38. End

The rain is gently falling outside as you slowly get up, Gage is still asleep by your side, his messy hair covering his face. You silently rise from the bed, taking care not to wake him. Your heart thumps loudly as you quietly pick up Gage's pants and slip your hand into one of the pockets. You're instantly rewarded when you feel a small metal object at the bottom. You pull your hand out of the pocket and uncurl your fingers revealing the small key resting in your palm. You gently lower the pants back to the ground and move over to the bags in the corner of the room. The duffel bag is still unzipped and you see the jeans Gage lent you stuffed in the corner. After putting them on you quickly button up your flannel and hesitate a moment before finally putting on Gage's jacket. You feel a twinge of guilt run through you when you turn and look at him. His chest is gently rising and falling and he actually looks relaxed for once. Gently sighing you turn, and sling the satchel over your shoulder, then begin reaching for the backpack. You fingers stop short of it and you shake your head before pulling your hand away. Not only are you uncomfortable with the thought of leaving Gage without any supplies but you also don't want to weigh yourself down too much.

You pick up your boots and hold them in your hands as you lightly step over to the entrance of the cave. You look over your shoulder and take a final look at Gage. You see his form shift slightly in his sleep and a content sigh escapes his lips. Standing motionless you hold your breath until Gage is still again. You quickly throw your boots on then pull the collar of the jacket up higher before stepping out into the rain. The rain is cold and hard but the thunder and lightening have been growing increasingly distant. A shiver courses through your body before you begin retracing your steps back the way you and Gage had come. You're not sure how well you remember the path but are relieved when you make it back to the large tree Gage had stopped at earlier. Your steps are heavy as you make your way through the mud and cross over to the left side of the tree. The path is crowded with low hanging branches and thick, thorny, bramble. Pulling the jacket tightly across your chest you continue forward.

Time passes by slowly as you try to make your way through the path without leaving any trail. Thankfully you're moving upward at a steep incline, so a small stream of water rushes down past your feet, washing away the boot prints behind you. A large thorn slashes across your face as you slowly make your way through the cramped branches. With one final push your stumble forward out of the brush. Wiping blood off your check with the back of your hand you sigh staring ahead. The path ahead of you is blocked by the largest fallen tree you think you've ever seen. The tree's dry bark is peeling off in layers and you can tell most of the branches are already broken. Running a hand long the splintering trunk you decide going over isn't going to be an option. You walk along the length of the trunk and stop when you find a small dip under the left side of the tree. Squatting down you peer under and see that the space is just barely wide enough for you. Sighing you push the satchel over so it's on your back and get down. Mud seeps up through your fingers and soaks through the legs of your pants as your crawl through. Something slimy brushes past your outstretched hand and you quickly recoil it. You can barely see anything and the only noise comes from the rain outside and the loud beats of your heart.

After waiting a moment you press forward and finally see some light up ahead. Wiggling your arms out you feel rain fall and run down your matted hair. The opening on this side isn't as wide as the other one had been and you find yourself struggling to get out. You feel your breathing speed up as your fingers sink into the sludgy grass in front of you. Just when you're really beginning to panic your hand slips beneath the mud and comes into contact with a thick tree root. Wrapping your fingers around it you suck your stomach in and pull. Finally after a great deal of effort the lower half of your body slides out from under the tree. Clumps of mud fall off your body as you pull yourself to your feet and turn your face up to sky. Your eyes close as cold water washes the mud off your face and neck before you're on the move again. The path ahead becomes steeper and you struggle to make your way up it. Finally the ground levels off and becomes easier to navigate as the rain finally lets up. You've been walking for hours and know sunset will be coming soon. Despite your aversion to the dark you don't dare light a fire. Instead you find the tallest tree you can and begin making your way up. You lay face down on a large branch and wrap your arms around it trying not to look down. You probably should have gone up so high but you can't take any chances of being seen. You're not intending on sleeping but you know without a fire the forest floor would be too dangerous.

Several days pass as you continue making your way through the forest and you're finally confident you haven't been followed. You've also fallen back into the old routines you had the first time you made your way through the woods. You're far more confident now as you remember how capable you can be on your own. The handgun from the satchel is now tucked into the back of your waistband and you use a small flask you found in it to carry water. The most valuable thing you found, however, was a map of the state. You're competent enough at map reading to be able to tell not only where Dex's cabin is but also the one Gage was planning on taking you to. Rays of sunlight pour down on the map as you hold it out in front of you. You think of Dex and Jack as your finger traces around path that would lead you to them. After a moment your eyes drift over to where you're sure Gage's cabin is. You pull a small pencil out of your pocket that had been wrapped up with the map. The gray line of lead traces a path through the map before circling around your destination. Putting the pencil back up you hold the map out in your arms to get a better look. Your eyes follow the nearly added path as it leads up through the forest before ending on the small private airport to the west of the forest. Tucking the map into your pocket you get off the rock you've been sitting on and begin making your way ahead, alone.