Just Survive Somehow

Chapter 56 - Taken

"How was your book?" I ask Fletch as we approach a bridge.

He smiles. "It was good, I must have fallen asleep reading it last night cause I never made it to bed."

I chuckle.

"How did you sleep?" He asks me.

I shrug. "Not well."

"Is it cause he's not here?" Fletch questions then he chuckles a bit. "I shouldn't have asked that, I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "It's a lot of things."

He nods. "Well, if you ever want someone to sleep with..." He elbows me in the side gently and laughs.

I laugh back. "I don't think my boyfriend would approve."

He swallows hard. "So you guys are official?"

I nod. "We were... I just hope he got out alive."

Fletch nods back. "Me too..." He says awkwardly.

Ahri was walking on my other side. She looked so much older now... The way she carried herself, even with being exhausted.

"How are you holding up?" I ask.

"Good. It's tiring but we have to keep moving." She tells me.

I nod.

"How are you holding up?"

I sigh. "I'm still here."

"We've got about six more days of walking after this, right?" She asks.

I nod again.

"Then hopefully we can start again, someplace new. Maybe things are even better in Idaho." Ahri suggests.

"I sure hope they are."

"And hopefully Graham and Jasper get there too."

I hope so.

We cross the bridge but with a turn of bad luck, someone's waiting on the other side for us.

Three men and a woman stand a few hundred feet from the edge of the bridge.

We all stop at the end of the bridge, Ahren curses under his breath.

"Ahri, go stand behind Luna." I order.

Ahri looks upset. "But Sasha, I can help."

I knew she was capable of helping us but that was what I was worried about. I didn't want her to have to do anything. To have to kill anyone.

"No, don't argue with me. Go stand behind Luna." I order again, sounding harsher than I'd intended.

She huffs angrily and stomps over to Luna. I approach Ahren and Frankie.

"What's the plan?" I ask.

Ahren sighs. "You're uh usually our best shot but I guess we've had some complications with that recently..." He starts quietly. I shudder and rub the bandage over my mutilated hand.

Ahren continues, "Go talk to them, take Fletch with you. Frankie and I will cover you if anything happens."

I nod and wave Fletch over. Ahren and Frankie step closer to Luna and Ahri.

"We're gonna go talk to them. If things go south, Frankie and Ahren are covering us." I explain to him.

He nods. "What do you say we do a little good cop, bad cop?" He suggests with a chuckle as we slowly approach the people.