45 BULLETS

Waking up felt lovely. I was nice and toasty cuddled up in my bed. My dog rubbing his nose sweetly over my hand.

Wait.

I opened my eyes, finally remembering I wasn't in my bed, I wasn't even close to bed. Technically I wasn't even close to Earth.

"El?" Thann asked, his fingers rubbing over my hand stopped.

I sat up quickly, trying to get my bearings. "Oh. Hi," I said softly, calming down. "Morning Thann." Stretching and yawning, I slipped away from him, scooting down the seat. "Thanks for being my space heater last night."

He grabbed my hand from another stretch and held it adoringly.  "El, Ngiyajabula ukuthi sihlangane."  He then placed my costume ring on my pointer finger, an intense glee filling his face.  "Lapho. Uyalwazi ulimi lwami?"

I looked at the ring with a lopsided smile. "Hey. Did you find this in the seat cushion? Funny. I think I carried this thing around for like a whole year in that purse before I tossed everything all over the seat here. I needed to clean that bag out bad, like months ago. It's pretty right? I used it for Halloween."

He frowned and pulled the ring off and then placed it on my other hand.   "Uyalwaziulimi lwami?"  He asked a little more insistently.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

He started putting it on finger after finger and repeating, "Manje?"

I just stared, confused. 

He pulled the ring off and tossed it to the floor with a groan.

"Hey, don't throw my stuff." I picked it up and put it on the dash. "So," I sat closer to him, a grin taking over my face. "Molly Day? Yes-No?"

He observed out the window a scowl forming his brows close.

I followed and took in the soggy ground, but there was sunshine. "Sun!" A circled hand above me, with my fingers pressing downward like sunrays.

He glanced back and nodded once unhappily. "Molly day. Yes."

"Yes!" I squealed and launched myself at his shoulders, holding him tight in a hug. "Molly!"

Thann laughed and patted my shoulder.  "Uhambo olude."  

"Yes! Odule Odule! We're going to Molly!" I leaned back and raced out of the cab.

I started tossing all I could into bins before Thann got out and grabbed my frantic hands. His voice was calm and he smiled softly. "Eat." He pressed his fingers to his lips in the sign.

A gasp reverberated through my body. "Eat?" I signed back. "Do you get it? You signed it! Eat!"

He reached over to the food tote and grabbed out a piece of darkened jerky. "Eat."

"Yes!" I cried, "that is eat!" I dove into the back for the water bottles and held one out. "Water."

"Water." He mimicked the sign.

"Yes! Good!" I signed ecstatic. "You got it! You got it!"

I was so excited about him finally getting signing, that I completely forgot about packing or eating. I grabbed his hand and started tugging him around the camp. He gave a lop-sided grin and let me tug him.

I showed him tree, grass, car, dirt, and flower. And he diligently followed and mimicked each sign. Stopping in front of the campfire ring, I hesitated never learning fire. I knew hot, so maybe I could sign hot and then wiggle my fingers upwards like a fire and make the sign up? Maybe I should make the sign like a marshmallow on a stick?

Caught deep in my inner monologue, I didn't pay attention to Thann straightening and inhaling the air as if he had noticed a scent.

I turned around to tell him fire was hot, and he was missing. "Thann?" I surveyed the surroundings confused.

Before I could decide something happened or not, he came marching back into camp holding a dead unicorn chicken.

"Alright! Good job buddy. Eat!" I laughed.

He stopped in front of me and showed me the wire around its neck, connected to a wooden stake. "El?" He asked, pointing at the fencing wire.

Immediately, I broke into giddy giggles and unhooked the wire. "Who's the one feeding who now, Thann? The last couple meals have been my kills. El. Kill."

"El kill?" He grinned.

I shrugged. "What can I say. I'm amazing." I looked back up. "But you're right. I haven't checked my snares for a while. Let's go see if I caught anything. If nothing else, I need to clean them up. We can take them with us." I tossed the snare in the truck back and motioned to him to come with heading into the trees.

"No!" He called, reaching my arm and keeping me in place.

"Are we on no trees again? We are going to Molly. You need to deal with me being in the forest." I pulled my arm free and started walking.

He followed, chicken still in hand.

I walked the loop and picked up all my traps, but no others held breakfast. My arms were full of snares as Thann followed me back to camp. I motioned to the chicken. "Do you want me to gut it? Or are you going to?"

He followed not comprehending my words. I already knew he wouldn't, but it still made me sigh. The language barrier was so frustrating.

When we got back to camp, I emptied my armful into my wheelbarrow and turned back to Thann pointing at the animal. "Eat." I reached into my boot and grabbed my knife, then held it directed at the chicken.

He nodded and started ripping out feathers as he went back into the trees. I got my propane stove out and readied it but realized in my excitement to get back to another Earth person I made a mess out of my bin. If there was ever a time to need to pack as much as possible, it was now. All those years of Tetris would finally come in handy. I had it about halfway packed when Thann came back, holding a processed bird.

He held it out to me. "El kill."

I reached for my knife and cut off one leg, detaching the hip bone. "You can have the rest. Thann's. El's." I smiled and stepped to my stove to cook it.

He sat at the gate and watched me work. I wish I could say that I was Queen Chef at it, but pan frying a chicken leg was harder than I thought. Maybe I should have grabbed a breast instead. But I was doing okay. I just needed it cooked through.

Thann just watched me and had this silly grin on his face.

When I finally caught it, I complained. "What? I like cooked meat better. Thann eat your meat!"

He shook his head. "El eat. Thann eat."

"Alright," I looked away bashfully. "Waiting for a lady to eat is very gentlemanly. Thank you."

It took a few more minutes for the juices to run clear, and then I wrapped a cloth around the base and held it up to Thann. "Cheers!" I smiled and then pushed the stove away and sat beside Thann to eat.

When I finished mine, he held out the other uncooked leg. I shook my head. "No thanks. No." I pinched my pointer and middle finger together with my thumb. "No. no."

He looked at his hand while he made the sign.

I smiled encouragingly. "Good. Now try yes." A fist up and down like a nod.

He followed after another bite from the carcass.

"Good!" I looked around for other things to teach, but then I thought maybe we should do names.

"Hello. My name is El." I did an alphabet L sign and swished it from my head to my hip. It's the sign I used for myself with my identifier being long hair.

Then I looked over Thann. What would his identifier be? Tall? Wide shoulders? I wonder how you'd sign Dothraki? I snickered at my thought.

"Hmmm," I pondered. "You might have to help me out. How do I ask what you want for your name? Hmmm.... Okay Thann. El sign. Thann sign?" I put a finger alphabet T in a fist up tall. "Thann yes-no?" Then I put T's in each hand and hit against my shoulders. "Thann yes-no?" I put a T against my temple like for the sign for man. "Thann yes-no?" I paused as he watched me. "Any of those nice?" I repeated the ideas.

He nodded and put his fist at his head. "Thann."

I grinned wide. "I'm pleased to meet you, Thann."

He returned the grin. "El."

"Yep. That's me. El."

While he finished the rest of the chicken, I kept packing things in the emergency bin. Thann rinsed his hands and then came to help me pack the second bin. Right now it was full of food and after all the extra veggies were scattered around, he pulled out the two bags of chicken feed and threw them into the trees.

"Wait, we could have used those!" I yelled incredulous.

He glared at me. "No El eat."

I softened and giggled. "Yeah, I kinda learned my lesson on that. But it was good for the traps." I hopped out of the back and held up one of snares. He did not look amused. I tossed the snare back and headed back into the bed. "Alright, alright. We can use entrails or something I'm sure. But you remember what you did if I can't catch anymore chicken unicorns."

We started Tetrising all the new jerky into the bin with the veggies. The tools that had been in that bin, I ended up putting in my wheelbarrow. There was extra room in the food bin, so we scavenged all the potatoes and carrots we could to fill it.

As I pulled the fence down, leaving started to get real. I began getting a little nervous. The truck had been my home for nearly two weeks. It had started to feel like my safety and now we'd be out in the open. It was quite daunting to think of sleeping out in the open after having a good space to close out everything from roaches to werewolves at night.

I figured I'd be prepared for all emergency preparedness situations.

But I wasn't.

I sat back in the cab like my world was crashing in around me, but I figured Thann would have a fit if he saw my mini freak out, so I tried to keep myself as upright as possible.

I mean, come on. When I planned for the apocalypse, I planned for zombies and warring cities, not handsome aliens, pterodactyl dragons, and werewolves.

Taking a deep centering breath, I tried to remember rule number one: to survive you first have to want to survive. Think of all the stuff you do have Eleanor. You have two full bins and a wheelbarrow of supplies. There have been people who have survived being in the ocean on a life raft for over a year with nothing. I just need to remember I have to want to live and it'll happen, or it won't. The end.

And I did want to live. I needed to live for Jia. I needed to get to Molly and Lissette. I needed people who spoke my language. Maybe I needed girl talk too. I'd never been a big one on going out to girl's nights and things, always keeping to books and youtube, but maybe after being alone save two people for days can make your wishes change.

Thann came over and handed me a water bottle.  "Water. Uhambo olude."  

I took the bottle with a smile. "Water. Thank you."

He frowned and thumbed over my cheek. "Cry."

"Oh sorry," I sat up straight and wiped over my cheeks. "Shoot. Sorry. I'm okay. Just a little nervous about leaving."

"Molly. Night Day. Yes-No."

Wait a day? Shaking my head, I let my breathing even. "No. Molly now." I hopped out of the cab and he allowed me to pass. I went to the wheelbarrow and looked everything over like I was just trying to make sure we packed everything.

Thann showed up to my side and gently slipped a hand around mine. "El."

I looked up more piteously than I probably meant to. "I really am okay. Just scared. Molly walk day? Molly day-day? Molly day-day-day? Yes. No." How long are we going?

He sighed shaking his head, then spoke to himself.  "Angiqinisekiukuthi kuzothatha isikhathi esingakanani. Uhamba kancane.  Thann day-day-day Molly. Thann El day-day-----?" And he kept repeating day more times than I could keep up.

My remaining strength crumpled, and my shoulders loosened with another tear, but I tried to remain standing. "Okay. Guess we better start out then."

"El," he spoke sternly, and I glanced sad eyes to him in response. He used the hand he held to pull me into his arms in a hug.

I wanted to be angry and pull out of the embrace, but I couldn't. My world was crashing. Literally. I had no more of my own world. I leaned into him, my arms coming around his waist. "Sorry," was all I could say as I laid my head on his chest. His heartbeat was strong and thrummed in my ear. I tried to concentrate on it. It was comforting in my fall. I needed to be strong like his heartbeat. Strong like Thann.

A smile pulled the side of my lips against him.

I needed to be strong like Thor.

He stroked down my hair and I bent out to see his face. "I think I'm okay now. Thanks." I stepped away and let out a deep breath.

"Thanks." He repeated and gave a soft smile.

I grabbed on the handles of the wheelbarrow and gulped. "Shall we go then, Dothraki?"

He grabbed the two bins, one on top of the other and lifted effortlessly.

I couldn't help snickering a bit. "You show off."

Then he started walking into the tree line, a different route from up the mountain or down to the lake.

I clenched my jaw with nerves. "Here we go." Lifting the wheelbarrow and starting the journey, still not knowing how long it was going to take.