Lost To The Wild

Deal

"What kind of project?" Luke asks, eyes narrowed in curiosity.

I smile wider with a toothy grin. "It's the kind of project that requires two people. I thought I could do it myself, but it has proved to be a bit more difficult than expected..." I look down in shame, uncomfortable with admitting the limitations of my capabilities.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Without responding I quickly jump up from my seat and run over to my boots and coat, clumsily slipping myself into my winter gear. I look back at Luke's confused face and smile again in excitement. "Come on, I'll show you."

We had been trudging through the snow for about twenty minutes. Both of us comfortable with the silence offered by the forest. It was an oddly quiet morning. No wind, or critters, or far off echoes, just the two of us. At times like these it almost felt like the world had ended, and these mountains were the only things still standing. Sometimes I liked to think that I was the last one left, that the rest of the world just went away without me even noticing, and that when I finally perished nobody would be left to grieve my death.

Luke didn't ask where I was taking him, but I could feel his questioning eyes burning holes into my back.

"We are almost there," I say, trying to reassure him that I wasn't just leading him aimlessly into the woods. "And I have a question for you," I stop walking, and pause a moment to catch my breath. "Why was I in the bed this morning? I remember distinctly telling you to take the bed, and I fell asleep on the floor."

Luke stood beside me, eyes distanced. Unlike myself, he was obviously not at all tired from our short hike. His breaths were steady and body relaxed. He had a calming demeanor about him, at least when he wasn't in attack mode, and I was quickly beginning to like this calmness. He seemed well grounded and by association made me feel more at peace. My uncle would have said that he had good roots, and good roots yield the strongest trees.

"I moved you."

 I send him a scolding glare. "You shouldn't do that. I don't like being touched, especially in my sleep, and if this is going to work we need to trust each other. Can I trust that you won't do that again?"

He frowns at my statement, before holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Fine no touching, but if this is about what happened before then again I'm sorry. But I want you to know that I wouldn't hurt you I was just a bit out of it."

"It isn't about that. I've never liked being touched." I begin walking again before calling back to him, "Don't take it personally!"

A few minutes later and we finally arrive.

I was panting and sweaty by now, as I lifted my arms in a grand gesture at my project.

"You dragged me all the way out here for a fence?" He asks unimpressed.

I frown. "Not just any fence! I have been working on it for a while, but at my speed it will never be finished. I want it to border my property."

"How much of this land is yours?"

I walk over to the fence, giving the barbed wire a hard tug, admiring my handy work.

"Nearly the whole mountain." I say.

He lets out a low whistle. "That a lot of land for one girl."

I laugh "Yes it is, and I need to finish this fence asap. I am only about a quarter done right now ."

"Why a fence? Do you really hate the locals that much?"

"No the locals don't bother me, it's the poachers I am trying to keep out."

"Poachers?" Suddenly very interested in my project, he approaches it and begins inspecting my work. "If you really want to keep them out you should electrify these wires."

I smile at his interest. "That's the plan once I finish putting it up."

Luke pulls and pushes full force on the posts I've planted, and none budge an inch.

"You've done a good job so far. I think I could have it finished in four or five weeks. Does that work for you?"

I laugh at his confidence. "There is no way you are going to finish this in a month, but if you do then you can stay as long as you want."

He smiles at me. "Is that a promise?"

I smile back. "It's not a promise, it's a bargain. If you finish it you can stay on my land as long as you want, mind that if I don't like you I may kick you out of my home, but you said you don't want to go back to town, so I wouldn't mind if you wanted to build your own place here and help me care for the fence and land. This mountain is big enough for the both of us."

He holds out his hand. "Deal?"

I hesitantly reach out to shake it. "Deal," I agree before quickly pulling my hand away. "We should head back."

Luke nods, beginning to walk back in the direction of the house. I follow him, impressed by how well he can navigate through the forest. When I first came here I spent most of my days lost, lucky to make it back to the warmth of my cabin.

"You've spent a lot of time in the wilderness." I observe.

He smiles to himself as if taking amusement in some private joke. "Yes I have. Sometime it feels like I was raised by wolfs."

"Your parents are the outdoorsy type then?"

"You could say that..." his face falls into a sad expression that I know all too well.

"They're dead, aren't they?"

He quickens his pace slightly, ignoring my question completely.

"Don't worry," I say. "I get it. Mine are dead too, but we are all orphaned eventually, some just earlier than others."

He stops at my words.

"I'm sorry. When did they pass?"

"Two years ago. It was my last year of high school, it was supposed to be a great year. I was planning on getting good grades, and going to a fancy university, but it kind of just fell apart after they died. Everything just kind of seemed pointless, so I got my diploma, then moved out here with my uncle. He passed from cancer not long after I arrived."

I look at Luke and notice that he is staring at me with the same look that I get from all the locals.

Pity.

"Don't look at me like that," I huff. "I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity. It's sympathy, there is a difference."

"Never mind, just don't."

He turns to keep walking but a loud gunshot causes us both to turn to the east. Startled birds fly up from the trees, fleeing from the noise as the sound echoes through the mountains and surrounds us. Luke is crouched to the ground, like predator ready to pounce.

"Poachers," I say.

"Should we do something?"

"We are doing something," I say determined. "We're building that fence."  

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A big thank you to janiefaucett for voting!!