Alone at Winter

Last Straw

Alex woke up to the sight of Champion with his eyes wide open staring at the scarred man. Alex smiles while ignoring the blood patch on the sheets. Champion licks Alex's face and he lefts out a laugh as Champion showers him in licks and love. The two embrace eachother's company amongst all of the frost and snow. Eventually Alex gets on to his feet with a slight limp as he makes his way down the stairs; Champion follows behind Alex. Alex got to his large travelling bag and opened up only to realise there was hardly any food left.

Alex came to the conclusion that he would possibly have to hunt for food, despite him only finding Champion out in the cold. He wouldn't catch something everyday, that would be absurd of him to think that it would even be possible to catch something in a few days. He put on more layers of clothing before even thinking of leaving the house; instead he used up whatever food and water he had left in the bag. He gave some of it to Champion and the rest to himself as they both needed the energy to hunt for long hours.

Alex packed his stuff into his large travelling bag, things like the pocket knife and some spare articles of clothing in case the temperature got even lower than before, Champion panted and wagged his tail in excitement as he watched Alex prepare himself to go outside. Alex covered up his face with a scarf and some goggles and he put on many shirts along with coats to protect his upper body. He covered his feet in many different layers of socks to prevent something like frostbite affecting him again while he continues to wander through the snow infested, icy hell.

Alex opened up the front door and walked out with Champion following him close behind; his limp being pretty much non-existent compared tow hen the two first met all those weeks ago. The concept of time had flown over Alex's head and he wasn't completely sure what day it was, or even what month. All he knew for certain was that he was in the winter season with only a Sheppard's dog by his side for the way there, he had grown to love Champion over the time they had together. A real bond between two species of animals.

Alex began looking more to Champion with hope and care for the dog, he had been through thick and thin with Alex despite even being able to properly communicate with the stubble-faced man. Alex started thundering through the thick snow; working a sweat with each individual step forward. He noticed that it had snowed more at night while he was sleeping. The snow made it's way towards the thick of his legs, he didn't quite understand how it was so thick even after one night of snowing. Unless he hadn't been to this certain area of the city.

Soon enough Alex came across a squirrel that was eating something that he couldn't quite distinguish; Champion treaded the snow in the same spot, not moving his sights off the little creature. He snuck closer to the creature being as slow and quiet as he could. The squirrel fidgeted his body quickly as Champion crawled closer to the squirrel. Alex watched in confusion as Champion inches even closer. After a few minutes of anticipation Champion pounced on the squirrel grabbing it by the throat and killing it instantly. Alex gasped at the sight at the seemingly harmless animal killing another animal.

Alex ran over to the two animals only to see Champion's fur sprayed in blood from the attack, Alex knelt over and instantly threw up at the sight of the dead squirrel. He hated the sight of all the blood and the violent nature of the attack; sadly, he would have to eat the meat of the squirrel in an attempt to not starve to death. He took the corpse of the squirrel and packed it inside his bag for later use. He wiped the blood off Champion and stroked him as a way to forgive him for finding food.

Alex walked back to see what the squirrel was originally eating before Champion pounced on it. Alex removed some snow off whatever it was only to reveal skin. Alex looked away and attempted to hold himself from throwing up all over again. He looked back and it was a female body, he knelt down on one knee and removed more snow from the body of the girl. He closed his eyes to realise that the woman was laying dead, a shade of blue and even completely naked in the floor; Alex instantly looked away and a thought suddenly hit him.

"This is a demolished house." Alex stuttered to himself, still looking away from the body. He was inside this poor woman's house, he thought to himself tang it was a possibility that she was bathing before the blizzard hit, and the debris from her house collapsing killed her long before the cold did. God knows what her family thought of her state and if she was okay. Alex began to let tears fall down his face at the sight of the woman. In his respect, he covered the body with some of his layers before covering her back in snow.

He stood back up with Champion at his side and walked back outside of the house without making a single word or sound as he walked. With some layers removed, he shook in the cold and slowly made his way back towards his home with Champion still following him filled with excitement. When they returned home Alex sat down on the floor thinking of what he had saw, he didn't want to end up like that woman and pass away without anyone knowing. He lacked as much as he could into his bag along with some more layers over himself.

"That's the last straw, I'm not simply going t-to wait for me to die. N-not after all of the s-shit I've been through already." Alex raised his voice as he packed even more into his bag. He looked towards Champion with a smile before opening the door and heading outside with the dog.