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As the sun began to dip below the horizon, they made camp. Sarah gathered branches to weave into a shelter whilst William made a fire. They worked in silence, each feeling the heaviness of the day deep in their souls.
“I am sorry,” she said as she pushed the shelter into the branches of the trees, creating a canopy which would protect them from the elements. William's armor would protect him for a time, but the ambient radiation was a threat, nonetheless. She could see waves of the stuff rolling across the valley, settling more thickly in the lower lying areas.
Crouched next to the glinting fire, William did not acknowledge what she'd said. He was struggling with a loss greater than she could imagine. Being removed from the wilds had been traumatic, but she had always known the wilds were still there awaiting her return. She could not conceive what it would have been like if the wilds had exploded in one terrible second. Moving closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and put her head close to his. For long moments, he did nothing. Then his hand rested on hers and she knew he understood what she was trying to do.
They laid down together, limbs entwined in the glow of the fire. They did not eat, for they were too weary to cook the bird. With hungry bellies and saddened hearts, they took refuge in sleep, trusting the fire to keep predators at bay.
The following morning, Sarah de-feathered the bird and took it upon herself to hunt down a couple of jackrabbits in addition. She did so without her armor, figuring she would move faster without it. She was ravenous and she figured William would be just as hungry. Though eager to prepare food, she was also careful to store the feathers and the down from the bird along with the fur from the rabbits. If they were going to survive wild, both would come in handy in the future.
William was still deep asleep, his features surprisingly peaceful as the sun began to glow through the canopy, casting dappled shadows over his handsome face. She kept watch over him as the food cooked, feeling a new found tenderness toward him. He had never been vulnerable before. He had never needed her. Perhaps he did not truly need her even now, but she knew that he would appreciate waking to cooked food. There was none of the convenience of a refrigerator in the wilds.
As the scent of cooked meat made its way through the air to William's nose he made a grumbling, groaning sound. Then his eyes opened and he looked at her with something like surprise.
“Good morning,” she said. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“You're still here.”
“Of course.” She turned the bunny meat slowly. “Where would I be?”
William sat up, shrugging. “I don't know. Being free?”
“I can't leave you alone out here,” she said. “You can't see the radiation and where we are going those maps of yours won't help you. You need me.”
He nodded, scratching the growth of dark beard which was sprouting on his chin and cheeks. “I figured you'd leap at the chance to be rid of me.”
“You did?” Sarah felt a little pang of hurt.
“I ripped you out of this,” he said. “I took you to another world, practically, and I made you live a life you never wanted. This is the perfect opportunity to be free of all that. You could go now and I'd never find you.”
Sarah turned the rabbit, ensuring it was crispy on all sides. “So that's what you think of me. You think I'd leave a man to die, lost in the wilds?”
“I would not die.”
Sarah made no reply to that. William was a fine hunter and a strong man, but his knowledge of the terrain was limited and his armor made him less agile than he needed to be. Sure, he had his weapon and he could probably hunt food on his own, but he was used to the knowledge that civilization was only a few hours’ walk away. Now that civilization was gone. There would be no restocking supplies, no repairing armor. If he hurt himself, it would be game over.
“I'm talking to you, Sarah.”
She nodded and kept tending the food. It was almost done. Their stomachs were both growling and they were both still tired and very stressed.
“Here,” she said, presenting meat to him on a leaf. “Eat something.”
He looked at her, and for a second she thought his male pride was going to make him refuse it. But the scent of the cooked protein must have overcome his pride, for he thanked her and began eating.
“It's good,” he said after a few bites. “Every time I cooked food out here it came out dry and tasteless.”
