Martial Law - The Tale of Samuel Turner

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Let me help you" Rachell Grabs my arm and helps me out of the car

"You know I can do this myself, I was shot in the chest not my legs" It's my first day actually outside and moving around. I had nothing to do since Rachell basically had watch on me 24/7, so I took the bullet from the rifle round that was in my chest and make a necklace out of it because why not. Since Rachell was smaller than I was, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as she closes the door to the car

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She places her hand on the side my chest wasn't shot open as I peck her on the lips

"I'm sure, I can handle myself. Did for seven years"

She nods faintly and grabs my bag "at least let me carry something" my bag was 70 lbs of supplies and ammo, all in case if something was to happen. The second the bag came off the back seat of the car, it thumped against the ground

"I'll get it" I roll my eyes and pick it up with ease, throwing it over my back

"You'll rip the stitches out of your chest Sam." She grabs the bag irritatedly and throws it over her shoulder

"You wanna be that way huh?" I bend down and pick her up, setting her on my shoulders as I begin to talk towards the pier. It was early morning in St. Augustine, Florida. The beach was empty and the air was cool. Nothing beats the orange light of the sunrise.

"Saaaaaam!" She whined in irritation as I carried her to the pier. It was amusing the way she squirmed, trying to get off my shoulders. I reached up and set her down with a smirk on my face

"You're a dick." She crossed her arms with a humf and walked to the end of the pier. Her arms folded across the wooden railing overlooking the ocean. For once, I'm contemplating breaking one of my "rules to survival" which was Always stay on your feet. Never settle in one location. But with this girl, I wanted to live the life I never had, start the thing I once had, ripped from in between my fingers only to be blown to shreds. She was my chance to be happy, being normal. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't developing something for her. I mean, the last human contact I've had before Rachell was my sister screaming my name before she was killed.

"I missed the beach" her voice snapped me out of my train of thought, causing me to look at her in the eyes

"What did you say?"

"I said" she walks over to me and wraps her arms around my neck "I missed the beach"

I felt a flood of red wash over my face, if I didn't have known better I would have said I'm acting like a virgin.

"Yeah well there's prettier sights than the beach" I brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her face not bright red like mine. Karma.

"And that is Mr. Confident?" She chuckles in a soft, nervous in a good way kinda way.

"Well, she's 5'4, has brown hair, wearing a tank top and running shorts, along with saving my life not too long ago" Yep, she was gone. She was trying to hide the giggly mess behind the blush but it didn't work.

"You're lucky I like you" she wraps her tiny arms around me, resting her head on my chest. She must have forgotten about the bullet wound but oh well. As long as she was happy and comfortable.

"Where you wanna go next?" I could feel her pout and I can't even see her

"You're thinking about leaving already?" Her voice was whiny, which marked as adorable in my book "but we just got heeeree"

"How about we go find some gift shops to loot and find a place on the coast to rest for the night, okay?"

Once you get to know her, she's a kid in an adult's body. It's entertaining. She nods her head slowly. She didn't want to leave but we had to. Eventually.

But as of right now, we weren't Leaving. The scenery was gorgeous, the air smelled salty and the breeze was cool. Dare I say it was perfect. A couple hours later, we decide to drive up towards an old gift shop near the fort on the edge of the water.

"Hey, Sammy?" Rachell looked over at me with a puzzled expression "This fort. It's been a part of a few battles, am I right?"

I nod softly, looking at the cannonballs lodged into the stone wall of the fort "I would say so, why you ask?"

"Well-" she pauses "it's safe. Secure. Plenty of space to move around. There's a moat, it's on the water." She grabs my arm and gently turns me around "we can make a colony"

"A colony? What if troops find us? How will we find people to join? Who will join?"

"Sammy, we have water. Water means food. We have a grassy patch in the courtyard for farming* she smiles at me, her face full of determination "we can help rebuild America, back to the way it was"

Oddly enough, I've always wanted to homestead. Live off the land, tame wild animals, off-the-grid living. The only problem with that is it goes against every rule I've made for myself to live in this hellish world. I grab Rachell by the hand as our eyes lock

"I'm sorry but we can't. We can't be taking unnecessary risks. The best thing we can do is keep "island hopping" from town to town looting whatever we can grab."

Her face dropped from a once happy and determined look to an "okay.." kind of look. From my experience with Atlanta, the major cities are sectioned off and under strict control. Setting a colony in one of the oldest Spanish settlements relatively close to Tampa, too close to my standards anyhow, seemed like a one way ticket to a massacre. But nonetheless, I'm trying to keep us alive.

"How about this" I set my hand on Rachell's head, seeing her face perk up a bit "if we find a small town that's far enough away from a red city, we can call it home, alright?

Oh right, that's something I completely forgot about. Factions. They're groups of people who set up outposts with different goals in mind. Green factions want to help the people, yellow factions are people who moderately hostile but with good intentions. Grey factions are neutral, they tend to themselves, Purple factions are there for profit only. The ones we're worried about are the red. They'll go for anyone and thing. Those tend to be military and bandits, two kinds of folk I don't need near us.

Her face perks up with excitement as she wraps her arms around me "Thank you" she lifts her head from my chest and presses her lips against mine "I won't let you down, i promise!" Ironically, I tell her the same thing in my head. As we step foot into the car, I can tell the atmosphere has changed dramatically. Before I can get a word out of my mouth Rachell speaks up

"Sam." I know for a fact I haven't been sleazing around so that can't be it

"Yes Rachell? She hesitates to open her mouth, the words like a lead anvil on her chest

"I'm pregnant.."