ᶰbͦonͫeͤsͣᶰ

The soles of his combat boots kicked up dirt, dust particles floating within hot air as blue hues fixated on their surroundings. Rifles gripped within palms, fingers curled and forefinger hovering against triggers. His men by his side as they stood guard on the side of abandoned wasteland. Fuel collected from the depot pulled out from the trunk of his truck. Blake filling up the now empty tank as the dead that roamed was watched out for. A peaceful road to break down on. Silence filled air besides the sound of liquid trickling. Miles from the community they came from, closer to the overrun depot they fled from.

His brows furrowed, eyes widened as he observed off into the distance. Troy’s mind on patrol, on edge, ready for the dead and the living. Squinting from the sun that beamed down. The side of his right hand resting at his forehead, palm hovering and blocking out the heated light that shone. A figure he didn’t mention until worked out. A fellow survivor, too fast for the turned. Guns ordered to be kept down at the sight of a young girl.

Rifle no longer in hand as he traded for his pistol, placed barrel down in the holster of his belt. His throat cleared at the presence by his feet. A witnessed stumble, face down in the dirt until unfamiliar features eventually caught his eye. An unseen roll of his eyes at her attempt for her gun. His grasp free of weapons, no harm that she believed may come to her. “Need a hand down there?”

Soles firm against the ground as he knelt down before her, a nod in her direction, pupils scanning her path behind her. “You out here on your lonesome?” A little young to be going it alone.

she’s  quiet,         hesitation  clear  by  the  glance  she  sends  to  the  others  around  him.       this  could  be  troubling.         even  before  things  went  downhill  in  the  world,         her  dad  had  cautioned  her  on  strangers   -   and  now  she  was  faced  with  an  entire  group  of  them.         it  wasn’t  like  she  had  anything  they  would  be  interested  in.       from  the  looks  of  it,        they  were  well  off.        even  the  discarded  gun  she  had  wasn’t  useful    ;    empty  with  nothing  to  offer.

she  pushes  herself  to  sit  in  a  less  embarrassing  position,     neck  craned  to  look  directly  at  his  face.     “i’m  okay,”     she  responds  more  confidently  than  she  feels.        she’s  nervous    ;   unsure  how  to  behave  in  the  situation.       mika  had  never  been  out  here  alone  before,      but  the  sudden  horde  that  descended  on  her  group  left  them  all  scrambling  in  different  directions  like  bugs  when  it  rained.        she  was  told  she  was  too  trusting     -    naive  even,       believing  everyone  was  good  when  there  were  some  people  that  were  just  bad.       at  least,      that’s  what  others  had  told  her.       she  didn’t  believe  anyone  was  completely  bad    -    and  these  guys  were  no  exception.

✌    random  mun  fact.

the  first   (  and  only  )   real  job  i’ve  had  was  at  a  sexual  assault  /  domestic  abuse  clinic  where  i  got  to  have  experience  in  several  areas  of  management.       i’ve  had  personal  conversations  with  victims,    scheduled  free  STD  scans   and   awareness  meetings,     created  &  promoted  many  events  including  women  in  stem  panels,    take  back  the  night  marches,   and  colloquiums  discussing  rape  culture  and  how  to  combat  it.      i  was  18  when  i  got  it  and  juggling  college  on  the  side,      but  i  loved  the  message  behind  everything  we  did!      the  only  bad  side  was  how  often  other  people’s  responsibilities  got  pushed  onto  me  for  one  reason  or  another    -    usually because  the  others  were  “too  busy”  to  get  their  things  done.      the  boss  was  virtually  a  ghost    ;    she  showed  up  to  the  monthly  meetings  but  otherwise  didn’t  monitor  what  we  were  doing  or  how  we  were  managing.    after  two  years  of  questionable  leadership,     i  decided  to  quit  the  job.        i’m  still  an  advocate  for  the  messages  it  sends  to  the  public,        but  with  such  fickle  leadership,        it  isn’t  doing  as  well  as  it  could  which  kind  of  disappoints  me.

👊   random  muse  fact.