RADIO

chapter 30

They finally caught the dog and Dibbs and Monty helped wash the blood out of his fur.

“So much for staying dry” Duchess huffed.

“We need to change our clothes anyways, maybe we can look for more clothes somewhere” Rider suggested. They finished washing off the blood that was buried into his coat and let him go. Rocky ran off and shook the water out of this fur.

“I'll take him back and get Haze out here, I'm sure he can walk up stream with you to see what's up there” Dibbs said, helping Monty out of the water and putting his handmade prosthetic back on. “Can do” Duchess Grinned as they walked away, Jane and Rider in tow.

“I'll look for towels don't worry” Rider gave her a reassuring smile and started to walk back.

The three of them followed behind one another. “This month has been wild,” Jane huffed.

“You're telling me” Rider's response followed.

Dibbs sighed quietly, “We have each other, that's all that really matters at this point”

Monty looked over at him and linked his hand in Dibrians. “what are we gonna do once we do get to Oregon?” He asked. It made the others pause in thought. A soft silence falling over them as they tried to think.

“I'm not sure, I don't really have any family to look for other than my auntie Charlie” Rider shrugged, “but she's in Montana so I'm not sure what to do with that” she added.

“I don't know what I'm gonna do” Jane shrugged, “maybe look for Marie…I don't know if she's made it any further than my brothers or parents though…” she looked at the green grass below her shoes. Tears swelled in her eyes and Rider put a hand on her shoulder.

She glanced over at the blonde woman's face and behind her glasses and eye patch, she seen an understanding glimpse. Jane let out a small breath and continued to walk.

“Let's not focus on family” Dibbs said with a stern tone.

“Agreed” Monty commented, his grip on his lovers hand tightening slightly. They approached the barn and seen Haze sitting on a slab of hay, going through a small sketchbook.

“Whatcha got there?” Rider spoke up.

He perked up and spoke, “it's Dutch's Sketch book, I was curious” he shrugged. Monty coked a brow, “why are you going through her stuff?” He asked, sitting down on a slab of hay across from him.

Tris was still knocked out and Monty couldn't help but become worried more than he already was.

“I'm not going through her stuff, I was…. going through her book-okay yeah you got me, but I was curious, there's not much to do out here anymore” he sighed dramatically. “Not fun without Internet?” Jane chuckled.

“No!” Haze groaned.

Jane rolled her eyes and grabbed her backpack. “Look, she's drawn a bunch of stuff” he grinned, showing them a few sketches of expressions and anatomy.

“How did she find time to do this? She doesn't let things get in the way of her hobbies does she?” He chuckled.

“Okay well she's waiting for you by the creek” rider said, pointing the way.

Haze got up from his seat when Jane tossed him two towels, successfully hitting him in the head with them. “Here!” She said.

“Where did you find these?!” Haze squeaked, pulling the towels from over his head.

“Lying around, we are in a barn you know” she said, pointing to a few more towels that were lying around. “Are they clean?” Dibbs asked.

“For the most part” Jane shrugged.

Haze then walked off in the direction of the creek. The peaceful sound of the water flowing in the distance and the breeze flowing through the wind was calming. Although it didn't mask the uneasy feeling of isolation that lingered.

Somehow, despite how many people lived in the cities around them and how much the wanderers traveled, there was no one to be seen. The hardest part of the entire thing felt as if it had blown over already.

Haze wasn't comfortable with the thought of everything being over already. It couldn't have been over so fast.

He approached the creek and the sun was starting to settle in the sky near the end of the day. Assuming the time would be around 7 something. He seen Duchess sitting on a rock, eyes closed and hands sitting in one another on her thighs.

She looked peaceful.

“I can hear you ya know” she spoke in a gentle tone, her southern accent fading through.

“I wasn't planning on anything” haze said in a defensive but also sarcastic tone.

He came up and sat beside her. “Whats on your mind?” He asked. She just shrugged, opening her eyes and looking into his hazel ones. “Nothing really, its just quiet” she spoke gently. ”yeah?” Haze responded.

She simply nodded.

“You didnt get much quiet when your family was around did ya?” He asked.

“You already know how it is” she chuckled. “I miss them” she added, following with a sigh. Haze put a hand on her back and she grinned, looking over at him. “You excited to get to oregon?” She asked.

“Yeah, who do you think we’ll see there?” He asked, leaning back on his hands.

The warmth of the sun covered them both in a yellowish light. “No clue” she got up from the large rock after slipping her shoes on. “Lets check out where this stream goes” she pointed up to where the water was coming from. Haze got up and they continued to walk and talk.

Meanwhile back at the barn, Monty was watching over the others as they tried to start a fire. Dibbs had gathered a bunch of hay, clearing a way in the dirt out front of the barn. “Agh, there we go” Rider grunted, throwing down an arm full of sticks and wood. “Nice work” Monty commented.

“Anyone got a lighter?” Jane asked, looking through her bag. “Nope” Dibbs and Rider answered in sync. “You’d think out of all the things we’ve been picking up on our way here we would’ve grabbed a lighter” Jane groaned, throwing her hands up in an annoyed tone.

“Chill out, we can still find something” Rider said.

“Like what?!” Jane squeaked.

“How about this” Monty rose from where he sat, moving Tris out of the way just a bit. He grabbed the pocket knife from Rider and stood his prosthetic leg beside the sticks and hay. He scraped the blade on the metal of the hand crafted prosthetic, creating sparks.

“Good idea” Dibbs gasped, watching as the sparks flew.

It took a few tries but eventually he was able to make sparks big enough for the hay to catch fire. It only grew from there.

“Fire!!” Jane shouted playfully.

“Fire!!” Rider and Dibbs followed, throwing their hands up in victory. Monty heard a soft moan from behind him. He looked for where the sound came from and seen Tris’s arm move. He perked up as her whole body shifted.

“She’s up!” He gasped.

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