Killer // Bellamy Blake (1)

VI

Delaney had made up her mind the morning after the storm. She would go back to her old life. Not the life she left on the Ark when she landed on earth, but the life of living in a treehouse and tending to a garden. The life she found on earth after she was forced to live there.

Winter was coming, that was for sure. It was Delaney's favorite season, but it was also the hardest to survive. This year would only be her second year spending it by herself in the tree. Prior years she stayed with Lincoln and his family. Back then things were simpler.

Delaney knew she had to prepare for the months to come. She had gone out hunting every day since she left the dropship ten days prior. She had speared plenty of rabbits and one deer. She dried the meat and salted it, hoping to be able to store it throughout the winter.

Delaney had caught fish at the river as well. She had dried them the same way she dried the other meats she gained from the wilderness.

As for her garden; it was sparse. Being away at the dropship over a week before had let her garden shrivel. Many of her herbs and vegetables were either dry or overcrowded by weeds. She did her best to try and fix it, but she knew her crops would not be ready to harvest by the first snowfall.

As for her life away from the dropship, well, it was lonely. Lincoln was still being held at the dropship. Delaney hadn't gone back to visit anyone from the Ark. She couldn't get up the courage to speak with her father, either. She thought it was best to leave her old life behind seeing as it caused so many issues for her in the last few weeks. Delaney figured it would be easiest for everyone if they all just dropped it once and for all.

"Gona, you are a pain in my ass," Delaney complained. The horse neighed loudly in response and continued to chomp down on Delaney's whithering garden. There was definitely no way it would last through the winter.

She was sitting below her tree curing the fur she got from her most recent hunting trips. Delaney planned on making all the rabbit fur into a blanket to sell at the market in Ton D.C. She figured she'd be able to trade it for some more plentiful food.

Delaney hummed while she worked. It was an old song she had heard on the Ark once. It was sung by someone called 'Journey'. Delaney always thought it was a weird name, but whoever it was was now long dead. She figured everyone back then had weird names.

Her humming was interrupted as loud, crunching steps got closer. Delaney's hands stilled as she looked around, trying to place the source of the sound.

She relaxed - but only slightly - when Bellamy came into view. He trudged through the woods probably not even realizing he was near her home.

"Are you stalking me now?" Delaney asked. He jumped slightly, clearly being caught off guard.

Bellamy's head swiveled around until he finally spotted her through the trees.

"Whatever you want to tell yourself, Killer."

"I really hate that name."

"You'll get used to it."

Bellamy made his way over. He stopped short when he saw the beast standing nearby. Gona paid no attention to Bellamy, though, as he grazed on the long grass nearby.

"Don't mind Gona. He's a good horse."

"I always thought horses were smaller." Bellamy mused. Delaney had a sudden realization that horses were not something they saw every day. In fact, no one on the Ark had ever seen one before.

"Would you like to pet him?" Delaney stood up, clicking her tongue for Gona to come. He did, taking his time to trot towards her.

Bellamy backed up, not sure of the beast before him. Delaney ran her hands down Gona's neck, patting the side of his shoulder.