Picture Prompt Stories

Story #3

Blair didn't know who this guy was but she sure as hell didn't like him. He was arrogant and self-centered but she guessed they needed him to get into the sanctuary. When the world had fell into complete chaos, Blair and Koda had tried their best to stick together and more importantly alone. Blair didn't want to have to trust anyone else for her or her brothers safety so the best rule was to keep their group to only the two of them until they could better figure out who they could or couldn't trust. 

It wasn't by choice that Blair was following this unknown man through the woods towards what he claimed was a sanctuary created by some people after coming together from the end of the world. Blair had gotten hurt a while back and it had finally caught up with her, they had stopped for the night and by the next morning Blair couldn't walk properly, making Koda the one to go out for food. Koda had gone out early in the morning when Blair was still sleeping and while collecting some food, he found the stranger, he called himself Carter but Blair preferred stranger because in her eyes that was all he was. 

Blair hadn't even fully woken up when she felt someone touching her inured leg and immediately she sprung up on one leg ready to fight whoever had managed to get so close as she slept. Koda looked shocked before quickly moving between the stranger and his sister, he had good intentions after all.

"Blair calm down, this is Carter. He just wants to fix your leg a bit before taking us to a camp," Koda spoke to his sister, his hands up trying to get her calm down. Koda didn't want Blair to get sick or die so when he met Carter, he was excited. Carter had spoken about how they had doctors and plenty of food and even some running water which made Koda more excited and relieved then he had ever been during this hell of Earth. 

"Koda, what the hell is wrong with you?! We don't know him, he could be here to grab all of our stuff and run," Blair expressed to her brother before grabbing at his arm and pulling him behind her so she could protect the both of them. Carter definitely wasn't intimated, no matter how hard Blair tried, she was still hopping on one leg as her other one hurt to put her weight on. 

"Don't be stupid now Blair. Let me fix your busted leg and then we can star walking to the camp. The doctor there can fix you up like brand new. We ain't leaving till I fix your leg though, I don't need you bleeding out or passing out, I don't feel like carrying you around,"  Carter spoke clearly. Carter knew the likelihood of a teenager and a kid surviving out here and to say the odds weren't good was being generous. Carter remembered when the world first ended and he would see so many people dead, on the few occasions he was let out of the camp. Carter didn't want to see that happen to Blair or Koda, Blair and him were the same age after all.

"We are not going anywhere with you!  I don't know what you said or did to Koda but this isn't happening," Blair was adamant but as the seconds moved to minutes, it was becoming harder and harder to focus. Blair knew that eventually she would either have to give in or hope that he would leave without much of a fight. The blood was starting to soak its way through the bandage and carter knew that he would only have to wait a little longer before she eventually passed out from the lack of blood. Carter would prefer if she just gave in as it would be much easier, she didn't look too heavy but if he was being completely honest he really didn't want to have to carry someone all the way back to camp. 

"Listen, I don't want to do anything to you or Koda. I've seen too many good people die out here because they were young and unable to get the shit needed out here. I don't go out often but I have heard the stories and don't want to hear the stories in a few months of the two people we tried to save but couldn't. Koda and you probably don't want to come with me but you'll die out here, you especially Blair. That leg is going to either get an infection or bleed you dry but no matter what you'll be dead. You wanna leave your kid brother alone?" Carter said both of his hands up trying to show some sense of him wanting to cause no harm. Blair thought about it for a second and he wasn't wrong, she was struggling and didn't know how much further she could go before something really bad happened. 

"Fine. You can fix up my leg and we will follow you to this camp you're talking about but I have some rules. First, you walk ahead of both of us. Second, you tell us everything we need to know. Finally, we only stop when it is absolutely necessary. No funny business. When we get there, we have the option to leave after your doctors fix this busted leg," Blair said slowly sitting on the ground so that Carter could better clean and bandage her leg.

After the initial fighting, the rest of the journey through the dense forest was uneventful although Blair was never afraid to make it very clear to both Koda and Carter that this was not a permanent situation. Blair was still as unsure of the whole situation but was slowly becoming more comfortable with the new presence of the additional person.  

"See Blair, no bad intentions on my end. There is the camp just like I said it would be," Carter made a point of saying as the camp slowly came into view. Blair and Koda both had the same thought cross their minds the moment the camp came clearly into view. 'This isn't just some small camp, this is a town, a city. Camp is humble, this is could possibly be long term safety.'

Blair rolled her eyes despite being slightly, very impressed with what she was  seeing in front of her.  "Are you SURE I can't punch him in the face?" she asked Koda in a slightly quieter voice, she wouldn't really hit him but she knew that this would get a little laugh out of her brother.

"Yes." Koda said with a little giggle, "we still do need him. He's gotta get us in and start the intros."

"What if I just break his nose a little?" She said in response. Koda let out a proper laugh at that, knowing that although his sister was kidding, she probably would punch him lightly just to make a point. 

"No, B. He's not that bad anymore. He's actually kinda nice. Plus if you think about it you guys are kinda alike. Who knows maybe you guys would have been friends if everything was normal," Koda said walking a little bit farther ahead, walking slightly in time with Carter.

Blair wouldn't lie to herself, she knew her brother was right in most of what he said. She started walking a little faster finally allowing herself to walk in time with both her brother and Carter. She didn't know if they would stay or if Koda would even like it here but she knew they would try and hopefully that would be the start of something like the old world.