We walk through the forest while Sean and Gabby chat loudly, me and Drew hang a little further behind. I lean against his shoulder softly with my head, we hold hands with fingers intertwined. The snow is pretty thin and I guess Winter is almost over. Buddy walks as close to our pace as possible, walking close to my side. He looks up at me while he continues padding along on the compact snow. I smile down at my dog.
The cut on my wrist has begun to heal rather quickly, which is helpful, but I'm guessing it will leave behind a small scar. I already feel like a have enough scars considering my side from last year.
I look back up just in time to see Gabby slit an Infected's throat. "We're getting to the I2's." She says, "Are you sure you want to go to the warehouse?" She asks, turning to glance back at me and Drew.
"We don't really have any other choice." I say.
She shrugs, "Or we could not go. We could head straight South and get this over and done with." She sighs heavily.
"Or we could just get this over and done with through dying according to you." I mumble so she can't hear.
"You're already annoyed aren't you?" Drew mutters to me.
"A little." I say.
All of us walk in silence for another couple of minutes, before Sean finally speaks, breaking the silence, "So, judging by earlier, you two are actually a thing now?" He asks over his shoulder. I look down to the ground, not knowing how to answer. Drew seems to not know what to say either. "Wait, so what I'm gathering here is that, you two have kissed multiple times now, yet you still haven't discussed it?"
Me and Drew exchange glances, "Uh.." I begin, although I instantly trail off.
"Well..." Drew begins, although the same occurs.
"I'll take that as a no. Drew, we need to talk." Sean demands, slowing down to match his pace with Drew.
"Nope. I'm good. No thank you, Sean." Drew disagrees immediately, shaking his head as he moves his grip on my hand slightly.
Sean looks at him with a raised eyebrow, "I think you should know that I'm not taking no for an answer." He says.
I shrug, "I'll leave you two to it." I smirk, as Drew gives me an annoyed look. I let go of his hand and make my way over to Gabby further ahead. She smiles at me and instantly begins talking to me about how she finds that she prefers Winter over Summer.
As she speaks I glance back at Drew over my shoulder. Sean waves his hands around as he speaks and my best friend looks bored out of his mind. Buddy trudges along by his side, focusing on the powdery snow. Drew finally notices me looking back at him and gives me a small side-smile. I return a small smile, before I feel Gabby tap my shoulder to get my attention, "Jessie," She says persistently.
I turn to her, "Jessie?" I repeat her words.
"My nickname for you," She responds, "Now, what's your least favourite Infected type?" She asks.
I have no idea how the subject changed from Seasons to Infected, but I shrug and go with it, "Probably around I2, since they bite you and leave you to turn. I'd rather die than become one of them." I explain.
"So, you'd rather be eaten alive?" She raises an eyebrow at me.
I nod, "Better than becoming one of them, as I said." I repeat.
"Well, I'd rather be killed by being bitten rather than experiencing being eaten alive by something as ugly as an I9 or something," She continues to go on and on about this reasoning with every detail possible. I quickly lose track of what she's talking about and I zone out into my own thoughts.
Is going to this warehouse a good idea? How many people will we lose? Perhaps we should just go straight down South. No... I only have a bow with six arrows left, my machete, and an empty gun. I probably should have just killed West, so I could keep my two daggers. Although, maybe I made the right choice. I probably won't be able to cope killing another friend. Was West a friend?
"Hey, guys! We can set up camp here!" Gabby calls to the boys that have slowed down so they linger even further behind. They look up and Sean nods in agreement, before they quicken their pace to catch up.
Suddenly, I really that Buddy isn't with them. My eyes widen and I instantly stop. Gabby stops with me and throws down her bag just as the guys have caught up with us. My eyes flick towards the forest, ahead, then behind. Buddy's nowhere to be found. "Drew, wasn't Buddy with you?" I mutter to him.
He glances around, "He was right beside me." He says.
"No, no, no, no, no!" I exclaim, "Buddy!" I yell as loud as possible.
"Jessica, keep it down! You're not only calling Buddy over, you're calling over every Infected in the entire area!" Sean exclaims angrily.
"Jess, it's okay! We'll find him. I promise." Drew says,
"We need to find him now." I demand.
"He'll turn up." Gabby says, "Dogs always do." She already sounds unsure about that.
"Not in a world like this." I say, my eyebrows knit together in worry. "I need him." I murmur.
"He probably just wandered off for a bit." Sean suggests, shrugging.
"My dog doesn't just wander off." I say, although, it comes out more aggressive. He holds his hands up defensively. "I'm going to look for him." I say dismissively.
"I'll come with you." Drew immediately says.
"I'm pretty sure you already know I can handle myself." I say, beginning to walk towards the thicker of the forest. "Buddy!" I call, "Where are you, Buddy?"
"Don't be too loud." Drew says. I roll my eyes even though I know he has a point. "Hey, I saw that."
A small smile appears on my face, "What?"
"I know you know what I'm talking about." He chuckles.
"Nope. I have no clue."
"Yes, you do." I shake my head, still trying to conceal my smile by turning my head in the opposite direction of where my best friend walks. I hear him laugh, "You're such a bad liar." Immediately, I break into a wide smile. "See! You're smiling!" He exclaims.
I punch his shoulder as I begin giggling, "Stooop!" I laugh.
My mood quickly switches to surprise when I see my dog galloping towards me. Although, in his mouth I see he's holding something. I squint to see what it is. "Buddy! What've you got, boy?" I kneel down as he gets closer.
Once he finally reaches me, I take the item from him. "What is it?" Drew questions from beside me.
I examine the ripped cap. The overhang of the hat is half ripped off, but it seems to hold. It looks well-used with it's violet and blue colours. "A cap." I simply reply, holding it up for him to take a look at. Drew takes it from me and takes a quick look at it, before handing it back to me.
"Do you reckon the owner's still alive?" He suggests.
Buddy barks and circles us. "Perhaps," I shrug. My dog then gallops a few paces ahead and barks again, as if beckoning us to follow. "He wants us to follow." I point out.
"Jess, we already found Buddy, that's what we came here for. Let's go back to camp now." Drew urges.
I turn to look at him as I stand up again. Buddy barks once more. "Come on, Drew. It won't take that long." I sigh.
"Fine, but we gotta make this quick." He gives in.
I give him a quick smile, before we both follow my dog, who quickly leads us further into the forest.
~-*-~
