Rehabilitation: Unbelief 1

Chapter 1

The world's changed. I don't know this because I witnessed the change, or even because I felt it. No. This is all I've ever known, but I know it's changed because I see what's left behind.

Destruction.

Jacob is striding ahead of me, his strong back broad and straight, his steps sure and true. I often imagine he's balancing the world on those shoulders. His unruly blond hair is brushing past the nape of his neck, and I know his ice blue eyes are laser focused as he makes his way through the rubble. He's quiet, as am I, every step stealthy because though we know there aren't any people out here anymore, there are other things.

Dangerous things. We pick our feet up as we walk and make sure not to kick any of the debris surrounding us on accident. I grimace, eyes scanning the ground looking for anything that might be of value. The pack I carry slung across my shoulder is light at the moment, but I'm hopeful we'll be able to find something useful today.

Ahead of me, Jacob stills. He lifts a hand, signaling me to stop, then drops to his knees, crouching. I immediately follow suit, making myself as small and insignificant as I can, so whatever he's spotted, won't spot me. After several slow, quiet moments, hearing nothing but the sound of my breath as it clouds the air in front of me, I shuffle closer to Jacob.

"What is it?" I whisper in a voice quiet enough I don't think it'll carry beyond us.

He inclines his head in the direction in front of us. I squint, eyes searching along the cold terrain for the threat spurring us to crouch down out of sight. At first, I don't see much beyond the norm. There isn't anything visible other than the ruins of the Old World city. Then I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I didn't notice it before, because its coloring matched the gray landscape around us, but now I see what has us stopped.

"A cougar," I mutter. The hairs on the nape of my neck rise and I suppress a shiver.

The large animal's gray fur looks mottled, missing patches here and there, striped by burns in others. It looks skinny, no doubt starving as are most things in the Old World. But I don't need telling to know its teeth work just fine, regardless of its meager appearance.

And its claws.

We wait in silence, holding our breath and watching the mangy animal limp and sniff at the air. After a while, it finally decides it's not going to find food or water in this area and lumbers off.

We wait a few minutes more for it to disappear from view before we straighten back to full height. I shrug my shoulders as I do, trying to loosen muscles gone tight with nerves. I expel a puff of air, its smokey tendrils drifting off toward the sky like a lazy feather. "Guess it didn't find anything good out here," I mumble, then look over at Jacob, unable to hide the relief in my tone or my face. "We got lucky."

Jacob looks down at me, a small smile on his face. "Luck has nothing to do with it." He winks.

I roll my eyes and start moving, passing him before he takes the chance to start this conversation again. Maybe if I just ignore him, he'll get the hint and won't start babbling on about fate and what not.

"Don't roll your eyes," he chastises, his voice carrying with it a gentle laughing tone as he follows behind me. "It's true."

Apparently, I am wrong about his babbling. I sigh. It doesn't matter if I keep walking or not, he's still going to bring it up.

"Can't we just keep moving?" I ask, my voice reflecting irritability as I try to derail the subject. But Jacob isn't to be sidetracked.

"We are moving," he reminds me, laughter still coloring his voice.