Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
∘∘∘
"YOU'VE NEVER CARRIED a gun before, have you?"
Tightening her loosened grip on the handgun in her possession, Adelaide glanced over to the man walking by her side: the way he carried himself, the way he carried his weapons, the way he kept himself cool and collected - Carson seemed to be more himself when armed than not. "It's that obvious, huh?" she countered, bringing her gaze down to analyze the pistol in her hand. "It's heavy. Didn't think it would be."
"Wait until I let you hold a rifle," he smirked. "It'll be the only workout you'll need."
"You think I need to workout?"
Carson's eyes widened a bit, and she swore she could see a bit of color rising to his cheeks, as his words began to stumble, "Uh, no- I-I never said that. You said that."
A slight smile graced her chapped lips and she shook her head, assuring him, "You're fine. I'm fucking with you." His lips pursed, forming something akin to a straight line, as an awkward silence befell them. She almost wanted to scold him, "We had sex; get over it," but that just seemed insensitive. Maybe it was her fault for initiating it in the first place, but what could she say? He was attractive and they both needed the comfort, and it was nice. She was content. Breathing in deeply, she dragged her stare down to the forest floor beneath them, to the lifeless twigs and the muddy earth, before finally speaking up once more, "So, what are we doing out here? You never said."
"Well, I figured, uh, target practice would be nice. For you. You have to learn sometime, so."
"Oh," she nodded slowly. "Who taught you to shoot?"
He was quiet for a moment, absently staring ahead, before finally dismissing her with a, "Nobody in particular. It's just how I was raised." After, she didn't bother with a reply; it was clear he wasn't interested in small talk - which was okay. She didn't expect him to just... bounce back, but hope never did anyone any harm. Silence surrounded the two once more, aside from the birds overhead and the woodland creatures nearby, and they both kept it that way.
Until a series of twigs and leaves crumbled nearby.
Carson was swift to pull Adelaide to the side, hiding them behind a tree as he peeked his head out to peer into the distance at whatever lied ahead, keeping Adelaide out of sight. "Perfect," he mumbled, and then looked down at her with a hint of a light expression, an ounce of shine in his ocean-colored eyes. "Are you ready?"
"What?"
Ignoring her confusion, he beckoned her to follow as he crept towards the source of the noise - which Adelaide could now see was a dead one, desolately staggering nearby. He held a bloody, bandaged finger to his lips, which was useless; she was smart enough to know not to start screaming or something. "I wish it would stop moving," he whispered, "but this is the best we'll get."
