The Rabbit's Den

Feral Encounter

Shasta had a muscley build, she was almost as tall as Kaleb. Her hair reminded him of Trixie's the way it was unkempt. Unlike Trixie she had a very dark complexion from over exposure, which her stark white hair stood out against. She was riddled with scars and scratches in different stages of healing, she defiantly looked like she lived hard. From what he could see, she appeared unarmed, empty holster on her hip. "What happened to your gun?" Kaleb asked pointing at the holster.

She looked down, "Ferals took it." Lenora was packing the unused items back into the duffle bag. "How many of them have you seen around here?" He asked. Shasta shrugged as she watched Lenora, "Some, we'd been tracking those ones for a couple days. What the hell are ya'll doing out here anyway. You look like shit and she's old as hell. Ya'll are gunna die." The tone and the comment stopped Lenora, she looked up and scowled at the girl. "Who's we, and why were you tracking them?" He probed, something didn't feel right. She rolled her eyes, "Me and my brother, you find them first, or they'll find you." An unsettling giggle escaped her, "You didn't answer me, what are ya'll doing out here?"

Kaleb's tone took a sharp tone, "Looking for the WOLF settlement out this way. Where is your brother now?" She smiled, "Oh he's dead, they killed him before I got away." The twang in her words edged under his skin, now he understood what Trixie meant about his accent. "You really think you and the old bag here are going to find WOLF? Then what, take over the city?" Lenora's mouth dropped open, she was angered by the callous insult but was focused on her question, "What city?" She demanded. Shasta turned to her, "The City. Haven? Big place, big walls. You can't miss it." "Where is it?" Kaleb asked. Shasta smiled, "You really don't want to go there." His eyes never lefts hers as he glared into her. "Jesus, you keep going that way on foot. Ya'll make it in a couple months." She vaguely pointed in the direction she had come from.

"Months? Oh Kaleb!" Lenora gasped looking to him for comfort. Shasta studied the two for a moment before speaking up, "I can take ya'll back to our camp, we ain't got any supplies but it's a place to rest up before you commit suicide." Kaleb interjected, "We'll pass, we prefer to travel alone." She smiled again, "Well I might as well travel along with ya, pass right through my camp to get there." Lenora wasn't taking anymore of her ill-mannered abuse, "You seem like a sturdy gal who can take care of herself. We'll be traveling alone." Shasta gave her an impertinent look. "Ya'll going to make me travel alone with a bullet in my leg? Unarmed?" An ill feeling swept up through Kaleb, it would be different if she was armed, or not injured.

Even with his instincts screaming in his head that this was a terrible idea, he pushed them aside, "We'll take you to your camp, but we're not staying." Helping Lenora put on her back pack and scooping up the duffle bag he turned back to her, "Any more disrespectful shit comes out of your mouth, we leave you to fend for yourself." She put both her hands up, "Fair enough." It took her a moment to get to her feet, "I guess I'm leading the way then?" Kaleb nodded.

Kaleb and Lenora kept a good distance from Shasta as she led them through the thick woods. "This doesn't feel right Kaleb, I don't trust her." He nodded, "What was I supposed to do? Leave her?" Lenora's eyes plead with him, "Yes. I bet if we go back we'll find a group of robbed drifters looking for her." He tried to shake the thought out of his head, but it had been there even before Lenora had said anything. There was a good chance that Shasta was leading them into a trap. She kept turning around as she limped along and glancing at the both of them.

A few hours into their walk they notice Shasta slowing down, then stopping completely. She braced herself against a tree and slowly sat down. As they got closer they could see the bandages were soaked through with blood. She blinked repeatedly, "Feeling a little woozy." She said breathlessly. "Shit." Lenora cussed as she threw the backpack off and began to inspect the wound. "Ya'll got something to sew it up with? Pretty sure it's just gonna keep bleeding." Looking at her, Kaleb could tell she wasn't faking. She had paled up really fast and her skin was clammy while being soaked with sweat. Shasta leaned her head back against the tree, then closed her eyes.