The Huntress

Chapter 13

     It was getting colder outside. The trees we walked passed were stripped of their leaves and seem dead. Our breath was even visible in the cool air. I wasn't cold. I have encountered this type of weather before and was used to it, somewhat. The cold seemed to send chills down my spine every once in a while, reminding me that all I had on was a pair of cargo pants, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater. My sweater wasn't very good at keeping the cold out.

     Beside me Ryan was shivering. He tried to control it. Probably to show me he wasn't so weak about this new lifestyle. He didn't fool me. Ryan was a rich boy from the city. He had been pampered and taken care of for his whole life. Of course he would tell me that was not the case. Oh well he had some pampering at least.

     Shadow was happily walking on the other side of me. She was really squirming in the back pack. When I set her down with my makeshift leash she was struggling against me. Ryan suggested taking the rope of and see what she would do. Shadow just sat on the ground at first but when we started walking away she began to follow us. Inside I was elated!

     "Luna, what are we doing?" Ryan asked me. I looked at him and replied "Walking to a safer place." He sighed. "Well yeah, I know that, but where are we going? When will we ever stop? It's getting cold out here." I thought about this. It was getting cold pretty fast. We would definitely have to find a safe place for the winter. Usually when it begins to snow I stay in my home and kind of hibernate. Like bears. "I know, I know," I said "Eventually we are going to have to find a safe place and stay for the winter." Then an idea came to me. "We're going on a raid."

     Ryan looked confused. "A raid?" My face lifted up in a smile. "Yupp we need some supplies if we are going to make it through the winter." He still had a puzzled look on his face. "How are you doing that? Like stealing?" I turned to look at him and rolled my eyes. "Yeah duh. How else do you think I got all this stuff?" Ryan continued to stare at me. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Well you just don't seem like the type of girl to steal." He finally said. A laugh escaped from me. "I'm not like other girls." I replied and walked a little faster. Ryan didn't continue on with our conversation.

     As we walked I thought about a lot of things. I was making a mental list of things to get on our raid, deciding on an area to stay the winter, how to break in to a store with Ryan, and about my dream. Mostly I was thinking about Ryan in my dream but realized I had missed something. Something I had forgotten. My last name. My dream last night helped me remember my last name. Lawson.

     "Luna Lawson." I whispered my name. It sounded right. It sounded familiar. It sounded like home and who I really am inside. "What?" Ryan broke my train of thought. "Hmm..." I replied with. He looked at me like I was a little crazy. "What did you say?" Should I tell him. Would he possibly recognize my last name? What if he did? Does he really need to know? Some of these questions were easy to answer and most I had no clue on. "Nothing. I was just talking to myself." He smirked at me and I smiled back.

     I have to admit, Ryan was attractive. He was pretty hot and cute but also nice and funny. I haven't really known him for that long. However I already feel comfortable around him. It feels like I've known him forever.

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     It was dark, maybe around 8:00. I found another huge tree for me and Ryan to sleep in for the night. I could also hear a highway. Since my life has been mostly in the woods my sense of smell and sound became  better. The slightest movement in a forest could not go past me. Since a highway was pretty loud I was able to hear it at least a mile away. Maybe more. I'm really not to sure as I never have really gone to school.

     Ryan was totally clueless. When I mentioned the highway to him he looked at me like I was crazy. That I could not possibly hear a highway.

     Shadow was curled up next to the tree slowly fading away. "So your just going to go break into a store?" Ryan asked me. "Yes that's the plan." I replied strapping my bow and arrows to my back. I already had my black clothes on to easily get by unnoticed.

     "Isn't there an easier way to do this?" Ryan asked. I decided to leave him behind. Someone need to watch Shadow and Ryan was definitely no liking the idea of stealing from a popular store. Ryan continued, "What if something happens to you? What am I supposed to do then?"

     Finally I turned to face him. "Nothing is going to happen to me. I have done this many times. In answer to your previous question no. Its not like I have a credit card or something and just walk in to buy stuff. I have no money." As I was talking to him I saw his face light up. "What is it?" I asked.

     He stayed there like that for a few seconds. His face still smiling and it looked like he was thinking. "You don't have money, but I do." Ryan reached into a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a card. I stood there awestruck and couldn't believe what I was seeing. "I usually carry this with me when I leave the house. Just in case I want to buy my way into drinking out my sorrows. But I really haven't ever drank." He said that last sentence very fast but I didn't worry about it.

     "Ryan," I started, "With this we can get all that we need. Food, clothes, supplies. Anything." My heart started beating faster. I was elated. This winter I wouldn't have to be freezing cold or starving.

     I felt so happy that my feet closed the space between me and Ryan. I began hugging him and started to cry. This could just be the best thing that has happened to me. Why didn't I think of it before.

     Ryan hugged me back. I could feel his breath tickling the back of my neck. Happiness was replaced with I different feeling. One I hadn't felt before. Desire? No that couldn't be. Heat rushed to my cheeks. Embarrassed I stepped away from him with my head down. I could sense that he was embarrassed too. Ryan broke the awkward silence. "So what are we going to do about us? I mean we sure aren't looking very civilized."

     I looked up at him and studied his face. Ryan was dirty. His face had dirt smudges all over and what looked like dried blood in his hairline. His hair was messy and dirty to. I could only imagine what I looked like. "We can bathe," I replied to him, "I'll find a stream or pond and we can clean ourselves up." He looked disgusted at the idea but realized that was our only option. "Are we still doing this tonight?" He asked. I thought about this. It was late. If we cleaned ourselves it would probably be about 9:00. Some stores could be closed then.

     "We'll wait for tomorrow. That way we can shop earlier." Ryan smiled. "Okay sounds good to me." I watched him begin to climb up the tree we would be sleeping in. I smiled to myself. Was this fate? Is this a good idea? So far with Ryan with me things have been good. The only bad thing of him with me was when I had to burn my home. Well I thought to myself I guess we'll see where things go.

     I climbed up after him with Shadow safely in my backpack. Once I strapped myself in I looked over at Ryan who was fast asleep. Again, the feeling of happiness flooded over me and I fell into a peaceful sleep.