𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 | 𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐰𝐬𝐨𝐧

06.

Rayven Michaels

"whatcha working on there man?" clyde asked as joel drew in his book.
"its just a little project i started a while back in my colony. everytime we encountered a new monster , i'd just make a little entry. a drawing and just soem info about it you know, strengths, weaknesses, stuff like that. it made me feel like i was helping out"
"your a pretty good artist"
"thanks" he said while flipping a page.
"i seen this one. ugly bastard"

•••

Joel Dawson

"you uh- sure your girls worth it?" clyde asked as i looked over to see rayven sleeping with minnow and boy next to her.
"yeah. yeah she is"
"dont settle joel" minnow said.
"shes right. you dont have too. not even at the end of the world"

i leaned my head against the rock and got comfortable. i glanced at rayven one last time before closing my eyes, warmed by the fire.

"okay! time to break campus. lets go" clyde clapped his hands.
"uh- what?"
"lesson 2. you get a hot meal or a good nights sleep. not both"
"are you being serious?"
"something will have smelled out food and be all over the camp within an hour"
"why wouldnt you tell me that though? i didnt- i didnt do either"
"i cant tell you everything man. keep up"

we walked along the fields as the sun shined down on us and the humid air hit.

minnow said threats as i lined my crossbow up with the tree. before i shot, i looked down to see rayven laying down with boy as he licked her face and played around. i mumbled to myself before firing and hitting just above the bullseye.

"yes!" minnow yelled as he wrapped her arms around me.
"got yourself an admirer there huh?" clyde asked with a smile.
"hey we gotta get going" he added.
"okay" i said while trying to move but minnow was still stuck to me.
"come on. come on we gotta go" i said as she clung to me.
"minnow. what are you doing?" i asked as she still didnt let go and i heard rayven laugh.

dear aimee,
i made more friends. human friends. and their teaching me everything they know. like lesson 3, dont take shortcuts. lesson 8, target practice everyday. im getting pretty good with my crossbow. lesson 10, keep your socks dry. thats a great one. im kinda struggling with lesson 2, not both. that one is not great. im super tired

we walked through the forest as clyde said more lessons and facts.

"come with us. strength in numbers you know? besides i think we'd make a good team" clyde said.
"no i think so too its just, its just something i gotta do"
"its not fair" minnow said while looking down.
"what? woah- hey! woah woah woah! whats going on?" i asked as she started crying.
"why do you have to go?"
"because this girl, she means a lot to me you know? come on you knwo i gotta do this. we talked about this. hey you know what? i got something for you" i said as i pulled out the lipstick from my pocket.
"lipstick? what?" she asked with a smile.
"yeah! yeah its lip-" i said but was cut off as she hugged me.

i smiled and hugged her back as i gently patted her back.

"i take back what i said before. aimee's gonna love you"
"thanks minnow. you got some snat" i said while wiping her nose as she laughed.

she next ran to rayven and hugged her as she smiled and lifted her up. they spun in circles until she set her down.

"your gonna keep your promise right?" minnow asked as i furrowed my eyebrows.
"of course. i expect it will happen a lot sooner than we think" she said as minnow laughed and looked up at her.
"pinky promise?"
"i pinky promise" she said as they interlocked their pinkies for a second.
"final lesson. listen to your instincts out here. they'll keep you alive" clyde said.
"yeah but what if i have terrible instincts"
"you'll die"
"listen man, good instincts are made my making mistakes. your lucky enough to survive a few mistakes then your gonna be okay out here.. this might come in handy too" he said while handing me a grenade.
"wow thats great. do yoy have anymore that i can have?"
"you get one. pull the pin and count to five not four not six."
"five. got it"
"you both are gonna be okay. minnow, lets go kid" he said to us.

she said goodbye to boy before they walked off.

"hey kids! you guys made it all the way from fairfield! whats another 30 miles eh?" clyde yelled as we all smiled.
"i know. i'm gonna miss em too. its a good desicion though" i said as boy whined.