2. Fortitude

Something cold, and hard presses against your back, causing you to reflexively lower your weapon. Exhaling softly, you remain still, waiting for the unseen being to speak. There is a brief pause before you feel the unexpected touch of a large hand curl around your arm, roughly pulling you around. Your back slams painfully against the tree behind you, eliciting a louder gasp from your parched mouth.

"Who are you?" The voice of your captor demands almost frantically, as their fingers dig deeper into the soft flesh of your arm.

Pressing your back further against the tree, you manage to crane your neck up, getting a better look at the large man before you. Light brown eyes stare wildly down at you, framed by thick, matted locks of dusty blond hair. A swath of mud is brushed against the side of his lean face and more covers his disheveled and torn clothes. Blinking in surprise, you would have thought this was some cruel hallucination had it not been for the accompanied pain. All of the adrenaline seems to dissipate at once, leaving your body weak and your mind lightheaded. Opening your mouth to speak, you find yourself unable to form any words as the world around you begins spinning lightly. The grip on your arm tightens further, preventing you from falling as your body becomes limp. Unable to fight back any longer, the world slowly fades away.

..........

Groaning softly, you slowly shift around, stretching your sore limbs. Your head is throbbing painfully, and your mouth is unbearably dry. Rolling over, you quickly freeze in place at the unexpected sound of voices in the distance. As your eyes slowly adjust, you realize you are no longer outside. Looking down, you find yourself laid out on some type of coarse but warm material. Hesitantly, you reach a hand out, running it along the surface and finding planks of rough wood beneath. As your mind continues to come into focus, the voice behind you becomes clearer.

"We cannot afford another mouth to feed." A deep voice is speaking in a hushed, yet somewhat irritated tone.

Flinching lightly, your back tenses at the sound of footsteps approaching. Quickly closing your eyes, you hope they will retreat once finding you still seemingly asleep. Instead, you feel something press against your lower back, shaking you slightly.

"Get up." The same voice from a moment ago commands, sounding equally irritated.

Wincing again, you slowly sit up, still slightly lightheaded. Something thuds next to you, quickly drawing your attention to it. Once you realize what it is, you quickly snatch the water skin and begin downing its contents. **** slightly on the surprisingly cold liquid, you lower the object while taking in a deep breath. A large hand reaches down, roughly grabbing the item away.

"Slow down." He orders, his voice gruff and harsh sounding. "You'll make yourself sick."

You get the impression his warning is more an effort to avoid dealing with any unwanted aftermath rather than genuine concern. Tilting your head slightly, you peer over at the somewhat hostile stranger. Your eyes slowly trail up the tall figure, taking in the frayed and slightly torn clothes covering it. As they continue moving over his broad chest, you catch a glimpse of a tattoo peeking out between the front of the button up shirt he's wearing. Finally, they come to rest on a dark, brooding face. A thick, dark beard covers his square jaw, and partially covers a long scar down the left side of his face. His pale grey eyes appear cold and somewhat analytical as they stare back at you. Feeling somewhat uneasy, you reflexively reach around in search of your satchel.

"Looking for this?" He questions, pulling your revolver out from behind his back.

Stopping your search, you slowly turn back to face the man again. Frowning, you shirk back slightly in defense.

"That's mine." You breath out softly, struggling to rise to your feet.

He watches you unsympathetically while tucking the weapon away. A wave of dizziness overtakes you after standing, and you quickly raise a hand to your still pounding head. Swaying lightly, you fold your arms around your torso protectively. The man's pale eyes continue staring at you unmoving, as he takes a step back.

"Consider it your payment for spending the night." He states bluntly before turning around and walking away.

Gasping in protest, you find yourself unable to follow as your legs feel far too weak to move. Sighing in defeat, you slowly sink back to the ground. Glancing around, you take in more of the strange enclosure. The large enclosure seems to have been taken over by the surrounding nature. Large vines cover parts of the walls, moving up along to the high rafters. As you continue looking around, it suddenly dawns on you that you have finally reached your destination. Though, it is hardly what you had expected. The small hangar seems completely devoid of any aircrafts and seems to have been abandoned long before the apocalypse even occurred. New footsteps to your side quickly draws your attention away again. Turning quickly, you're met with the man you originally ran into. His appearance is somewhat less bedraggled now, as he seems to have changed. Your breath catches when he slowly crouches down to face you.

"You'll have to excuse Boyd." He mutters softly while reaching forward towards your face. "His manners, and compassion have long since gone."

Flinching lightly, you pull away when his fingers brush against your chin. Ignoring this, he continues forward and places his hand beneath your jaw, turning you to face him. His brow furrows deeply as his light brown eyes look over your face.

"You're quite dehydrated." He states seemingly more to himself than you.

A deep flush slowly creeps over your face when his hand begins trailing down the side of your bare neck. The man quickly realizes his actions and pulls away before standing up abruptly. Turning to face away from you, he pauses for a moment before speaking.

"He has agreed to allow you to spend the night while regathering your strength." You feel your heart sink as his words continue. "However, you must be on your way tomorrow."