I love listening to Shilo talk about things she loved and misses. Her face when she talked about her dad was sad but happy because she was replaying the memory. I knew I was convincing with my fake family story. I hate to lie to her. We finish getting our gear and walk long and far away from the camp. After a while I realize we are close to Shilo's tree. She doesn't know that I know these woods as well as her, maybe even better. Then we stop right under her tree. She ties the string to Lola and pulls her up as she climbs. I have seen Shilo do this so many times. I climb up after them. "This is where I lived before Mia found me," Shilo says what I already know. "It is hidden well, you are very smart," I reply. We sit there and wait for game to come for the bait we set on the ground. It is a little bit of food. We wait and wait and wait. After a while I start to ask Shilo more questions. "So what else can you tell me about yourself?" I ask. She turns her beautiful brown eyes towards me. "Well I am 16 years old and I was a senior when the 1st wave hit. I was moved up a grade level when I was a freshman and I still took the hardest classes. I was a straight A student," she says. "No wonder you are still alive you are a freaking genius," I say with a smirk. Shilo grins wide with pride. "I was getting a full ride to the University of Colorado Denver. I planned to become a..." She stops talking as we hear leaves rustle. I whip my head towards the sound and a six point buck walks out into the opening it sniffs the offering. I position an arrow in place and pull the string back. In one swift motion the arrow pierces the deer straight in the heart. It slumps down. Shilo climbs down with Lola. She comes towards the deer. She kisses her fingers and puts them on the wound I gave the deer. She then whispers to it, your fight is over time to go to your real home. Shilo closes the deer's eyes and dislodges the arrow from its heart. Shilo is so kind. "Wow Shilo that was so kind and appreciative," I say and she gives a weak smile. She starts to scratch her hands and wrists, I have seen her doing this since Mia died. We hoisted the deer up and when we reached camp I began preparing it. That night Shilo and I fed the few who still felt like living. Tonight Shilo slept in her own tent. Mia's cot had been removed. She said it was to feel closer to Mia but I sensed something else was going on. Days flew past. No one really made an effort to restore camp. Shilo and I tried to hold it together but one day in the mess hall at lunch Shilo snapped. She slammed her plate down and went to the small wooden block they used as a stage. "Listen up everybody," Shilo yelled over the silence. "Look I know I have only been her a short while. And I know I was not as close to Mia as many of you are. And I miss her too, but we can't just sit around and let all her hard work fall apart," she says. "Mia worked hard to get this place together. Heck she wanted to build an army. She wanted to wipe them all off the planet. It was practically her dying wish. Now would Mia want us to sit around and dishonor her like this?" Shilo questions and looks toward each and every guilty face in the room. "Hell no! Now first things first we obviously need a new leader. This place can't govern itself, so any votes," Shilo says. No one says a word. Her face starts to get really red and she stomps her foot. "I don't mean to be a jerk but you all are acting like a bunch of babies. People die it happens and normally we would have time to grieve. But we don't have that luxury. We can't sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. We have an apocalypse to stop. Now are you with me or what?" I like Shilo's confidence. I'm glad someone realizes this is falling apart. I know I should be rooting for my side but Shilo is very convincing. I hear a few whoops and some yea and other lets do this. A smile stretches across Shilo's face. "Alright then we need some people to start sewing. With all the new arrivals clothes are low," Shilo starts to name other jobs off. She would be a great leader and I'm sure if any one can pull this off it is her. At that moment I realize what will happen to her. Shilo is strong, fearless, bold, and best of all she is smart. Shilo knows strategy, she knows how to win the endless game of predator verses prey. She knows how to beat the odds, which is bad. Shilo is great and if she had enough help she could take down the main bases in the United States. And I can see her driving our species out and we are hard to break. We don't give up easy but Shilo has something we don't, she has hope. And I know that if I tell the commander of her then she is a dead girl and not just any dead girl, my dead girl. The girl I will kill. I cannot kill Shilo, I can't. But if I keep ignoring the commander he will send others lots and lots of them. He knows a liar when he hears one. After Shilo sends many people off to work she walks over to me. "You and me are going off to look for survivors. We also are going to go raid stores." Shilo quickly says and hurries off to help direct some other people. We are so far apart these days. I sense it has to do with Mia but I don't know how or why. I go to my tent and pack up some gear. I hold up my rifle and examine the fine barrel. I pack more ammo in my pockets and walk back to the mess hall. Shilo is already there with the guy who spoke at the funeral and to men. Both look in their twenties. Both have hazel eyes and light brown hair. "Bion these are the brothers Athan and Byron," Shilo says and points to them. "And this is James," she points towards the other guy. He seems to be around the age of the brothers. James has a mop of blonde curls on his head with green eyes. His face resembles a little boy's face. He returns a smile as Shilo introduces him. Byron scowls at me and steps a little in front of his brother. Like he is protecting him. Athan doesn't stop him and he looks at me with a weary stare. They are right to be weary, the brothers seem to be the only ones who notice something is off about me. Of course something is off I am another species. I watch Shilo scratch her wrists. "Ok let's get going. I say we raid first and then come back and get some scouts for the woods so we can track down the survivors." Shilo is new to being a leader and it seems her anger had built up her confidence. She seems kind of uneasy at giving them orders. "Whatever you say boss," James says and Shilo cringes at the word boss. "Just call me Shilo and no one has voted so I think there is still a chance I won't be leader," she tells James. She starts scraping her arm and blood drips down one arm. "Shilo your bleeding." I come over and pull my bloody handkerchief from my pack. I wrap her arm with it. She shiver at my gentle touch. If she knew what blood stained my hands she wouldn't let me touch her like this. I walk her to the infirmary with the boys following us. The girl everyone called Doc stood at her post again. "What happened here," Doc asks. As she places Shilo on a cot and gathers supplies. "I was just scratching my arm too hard," Shilo admits. "Now what would you do that for, there are not that many bugs around. Do you have allergies?" Doc looks for a reasonable explanation, but there isn't one. Something is up with Shilo and I intend to find out. Doc patches up her arm. "No it is a personal thing," Shilo says. When Doc is done Shilo mumbles a thanks and we walk out. I see Shilo starting to scrape her other arm. "Shilo stop," I say and hold her arm back. "Hey guys can you wait for us by the gate?" All three guys nod and walk away. I grip Shilo's shoulder. She turns her head away from me. I place my hand on her chin and move her eyes towards mine. "What is up Shilo," I ask. She doesn't respond. "Shilo Milton what is going on?" I press. She sighs, "Ok, ok when Mia died her blood got on my hands and wrists. I washed it away but I can still feel it. The weight of it on my skin. I want it to go away but at the same time it keeps me sane." I look at her truly confused. "It reminds me that this isn't a freaky dream, that Mia did die and this is happening. It keeps me from losing it completely. And I somehow feel like I could have saved Mia, but I didn't." Shilo's eyes glaze over with tears. They threaten to fall but still stay upright. "And it keeps me close to her. It tells me she is still here," Shilo says. "It is confusing," Shilo says and lowers her head down. Tears spill over her cheeks. "Oh Shilo, people die. It just happens but we have to let them go. The are not coming back, ever." I smack the reality in her face. She has to wake up some time. "I know, I know." She nods and wipes off her tears. "I am tired of talking about this I would just like to get work done," she says. We find the guys and head out. We run up to a small market on the outskirts of a town. I suddenly realize that I have been here. It is someone else's hunting quitrent. I am not sure what to do. If I don't say anything someone is a dead man walking and the other silencer will confront me. If I do say something she will know. "Shilo," I pull on her arm. "What?" She stops as do the others. "I have been here before and a silencer almost got me, it killed my allies,"I explain the first fake story that came to my head. "Look silencers never got me in my woods and they have only made a little effort to wipe out the camp. So they might not be here anymore," Shilo says with her wishful thinking face. I give her a weary look. "It is fine just stay alert and watch our backs," Shilo gives me a reassuring smile. Little does she know she just let someone die. I won't let her be the one. She walks beside James and I come up to her other side. The brothers trail a close distance behind us. This way it is unlikely for her to be shot first. When we are in the store I stick to her side like glue. We stock up on everything and when our packs are full we walk out like we own the place. James falls before I even hear the shot. "Get down," I yell at everyone. We all race back in the store for cover. "Ahhh," Athan yells. He was hit in the leg. Not good, you can't run you can't survive. "Athan," Byron screams and he runs to his brother as Shilo and I run into the store. Byron is shot in the shoulder while running. He barely flinches as he is completely focused on his brother. When he reached his side he grabbed a rope from his pack. Byron knots it around his brother's thigh to stop the blood gushing from the wound. "Ahhh," Athan violently screams. Byron wraps a bandage round and round his leg. I look over to Shilo, she is ducking behind a shelf of cans. The silencer won't stop, I know my kind. I scan the room and see a back door. My gun is outside still and I remove my machete from my holster on my leg. "Stay down, don't wait for me," I tell Shilo. "What are you going to do?" She asks with a frantic face. "Give James justice that is what," I say and run towards the door. I open it an take one last look at Shilo's heart broken face. Don't worry Shilo I will be back I promise. The sun shines bright outside. It shines bright for James. Now I will give him justice. I march towards the building.
