2 Chapter 2: Companion

~Jun~

His eyes were worn from the hours he spent sitting behind the gas station's counter. His gun aimed at the door, but eventually he'd lean back and let out a yawn. . . annoyed.

The second he did however he'd hear his dog companion would walk up to him, barking. Noting the shining sun. . . He'd close his eyes and smile in visible annoyance as he got up. Slinging his rifle across his back and then walking over to his pack, folding up the hoodie and placing it in his pack.

His pistol went to his holster, and he'd put his hood up again.

"Next time we're going to sleep in one of the houses." He joked as he pat the dog's head. He sighed and would sling his pack behind him, readjusting the rifle so he held it in his hands, he'd sit on the counter again, He'd flick the lever multiple times, up to 9,each time the bullet ejected.Jun picked up the bullets and carefully loaded it back into the chamber. He'd hop over the counter, the dog followed suit.

"Alright. . . I'll need to name you next time we get to a safe place." He would carefully open the door, poking his rifle out, aiming at the two houses' windows before slowly making his way through the empty parking lot, he'd bypass the woodland route as he had to cut through the town for lost time, he quickened his pace, wary of the people that may be hiding behind the the walls of those decrepit households.

Jun fondly remembers the warmth of a fire, and how it would help right now due to the cold morning breeze, he was sure his hoodie would keep him warm, but maybe it was time he found new apparel, maybe when he got to a bigger area, he'll see if he can loot clothes, he thought to himself, but upon reaching the intersection where he needed to cross, he'd spot a toppled over school bus, He'd squint a little, and he could spot cars arranged to look like a barricade, he'd click his tongue, Raiders were in the area.

He'd take a detour, turning to the wooded area, he felt the dead leaves crunch under his shoes, he crouched down near the edge and eyed the school bus for a moment, he'd aim his rifle, and sure enough he saw two people dragging a smaller figure into the open.

'Poor thing.' he thought before attempting to walk away, He wasn't a hero, and he wasn't about to waste bullets trying to save some random person he didn't even know.

He was almost out when he heard it, the audible voice of a young woman yelping.

And he recognized the voice. . . The dog was still in the spot overlooking the bus, and was growling.

Jun shook his head and tried to get the dog to follow him...but it wouldn't. He sighed. . . and with a mildly irritated look, He'd crouch down, and then aimed his rifle down at the people, two raiders both male, the woman was crumpled into a defensive position, leaning against the red car, she had a small bag, filled with cartons of milk and some cans of beans.

'It would be so easy to loot that if he just came back later. . . ' He thought, but he'd sigh.

He pondered if he could hit them with such limited practice with a rifle, but there was no time for hesitation. . . He'd cock the gun, flicking the lever, and he took a deep breath. . . Various thoughts ran in his mind as he steadied his grip on the fire arm. He was about to take someone else' life. . . what would his father say if he was here? what would his mother say? what would Lily say...?

He exhaled, his finger wrapping around the trigger,he had 10 shots, he'd rather not waste more than three, he bit on his lower lip.

The world seemed to slow down for a second, he'd feel sweat from his forehead drip down to the stock of the gun, The air became still and he'd squeeze down on the trigger.

There was a loud pop in the air, ringing in his ear. He had no time to recover however, as the first raider went down, a hole where his left eye was once in, he'd see the woman crawl backwards, taking cover from his shots. Re-adjusting his aim, he'd flick the Lever again, ejecting the empty round, and he'd fire again, hitting the raider in the leg, seeing him collapse he'd click his tongue, He'd have to finish him off...

That in mind he got to his feet, slinging the rifle over his back, grabbing his pistol, he'd slide down the small elevation he was sniping at, and onto the asphalt, the dog followed closely behind, as he reached the school bus, he'd slow down.

He'd look around, spotting the girl still hiding behind the car, then he'd signal to his dog companion to go to the girl. . . while he'd follow the trail of blood, he'd walk over to the hood of the bus, turning the corner, The raider was limping away, The raider turned to him, the blonde haired young man aimed a makeshift cross-bow at him, but Jun pulled the trigger first, hitting the Raider between the eyes, with a thud the raider went down, blood pooling from behind his head.

"Three bullets..." He sighed as he placed his pistol back in it's holster, He'd walk over to where the red car was, and he'd see his dog nuzzle the brunette, the girl wore a tank top and jacket combo, with blue jeans torn at the knees, turning them into makeshift shorts and sneakers, she wore her hair long, obscuring her face from where he stood, she also wore an orange scarf, and black finger less gloves.

Jun would stare at her for a while before walking over to the two of them, his hand still on the pistol, ready to draw it at a moment's notice, but it wasn't needed apparently as the girl turned to face him, a smile on her face, she was cute, at least to Jun, but there was a cut on her upper lip, and a scar running down her left cheek, along with a black eye.

"W-was that you? the one who shot those...two?" she asked, a bit shaky, she eyed both of his guns,

She was cautious about him, which he found good, if she just trusted him after that, he would have been slightly disappointed.

Jun simply nodded, confirming to himself that this girl was indeed the voice he heard last night that rummaged through the gas station.

The girl stood up and began picking up her supplies, it was then Jun noticed she was a tad bit taller than him, which sort of rubbed him the wrong way, before he'd turn heel and check the body of the Raider, there was a map, leading to a small cottage not far from here, but still at least half a day of walking.

"Do they have a way to get here quickly...?" He asked audibly to no one in particular.

"Ah, y-yes, they have a small pickup truck, it's over there." The girl replied. "They tried to run me over when they saw me leave the parking lot of the gas station."

He turned his head to where the girl was pointing, there was an black Dodge Dakota, shame he didn't know how to drive, so he shook his head, the best thing to do was damage it so that if there were more of them they couldn't find them, at least not right away.

The girl walked over to him, standing a few feet bad. "Um, Were you also the one at the gas station last night?"

"Yeah...and thanks to you I didn't get enough sleep." He joked, before standing up, placing his bag onto the asphalt before taking the map, and folding it. Jun placed the map in the smaller survival guide he had.

The girl would pat the dog who'd nuzzle against her hand, she'd then eye Jun a little. "Sorry...about that."

Jun, after finishing a bit of re-arranging with his pack, would sling it over his back again ,and adjusted his hoodie. "Don't worry about it." He added, calling his dog over.

The dog promptly went to it's master's side before heading on ahead, behind the bus. Leaving the two to talk, or not.

Jun adjusted his pack and went to follow his dog, and as soon as he did, he'd hear the girl call out.

"W-wait!" She then went close to him, grabbing him by the shoulder. "C-can I come with you?"

This caused Jun to jump a little, he'd turn to face her.

The girl had her hand on his shoulder, and she clutched her scarf... "P-please?" She said."I-I'm sure I could be useful to you. . . " Jun reached for his pistol, but relented, looking at the two Raiders, In his mind another person could either be bait. . . or a good companion. He shrugged her arm off, and walked away, The dog barking, looking at Jun, but then followed.

The girl just stared at his back for a while, confused, she'd look down before hearing his voice call out to her.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day."

She'd smile a little and follow. . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A good few hours have past, and they were walking in the woodlands, Jun would consult their map, and the road to pinpoint which area the small cottage was in, the rhythmic sound of their boots crunching leaves as they walked let him focus, then he'd stop.

He'd turn to his dog, who was looking at the girl that decided to follow him. "...uh, are you okay?" He asked as the girl lagged behind him, she stood in attention, almost comically as he'd raise an eyebrow. . .

"Yeah! I'm okay." She chuckled, visibly exhausted, her chest was heaving up and down, and her knees were shaking, he'd sigh and jerk his head toward a fallen over log." come on, let's take a break." The girl would breathe a sigh of relief, and smiles.

Jun placed his pack on the forest floor, taking out his water bottle that was half empty and took a sip, pouring a little for his dog, on the cap. He'd give it a little swirl, as he noticed the girl taking out a milk box, taking a sip of that. He'd raise an eyebrow, but ultimately stayed silent about it.

"So. . . you have a name?" The girl asked as she threw the empty milk carton on the ground, wiping her milk covered lips with her jacket's sleeve. She eyed jun, her eyes hopeful for an answer, this somewhat irritated Jun, who returned her stare with cold indifference, he doesn't understand why he feels this way, but he'd answer regardless. "Call me. . . " He'd ponder, however, does he really need to tell her his real name? he'd eye his dog partner who tilted his head up and then stared at him.

He almost seemed to be asking for approval, but then he sighed. "Call me Ranger, for now."

The girl seemed to be saddened by this, but didn't pry, "Alright then, Ranger. . . I'm Tea."

Jun would raise an eyebrow. . . "Tea?" Was she avoiding giving him her real name too? He raised an eyebrow at her, before she picked up on his confusion.

"Yeah, not the best name, but that's me, I'm Tea...and that's my real name, by the way." She proudly showed him her driver's license. . .

"Tea O'Riley." He read out loud. . . Almost chuckling, but he shook his head and leaned against the log, placing the now empty bottle in his pack. "Tea, let me guess, you also prefer tea over coffee?"

"I have no preference really, but..sure we can go with that." She smiled at him, which promptly makes him guilty, she was truthful with the name she gave him, but he was paranoid to give her, his own. But he'd sigh.

"so did you get enough rest?" He asked.

Tea nodded and stood up. And the two made their way to their destination once again.

~Tea~

A few more hours passed, and she noticed the light of the sun getting dimmer and dimmer, but it was still relatively high in the sky, in front of her was her savior, the dog lagging behind him slightly off to the left, and she'd note how he was carrying three guns, one was a rifle, a pistol and a shotgun that was dangling on the side of his pack. . .

She'd pay it no mind for now, as he did save her life, even if it cost him valuable resources, and due to the height difference, she deduced she was older, she barely saw his face, due to his hood. . . but she did notice a patch of blonde hair dangling.

She'd walk closer to him. "So. . . Ranger, what are we going?" She asked as she placed her hands in her jacket.

'Ranger' would take a look at her, pulling out the map from his pocket. He'd point at a circle, and the name 'Camp' written on the outside of it. "Given the picture they have stapled on to the map, there is a cottage there, I thought we can use it for tonight."

She'd nod her head, a sound idea she thought to herself, but she remembered. "But, Ranger. . . what if their friends come?" She asked him.

And to her surprise he nodded, the young man gestured her to sit again, as he leaned against a tree, she'd sit on the forest floor, the dog sitting beside her.

" That's why I agreed to bring you along." He took out the shotgun, placing it in front of her. "I looted that off a . . . not so lucky raider before I met you, I don't have any spare shells for it at the moment, but only one round was fired, so you should have six shots." He explained.

The gun was heavy, but it was short enough she could carry it strapped to her pack,like he did earlier, but this confused her for a bit. "You trust me with a gun?" She tilted her head.

He would shrug. "If you were able to shoot it, you would have done it the second I turned my back on you."

He was right, she was unable to carry a gun, mostly because of her ability to shoot, or lack thereof. this made her a bit embarrassed, but she knew that he already would have shot her if she tried anything, and to Tea, staying alive was more important, and this boy, saved her life. There was no reason for her not to trust him... for now.

"Anymore questions?" He asked before she shook her head. 'Ranger' nodded his head and continued. "Right, so that gun is a Mossberg 590, it's recoil shouldn't be much compared to other shotguns, so you should be all right, here's the plan, in the event they arrive in a car, which they will . . . since I forgot to slash the tires of that car you told me about, you take position by the door, or by the stairs, we'll discuss it when we get there, and you shoot any raider that tries to come up, while I thin their numbers with this." He pats on his rifle.

She nodded. "And . . . what if they are already there?"

He placed a hand on his chin, and thought for a moment. "You act as bait."

She winced a little "E-excuse me?" she asked chuckling nervously.

". . . Not in that way, in the event they are already inside the house, or if there are Raiders inside the house, you're to take the dog, and make as much noise as possible, you can even fire once, and head back right to the woods, I'll take aim from deeper inside, and thin them out, you and dog can take care of the stragglers."

She gulped for a moment, she was in danger regardless, but she'd prefer the first option rather than the latter option, and she could see it in his eyes he did too.

So she'd take the shotgun and slung it's strap over her shoulder so she could grab it at a moment's notice, ready for a fight. "Okay, got it. . . "

He nodded and he started walking in front of her once again, the dog staying behind with her for a moment before barking, and moving ahead. Standing up she decided to walk beside him this time. . . just so she wasn't suspicious.

Half an hour goes by and the sun was already giving off a soft orange light, it was very late into the afternoon when they arrive, and she could see the cottage in the distance. Her companion got on his knees and gestured for her to do so. Placing a finger on his lips. . .

She followed and her worst fears came to be, He'd point at two raiders out in the open, unloading the bodies of the two 'Ranger' killed, and the two other bodies she didn't recognize, the car from earlier was also there, Ranger then pointed at the windows, she could see three from where they were.

"New plan. . . " He whispered.

Tea would gulp, shaking a bit, but she nodded, prepared to listen to his plan.

"You take position near there, he pointed at a large stump, large enough to hide her if she knelt down. "On my go, you're to start shouting, calling for me. . . then hide, leave the rest to me, and don't shoot unless you need to, got it?"

She'd stare at him for a moment, his eyes shining blue in contrast to the shadows now cast by the setting sun, she found it hard to believe this boy. . .was younger than her,but then she'd nod.

"Got it." She'd head to the spot he said for her to go and kneel down, holding her shotgun near her chest, aiming the barrel upwards. . . She'd nod to 'Ranger' her heart pounding

~Jun~

Jun would nod back at her, and would prepare his rifle before giving a the signal, he had five targets and eight shots in his rifle, without missing he'd take 5, but he didn't want to chance it, he'd unzip his pack and take out the box of rifle ammo, placing it beside his knee.

He gave Tea a thumbs up and he'd take a deep breath aiming at the two that were outside chatting, Tea would yell out . . .

"RANGER?!, RANGER WHERE ARE YOU?!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, causing the two to stand in alert. . . the other three would head to the balcony, he spotted them, two of them had helmets, but that wouldn't be an issue. . .

Tea was staring at him, visible fear in her eyes but he'd pay it no mind as he quickly flicked the lever, cocking his rifle once, pressing down on the trigger, The first raider would be hit in the left eye, and fall against the car, dead, He'd flick the lever down, ejecting the shell from the chamber, cocking his rifle once again, before the empty shell could hit the ground, he'd squeeze the trigger once again, he'd hit the second raider in the chest, punching through the thin leather that acted as armor, he was deaf to their screams due to the sound of his rifle going off.

Adjusting his aim he'd aim at the three in the balcony, he had six shots left, more than enough if he was lucky, He'd flick the lever again, taking a deep breath before squeezing the trigger, he hit the helmeted one as he was shouting something, dropped pretty easily. . . He'd repeat the process, the lever clicking into place at his command, he'd readjust his aim, and pulled the trigger, the fourth Raider able to dodge, by ducking, and pulling out a small pistol, he'd run leap down, Jun, clicked his tongue in annoyance, five shots.

The fifth Raider followed suit, pulling out a machete, but this one hid behind a tree. Jun scanned the area for him as he flicked the lever of his rifle. Tea would whimper as she heard footsteps directly in front of her. Jun nodded her way.

Tea nodded back he could see her breathing heavily, gripping her shotgun as she jumped out, seeing the raider with his back to her, scanning the area.

"Fuckers killed my sister. . . fuckers killed my sister." She could hear him mumble, she'd close her eyes and pump the shotgun. . . This made the raider turn towards her, as he screamed, Tea pulled on the trigger, she got rocked by this,the gun kicked back, causing her to stumble backwards, but she'd hear the Raider gasp, and fall back, squelching and gurgling noises came from his general direction, and Tea would kneel back down and lean against the stump.

Jun would pause for a second, seeing her breathe heavily she'd stop and point behind him, And a few meters away he'd spot the Raider sprinting at him, he'd throw his rifle aside and pull out his pistol, pulling the trigger four times, the Raider slumped down just right in front of him, and he'd pick up the machete he was carrying, swinging it down on the raider's neck. . .

He'd sit down, looking up to the sky before turning to Tea who was still hugging her shotgun, and the Dog who was nuzzling against her to calm her down... he'd stand up, holstering his pistol before picking up his rifle, and then the Machete...cutting off it's sheath from the raider's back... he'd sheath it and walked over to Tea. . .

"Hey." He called out placing a hand on her shoulder, he'd notice she was shaking, still...Understandable given the circumstances, he'd pat her shoulder. "You did good."

Tea looked up at him, noticing his cheeks were covered in blood, she'd look down and nod. . . eyeing the Machete in his hands. Prompting him to look at it as well. He'd place it on her lap. "Here, maybe you can use it. . . Let me just check on the other guy you shot and we can head inside, maybe hide the bodies in the forest." Tea nodded. . . trying to relax as she leaned against the tree stump, placing the shotgun on the forest floor, Barrel facing away from her.

She'd place her free hand on the dog, giving it a smile. "Hi..." She said as the dog barked.

While this was happening, Jun pulled out his pistol again, seeing as the raider that took a shotgun to the chest was still barely alive.

"How many." Jun asked, aiming it at him. The Raider didn't answer only spitting blood at his boots.

Jun sighed, and aimed his pistol at the Raider's head, The raider glared at him with enough intensity that would startle even the most veteran of soldiers. . .

But Jun knew it wasn't safe to keep him alive. . . and he had other ways to check for how many Raiders were living here, so he'd squeeze the trigger, putting an end to the last survivor, with a sigh, Jun would head to the cottage alone, specifically near the driveway, tire tracks were there, none of which seemed to be different from the sole car that he was next to, checking the makeshift garage, he'd scan the room for evidence of more vehicles. . . such as different tire types, more than one parking area, but to his relief none exist, and if there were stragglers he could take care of them. . . provided his companion had his back. Turning around, he'd see the dog make it's way to the garage, followed by Tea who was carrying the machete in her pack, and the shotgun strapped to her shoulder, barrel facing up.

"All clear..?" she asked a bit shakily, he could see her knees were trembling, either due to the shock of having killed someone, a feeling he himself had to go through before. . .

"All clear." He replied jerking his head towards the door. "For now." He replied, heading inside, the room was surprisingly tidy, there was a fire going, and the table was filled with games, ranging from monopoly, to poker cards, and there was a spare bag, filled with chips and canned sardines, There was also stairs leading up. "I'll check up top." He said.

Tea nodded and went to sit near the fire. "I'll try to heat the beans up for us." She gave him a weak smile. "And then let me clean you up after, I have some wipes in my pack."

Jun paused, but just nodded, heading upstairs after telling the dog to keep watch at the door leading to the garage. Upstairs there were two sets of mattresses,lining up with the Raiders he and Tea killed, and a sofa where the other one would sleep, there was also a gallon of water, which he assumed still needed to be purified, with that in mind, he was at ease. . . the place was safe for now, and they had a place to rest. . .

Going back down he'd see Tea heating up a can of beans using a small makeshift pan, the dog was now resting against the closed door, and the sun was setting. Jun sat near the table, placing his gear underneath it and sat down on one of the chairs.

There was but one thing left on his mind. . . 'Who would take first watch?'