping forward as Boone raised his hands in surrender

Morgan walked forward another two feet before screeching in pain as his right foot was snared by a hidden bear trap.

Boone smirked as Morgan tried to take another step with his left leg, only for it to also be snared by the jaws of another bear trap.

With both feet now crushed, Morgan fell face first onto the forest floor as his neck then connected with a barbed wire snare, severing his carotid artery.

Boone waited a few moments until Morgan had fallen still before swiftly turning on his heel and continuing on his journey through Ohio before ducking into a rest stop along the Canadian border nearly one week later.

Thankfully there were no infected in the building, so he was able to lower his guard some as he walked over to the vending machine and pulled out a bottle of water and a packet of peanuts for himself to snack on.

Once he had finished his meal he was about to head into the bathroom before doubling back over to the machine and pulling out two Hershey Bars, pocketing them with a smile as he walked into the bathroom for real and leaned against the wall, finally safe for the first time in over five years.