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She stood there looking at him in disbelief. “According to my parents, they were well known for saving countless lives with their advancement in medicine. They helped people regain limbs, and vital organs.”

             
“How did you learn about them? If it was so long ago?” he was curious that his parents were so famous.

             
“My father had read and heard about the work and accomplishments they had made. He said they were hauled away by the alliance, and not really heard from again.” 

             
Donovan was not sure what to think or say to that, however it matched close to what was revealed on the chips.“Can I show you where I've been staying, its south of here, and relatively safe.”

             
“All right but any tricks, and you won't have to worry about dieing, I'll speed up the process.” She followed along behind him. “Do you have any food in that pack of yours, I'm starving.”

             
He stopped, slinging the pack off his shoulders. “I have some VS-771.”

             
“What is that?” she asked.

             
“Some kind of food supplement, they sustain life but don't ask me how.” He extended his hand towards her.

             
She looked at the tablet in his hand. “You expect me to believe that will feed me? Are you some kind of mad crazed lunatic?” Maybe he couldn't separate reality from his own mental stories, she thought to herself.

             
“Well what have you been eating and drinking to survive,” he countered placing the tablet back in the container.

             
“Well my latest meal was two days ago, a bag of wheat I found. Otherwise its any kind of four legged creature I can catch.”

             
He felt bad for her, “would you like me to carry you?” His question made her step away form him several feet. “No!” she paused. “I could use some water however?”

             
He pulled out a full bottle of water, handing her the valuable container. He noted this time, she took it directly from his hand. “How many of these do you have?” she questioned.

             
“I have six left including that one.” He watched her swill the liquid.

             
Rachel tried to quell not only her thirst but hunger pains, it simply wasn't enough. She handed him back the nearly empty container.

             
“Keep it, till you finish it.”

             
“Really?” she asked in disbelief.

             
“Really,” he answered swinging the pack over his shoulders.

             
She looked at him, thankful for the generous offer. “How far is it to your shelter?”

             
“I would say about three days of walking.”

             
Fearing she couldn't make such a trip, she swallowed her pride. “All right let me try one of those pills” Catching the bottle, she took several looking at them.

             
“You only need one a day,” He watched her swallow it, placing the others back in the bottle. “You'd think it would at least grant some sort of taste.”

             
Donovan shrugged his shoulders. He held out his hand. She placed the bottle in his hand, trusting him enough to get that close.

             
Using his compass, he guided them out of the annihilated city.

             
“What happen to the ocean?” he asked her.

             
Walking behind him to his left, where she could keep a eye on him replied, “How am I suppose to know?”

             
He kept turning his upper torso, “why are you walking behind me, like that?”

             
“I don't trust you. I find it odd, your shelter just happens to be south, the direction I was headed.”

             
“Your impossible,” he grew annoyed.

             
She looked at him, noting his tone sounded hostile. “I'm alive and I want it to stay that way.”

             
Wanting to prove himself, he thought about it a moment. “All right some time tomorrow, we'll reach two buildings that are destroyed.”

             
“What's that suppose to mean?”

             
“To show I have been here.” he responded. Seeing shade in the rock formation, he changed course heading to them. “I'm tired, I need a rest.”

             
Not arguing, she sat down near him, finding her own shade. “Where did you find that gun?”

             
“My parents had stored it, telling me it would be very valuable.”

             
She rested her chin on her knees, hugging herself. “Funny most barely have a spear, or club. My father said that there were two nuclear wars. The first took place centuries ago not much is known about that one. The second one happen about twenty years ago. Sector seven seem to escape the worse of it, but it still knocked us into a stone age era.”

             
“What was it like before the wars?” Donovan laid back to rest. Each movement he made, caught her attention.

             
“My father told me the cars hoovered a few feet off the ground.”

             
“How were they powered?”

             
She pondered a moment, “I believe it was called EMR?”

             
“Whats that?” He finally took several sips of water.

             
She followed suit emptying her own bottle of its final liquid. “I'm not sure some electromagnetic energy, I don't much about technology.”

             
“Now look at us, we can barely feed ourselves.” He pulled out another bottle of water. “Try to make this one last.”

             
She got up, and walked close enough to him to take the bottle.“Thank you. How did you get so much water?”

             
“I have the means.” Why was he so trusting to her, when she didn't even trust him enough to walk side by side. The thoughts of doubt and mistrust begin to creep into his mind.

Chapter 6

             
The sun settled into the far horizon. “We can go ahead and sleep here for the night.” he prepared a place to lay out the sleeping bag. Rolling it out, he removed his boots and slid inside the comfortable  sleeping bag.

             
Rachel sighed envious of his possession, but said nothing, feeling she was already taxing his generosity.

             
Donovan laid there, thinking of the events of the day.  He wondered where he got all that strength to fight those stalkers. He certainly didn't understand why at the choice of life or death, he kept picking life, when deep down he hated living another moment in this wretched existence.

             
“
Son we have a surprise for you.” He ran to his parents with a smile that extended across his face.

             
“What is it?” he asked. Looking he saw a box between his parents.

             
“Open it son,” his father encouraged. Looking at his mom she smiled and nodded her head in a attempt to encourage him.

             
Lifting the lid, a large bundle of fur bounded out and landed in his arms.

             
“A puppy! For me?” he asked, hopefully.

             
“Yes he belongs to you now, but you need to take care of him, food and water every day.” said Benjamin.

             
“What's his name?” looking up at his parents.

             
“That is up to you, son,”

             
“Oscar,” he shouted, causing his parents to giggle in amusement. Later that evening, when he climbed into bed, Oscar joined him, laying against his side. They both fell asleep.

             
Waking up, he felt something against his side, looking down without much movement, Rachel was laying against him. He could tell the night air was cold. He unzipped the bag, in an attempt to pull the covers over her.

             
She instinctively grabbed his arm with her hand. “What are you trying to do?”

             
“I'm trying to give you some of the covers, you're cold.” He continued to look at her, wondering if she was going to let go of his arm.

             
“If I was cold, I would have asked you.” She blinked her eyes several times, looking warily at him.

             
“What is wrong with you, you're the one laying up against me shivering out of control. I didn't exactly hear you say, can I lay up against you, I'm cold.”

             
Twisting her face seeking a reply, “I didn't want to wake you,” she smirked. Turning on her side, facing him. “Who is Oscar?” she asked, finally letting go of his arm.

             
“I think I was having a dream of my childhood, either that or my memory is coming back.” He gazed at the stars.

             
“That doesn't explain to me who is Oscar.” she replied flatly.

             
He glanced at her a moment then back at the night sky. “He was a puppy my parents gave me, when I was little.”

             
“Let me guess you had the perfect childhood.”

             
Sitting up, he placed on his boots, then packed his things into the backpack. “It was has perfect has yours,” he finally answered.

             
“You know nothing of my life, struggling just to eat maybe once a day, or your parents do without, so you could eat a little extra. Look at you, with means to making water, supplies clothing even boots.”

             
He slung the backpack over his shoulders, starting the long march back to his shelter. Clearly it was a error going north, he should have listen to his mother's advice, even his father's would have been better.

             
“Where are you going? You forgot the sleeping bag.” She watched him, She then labored to roll it up.

             
“Keep it.” Donovan continued his march southward. He looked east observing the perfect sunrise, but he didn't enjoy it.

             
She watched him continue on, not looking back. Maybe she had been to harsh, but this was a way of life, to be tough, unforgiving, you would never know when the next moment of heartbreak would find you, so feelings of warm, loving caring feelings were to expensive this day and age. She followed Donovan a distance of twenty to thirty yards separated them.

             
He didn't look back, but could sense she was there following him like Oscar use to. He was happy to gain more of his memory. He almost laughed recalling how his mom stopped him from giving Oscar a haircut.

             
He reached the familiar ridge, knowing the two structures were just to the west of this position. “That's the two buildings I told you about.”

             
She just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

             
“There is some kind of structure that use to be a large boat of some kind. Where the ocean use to be?” he added. “To prove I came from this way?” he added growing irritated.

             
“A lucky guess?” she argued.

             
“Why do I even bother.” He then changed directions and headed, a more easterly direction.

             
“This isn't south.” she protested.

             
“I'm taking us to my shelter, from here its a southeasterly direction,” he explained with tight lips. After several hours of walking, he stopped to take a VS-771. “Do you want one?” he offered.

             
“Sure, they do seem to help, I'm not feeling has weak.” She held out her hand.

             
He placed the tablet in her palm. They looked at each other and a brief smile broke on their faces.

             
“Thanks Donovan,” she quickly placed the pill in her mouth and swallowed it with a quaff of water. She watched him sit down and being tired herself she also sat, facing him. “This is not the best place to rest,” she advised.

             
“I know, there is no shade here, but I need a rest for a moment.”

             
She looked about her surroundings. “I'm use to always having shelter to hide in, and this openness is unsettling.”

             
“Relax here we can see for miles.” He wiped his dirty face and wanted to feel the heavy mist shower again.

             
Rachel glanced in all directions but finally settled on looking at Donovan. “Listen, I'm sorry I was rude back there, I...”

             
“Don't worry about it,” he interrupted. Rising up, he offered her a hand. She grasped his hand, and lifted up. “Maybe I should place the bag in the backpack.”

             
“No let me carry it, you gave it to me anyway remember?” she teased.

             
“So I did.” Setting out, they crossed the flat ground and by late afternoon, they reached another ridge, with a deep breath he started his climb. Looking back, he saw Rachel struggling with the sleeping bag, but the dust cloud about a quarter mile away caught his attention. Something was rapidly gaining on them. “Hurry up,” he encouraged.

             
Rachel turned to see, what had caught his attention, and seeing the dust swirling in the air, she hasten her climb. Taking his hand she was pulled up.

             
“Who is after you?” he questioned suspiciously.

             
“When you kill an alliance stalker, they sometimes send out hunter killers,” she explained briefly.

             
Running to the buildings, he searched for weapons, and picking up some sturdy looking pieces of wood for clubs.

             
“We can't hide in here, this is the first place they will look, and some of those machines have tracking ability.”

             
“I'm just looking for weapons,” he explained. Handing her one of the crude weapons, he guided her towards the back.

             
“This is a bad idea,” she cried.

             
“I've been here before remember.” he tore off a part of her clothing.

             
“What are you doing, are you crazy?” She backed away from him, but watched him lay the cloth across a skeleton, then realized his intentions she added a few pieces herself. He then took off his outer shirt, and draped it across the bigger skeleton. “Now come on.” Taking her hand he led her behind the building and climbing over some rocks to hide.

             
“Are they very smart?” he asked.

             
“I'm not sure,” she answered slowing her heavy breathing, she was terrified. She watched him pull out his pistol and wait.

             
The sounds of the hunters could now be heard going into the first building.

             
The couple waited in silence. To their surprise the house collapsed, causing a lot of destruction to the remains of that building. One of the hunters came out limping obviously badly damaged. Donovan got up and placed several rounds into its body.

             
“Wait there might be others,” she warned, but it was to late, she watched in horror, has Donovan ran up to the hunter slamming his club into it. White liquid came pouring out of its wounds.

             
“Look out,” she cried, spotting a second one rushing Donovan.
Click, click...
Donovan didn't have time to reload, swinging the club he missed, but the hunter didn't, striking him in the side with a man catcher. The barbs didn't penetrate his clothing. Twirling the man catcher he looped it around Donovan's neck.

             
Rachel sprang into action, coming up behind the hunter, she first struck it in the leg.

             
Donovan showing surprising strength broke the man catcher, then punched the hunter in the face.

             
Rachel struck its legs again, causing it to fall. Together they killed the hunter.

             
“For someone wanting to die, you sure are good at surviving.”

             
He looked at her a moment, slouching over trying to catch his breath. “Didn't we already have this conversation before?”

             
She looked at the man catcher in disbelief. “Humans don't have the strength to break those things.”

             
He gave her a cold stare, that sent chills down her spine.

             
“Ok what are you, humans do not have the strength to do what you did?” She grew very suspicious of him.

             
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

             
She spied the droplets of watery looking blood on his neck, it seem tainted with milk. “You're not human!” she backed away from him.

             
“Oh course I am,” he argued, looking at her in disbelief.

             
“When humans bleed its blood,” she held up her bloody arm, has evidence.

             
He lifted his hand to feel his neck, feeling a thick substance he looked, while it had some of the same characteristics of her blood it was clearly different. Puzzled he thought again about seeing his mother handling a limb in that one scene of the chip.

             
Rachel watched him, his continuing demeanor suggested he really didn't know.

             
“When we reach my shelter, maybe more can be explained and you'll believe me.” Locating a good hiding spot, they made a campsite. He reloaded the gun. He had two clips left.

             
She purposely laid on half of the sleeping bag, but noted he chose instead to sit on a rock.

             
“At the shelter, we might can scrap up something for you to wear.”

             
She looked about her tattered clothing, “well for the longest time clothing was a low priority. She was thin , covered in scraps bruises and cuts. She crossed her legs looking up at him, in his perch. “What would you love to eat right now?”

             
Thinking it was a torturing topic, he did give it some thought. “The other night, I dreamed of my moms chocolate cake and she allowed me to lick the blenders. I must have been about six maybe seven.”

             
She listen to him a moment. “The alliance allowed your parents to keep you?”

             
“They staged my death, and kept me hidden when necessary. Later they moved me to the site I'm taking you to now. How did you know about that?”