The Virus

Chapter 4

I listen to the birds sing in the trees as I clean one of the rabbits Dar killed. The air has a chill to it. Means it's almost winter time. So not looking forward to that. I remember last year I wasn't able to get all the supplies I needed and I nearly froze to death.  I shiver at the memory. Dar comes back with a pot full of water from the stream and sets it over the fire. He starts to dice some potatoes and roots I had found earlier. He drops them into the water. I hand him the first rabbit that I had gutted and skinned.
"What about the bones", he asks.
"The bones will make a nice broth," I state. I finish the second rabbit and hand it to him. I then start to clean the furs so I can dry them. It's been three days since Dar saved my life. We've settled into a small routine. I can walk but slowly. I don't want to tear the stitches. I remember waking up that first morning.
"Good morning", Dar said as I limped out of my tent. The sun was barely peaking over the tree line. The smell of the fire blew in my direction. Dar is warming something over the fire, he has a spool of thread by his side.
        "Morning", I mumble in reply. I limp over and sit on a log. The cut on my leg sends sharp pains up my calf. I see him warming up a thin piece of medal till it glows red... A needle.
       "So that cut of yours... It's pretty deep. Just bandaging it won't help," he says. My heart starts to beat faster. I know what he's getting at and I know it's gonna hurt like hell. He walks closer to me and unties my boot so he can roll up my ruined pants. I'm so glad I got shorter boots this time. He's holding the needle with a pair of pliers. He hands me a beat up silver flask. "You're gonna want to take a swig of this."
       "You've done this before right," I ask. My hands shake as I take the flask and down a huge gulp making me cough. I feel warmth spread through my body as the drink makes its way through my empty stomach. He pulls a dark leather belt from his waist and hands it to me. I think of all the times I've held people down as they gotten sewn up and shiver.
      "Several times and it always comes out pretty if you hold still" he says threading the needle. I lay on my stomach on the cold dirt. The drink has numbed me a little bit but not enough to take the pain. He pours alcohol onto my leg, and begins. I bit down on the belt and dig my nails into the dirt. My body shakes as I hold back my screams. By the third stitch I start to hum you are my sunshine to keep my mind off the pain. As I sing I can feel his strong hand holding my leg down. The pain becomes distant in the back of my mind as I sing and think of times before the infection. After awhile I feel something cold on my leg followed by a stinging sensation and he starts to bandage it up.
        I shiver hoping I never need stitches again. "So we will need to get moving soon", Dar says stirring the pot. "We will need to find a new town to supplies for the winter."
         I look at him in shock, "We? You want to stay together", I ask?
          "Ya, why not. It's better than traveling by yourself", he says. He looks up from the stew like a sad puppy. I don't quite trust him yet and groups are bad. But I like him near by. I don't know why but he makes me feel a little bit more safe; and he's proven he's a good fighter and hunter. Maybe it wouldn't hurt.
         I must've spaced out when I thought all this because I realize Dar is saying something to me. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I was just thinking since you're hurt and all", he rubs his hands together nervously. My heart melts a little at his insecurity. He reminds me of a child sometimes but then of a adult. He's so weird.
"Ya we can stay together for awhile", I say. I sneak a peek at him through the corner of eye and see his face light up. We stay quiet while the rabbit cooks. The delicious smell fills our campsite. A cool breeze blows against my cheeks.
Dar's (p.o.v)
       I keep stealing glances at Belle as she cleans the furs. Even though she's hurt she's never been a burden. I wonder what she's been through, I think for the thousandth time. The only time I've seen her actually smile was when she found out I was human; same goes for her laugh and that sounded more stressed then happy. I look at the soup and stir it. I sneak another glance. Her red hair trails down to her waist when it's down but she keeps it up in a ponytail most of the time. Her skin is a light brown doing nothing to hide her freckles. Her face has a sharp tone to it but I'm guessing that's from her life experiences. What I can't stop starting at is her eyes. For the longest time I've only seen blue green eyes. Hers are the prettiest shade of brown. They remind me of melted chocolate.
       We've been together for several days and she doesn't talk much keeping to simple things like what are we going to eat, and if I can pass her something. All I've pried out of her is that she's been alone for about two years her first year she spent living in small groups of refugees. I've been alone for about a month. I don't know how she's sane, I've nearly gone crazy without someone to talk to or at least see. I had to kill my best friend because he became infected. I can still remember him laying on the ground covered in his own vomit his blue eyes started forming the green outline begging me to do it before he changed completely.  I shake myself back to the present. Belle places the skins by the fire to dry. "Do you want to leave tomorrow", I ask.
         She looks up at me, "The sooner the better." She stands up and limps over to me. She's walking so much better, even able to get around by herself. "We should try to leave as early as we can so we can get some miles behind us."
         "So bread and peanut butter for breakfast" I say laughing. I smile at her. She looks at me then looks down at the fire.
        "Let's save the peanut butter, we can have bread and have some of that bobcat jerky I made yesterday." She stirs the flames. My smile dies and I take a deep breath. I guess two years of being alone makes people too serious. I can tell by her eyes she's not sure how to react to me. I run my hand through my hair.
          "Why did you buy peanut butter", I ask? She never looks up.
         "Peanut butter is high in protein and fat and it doesn't expire quickly. It's good for a pinch. I lived off of it for a month last winter",she says. I nod in shock.
        "What happened last winter that put you in that situation", I pry. She ignores me. This has been what it's been like the last two days. She will give a bit of information but as soon as I ask for more she will shut me out.
        "Last winter my buddy and I shared a tent. We set it up so then we never had to step a foot outside. We had this hole on top and had a campfire inside. We didn't even go outside to pee. We had this bucket and just went in that. It started to stink a little though", I say. Even though everything I say is true I hope she will laugh at it or at least smile. All she does is give me a weird look and shake her head. She gets up and limps over to the trees. I watch her disappear. "It's still better than being alone", I mumble to myself.
Belle's (p.o.v.)
      I sigh when I feel the cold stream water run over my hands. The waters cold but it feels nice. I left to use the bathroom after Dar's weird story when I accidentally placed my hand on a wasps nest. Needless to say I got stung. I think back to Dar's story and chuckle. It sounds like this whole epidemic has been nicer to him. I think of his laugh. His voice is deep like Morgan Freeman's, so his laugh is a deep rumble. My hands go numb and I look at the sting. My hand is pale and swollen but I've had worse. I quickly use the restroom. My leg is hurting feeling like a hot rod every step. My pants don't role up so I take them off so I can soak my leg in the cold water of the river.
       I sit on a cold rock on the bank, and place my foot in the water and sigh. I look around. The river spreads far in both directions. The bank is covered in rocks and pebbles. The stream is to shallow for boats, so I don't have to worry about infected coming via water. Tall trees stand on both sides of the river; the leaves are just starting to turn colors. A deer walks out and takes a drink of water down stream. The throbbing pain slowly dies away as I watch the clouds drift away. I start to hum You are My Sunshine. I zone out while humming. I think about my mom and better days.
       "That sounds really pretty", Dar says behind me. I turn around shocked. I turn red as I remember I'm sitting in my underwear. I use my pants to cover myself.
"Go away you perv", I yell at him. I stay sitting, covering myself the best I can. He smiles at me mischievously.
"I'm needing more water, and I was hoping to find you to tell you the soup is ready. I didn't realize you would be half dressed though kinda glad I came", he says smiling he bends down to fill up a bucket I didn't realize he was carrying.
"Fine just go away; I'll be there in a second", I snap at him. He laughs and heads back to camp.
"See you there", he says without looking back. I wait for five minutes before I get up and put my pants back on. I walk back nervous about the hell about to get from Dar.
I can smell the campsite before I see it. The soup smells wonderful. I walk up and sit down accepting the bowl from Dar. "Thank you", I say before slurping the soup out of the bowl. My heart hammers in my chest.
"Would you enjoy that more without pants on", he says causally sipping his soup.
"You perv. You were supposed to be making soup", I say standing up. My face gets hot.
"I was but it was done and we needed more water", he says. He remains seated. "I don't know why you're so embarrassed. You aren't the first woman I've seen without pants on."
"Well I've made it point to have pants on around men", I say. I top off my bowl and sit back down.
"Oh come on, you cannot tell me you haven't had an intimate relationship with a man. Unless you're lesbian", he says.
"Well for your information I'm a virgin and proud of it. Also I am attracted to men." I say. I take a big gulp of my soup, reveling in its worth down my throat.
"Do you find me attractive", he says smiling. He leans forward resting his elbows on his knees.
"You're ridiculous", I say. I stand up and head towards my tent.
"Where are you going", he says laughing, "Come on sit down."
"Nope. I'm going to eat in my tent", I say. I zip up my door and eat the rest of my soup alone. I feel my face turn hot from the blood rushing to my cheeks. The hole reason I decided to eat in my tent is so Dar doesn't see my face turn red.
Dar's p.o.v.
I chuckle to myself as I watch Belle disappear into her tent. I haven't been around a woman in several years and I forgot several things that can set them off. I top off my bowl and eat. After I eat two more bowls a cool breeze blows through the clearing so I walk over to the tent.
"Belle can I come in?"
She unzips the tent and pops her head out. Her hair hangs loose framing her face making it seem softer. I've only seen it down when she first wakes up and it's only at glimpses. "Come on in", she sighs. She steps aside and sits down. I follow her and zip up the door. I follow her lead and we sit in silence listening to the whipping of the clothe walls of the tent. All of her supplies are piled up in the corner of the tent. She picks up a notebook and pencil and starts to draw.
"I didn't know you draw", I say. I scoot over to look. It's a landscape of the river that we've been getting water from the last several days.
"I don't tell allot of people", she says without looking up.
"Look we are going to together for a bit I've been telling you a bit about me. Maybe you could share a bit more about you", I say. I hope she actually opens up and talks to me.
"What do you want to know", she says putting the notebook down. I look at her for a second marveling at this small act of trust. Her face opens up a little. Her red hair spills down her back and over her shoulders. Her brown eyes swim with emotions.
"Do you have any friends that are still around", I ask.
"No they are all dead or infected." She says sadly.
"How do you know, someone could be alive", I say hopefully.
"I wish. I know because I've seen them or killed them myself", she says. She picks at the rip in her jeans. She looks at me scared like I'm going to judge her. I don't though I know what it's like in this day and age. I kick myself mentally for starting off with that question.
"I remember the last time I was in a tent with someone was my brother. We were camping before people started getting sick. We went fishing and roasted marshmallows", she says. I can't believe she shared something willingly. I stare at her shocked before I admit I've never been camping before the pandemic.
"That must've been interesting", she says. She doesn't smile but I see her open up a bit more. I continue on about how I was in a weapons class and was in college.
We spent the rest of the evening talking about our lives before the infection. She never smiles but I see the walls fall and her face becomes more open with each story. She never smiles, but I watch as a small amount of happiness comes into her eyes.
It's dark outside but we have a small candle burning. Her big brown eyes start to droop and she yawns. "I'm gonna let you sleep, goodnight Belle", I say. She wishes me a goodnight as I leave the tent. I watch her shadow unrolls her sleeping bag and she blows out the candle. I know she seems cold but I can't help but be happy that she's here with me.