Stay Alive (Hamilton AU)

Chapter 4

John followed Alexander for what had to be at least a mile in silence. It was eerily quiet, considering not a word was spoken between the two. That and the fact that they couldn't even hear any wildlife in the wooded area, not even a bird. The only sound was their feet hitting the dirt ground, occasionally crunching a leaf. After at least another ten minutes of silence, Alexander finally said: "Do you know how to shoot a gun?"

"Wh-what?" John asked, surprised by the sudden voice.

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" Alexander repeated, clearly annoyed that he had to ask again.

"Um, I mean, my dad taught me how to hunt, so I can use a rifle."

"Next time, just say yes or no, okay? I don't need to know your life story," he sighed, rolling his eyes. He handed Laurens one of the guns he had taken with him. "Here, take this and try to hit that target over there." When John stared at him blankly, he pointed to a bulls eye painted onto a tree. "That target. Right there. Plain as day."

"Oh, uh, right. Of course." John handled the gun, some kind of shotgun if he was correct, and placed the stock on his shoulder, taking aim. These things were very inaccurate, so he really didn't feel comfortable with this. Alexander stood back, watching as he held his breath to steady his aim before pulling the trigger. Rifles had given him an idea of recoil, but the kickback from the shotgun was more powerful, and it almost knocked him off his feet. However, he maintained his balance and lowered the weapon.

"Alright, let's see if you got lucky," Alexander said before moving towards the tree with four rings around a circle. Well, he hit the target. Barely. "Okay, I want you to try with this one. You should be more used to this, being a hunter." He switched guns with John, handing him a rifle, which he was grateful for. This would be a lot easier.

"Okay." John went back to where he was standing before and took aim again, feeling more comfortable with this gun. He licked off three shots, confidence rising with each trigger pull. Lowering the gun, he and Alexander again moved closer to the tree to see his accuracy. Two of the bullets had struck the center circle, the third one hitting just above it. Laurens couldn't help but smile in having hit the bulls eye. 

He looked at Hamilton, who nodded in approval. "You obviously work better with that. Keep it. You'll need it. Now come on, we're running back to camp." And with that, he took off running back the way they came.

John huffed and put his weapon into the correct position before running after him, not wanting to be left behind. Honestly, he was out of breath before he was even halfway back, but Alexander wasn't slowing his pace. If he stopped, he'd lose the man in under a minute. He'd rather that not happen, considering he had no clue where exactly he was, so he pressed on, pushing himself to keep his pace, keeping his eyes on Hamilton the whole time. They weaved through the trees, running nonstop for about ten minutes before the clearing of Washington's camp came into view. So John slowed his pace to a walk, trying to catch his breath. He hadn't run like that since high school. Plus, with the weight of the rifle holding him down, it only made him put forth more effort. It felt like his lungs were about to explode.

He watched as Alexander ran the short distance as he just gasped for air, slowly walking there. He set the weapon down and went to his car, rummaging through the backseat before pulling out a water bottle. He knew he should probably ration it, especially now that he had to share it with people, so he didn't take that long of a drink, as much as he wanted to down the whole bottle right then and there. He savored the water as it wet his mouth and slid down his throat, glad for the temporary relief, before capping the bottle and putting it back. 

He waited for a little while longer before joining the others, who were talking about none other than himself, though they didn't seem to notice his presence. "He's decent with a gun, but he definitely needs to get into shape. He barely made it back here without collapsing," Alexander was saying.