300 miles on a hunch || OPEN

[erik knight]

At her question of him having caught on to her lie, he nodded knowingly. He wouldn't say he was the most observant individual there was but she hadn't really made it difficult when he mentioned how it was dark and her brother should have been back. Her way of starting off unsure of her words then sticking to her original story gave it away. Erik didn't need a lie detector with some people; luckily for Carter, he was a decent man and hadn't followed her to steal her things though judging by the state of the cabin, that had already been done and her way of not easily trusting others indicated she had bad experience. That topic was none of his business and had no bearing on the current situation. While he'd not call them friends, the night before had done well in establishing a shred of trust between them and, with luck, they could grow to trust one another implicitly.

The young man couldn't help but laugh softly when she mentioned himself being stupid for wanting to tag along on what he called a stupid idea. With a nod he looked off to the woods then back at her still wearing a slight grin. "Maybe. Guess that all depends on if we get ourselves killed or not, don't it? I figure if we live to see another sunrise then we're smarter than most." He then focused on the barn doors and wood for the first time since his brief minute asking to stay there the night before. It wasn't safe at all and if more than one walker showed up, they were both dead. He sighed and motioned to the door. "Either way, we can't stay here another night. The barn won't hold up forever and that wood on the cabin windows can't handle hungry biters."

He took a deep breath realizing that he was suggesting going back into the hot Georgia countryside wandering aimlessly searching for someone that they may never find. It was a fool's errand and he believed it almost completely after having never found his father. Despite his personal feelings, he wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing he walked away and let her go off alone and get killed. " I still think it's a fool's errand, though but can't - won't let you go alone. We should get on our way within the hour. If you want, you can go through the cabin for things you might wanna keep. If we don't find em... well... at least you'll have memories."

He smiled softly and nodded looking over at her horses noting the saddlebags. "So how are you on supplies? Weapons? Other things...? Probably best to make a run into a local town before we head too deep if we're low on supplies so we won't risk doin' it too close to dark."

[carter paisley]

Carter shared the smile with him as he took the joke well. Last night had definitely established some form of understanding between them. "Well, we're at a high risk of getting killed anyway," she shrugged. Who could really say for certain what the safest path was? They could keep moving and run into trouble, or stay put and have trouble run into them. Keeping her sights on a goal at least gave Carter a hint of comfort. "I wouldn't mind your company. Don't feel like you're obligated to though, just because I'm a girl, or whatever." If not that, she really didn't know why he might feel obligated. "I've made out ok on my own."

Her gaze followed his pantomiming toward the barn door and she reached out to touch the bad sections that he was indicating. She pursed her lips. It felt safer than it really was; even though it was just a storage shed, it was familiar. Reminiscently, her fingertips moved toward a worn spot where she or her one of her family members had taken hold of the door whenever they opened or closed it over the years. "You're right," she admitted, letting her arm fall back to her side. The place was old. Her dad had been saying for a couple of years that he needed to fix it up, there just hadn't been time yet.

At the suggestion to glean memorabilia from the cabin, she nodded. She was still getting a grasp on his personality, something she didn't expect to do in any short amount of time, but this made her a little more comfortable with him, sensing that he was still tied in some way to his own past. As long as people didn't completely lose themselves, she felt there was hope. "Thanks. I need to get water anyway," she said, walking over to grab the old Gatorade containers. "Oh!..." As she headed toward the door, she turned back suddenly. "...tell me you know how to ride a horse." She looked at him expectantly.

[erik knight]

"Yeah, no kiddin'," he muttered in agreement with her statement of being at risk of getting killed either way. It used to be safe to live one's life day to day going to work, going out with friends, fishing on the lake or taking a stroll through the park but in the new world, even going to sleep could mean death. Erik hated how bad things had gotten and being forced to deal with the world in such a way. Luckily, he felt he'd found someone that he could trust and that trusted him enough to be able to have a slightly better chance at survival. "I don't care if you're a girl or not - you'll need my help and I'll need yours. It's not obligation. It's survival. We stick together and we stay alive." His words were strong and confident, but internally he had to doubt the survival part. Either one of them could get bitten at any moment in their travels and that would signal the end. He wasn't going to share that thought with Carter, though he suspected she knew that much and wouldn't put a dark cloud over the situation by stating such a grim fact.

Erik nodded at her acknowledgement of how dangerous the shed and cabin were and how it was best to keep moving. As a general rule, he never stayed anywhere more than a few hours anyway and presumed that was one of the major reasons for his surviving as long as he had. Nowhere was ever home. Nowhere was safe and no one lived forever. He wondered what was going through her head as she touched the door. He had his own memories of his family home that he had to leave on the first day everything fell apart. Seeing his own mother in the living room floor in pieces almost beyond recognition had made it even harder to leave while most people would take it as incentive to head for the hills. Erik never spoke of it, even to his friend, but he had taken his own share of family photos and they'd served him well on the lonely nights.

"Alright. Take your time," he said with an understanding nod and soft smile, "some things shouldn't have to be rushed. I'll hang around outside and keep an eye out for trouble while you do what you've gotta do." He watched as she moved away then stopped and turned back to him asking if he knew how to ride a horse to which he chuckled. "Well... sorta - I mean, I do, it's... just been years. I can manage, don't worry." His uncle had a farm outside Savannah and he frequented it a lot as a child mostly to fish in the creek but his cousins had a way of pressuring him into riding horses with them. In fact, he'd even stolen one when he was fifteen to go meet a girl when his dad had refused a ride. Memories like that kept him alive when the rest of him was numb.

[carter paisley]

Carter needed to hear for herself that he wasn't doing anything for her out of obligation, even if the notion possibly offended him. If that's all it was, she feared it would wear off and he would ditch her when she needed him, and she did believe there would be times that she would need him. Already there had been times she felt her body could just shut down and give up on her. Having someone around to watch her back would mean better sleep and she would be able to look for supplies in places that were too dangerous for one person to approach alone. "Stick together, stay alive," she echoed, having the same nagging skepticism in the back of her mind as he did.

The girl smiled when he told her not to rush, even though she knew he was eager to get going before the morning grew late. That meant something to her. "Ok good," she said when he told her he did, in fact, know how to ride. As long as he knew the basics, Carter trusted Applejacks to take care of him from there. Riding a horse was like riding a bicycle or swimming (not that Carter knew how to swim) -- once you knew how, you never really forgot. Of course, he might be sore after a while, but then again, even Carter was sore from spending so much time in the saddle lately. "If you want, you can get them saddled."

"I'll be back." She trudged off across the yard, plastic jugs bumping against her knees with each step. As she walked away, the scarred part of her -- the part that had been formerly disappointed -- wondered if he wouldn't make off with her supplies and her horses. She glanced back over her shoulder, but kept on walking. She wanted to trust him... Should she though? It wouldn't be the first time she had been played. From inside, the looked out the window as the water ran into the containers. Everything appeared fine and she shook her head, dispelling the suspicion.

There were a lot of memories wrapped up in the cabin: trinkets, family heirlooms, photos. She couldn't justify taking most of it, knowing that any unnecessary weight was a liability, so she took only a few pictures and a quilt her mom and aunt had put together. Then, capping the water jugs and pulling them out of the sink one at a time, she carried everything back out to the shed. Sure enough, if Erik was still there, she would give him a small smile.

[erik knight]

Erik heard her out when she repeated his words and he had the feeling she shared his ideas on it all but there wasn't much to be done about it. It was a good thing that he knew how to ride, though, and while he was rusty he was confident that it would all come back to him fairly quickly. In fact, he related it a lot to a living, breathing vehicle with similar rules: so long as it is taken care of, then it would take care of him. Considering they had no clue where they were going to end up or how far they were going, having a happy horse could mean all the difference between making it to their destination or dying along the way. "Alright, sounds good. I'll be here." He replied to her suggestion of getting the horses saddled and spotted the saddles nearby.

Erik looked over at the horses after Carter had left the shed and took a breath with a furrowed brow. It had been nearly a decade since he'd saddled a horse, but the process really hadn't changed. The only difference was that he didn't know Carter's horses and they didn't know him. The last thing he needed was to spook them and have them making all sorts of noise to draw in some of rotface's friends. He walked over to them carefully and rested a hand on their nose. "I can't promise you life... I'm not qualified to make the call if we'll live or not, but you both have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep both of you and your owner alive. I'm sure we'll come across plenty of open pastures along the way so you've got some incentive too."

He picked up one of the saddles and walked over toward them, patting them softly. "It's gotta get better, right?" After reassuring them he proceeded to place saddles on them both and ensure they were properly secured while not causing the horses discomfort. They were in for a long haul and the more comfortable the horses were, the smoother the journey would be. He stepped back with a nod. "Alright. Hang tight for a sec." The young man opened the door and stepped outside having a cautious look around the area. It was a force of habit to do a quick scan of the surroundings at regular intervals for walkers that he'd picked up not long after leaving Savannah with his friends - none of which were still alive. If anything, this only made him want to be more observant as he knew a herd could easily sneak up on them if they weren't looking.

Carter came back out of the cabin not too long after and he spotted her smile, returning it with one of his own as he made his way over to her and would match her steps back toward the barn while speaking along the way. "Kay, the horses are saddled and ready to go so we're ready if you are. Do you have a map by any chance? If not, we should look into getting one to find out where we are and plan where we're goin'. Don't know about you, but three months is enough aimless wanderin' for me, ya know?"

[carter paisley]

The horses weren't paying much attention to the pair of two-leggers as they exchanged words. They were content to doze in the shade of the barn, tails automatically swishing away flies until Erik walked over closer to them. Cheers pricked up her ears and Applejacks stretched out his neck slightly to push his nose into the man's palm, not understanding what he was saying, but trusting him all the same. While he tacked up, they stood agreeably with only Cheers twitching her head slightly to give him a dirty look when he did up the cinch under her stomach. She was only being dramatic and sensitive, it didn't cause her any true discomfort.

"Thanks for getting them ready," Carter said as she walked with Erik into the shed. "A map? I don't, but there's a gas station a couple miles away that should have some. Right now we're in McCollough, Georgia." As they conversed, she tied the water jugs to the back of the saddles, one on each horse. She shoved the quilt into one of the saddle bags and looked around, making sure she didn't have anything else of hers left behind. "Yeah, I'm not really keen on wandering either," she admitted. She had already been familiar with the route from her hometown to the cabin, but beyond that, she hadn't done much traveling in her life at all.

"Alright, I guess we're set then." She took the reins from over Cheers' head, leading her out into the open, saying to Erik, "you can ride Jacks. He's great, but there's a couple things you should know. If you fall, he won't stop unless you say 'Mercedes'." The chestnut's ears swiveled toward her, thinking he heard one of his command, but confused because it had been hidden in with so many other words that meant nothing to him. "Then," Carter continued, "if you want him to come back to you, whistle like so..." She whistled a short, simple pattern and Jacks swung his head toward her and trotted up. "He's learning other stuff, too, but that's probably the most important for now." Double-checking the cinch, Carter stepped up into the stirrup and, after a little hop, pulled herself up and threw her other leg over the mare's back.

[erik knight]

"McCollough... that's not far from Macon," he thought aloud furrowing his brow and glancing down to the ground in thought of how far he'd come. It was difficult for him to believe that, in just three months, he'd come nearly to Macon from Savannah on his own. It was a near two-hundred mile trip and, while he'd come across trouble along the way, he'd made it through alive. Knowing that, it only strengthened his resolve that he'd be able to survive longer and Carter with him. He pulled his eyes back up and glanced over at her. "We'll stop by the gas station and get some bearings on where we wanna go."

Erik took the reigns of Applejacks following Carter's lead after she led the other horse out into the open. Following along listening to her words on words to command the horse, he couldn't help but laugh at the word to get him to stop and cast her a humored look with a grin across his cheeks. "Like the car?" He stiffled a bit and nodded. "Alright. Mercedes it is and I'll keep that tune in mind. It's catchy and even with everything goin' on, my memory's not that bad." He stopped and slid his foot into the stirrup on Jacks and hoisted himself up, slinging the other leg over into the opposite side appreciating the nostalgia of the moment to himself.

The young man looked over at Carter, the thought of where to go on his mind and recalling the instructions from the initial evacuation order that could save them time looking for shelter. "I know it sounds crazy, but... when the evacuation order was given, everyone was headin' to Atlanta. Apparently, the CDC was workin' on a cure and there's a shelter set up there. Now, I don't normally go into big cities, but if the military was gonna secure a place, wouldn't it be the CDC and that shelter?"

Having spoken it aloud, he realized how crazy it had to sound asking if she wanted to charge into the most populated city in the state that was likely covered in the dead. If so, they didn't stand a chance getting out, but if he was right and there was a safe-zone inside, then they would be home free. "We could swing by and grab a map and head North. We can plan a route to keep us off the major interstate and get us to Atlanta - should just take a couple of days on the horses. It's up to you, though. We won't try it if you think it's too dangerous." Part of him hoped she'd agree to go given that it was the most promising idea, but the cautious side of him told him that it was a pipe-dream and to find shelter elsewhere. For the first time since the outbreak, he had a conflict of logic and it was times like that when a second opinion came in handy.

[carter paisley]

Carter didn't have a problem with his plan to visit the gas station and although she knew she shouldn't get too comfortable with it, having someone else around to help make decisions was nice. "Just like the car," she agreed with a sheepish shrug. It wasn't a common word, but at the same time it was one she would be able to remember. As children, she and her friend had trained their ponies to obey Muskogee words, though they would often forget the commands themselves or butcher the pronunciations.

The girl turned to look at him, the whole Atlanta business spiking her interest. Her town had never received any real evacuation efforts. The disease had come to them and spread too quickly. By the time the news aired, most of their meager population had turned. By the time Carter had thought to procure a radio, it was too late -- there was only static. Atlana, the CDC, the military -- she felt like she was being told the secret location of the fountain of youth. She was picturing an organized safe-zone with guards patrolling the area. When they arrived, they would be escorted to the shelter where there would be food and running showers and safety. And if they were working on a cure... Maybe life wouldn't be like this forever after.

In the midst of her daydreaming, she sensed his reservations about the idea. Just like that, her visions shifted to darker possibilities. What if they made the journey and there was no room for them? What if everyone had moved to another location by the time they got there? What if there was no shelter to begin with? Thoughtfully, she licked her lips, looking down at her hands. "I- I don't know. But I think we should try it. If there's a haven out there and we don't look for it when we're so close... And we can be careful about it when we get close to the city." In the meantime, she clucked to Cheers and started them off with one last look back at the cabin. For now, they only had to focus on getting to the gas station and picking up a map and whatever other supplies were leftover.

[erik knight]

"Well, at least it ain't complicated or impossible to remember," he mused with a smile. Erik had always hoped to go back to college some day and become a psychologist so he could drive a Mercedes. Along with the package, he'd have a nice home with a swimming pool, free time whenever he wanted and a perfect family that made him happy; a couple of smart but fun kids and a beautiful wife. His own daydreaming was of a life that seemed so impossible to attain but if the cure was real, anything was possible even his dreams. His gaze turned to Carter silently and he found himself thinking of what may happen should the cure talk be just that - talk; the way he saw it he'd have traded a nice home for a shed, two kids for two horses, and a beautiful wife for Carter. Well... maybe we still get the beautiful wife bit, Erik. He thought to himself with a glint in his eye not saying anything aloud and wouldn't have if she'd have asked.

Erik nodded, mulling the idea over in his head. Atlanta was a logical choice with the possibility of safety and security; if Carter was willing to give it a shot, then so was he. Despite their reservations on that matter, whatever they may be, they had to keep some form of hope or living was pointless. He did a quick recap of their plan not only to keep it in mind but sound it aloud in case there were last minute doubts on either behalf."Alright. Gas station, then plan a safe route toward Atlanta. We won't rush into it - still around a hundred miles of so." Erik followed suit and clucked Applejacks on, catching her glance back at the cabin. He knew how leaving something familiar felt and hoped that she'd gotten together all of the mementos she wanted before they left with the chances of them returning was practically nil.

On the bright side, they both had someone else looking out for them and had a plan in place for their travels. They were going to move North toward Atlanta, but look for Wyatt along the way. The young man still didn't believe anything would come of it, but wasn't so hypocritical that he wasn't going to help her look if that's what she wanted to do so long as she didn't do anything way crazy; and even that was open to interpretation considering that Erik had done a lot in the category of 'insane' ideas.