Apocalyptic World

Chapter Five: The Danger Begins

I looked around and saw Sam with his eyes closed. I checked his pulse and was relieved to find out that he still had one. I got out of my seat and saw that we landed on the tires. I walked in the back and saw that Lucy was knocked out and Catherine was awake. Catherine was about to speak but the Rv leaned backwards and we fell over and slid back. I ended up on top of Catherine so I got off quickly and we didn't look at each other. I said, "We're probably in a small Ravine so if we move. We will ensure death for Sam and Lucy. Our best bet is to wait for them to wake up." Catherine nodded and asked, "When they do wake up, how will we get out?" I said, "We'll go one by one slowly. We need to keep this thing balanced." Catherine said, "Let's wake them up then." I thought about it and said, "You carry Lucy out. I'll find a way to get Sam out of here." Catherine nodded and slowly moved to pick up Lucy. She walked as fast as possible without making the Rv move a lot and picked up Lucy. I nodded and Catherine started to walk to the door but I said, "Don't use the door. Go on the roof." Catherine nodded and climbed through the hatch on the roof. I had to trust her judgment from there because I had to deal with Sam. I slowly walked to Sam, stopping every time I felt the Rv move. I made it to Sam after a minute and grabbed his pocket knife. I cut off his seat belt and dragged him to the hatch. Catherine left it open so I yelled, "Help me get Sam out of here." Catherine reached her arms down so I helped her get Sam up there. I said, "I'll get out soon. I just need to loot." Catherine said, "This Rv could fall at any second and all you can think about is raiding." I said, "I have my reasons." Catherine groaned and dragged Sam off the roof. I then walked to the front of the Rv and grabbed the radios. The Rv started to lean forward and didn't stop. I ran to the back and grabbed the shotgun and knocked out the back window. I jumped out of it as the Rv fell and held on to a root. Catherine ran to the edge of the ravine and saw me dangling there. Catherine sighed and pulled me up. Once we were on land, Catherine said, "I told you that looting is dangerous." I passed her the shotgun and said, "Yeah but we need secondary weapons. Handguns won't keep us alive forever and I got the radios." Catherine said, "So we can still talk to Ben." I nodded and said, "But we need to get our priorities straight and our first priority is Sam and Lucy." Catherine said, "We could just wake them up." I shook my head and said, "That could mess them up mental or physically. We need to wait for them to wake up on their own." I reached in Sam's pocket and grabbed more bullets for the rifle. I reloaded the rifle and put it back on my back. I looked up and didn't see any raiders. I sighed and said, "They left us." Catherine said, "What?! They were told to protect us." I said, "They were also told to stick with the code." Catherine asked, "What code?" I said, "You don't need to worry about that but they aren't coming back." Catherine said, "Alright let's move past this cruel world raider stuff. If we're going to wait for these two to wake up, let's at least try to talk to Ben." I chuckled and said, "We need to wait because we talked to him five hours ago and it's bad luck to talk on the radio twice in ten hours." Catherine said, "That's so stupid. Why ten hours and who cares about bad luck?" I said, "It's ten hours because over a hundred raiders have died from talking on the radio twice in ten hours and out here. You can only rely on luck and your gut." Catherine said, "I'm going to talk to him." I ran in front of her and said, "I lied about the bad luck. The truth is, we're in the middle of gang territory and bunker territory. If we reveal our position, we'll be in the middle of a fight." Catherine asked, "Why?" I said, "Bunkers don't like raiders and we don't like them but I have a bounty on my head." Catherine said, "What?! We're traveling with a criminal." I said, "Calm down. I can't explain but you are safe." Catherine asked, "Does Sam have a bounty on his head?" I said, "No, just me." Catherine asked, "How much is the bounty?" I said, "I'm wanted alive for three of any demands." Catherine said, "Your bounty is too high for money." I nodded and said, "You also don't want to know what I did." Catherine asked, "What did you do?" A voice answered, "He murdered my entire gang." I turned around and said, "Listen Tommy. It was my DID. I didn't mean to kill any of the Angels." Catherine asked, "How is he alive?" I shrugged and said, "I strictly remember shooting him in the chest." Tommy snapped, "You did and I was on the verge of death but-" I interrupted, "But you won't die until I die. You crawled to a hospital with blood pouring from your chest." Tommy said, "Oh, so I can't even get respect from the devil." I said, "Listen, Ben told me the story and you guys started it. If you never threatened Sam, everyone would be alive." Tommy said, "If Sam was smart, he would've turned you in." I said, "Maybe but I'm too busy for you right now." Catherine asked, "Hold up, is that how you got that scar on your hand?" Tommy answered, "He had that scar even before he attacked us but to answer your question. He wasn't touched. He moved way too fast for any of us to get our weapons and for the ones who had their weapons. He was too smart, he moved from the shadows. Set up traps, we were doomed. He killed everyone in an hour." Catherine asked, "How many people were in the gang?" I answered, "A hundred and fifty people." Catherine stepped away from me and said, "You might be an exact copy of Eli." Tommy walked to me and said, "He's not a copy of Eli but he has to be executed by gun." I said, "Back up before I help you rejoin your fallen brothers." Tommy said, "I'll help you get to Arizona but then I'm going to kill you." Catherine asked, "How'd you know we have to go to Arizona?" I said, "He's been following me." Tommy smiled and said, "Sure was." I said, "You got sloppy. I saw you while I was sniping the Exosaur." Tommy asked, "Why didn't you kill me?" I said, "I was hoping that Eli would." Catherine asked, "What was your relationship like with Eli before..." I answered, "That doesn't matter." Tommy said, "You two were-" I put my gun to his forehead and said, "Complete the sentence." Tommy didn't speak. I smiled and said, "Good, now don't speak again." I put my gun away and saw Sam waking up. I said, "Catherine, you don't have to worry. These guys are-" Catherine aimed her gun at me and said, "I want answers." Tommy said, "Don't ask questions, just shoot him." Catherine pointed her gun at Tommy and said, "Don't speak." I aimed my gun at Catherine and said, "I don't want to hurt you." Catherine pointed her gun at me and said, "We won't be getting anywhere like this." I said, "On three we put our guns away. One...two...three." Me and Catherine slowly holstered our guns and Sam finally regained consciousness. Sam walked to me and asked, "What's going on?" I answered, "We lost the Rv, Tommy is here and Catherine wants answers about my past." Sam said, "We can deal with all of those at once. For starters, Tommy. You can stay but I can't promise that Nathan won't kill you. Two, Catherine. I'll give you answers and three. Let's move once Lucy wakes up." I sighed and we walked to Lucy and sat down. Catherine asked, "What was Nathan's relationship like with Eli before y'all left the gang?" Sam said, "When he just joined, they were very distant but once Eli realized that he can't feel strong emotions. He saw his usefulness but still stayed distant from him. Then we were talking to the Angels and they drew a gun on me. Nathan flipped out and killed all of them by himself and Eli just watched. After that, Eli treated Nathan like his own son and they grew closer but Nathan wasn't comfortable around Eli's brother so we decided to leave one night but that was the same night Eli's brother planned to assassinate Nathan. They fought each other and Nathan won. Now Eli hates Nathan and Nathan..." I said, "I feel betrayed." Catherine said, "So you're like the devil's son." I answered, "No, I am nothing like Eli." Catherine asked, "Have you done something worse than killing a whole gang?" I answered, "Yeah but-" Catherine interrupted, "But nothing, I want to know what you did." I sighed and said, "Killed an innocent family who got stuck in this mess kinda like your family. Me and Sam were raiding and the dad came out with an assault rifle. I didn't give him a chance to speak. I just killed him. I walked inside of a storage container and saw his wife and three kids. One was ten, the other one was three and there was a new born baby. I saw that they were going to die very soon so I took the new born baby and proceeded to kill them myself. The newborn is three today. I took him to a gang that helps orphans." Catherine looked at Lucy and I said, "I wouldn't kill you guys though. You two are healthy and can live but the family was sick with Tuberculosis gen 2 and they were already so pale. I could barely tell if they were human." Catherine said, "So if we were sick-" I said, "I would've killed you." Tommy said, "Heartless." I shot next to his foot and said, "Next one's your chest." Catherine took a deep breath and said, "I don't think that he's heartless. I just think that no one has brought out the good in him." I stood up and said, "My mother was the only one." I walked to the ravine and sat down. I heard Sam say, "I'll go talk to him." I was preparing for Sam but then Catherine said something and I couldn't hear what they said. I sighed and Catherine sat next to me. Catherine said, "I'm not here to calm you down or anything. Just to talk to you like a friend." I said, "Alright." Catherine asked, "Not flirting or anything but what do you look for in a girlfriend?" I said, "I would tell my mother all the time that the perfect girl for me is a girl who can fight, not afraid to stand up for what's right, pretty and smart. I'm not flirting when I say this but what is your perfect boyfriend?" Catherine said, "A man who is handsome, smart and strong. I want a man who isn't afraid to be sensitive, a man who would stand up for his family, someone who never backs down. Now that man could never be you because you are afraid to show your feelings and you aren't sensitive either." I chuckled and said, "I just might be. You never know. You just assume that I'm not because I haven't been your idea of that in the few days you've known me. I'm much more than a raider but no one really knows that. I kill some people and I am nothing more than a raider. A murderous, psychotic, crazy raider." Catherine said, "Well, it's hard to see passed all those murders but you're right. Once I learned what you did. All I saw was a raider. We need to see the true person." I sighed and said, "The crazy thing is, no one believes you when you say that you regret what you did." Catherine asked, "Do you regret what you did?" I nodded and said, "I tried to explain it but in the new world. You can't live something like this down. People started calling me demon boy and the devil after I killed the Angels but when I killed the family. Every city is now required to have extra raiders watching me." Catherine asked, "What about Sam?" I said, "He's loved by almost everyone. He helped a lot of people. He's called the Demon Carer because he has to deal with me. Some people even think I am forcing him to stay with me." Catherine said, "That means that if you got arrested, you wouldn't get the coliseum." I said, "They have a special tool for people like me. It's called the demon slayer. They would put a weighted vest on you, tie your hands and feet and drop you in boiling water that is electrified. They have put some people in it but they want me and Eli." Catherine grabbed my hand and said, "At least you have Sam." I smiled and said, "He's been there everyday. I knew that the only way to live is to have contacts and friends." Catherine said, "Ben and Montrell." I said, "They are the ones keeping me alive." Catherine said, "So without them. You're just a moving target." I nodded and said, "Your dad probably heard of me." Catherine squeezed my hand a little bit tighter and said, "I think he did because he was staying up extra later to keep us safe." I said, "Like I said. No one sees what they need to see, they only see what they want to see." Catherine asked, "So what am I supposed to see in you?" I said, "Think about what I've done with you, Sam and Lucy. People forget the small details." Catherine was quiet for a moment and said, "You're sensitive and bold. You stand up for what's right and you never back down." I said, "I'm all those things. People just need to look." Catherine said, "Yeah we do need to look." I said, "But enough about me." Catherine asked, "What do you see in me?" I looked at Cathy and said, "I see a beautiful girl who is smart and knows what she wants. I see someone who loves and protects her sister. You are nice and stern. Brave and confident and I'm not flirting when I say this but any guy would be lucky to have you." I was able to see Cathy blush and she said, "You really mean all that." I said, "I wasn't flirting when I said it but yes. I meant every word." Cathy hugged me crying and said, "I want the boy I fall for to be just like you." I asked, "Including the murders?" Cathy laughed and said, "I'd hope for no murders." I said, "I hope that you find the guy you want." Cathy said, "I hope you find the girl you want." I hugged Cathy back. I didn't know if I found the girl I wanted or not but I did know that it is good to have another friend. Me and Cathy stopped hugging and Cathy said, "To be honest. You would've had a chance." I asked, "What?!" Cathy said, "If we liked each other. You would've had a chance." I said, "Well, I don't know what to say to that." Cathay smiled and said, "Sometimes you don't need to say anything." I said, "Well, I am so screwed now." Cathy asked, "How?" I said, "Don't look now but Sam is checking us out and I am in for a long night." Cathy said, "I thought he stopped." I said, "Well, he's about to start back up." Cathy smiled and we walked back together. Tommy said, "I'm surprised to see this. The demon has a heart, so that means he can die." I sat down next to Sam. Sam said, "Look at you Romeo." Lucy got up and looked at Cathy and asked, "What happened?" I looked at Cathy and saw that she was still blushing. I sighed and said, "I'm screwed." Sam laughed and said, "You are so screwed." Tommy said, "I don't want to ruin this so I'm going to hunt for dinner." Tommy left and Sam asked, "So Nathan, want to share what happened?" I said, "We were just talking." Sam said, "Not good enough. Her face is as red as a cherry, you did something." Lucy asked, "Yeah, What did you two do?" Me and Cathy were backed into a corner so I said, "We see each other as friends and just friends." Catherine's blushing went down by a whole lot and she said, "Yeah, we see each other as friends." I sat closer to Cathy and whispered, "Play along, maybe I can get you out of this and then I give the full show." Cathy said, "I would never like him anyways. He smells, he's always so serious, he's a murderer-" "Hey!" I interrupted, "I might be all of those things but don't just be pinning this on me. I have reasons for not liking you either. For one, you aren't too good looking and you don't smell so great yourself. You're naggy and stupid. I mean who takes their eyes off their target. It's asking to be killed." Cathy looked me dead in the eyes and said, "You're psychotic." I said, "You're too soft." Cathy said, "You're just scared to cry and not tired of crying." I bawled my hand into a fist and Sam said, "Too far. We were just teasing but it looks like you two hate each other now." Cathy and Lucy walked off and Sam said, "You were about to hit a girl." I said, "I'm tired of people judging me when they learned I murdered a few people." Sam said, "Cut the act. I know you two did all that so that we'd stop teasing you." I shrugged and said, "It worked and if you didn't stop us. I was about to punch you." Sam said, "So you two hit it off." I said, "Nothing like that. We just know each other better." Sam said, "So she's fine with your murders." I shrugged and said, "She might be, she might not be. I don't know but she does know what others think of me." Sam said, "So that means that she won't be asking why people are going to be calling you demon boy or devil or stuff like that." I nodded and Tommy came back with a deer on his shoulders. I said, "Nice catch." Sam looked at Tommy and said, "I'll cook that." Tommy nodded and walked to the place we were sitting and started a campfire. Cathy and Lucy came back and sat with us while Sam cooked the deer. I said, "Tommy, I know you want to, so what are people saying about me now?" Tommy said, "I saw the raiders guarding you and they had some stories. They said that you can predict the future and you love to play mind games." I said, "They aren't wrong. I do love to mess with people's heads but I can't predict the future." Tommy said, "I don't believe you." Tommy grabbed a small knife and quickly put it to my throat. Tommy said, "Guess you can't predict the future. You didn't see this coming." I said, "Actually, I did see that coming. I have a gun aimed for your gut. Catherine has one aimed for your head and Sam has one aimed for your back." We all cocked our guns and I said, "Now back down." Tommy sat down and we holstered our guns. Tommy said, "You two are seriously protecting him. He's just using you to stay alive." Sam said, "I am protecting him. He's almost like a son to me and just because he accidentally killed the Angels doesn't make him a bad person." Catherine said, "Yeah, he might do some bad stuff but you're just focussed on that. He did some good." Tommy said, "Like what." I said, "For one I saved that kid three years ago. I killed his dad in self defense and then I killed his family because they had Tb. I saved that kid's life." Lucy said, "He saved me and Catherine too." Tommy said, "I'm still going to kill you." I said, "Two wrongs don't make a right. Plus you'll die before then." Tommy laughed and said, "Maybe but you'll be dead too." Tommy looked at my leg and smiled. Tommy said, "You're injured." I said, "Yeah but an injured animal is even deadlier than a healthy animal." Sam said, "You're not the only Angel alive." Tommy said, "I don't believe you." Sam said, "Brad is still-" "I killed Brad earlier." I interrupted. Sam asked, "What?! How?!" I said, "He was shooting at me so I shot back and hit him in the head." Sam said, "You're not helping." I said, "I don't need a lot of friends. Especially not Tommy either." Tommy said, "Feelings are mutual." Sam said, "Well you don't need any more enemies either." I said, "It's their choice." Sam said, "Maybe but it is way too hard to pick friend over foe when you're always killing people that you could bring to your side." I said, "Oh really. Well let's see if I can convince Eli to see me as a friend." Sam said, "That's different, Eli wants you dead-" "So do half the raiders in this state. Even Brad wanted me dead but I killed him in self defense." I interrupted. Tommy asked, "I'm still going with you to Arizona. Right?" I looked at him and sarcastically said, "No I'll just execute you here." Catherine said, "Wait, you said that the raiders were saying that Nathan can see the future." Tommy said, "That's what I heard." Sam and I looked at each other and grabbed our guns. I said, "Catherine, you stay with Lucy." Tommy asked, "What's going on?" Sam said, "You know what's going on. You and the raiders set up an assanation attempt." I looked around and said, "They aren't here." Tommy asked, "How do you know?" I holstered my gun and said, "We're in an enclosed area, with a hot fire and a ravine. All things that I can use to my advantage but I'm going to deal with you here and now." Sam said, "Don't kill him." I sighed and said, "Well, you got saved." Sam said, "Nate! You can't kill everyone." I laid down and said, "Can and will if forced." Sam lightly kicked my side and said, "No sleeping. You're on guard duty." I said, "I fought Eli on a moving Rv. Survived a second crash, saved you from the Rv and then I had to save myself from the falling Rv. I deserve this rest." Catherine said, "I can stay on guard duty." Sam sighed and said, "Alright just guard Nathan. I don't trust Tommy for a second." Catherine nodded and sat next to me. Sam walked off and I said, "Thanks for taking my spot. Just tap me when you want to swap." Catherine said, "No problem but you've been to Gang Falls before. Are there any guys like you there?" I said, "Guys who wish they were me and guys who try to act like me but no guys who are like me." Catherine asked, "How about guys who are sweet, strong and will protect their significant other?" I said, "Yeah there are guys like that. You might like them." Catherine said, "Really." I said, "Yeah, I'm even friends with some of them. They are great guys." Catherine said, "That's great but you think I should start a relationship with them?" I said, "Me and Sam try to avoid relationships because we move so much but it's your choice." Catherine said, "So you pretty much think that it's a bad idea." I said, "I know nothing about romance stuff. I do know how to survive and rule one is to be with someone you trust." Catherine said, "You do know about romance stuff. You were saying nice things about me." I said, "You asked, I answered. I was nothing but honest." Catherine said, "Fine, if rule one of survival is to be with someone you trust then you trusted Eli to a point." I said, "I did trust him. To a point." Catherine asked, "Why'd you trust him?" I said, "Me and Eli had the same point of view. We both gained and we both lost so we got tired of crying. We both were different but the same. Eli is like a guardian. You just have to earn his trust. I'm like an assassin. I can kill in an instant but stab me in the back and you'll wish you're dead." Catherine said, "I see the opposite. Eli seems like an assassin and you seem like a guardian." I said, "He was how I described him from my perspective and once I killed the Angels. He saw me. He approached me and most people quaked in fear but I was so scared that I couldn't move. I wasn't scared for myself. I was scared for him. He told me that nothing could kill him. Soon I started to warm up to him and we were starting to grow closer. He made me feel like I have someone to look to for help. Me and Sam got tired of the constant killing though so we decided to leave and Eli was surprisingly understanding but his brother wasn't and we killed him." Catherine said, "So Eli isn't evil." I said, "I never said he wasn't. I just said that he made me feel safe at the time but now I know that he was only understanding because we were almost the exact same." Catherine said, "You felt safe with Eli." I said, "Yep." Catherine asked, "Has anyone ever felt safe with you?" I said, "I don't know." Catherine asked, "How does Sam see you?" I said, "Sam sees me as his brother." Catherine asked, "How do you see me?" I shrugged and said, "I've only known you for a few days but you're someone really special to me." I shut my eyes preparing to sleep and then I felt Catherine's lips touch my forehead. I sat up and asked, "Why'd you kiss me?" Catherine said, "Oh I won't do it anymore if you don't like it. I'm just used to doing it to Lucy when she sleeps and I-" I interrupted, "If you don't have an explanation that's fine but please don't do it again." Catherine nodded and walked over to her sister. Tommy said, "She's a fine young lady." I said, "Shut up Tommy." I then heard something rustle in the bushes. I looked at it and said, "Come on out. I know you're there." I drew my gun and aimed as I turned around. I saw a girl with all black clothes and a mask covering her face. She had a kunai on my throat and I said, "You're good." The woman said, "So are you." We threw our weapons and started to pace, copying each other's movement. Catherine came back and had a gun drawn. Catherine said, "Walk away now and you won't get hurt." Sam came back and he had his gun drawn too but immediately holstered it when he saw that they were a Mercenary raider. The raider charged after me and I charged after it. Me and the raider started to fight but we dodged each of our attacks. Tommy said, "He's injured and he's keeping up." The raider then attempted to stab me with a kunai but I caught it and kneed her in the stomach. She fell to her knees and I knocked her out. I grabbed some rope and tied her up. Catherine holstered her gun and asked, "What kind of raider is she?" I said, "A Mercenary raider. They are like ninjas and attack with great speed. I must have a pretty big hit for these guys to attack me." Catherine asked, "Alright that's good but how are you able to keep up?" I said, "I'm an S ranked Assassin raider. We know how to deal with our opponents and we often work with them." I took off the raider's mask. She had asian features but it was obvious that she was american. Sam shook her and asked me, "How hard did you hit her?" I said, "Not that hard. I just knocked her out." I then knocked out Tommy and said, "Like that." The raider regained consciousness and said, "I will kill you Nathan." I crouched in front of her and said, "I'm injured and you couldn't beat me so just tell me who put you up to this." The raider said, "Never." I said, "You must be new to this. You guys are required to tell S ranked assassin raiders who your boss is." The raider said, "You're no S ranked assassin." I showed her my license and said, "Believe me now." The raider sighed and said, "I am Chloe Sandra and my boss is-" "Was" I interrupted. Chloe continued, "Was Eli." I said, "Eli's going to kill you." Chloe said, "I know so now I'm asking if I can travel with you." I said, "You just tried to kill me." Chloe said, "Yeah but can you blame me? Eli is crazy, he wants you dead." I said, "Sam always said that I need more friends so join us." Sam said, "I didn't mean this." I said, "Too late." I untied Chloe and we stood up. I looked at Catherine and saw that Chloe intimidated her. Chloe said, "Now looking at you Nathan. You're actually kinda cute. You have a girlfriend." I said, "I don't but I'm not looking either." Catherine said, "So Nathan, you were about to sleep." I said, "I was but this excitement has me up now." Catherine and Chloe started sizing each other up and Sam walked to me and whispered, "You're a girl magnet." I whispered, "Maybe but these two are going to kill each other before I kill Tommy." I saw Chloe reaching for another kunai and I shot next to her foot. Chloe looked at me and I said, "Give me the kunais, shurikens, and sewing needles." Chloe gave all the stuff to me and I said, "No killing each other." Chloe said, "No promises but just one question. Can you teach me how you moved so fast?" I said, "Can't, I have an injured leg." Chloe looked at my leg and said, "You were still faster than me." Tommy started to wake and he said, "You didn't have to hit me so hard." I said, "I didn't." Tommy spat out blood and I said, "That's because of your fall." Catherine said, "Nate, aren't you on guard duty." Sam said, "Nah, I checked the area. We're fine." Chloe said, "So you can be called Nate." I said, "Call me Nate and I will kill you." Sam said, "Be nice." I said, "People who earned my trust can call me Nate." Chloe asked, "I overheard you earlier and you only knew her for a few days. How does she have your trust?" I said, "She actually was close to killing me and then she saved me." Chloe said, "I had to be close to killing you." I said, "Well, close to killing me means that you know how to fight." Sam said, "Food is ready." Chloe said, "After you guys eat, let's have a competition. Just me and you Nathan." I shrugged and said, "Sure." Sam passed me a piece of deer and I caught it. I immediately used one of Chloe's kunais to hold it and I yelled, "This is hot and I lost my knife in the Rv accident." Sam said, "You deserve it." I looked at Catherine and asked, "Not going to eat?" Catherine didn't give a response. I said, "Cathy, you there?" Catherine said, "Oh, yeah. I'll eat." I ate my piece of deer immediately and asked, "Are you alright?" Cathy nodded and said, "I'm fine." I said, "Alright." Chloe said, "You're done eating so let's have that competition." I shrugged and asked, "Alright, what are we doing?" Chloe said, "A race. If you were able to keep up with me then it would be no problem." I shrugged and asked, "What are the stakes?" Chloe said, "A date with you if I win." I said, "I'm not sure how that's going to happen but sure. I want a kunai." Sam said, "That's all you want. She's wanting a whole date but you want a knife." I said, "Sure, I'm fine with that. I mean there is nothing else that she can give me." Chloe said, "From that bush to that tree." Chloe pointed out the course and it was a straight line and only a couple hundred feet. I limped my way to the starting point and said, "I might look injured but don't you dare slow down for me." Chloe walked to the starting point and said, "I have a date." I said, "Not yet." Sam shot in the air and we were off. Me and Chloe were running fast and she was keeping up better than expected so I decided to pick up the pace and she still ran faster. I said, "Wow you're determined but this race is over." Chloe asked, "How is it over? We just started." I smiled and ran even faster. I made it to the finish line in forty five seconds and we were a hundred and fifty feet away from it. I stopped running and limped my way to Sam where I said, "She was determined." Chloe ran to me and gave me her kunai. Chloe said, "You're way faster than I thought." I said, "I know but you need to start sizing your opponents properly. You saw that I was injured but you didn't consider any other variables. S ranks are experienced enough to know how to work around injuries, you saw how fast I was when I was fighting you. Now I'm giving you information that you should remember. I wasn't running at full speed." Chloe asked, "Can you tell me stories of your past missions? My family always said that you were given the nickname knife wonder because of how skilled you are." I said, "I can't really tell you anything but I can tell you that I was able to kill an entire gang with one knife." Tommy said, "Oh so you had practice." I was about to speak but I passed out. The next morning, Catherine was the only one awake. I walked over to her and asked, "What happened?" Catherine turned around and hugged me. When she let go, she said, "You passed out and I didn't know what happened. I am so happy that you're fine." I said, "I probably used too much of my core energy in the race." Catherine said, "I was so worried." I asked, "Does Chloe intimidate you?" Catherine said, "No. She's just another raider whose skills are similar to yours." I said, "Really? You sound a little intimidated." Catherine asked, 'Why would I be intimidated?" Just to mess with Catherine I whispered, "Just tell me that you like me and I'm sure you'll feel better." Catherine pushed me and said, "Stop messing with me." I said, "Alright I'll stop but be real with me." Catherine said, "I am being real with you." I said, "Good." I turned around and Chloe was standing right in front of me. I said, "Good morning." Chloe nodded and said, "Good morning." I moved around Chloe and checked my canteen for water. I sighed and shot next to Tommy's sleeping body. Tommy woke up and said, "It was Nathan." I said, "Uh huh, yeah but this time time it was you." Tommy asked, "What was me?" I said, "You drank from my canteen." Tommy said, "No I didn't." I cracked my neck and said, "I'm going to enjoy this." I was about to punch Tommy but Sam got back from patrol and said, "It's not even ten o'clock and you two are already fighting." I said, "He drank from my canteen." Sam said, "No he didn't. Chloe did." I looked at Chloe and she smiled and waved. Sam said, "How sweet? She doesn't know that you're about to kill her." Chloe walked over and asked, "Why are you looking like that?" I took a deep breath and said, "You drank my water." Chloe said, "Yeah, Sam said that it was alright." I walked off and Chloe asked, "Where are you going?" I said, "To punch a rock."