Welcome to Mayhem - Updated Often

Chapter 7

Morning broke and the lake was awash with vibrant pinks, purples, and oranges. Birds sang melodies of appreciation to the sun. The light gently peeked into Emersyn and Garrett's tiny abode. She felt him stirring as the sunbeam caressed her face in its journey from her chin to her eyes.

"Ugh!" she growled, "Too early!" and promptly flopped over to her other side away from the annoyingly persistent ray of sunlight.

Garrett chuckled, "Not a morning person, huh?"

Doing her best to ignore him and prolong her sleep, she grabbed the sweatshirt she had been using a pillow and hid her head under it. She heard him chuckle again, then he began moving about the small space. Not bothering to even peer out of her nest to see what he was doing, she simply harrumphed loudly, trusting he would get the message. Apparently, that was too much to hope for because he continued to jostle her until he finally lifted her sweatshirt.

"Rise and shine, buttercup. We're burning daylight," he announced.

Emersyn sat up and stared into the face of an extremely attractive, extremely amused man with stunning blue eyes full of mirth. His voice had a slightly gravelly quality this morning and he hadn't had a chance to shave for a few days giving him a sexy, unkempt quality. Here she was in close quarters with unquestionably the most tempting man she had ever seen; he looked utterly delicious. She, on the other hand, had serious bedhead. In that moment, the only thing she could think of was she would love to punch him in the face – hard. Morning people always pissed her off.

As she continued to stare at him without speaking, he sardonically raised an eyebrow, but refrained from breaking the silence. Throwing him an irritated look, she reached for her brush in the front pocket of her backpack. After she was done taming her unruly locks, she grabbed her things and reached for the door handle. Garrett began picking up his pack in order to follow her out.

"I need some privacy, if you don't mind," she said testily, hinting broadly that she had to relieve herself.

"Darling, I'm not following you; you're not the only one who has to go," he told her, amusement still evident in every word.

Emersyn's cheeks flamed. Of course he had to go to the bathroom, too. She was never her best in the mornings. In her family, everyone knew not to speak to her until she had a cup of coffee and a shower. Her mom used to joke that they were tempted to put coffee in her baby bottle because she was less than "bubbly" in the mornings from the very beginning.

Once she had finished with her new morning routine: go to the bathroom, a quick wash with lake water, and at least changing her shirt, she walked back to Garrett who was standing near the Bronco. He was in a clean shirt also. It had been less than a week since she and Garrett had been propelled together due to circumstances. He didn't feel like a casual acquaintance anymore even though she didn't really know much more about him than she had before all of this had started. Well, other than that he was one of "those people" – a morning person. She magnanimously decided not to hold that against him.

"Do you think we can get this running? It would be nice to have a more secure place to sleep every night," Emersyn asked.

Garrett began shaking his head, "I thought of that, too, but I realized that it would be too dangerous. Whenever you have something of value, someone has more reason to come after you. Also, the roads are the most dangerous places to travel. Finally, we would spend most of our time either fighting off attackers wanting to jack our ride or trying to track down gas. And all of that is supposing that we could get it running in the first place. I think we are safer sticking close to the lake and river and using the equipment Jackson and your PawPaw left to filter water into drinking water."

Emersyn simply looked at him for a moment. Like she had said before, Garrett Flynn was a good man. He hadn't just dismissed her idea out of hand. He had even considered it himself and while he had valid reasons to decide against using the vehicle, he had taken the time to explain why he had come to that conclusion.

Garrett was probably ten years older than her and had vast amounts more experience in the world, but he treated her like an equal partner. He hadn't expected her to just follow his dictates because he was older or a man. His reasons were very sound and she agreed with each one of them. It would also help lay the groundwork of trust so that in the future, she could rely on his judgement when there wasn't time to explain his reasons.

Emersyn nodded her head and then said, "Shall we go?"

The pair began walking away from their temporary shelter. Emersyn realized that every step was taking her further away from her home. Mayhem, Oklahoma would never be home again; everyone who really mattered to her was no longer there. Sneaking a look at Garrett, she realized there was more truth in that statement than she first comprehended. Garrett had become important to her and not just as a protector. They were in this together; reliant on each other, a team.

"I've been thinking," he began, "You were able to take care of yourself against that guy the other day, but you need more training. I need to know that you can protect yourself in any situation that comes up even if I'm not there."

Emersyn slowed down a bit and turned to stare more intently at his face, "I am pretty capable, Garrett. More so than most women my age."

"I don't doubt that, Emersyn, but things have changed so much lately. 'Pretty capable' isn't enough. I need you to be lethal, if necessary."

She continued her slow pace as she considered this new idea, "What exactly do you have in mind?"

Garrett began to outline his plan; begin traveling at first light every day, set up camp at sunset, train for about three hours after dinner. He wanted her to learn how to quickly incapacitate an enemy and escape, to cover her tracks, move silently, and hide, if necessary, first. These skills were essential for a woman in the new world. He would then train her in distance warfare which would prevent someone from using their strength against her. Finally, he would train her in close quarters combat utilizing her small size and flexibility as an advantage instead of a hindrance. Garrett wanted her to know how to not only use every weapon they had or might acquire, but also how to fashion one in a pinch.