Toxic ApocalypticXreader

The Mississippi

You can loop the video if you'd like :)

You stretched your arms out, you sat up but hit your head on the side mirror of the car behind you. Zark jolted his head towards you as he heard you hit your head. Realizing it was nothing more then a small little tap on the head he went back to the fire, his brown eyes had a fiery glaze over them as he placed his hands in front of the fire. He readjusted his sitting position and began to relax again. You scanned over your camping area and saw Zark's wet clothes hanging over an old car door with the window rolled down. He was wearing a different change of clothes. A plain white T-shirt and beige, military styled pants. Still wearing the same black boots, but they looked cleaner. You wondered how long he'd been fending for himself. Before the underground found him. Cause he defiantly knew what he was doing. You wished to find out but knew it would take time.

"There's a clean pond just up the hill over there." Zark said, gesturing towards a hill in front of your camp. "You can clean up if you'd like." He finished.

He had clearly cleaned himself off for his skin looked flawless and his hair still damp.

"I have a bar of soap in my bag."

You realized that this might be the last time in awhile you'd have the opportunity to do so. So you stood up and stretched once more. A tear forming in the corner of your eyes. You walked over to Zark and kneeled by his bag. You rummaged around and noticed a few things, he had a supply of food, they all looked new. He must of grabbed some food from nearby stores before you woke up. You noticed the map was wrapped in its own bag, which only made sense considering how precious it was. You also noticed some photos but did not dare look at them without Zark's permission. As nice as seemed he would often react badly if you acted on your own. You finally found the bar  of soap he was talking about. You pulled it out, it had been clearly used many times as it's size was quite small. You stood back up and then realized you had another problem.

"What am I going to dry myself off with?" You asked him.

He looked up at you then back at the fire, slowly closing his eyes he answered. "Just air dry. It's ok I've done it thousands of times before."

Although all of that skin being exposed to the air was a concern your main concern was you being nude out in the open for longer then you'd like.

"What if people see me?"

He opened one of his eyes and glared at you. "No one is out here, ok? Now wash up."

You sighed and began to walk up the hill. Once you made it to the top you awed at the beauty that faced you, even though the gloomy clouds were still above you more light seemed to get through them. And the city before your was magnificent, even though it was broken and torn it was large. You and Zark had camped along the outskirts of it. On the other side of the hill was the magnificent river, incredibly large, it flowed slowly across the land. And then on the other side of the river was the city. It was truly a magnificent sight. But you had to continue making your way to the pond Zark mentioned. You turned to your right and saw that there were a few trees and a reflection of the light behind them. You only assumed this reflection to be coming from the water of the pond. You approached it and were thankful that at least a few trees were there to act as a wall.

You began to take your clothes off and placed them all carefully into a rock by the edge of the pond. You then stopped into the water, although it was cold you could feel the dirt from your skin immediately lighten, you then proceeded to take off your mask. It had been adjusted as tightly as it could. For you were wearing a male mask. You then plugged your nose and went under. It felt almost like being back into your safe bed back home. The water blocked out any of the few noises outside and you didn't think of your family, Zark, or the underground. It was just you. No thoughts bugging you anymore. But you didn't want to spend too much time in there. You did need to get back to Zark or he'd worry. You came back up and began to scrub the rest of the dirt off. You then pulled your clothes into the water with you, only realizing you didn't have a dry pair to change into until after they had been soaked. You sighed in annoyance but continued to wash your clothes. At least the dampness would keep you cool. When you were finished you sat outside of the water on a rock uncomfortable. Wishing you would dry off sooner. But eventually did, you pulled your clothes back on and grabbed the bar of soap, it being a little smaller then last time. When you reached the camp you saw Zark placing everything back into his bag except for his clothes that were still drying.

"Just in time," he said. Pulling out some packets of beef jerky. "Here, we'll eat then go explore the city. Hopefully we can find valuable things there." He handed you a bag and you gladly excepted, you ate then left, leaving only Zark's clothes and the fire back at the camp. You both took another, much larger bridge across the river. When you got to the city you decided to scout the border of the other side of the river. As the two of you walked you heard another voice, one that was neither your or Zark's.  He quickly pulled you into a bush with him. Pulling out his knife.

It was a woman's voice, but as you and Zark made your swift movements the voice silenced. You both heard a gun cock and it sent a coldness down both of your spines

"Who's out there!" Shouted the voice, trying to sound intimidating but you could hear the worry in the back of her voice. You looked at Zark, hoping he'd know what to do. And to your surprise he slowly stood up. You followed.

The woman look a bit older, but not an elder. She had an assault rifle aimed at both of you and you started to regret coming out from the bushes.

"We're just making a quick trip to the city for supplies, then we'll be on our way back to the other side of the river." Zark explained with complete poise

The woman stood her ground, the sound of footsteps once again cane into your ears, a little boy, who was further down the shore had peeked his head over at us in curiosity. The woman turned around and noticed the little boy, who couldn't have been more then five years old. The woman looked back at us.

The woman shifted her feet to get a better stance. "You touch him you die."