An Unlikely Time

Chapter 5- An Unlikely Visitor

I looked around, staring at the trees around me. It was nightfall already. My parents had already gone to bed. My dog, Yoyo, still remained at my side, ready to protect me with his life. Waffle had fallen asleep and Jackson was still awake, keeping his ears pricked. I couldn't fall asleep with all the things that had happened. My parents had told me not to get into any more trouble. Think I'm gonna follow that guideline? Nope.

Of course, most of the crap I go through was to help us. Well, maybe not the last time, but we still got some food, right?

Besides, ninety nine percent of my stealing got us somewhere good. When I stole from that mall, we had enough food for a year! Plus, we were able to gets some clothes and migrate before the Brits arrived.

Suddenly, a rustle in the bush broke my thoughts and I stood up quickly, looking back at Yoyo.

"Don't worry about me. Just keep an eye on my parents." Jackson watched me as I quietly walked into the woods.

I slowly crept into the bushes and followed the soft sound of footsteps. I caught sight of a shadow, tripping the tall figure and jumping on top of it and pointing at gun at it.

"Who are you?" I whispered, my finger on the trigger. It was a girl. She glared back up at me and threw me off of her, backing up and pointing her own gun at me. For a long while we stood at a dead lock stalemate. Neither one of us averted our eyes from each other. If I looked away, I was toast. And we were both itching to shoot.

She seemed slightly familiar, but I shook the thought away.

"Why are you here?" I asked gruffly, pointing the gun at her head. She quickly tightened her grip on her .380 and growled at me. "Piss off! I was just passing through!" she said through her bared teeth.

"Well, we- uh, I already made a camp here." I had to quickly correct myself to prevent any further investigation of the girl. I didn't want to put my family danger.

"I could care less if you made camp here. I could kill you and take you stuff. And it would be easy."

I hissed and glared at the girl. "You better get off my property before I shoot your ass."

She laughed. "Ha! You? What's a short little shit like you gonna do to me?"

"Hey!" I shouted back, irritated. I hated being called short. "I'm not that short! And even so doesn't mean I'm weaker than you, asshole!"

The girls gaze became more shocked. She slowly lowered her arm, taking a step forward and looking at me with a mezmorized look. I blinked, confused and lowered my arm slightly.

"...Ashley?"

My eyes widened, and I backed away from her quickly, tripping over a stump and landing hard on my back. I looked up with a very shocked and confused glare. Who was this girl? And how did she know my name? And as I sat on the ground, my green eyes met her hazel eyes.

"It's me... Rachael..."

My eyes grew wider, but I still remained suspicious. She looked completely different from two years ago. She had grown even taller than before, had become thinner, probably hadn't had a meal in days, and her hair was much longer, almost reaching her waist. She wore torn old jeans, a tethered sweatshirt and some old sneakers. She had a few cuts and bruises from traveling, still looked strong though. I looked up at her.

"If you are really Rachael... tell me something the real Rachael would know about me." She didn't hesitate, and began to list things out.

"You're Ashley Greer. You were born right side up, your favorite colors are red and blue, you love cats, your dog is bat shit crazy, we loved making each other laugh. We had met at a daycare when I gave you a red gem. You always looked tomboy, especially after you got a haircut when you were 14. We've been best friends..." I looked into her eyes and noticed a familiar spark. I felt a smile creep onto my face as she held out her hand.

"...And we always will be." I finished for her, and I pulled her into a hug.

"It's so good to see ya..." Rachael looked down at me, smiling. Her smile disappeared when she looked at my camp.

"Looks like you've been though rough times too..." She looked at my dried bloody side and gasped.

"What happened?!" I covered her mouth. "Do you want to wake my parents?"

I led her to my cot, where we sat and looked at each other, exchanging glances. Yoyo approached her and growled. I kept a careful eye on my dog as he sniffed her. His growl quickly disappeared. He licked her hand friendly- like, and laid down. I grinned.

"Someone remembers you."

She smiled as well and turned to me. "So give me the deets. What's been happening with you guys?"

I sighed. "Well, unlike you guys we moved when the Brits tried to approach us. We got to Colorado and had a ball stealing- well, er, I did anyways." She chuckled at that, and allowed me to continue.

"I... got us into some trouble..."

She raised her eyebrows. "What kind of trouble?"

I looked up. "Well, considering I got the Brits chasing us... We're going through some hell."

She bit her nails. "Shit, sorry gro." The word was familiar, we used to be so tomboy that would call each other "gros".

"Anyways, thanks to Yoyo and my two kitties over there, I escaped with my life." She dropped her eyebrows in sadness.

"... The other cats? Horses?" I sighed, looking down. "Most of my cats are either dead or just gone." I touched my wounded side. "And I don't know if the horses are alive or not."

She sighed sadly. "Well, shit."

I nodded. "I know."

I looked back at her. "What about you?"

She looked away. "It was all screwed up..." I sat silently, listening. "Well, the day they came they wanted my sister and I... We ran for it and I jumped out a window and survived with just a few cuts and bruises. But..." She gritted her teeth. "They got my sister... and my mom too..."

I dropped my eyebrows, tensing up at that point. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if my parents had been taken. Or worse...

"Damn... I'm so sorry..." She sighed.

"But..." She balled up her fist and looked up at the sky. "I'm gonna save them." She said, a spark of determination in her eyes.

I blinked at it, surprised how strong she had been. I mean, hell, even I had been changed. But not Rachael. She was still the sweet, smart, joking and strong girl I knew two years ago.

"Do you know wherethe rest of your family is?"

She shook her head. "Andy was out when it happened and I was at my mom's. And Justin and Kelly... I'm not sure, but they're strong so they probably escaped." She chuckled. "And knowing my dad, he's probably already shot some of the Brits up."

I nodded, picking up my bag. "Well, let's go."

She stood. "Go?"

I smirked. "Let's go get your mom and your sister!"

She blinked in surprise. "Are you screwing with me?!"

I grinned. "No!" She directed a hand at my parents.

"What about Jenn and Chris?!"

I shrugged it off. "Oh, come on, they're adults. Plus, I bet they won't mind if I leave a note saying I went stealing. Sometimes I don't come back for days!"

She looked at me with a shock stricken face. "Man... you're as bat shit crazy as your dog..."

I blinked. "Why thank you! I try!"

I grabbed Yoyo's chain and let my cats into my bag. "But we can't just go out there in the open! We could get shot!" I blinked and thought for a moment. "Hm, you're right." I snapped. "I got an idea!"