Taken By The Bad Boy

50 I Thought You Didn't Like Guns

              ~Raleigh's POV~

      I wake up next to Liam the next morning with a pain in my back. I sigh, get up and try to crack it out. When that doesn't work, I try to stretch the pain away. Got to love sleeping on the ground and on a log. Cue the mental eye roll. Everyone else is still asleep, probably still in food coma. We were all so hungry so we stuffed ourselves with venison and bird.

       I decide to do some real stretching as well as try to find some breakfast. I grab my bow with my arrows and rope, careful not to wake anyone up. I hear Liam groan and I don't move, thinking I woke him up but he just mumbles in his sleep and goes back to sleep. I don't know how everyone can get such a great sleep when we are on logs and dirt! Oh well, can't be picky when it comes to survival. There are worst things. Focus on the positives.

I tiptoe out of the "camp" and deeper into the woods to hunt. The sun hasn't risen yet but it's close. I climb up a tree to see the sunrise a little better but also to get a better view of my surroundings. I sit on the tree branch and just peacefully wait. There's something about sitting outside while the sun rises. It calms me. I watch in awe as the swirl of orange, red and yellow is thrown into the sky with great aim and perfection. I close my eyes and recall a lost memory.

      "God doesn't want someone like me." I tell Paul one Sunday evening as we sit on the couch.

     "Yes he does."  Paul assures me with a laugh.

     "But why would he want me? I'm broken."

     "He knows. He even says to bring your brokenness and come as you are. He didn't say to come when you're all fixed and perfect."

     "But look at me! I'm a mess! I'm so damaged!" I exclaim, getting up and gesturing to the mess that I am. Tears threaten to fall but I quickly wipe them away so Paul doesn't see.

      "I am looking at you and so is God. You know, one of my favorite verses is 'Man looks at appearance but God looks at the heart.' God created you but he also created the beauty that we see everyday."

      "What beauty? Look around you! The world is a mess!"

     "Come here and I'll show you." Paul tells me as he gets up, takes my hand and drags me outside just in time to see the sun set.

      "Look. Isn't it beautiful?" Paul asks me as we stare at the beautifully painted sky of pink, orange and purple. It's a painting by a master artist.

"Yeah." I admit.

"The same God who made that, also made you. God created you with equal beauty."

I open my eyes and let out a sigh. How could I forget that memory? I guess I pushed religion out of my head harder than I thought. Paul's words echo in my head over and over again. However, no many times his words echo in my head, I'm still confused. This whole religion thing doesn't make sense.

My thoughts are cut off when I see a dark gray coyote walking and looking around. I load my bow and take aim, when my arrow is aimed at It's heart, I fire. The coyote falls dead on the ground and I climb out of the tree and down to my prey.

      I tie it's legs together and start pulling it back to the camp. Damn thing is heavy! But hey, food is food. Survival is all about those who can adopt and overcome the challenges. And I'm not about to have nature defeat me!

      I hear a gun shot and I immediately drop the rope in my hands. I load my bow and scan the woods. Three more shots are fired in a row, scaring all the birds off the trees. What is going on?! More gunshots are fired into the morning breeze. I tighten my grip on my bow and try to focus on what direction they are coming from. Two more shots. West, I decide. CAMP!