Lost and Cannot Be Found(Isa and Goldstar27)

IsaraRina

IsaraRina

Junior Member
The world is not the same. Nations warred against other nations. Nuclear war waged across the world. Now everything is in ruins. Towns are filled with radiation. Humans have almost been wiped out. Many still cling to their towns. They become mutated or they can't adapt to the radiation and die of poisoning. There are few, the hermits, that live in the mountains or plains. Many prefer the mountains to the plains. The mountains are much safer, far away from anything that could poison someone. The mountains are home now. 
Auriel was patrolling for food like she always did. It was early morning, the sun hadn't quite risen yet. It was still very cold. Her breath was like smoke when she breathed out. There was some rustling in some bushes nearby. She hid behind a tree and ducked down. She peered around the tree to see if she could see what it was. It looked to be a deer, a big one too. Auriel drew out an arrow from her quiver. She readied her bow and took aim. She let the arrow fly. Her arrow had flanked the deer in the side. It began to run. Her arrows flew fast, catching the beast many times before it finally stumbled and fell. Auriel raced over to the hurt animal. She could now tell that she had gotten a doe. "I'm sorry dear sister, but I need the nourishment from your body." She took out a knife and finished the deer in one, quick blow.


Auriel cut and cleaned the animal like her brother taught her to. She salvaged all that she could from the animal. When she was done, she stood and looked to the sky. It was the beginning of daylight. Fog surrounded her. It was hard to see through the thick mist. She knew she must get back to her camp soon, the deer had taken her for quite a run and she didn't like to be far from it. Just in case someone found it and tried to take it. Even if someone took over, they wouldn't be there for long once she got there. She started her hike back.
 
Lola flew through the trees, ducking the twigs and branches, leaves crunching underfoot with each step. She needed to get back to the cave where she camped, and fast. She clutched the small pack in her hands tightly, it should last her a week or so. Lola quickly stole a glance behind her, hoping that the man who had spotted her in town wasn't following her. She had to do this few weeks, sneak into the nearest town and steal supplies. It was a ghost town there, everyone had evacuated after the radiation had spread through the entire region. But like today, sometimes other survivors like her would dash into town for some food, and paths would cross. The man she had seen today looked kind enough, rummaging through an abandoned drug store for medical supplies, but he had seen her, and she couldn't afford to be seen, not in a world like this, not after what happened to her sister. Lola slowed to a jog, realizing that no one was chasing her, her breathing came out in puffs of steam, and her chest heaved in and out as she finally came to a stop, leaning against a nearby tree to rest. She was a little off track, but she knew the way back, it was about twenty minutes from here. She pushed forward.
 
On her way back, Auriel stopped by a meadow she found a while back. It was full of flowers. Every week she would stop here and pick flowers for her brother's grave. She put the knapsack she had by the end of the grove and wandered in. The sun was rising higher, making the dew on the flowers sparkle. She smiled happily and started humming a little tune while she searched for the perfect flowers. She still had her bow and quiver with her, just in case someone came across the meadow and tried to steal her things. She spent much time, looking for the right flowers to pick to give her brother. She would kneel down and inspect a patch that grew together and she would pick the best looking one before moving on.
 
"Oh no..." Lola looked around beginning to panic. Had she taken a wrong turn somewhere? She was positive that she had known the way back to the cave, but with each passing minute her surroundings were looking less and less familiar, until she no longer knew where she was or how to get back. She turned in a circle trying to keep calm, keep your head Lola. To her right there seemed to be a denser patch of trees and shrubs, closing in and blocking the rising sun above, to her left the trees bean to part and space out. Pick... A voice in her head pushed her forwards, as she grimaced and turned to her left, weaving through the trees slowly still looking around her with each step. Soon, the sun began to peek out from behind the huge trees, hitting her face before ducking back behind the leaves above her. After walking for a few minutes, she could see there was a clearing just ahead. Lola swallowed hard and moved closer to it, the ground getting grassier the closer she got.
 
Auriel heard a noise at the edge of the clearing. She saw a girl with brown hair come out of the forest. Auriel gasped and ran back to her pack. She ducked into the woods, hiding behind a tree, seeing if the girl was going to follow her. She loaded an arrow into her bow, just in case the girl decided to attack her. It seemed as if her heart was beating in her ears. She waiting, breathing very slowly, as to not give away her position.
 
Lola's head snapped as she heard rustling at the other end of the clearing. Her hand flew instinctively to her hip, where her shotgun was. In a swift movement she pulled it out, the hand holding it quivering by her side. Her eyes scanned the line of trees looking for the source of a sound. Was it an animal? Her heart beat furiously at her chest, or... a person? Suddenly she spotted the girl crouched behind a tree across the clearing. Her long silver hair caught the sun as it just peaked over the trees surrounding the meadow, and her golden eyes stared straight at her both scared and with an intensity she was sure was unmatched by her own eyes. The second thing she noticed about the girl, was that she had a loaded bow, and she held it as if she knew exactly how to use it. Lola knew, however, from the moment that she had seen the girl, that she had no intention of hurting here. Quickly, Lola snapped her hands above her head, choosing to submit, as well as reveal her weapon to the girl.


"It's okay," She half yelled across the field, her hands still up. "I won't hurt you..."
 
Auriel lowered her bow slightly. "And how am I supposed to know you are telling the truth,"she yelled back at her. She may have pulled her weapon out but the girl wasn't going to use it. Or was she. There was no way of telling from here.
 
Lola shook her head. She had to convince the girl that she wasn't going to be trouble. All of a sudden she through her gun to the side her heart now pounding furiously in her head. She was probably making a huge mistake... but she knew that she didn't want to hurt anyone. She had never wanted to hurt anyone, and she had been forced to before. After Eve was killed. "See?" Lola tried to keep her voice calm, "I won't use it..."
 
She came out from hiding, lowing her bow but still keeping it taught. "What's your business here,"she asked. She didn't want any trouble. She just wanted to take her stuff and go back to her camp to rest. So far, not one person could be trusted since Victor died.
 
Lola took a deep sigh of relief. "I..." what could she tell this girl? "I- lost my way" She chose to be honest, because she thought that as far as what she had shown, this girl could be trusted... for now. And it would be stupid of her to run away now, with no idea how to get back to her camp. She would be easy bate for any of the other mountain survivors, walking around in broad daylight, lost. And out of all of the mountaineers she'd met since the radiation, this girl seemed the least likely to be ruthless. Most of the survivors were men, they took what they wanted, they couldn't be trusted. This must have been the first girl she had seen in months, if not years. "I need to find my way back to my camp, I don't want to cause you ay trouble, but it isn't safe for me to be out here in the open, not at this time of day." Lola looked back at her gun on the floor, she really did need it. "Can I pick up my gun- I promise I wont hurt you..."
 
Auriel approached her very cautiously. "Yes, you may pick your gun up. Lost your way, huh? I wish I could help, but the daytime is dangerous." She wanted to help, she did but there was no way she would do it during the day. Days were hot during the summer. "We can go back to my camp and stay there until night. Then I can help you find your camp if you want." She got close enough to observe the girl. She seemed very nervous. But that's to be expected out here. Who can you really trust, is the question that always is in your head.
 
Lola smiled graciously at the girl as she approached, slowly picking up her gun from the floor and securing it in the belt of her pants again. "I would really appreciate that... if we could head back to your camp. Daylight makes me nervous too-" Lola began looking down at the girl. She was extraordinarily beautiful, and unusual at the same time. She was petit, but held her resolve. She was in control, clearly, and Lola was ready to do whatever she said. She was really saving her skin...
 
Auriel nodded. "I have plenty of food and supplies there. We could last for weeks if we needed to." She walked back to the spot where she dropped her flowers. "Follow me. I hope you can keep up. Getting there is not as hard as actually finding the entrance. She put the flowers in her pack an moved on. She kept her bow taught, just in case they were being followed. It took about an hour to reach the spot where Auriel's camp was. They had reached a rock incline, the trees stopped about 15 feet before the rocks started. Auriel had walked over to a mound with a rock sticking out of the top of it. She placed the flowers onto it and walked away. "Come, let's get to safety." She took one more sweep before climbing. The top wasn't very far but it was a difficult climb. There was a small ledge to walk across. She walked along it, feeling the rock. They didn't go far before she stopped. "It's here." She went a little further then back and disappeared. If you looked closely, there was a small crevice that you could squeeze through.
 
Lola followed the girl into her camp, watching her every move and closely mimicking them, the last thing she wanted was to fall off the face of the rock and hurt herself- or worse. The girl was much shorter, and thinner, than she was. She moved with ease along the jagged rock face with grace and agility. Lola, on the other hand, nearly slipped and fell several times before making it to the entrance of the cave, and even that took effort to squeeze through. Once they were safely inside, Lola tried to stifle a large sigh of relief and subtly wiped the sweat that had accumulated on her brow. "So..." she began through deep breaths and a few coughs, "I don't think I ever caught your name? I'm Lola." Lola stuck out her hand to the girl.
 
Auriel looked at Lola. She put her hand out and shook it. "I'm Auriel." She turned back and went further in. It opened into a large cave. There was a place for a campfire and a few crates laying about. There were some bedrolls and a cooking pot. "Well, this is is. Home sweet home."
 
Lola smiled at that, "home sweet home"... Auriel was a beautiful name, she thought. Lola wasn't too bad either come to think of it. Auriel's camp was cozy, a little smaller than Lola's own, but much, much better protected. Up here on this rock face she doubted any real threat, human or animal, could reach it- let alone simply find it. Her own camp was right in plain view, the open mouth of a small cave covered by a tarp of leaves when she left. If anyone found it, which hadn't happened yet thank goodness, they could steal any of her supplies. Her food and water , blankets and spare clothing, and her ammo, which she had stolen in a large case from town recently. She pulled her short hair back out of her face and into a small ponytail, leaning onto one hip, bending the other knee and placing her hands on her hips. "It's a nice camp," she remarked, still looking around.
 
She nodded. "Yeah. Not many have been able to find it. It's nice. There's water and food in the crates. Most of the food is dried meat since there isn't a way of keeping it fresh. There's vegetables and fruits as well. If you want fresh meat, I hunted this morning so I can cook something up." She dropped her pack and took out the meat. She took out some odds and ends as well and placed them in their respective crates.
 
Lola leaned back against the cave wall and slid down to a crouch, slowly extending her finger and beginning to draw meaningless traces in the layer of dirt over the stone on the floor. "I would love something to eat..." she began looking up at Auriel when she heard the question... it's been a while since I- gah!" Lola clutched her side in agony and sank to her knees, teeth clenched and eyes squeezed shut. "God damn it..." she spat through her teeth, slowly swinging her pack in front of her and clumsily unzipping it with one hand frantically, the other still pressed to her side as she gasped for air in short bursts.
 
Auriel looked surprised. "Are you okay? Are you hurt or something?" There was a hint of worry in her voice. She didn't want the girl to die on her. She couldn't go through that.


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"I'm-" Lola fumbled to pour out the contents of the bag, "okay" she said through clenched teeth. She was too busy searching for the supplies she had gotten. It was her wound again, it must have opened up from the long walk, thank god she had gotten some medical supplies back in town just in case, along with some meager cans of food for when she got back to her camp. Lola grabbed the alcohol and bandages and eased herself down to a sitting position, back up against the cave wall, trying to keep her breathing steady. She pulled up the bottom of her black tank top slowly, revealing the long and now bleeding scar that cut from above her hip up towards her bellybutton. "Gahh," Lola looked away feeling queasy, but quickly re-focussed pouring some of the bottled alcohol onto the wound wincing and gasping, and then quickly wrapping it with bandages. It wasn't deep enough to need stitches, but if she moved around any more than absolutely necessary in the next few days, it could open up more and then self-stitching would be the only option. That only meant one thing, heading back to her own camp was a no go, for at least three or four days or she could be playing with her life. There were no more hospitals, no ambulances, no police, if her wound got infected, the only thing she could do was try to help herself, and with her supplies her options were very limited.
 
Auriel walked over and moved Lola's hand out of the way. "It's no good if you throw up or pass out. I will do it for you." She was gentle with her. She went over to a crate and grabbed some ointment. It was a full tube. She walked back over and put it on. She gave Lola some pills. While bandaging her she said, "These will help with the pain. You should take it easy. If you go and lay on one of the bed rolls, I will get you some water and I will cook us some lunch."
 
Lola nodded, still nauseated. She was afraid that if she tried to reply she would just vomit, and then she would lose the little food she had left from yesterday morning. That wouldn't be any help. Auriel led her over to the bed rolls and lay her down on one, covering her with sheeting. Lola stifled a cough and closed her, the day running through her mind. The man in the stored, running through the woods, the silver haired girl in the meadow... Her head soon rocked to the side as she swiftly fell into a deep and un-interrupted sleep.
 
Auriel watched as she slept. She went to her meat and laid out some of the meat to be cured. Being in a cave made it cool so making a fire wouldn't have much effect. She made a small fire and started drying the meat. She coated them in spices she found in the woods. She then started cooking the leftover with vegetables.


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After about an hour, Lola woke up and looked around, confused. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was- as well as why she had ended up there. Auriel soon came over to her, she had finished cooking the meat and vegetables for their lunch.
 
"Here, this should help you regain some stamina." She sat down and began to eat the meal of venison and vegetables. It's been about the only thing she's eaten since it happened. Its hard to be picky when there's not much to eat.


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