Still Living

Chapter 2

Ray lift his hand up to block the suns rays. The grass was overgrown. The trees branches were wild. The pavement had grass growing in the cracks.

There was an entrance to a forest in the back of the yard. He walked down the steps. He heard those things he saw in the front, dragging their feet and groaning. He made to the entrance. Ray opened the gate and walked through it. He walked on the forest's path. It's really beautiful. If you every went in a forest (like me) and see the ray of sun coming through the leaves, you'll think it's pretty.

As he walked through the forest, he fond an abandoned campsite. He looked around to see if anybody was their. No one. He sat in front of the extinguished fire. It still felt warm. The tent flaps were open. No soul was in there. The sun was starting to set. Ray crawled inside the tent. There was a lamp holder but he didn't have a lamp.

He searched through his back pack for some source of light. He found a LED Mini Compact Flashlight. He turned it on. He put it on the lamp holder by the string. It hung. Ray zipped up the tent. He looked through the back pack and pulled out the camera.

He opened the screen and it turned on. The two files shown again. Ray chose the pictures. He went all the way to the top. He loomed at the first picture. It was a picture of a girl, probably her mid forties. She had long hair, and blue eyes. She was smiling, showing her white teeth

"She looks like me," he thought.

The next picture shown a little boy a pirate costume. He was making a silly face at the camera. He looked around five to six years old. Ray smiled and chuckled a bit.

The next picture was a girl that was two year younger than him. She was laying in a bed texting on her phone. She looked like she didn't know a picture was being taking of her.

The next picture was of a man. He was holding a fish in his hands. He was smiling. He also look like he was in his mid forties. He looked like him, in the eyes.

The next picture got him by surprised. It was a boy who looked exactly like him. The face was the same. The hair was shorter, though. The eyes, the nose, the mouth, and the shape of his head. They all were the same.

A weird flash happened. He saw out of the boy's eyes. He saw him marking something on a calendar. Then it ended.

"That was weird," he thought.

He laid down on his back. Ray turned off the flashlight, and tried to fall asleep. But he couldn't. He was hungry. He sighed and sat up. He searched through the back pack. He found a granola bar. He ripped the wrapper open and took a bite out of it. It tasted stale.

He looked at the bar. He sighed and ate it. It did not replenish his hunger. Ray had no choice but to go out. He grabbed the knife and zipped open the tent. He turned on the flashlight so he could find it when he found food. He stepped out of the tent. His vision was enhanced. He saw everything. He saw the leaves rustling. Animals moving in the forests.

A rabbit caught his eye. It moved in front of the distinguished fire. It had no idea that Ray was there. He licked his lips. He readied his knife and creeped towards the rabbit. The rabbit perked up. Ray was right behind it. It turned around and saw him. It went to bolt it, but Ray got it. It squirmed in his hands.

Ray readied his knife. He stabbed it multiple times before it stopped moving. It laid limp in his hands. He skinned the rabbit. Putting his knife down, he starred at the naked rabbit. He peeled off a piece of muscle off the rabbit. He sniffed it. Then he took a bite out of it. It was exactly what he needed.

He ate the rabbit raw. Blood dripped down the corners of his lips. There was a lake next to the camp. He made sure the flashlight was still on. It was. He walked down to the lake. He splashed his face with water. He notice a spot of blood on the sweater. He took a near by cloth and dipped it in the water. It came off.

He went back to the campsite. Ray crawled back into the tent and zipped it back up. He laid his head on the back pack. He turned off the flashlight.

The next morning, the sun shown it itself through the morning clouds. He woke up. Ray stretched and put the flashlight in the back pack. He then put it over his shoulders. He grabbed the knife from his back pack. He stuck his head out. No one was around. He was alone. He fully emerged from the tent. The rabbit he ate raw was being picked at by birds. They were eating the scraps.

He walked through the forest more. He enjoyed the scenery. It was absolutely beautiful. Then, he heard voices. He ducked down.

"We better get to the car," a man said, taking lead.

He was a big, dark skinned man. He was bald with a full beard. We had some muscle. They were sticking out of his shirt.

Two other people were behind him. One was a lady who looked about eight to nine months pregnant. She was also dark skinned but with a light completion. She had long black hair. She wore a shirt the clearly showed her bump. She also wore a woman's over coat.

The girl behind her looked about twelve years old. Once again, she also had dark skinned. Her hair was fluffy and was in pig tails. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt with blue jeans.

He stayed quiet and tried to back away. He accidentally stepped on a stick. The guy stopped.

"What was that?", he asked, looking around.

"It was probably an animal, baby," the woman told the man.

The girl agreed with woman.

"But what if it wasn't," the man said.

The woman rolled her eyes.

Ray tried to stay calm. He was controlling the best of his breathing. The man pulled out a pistol. That's when Ray bolted.

"Hey! You there! Stop!", The man yelled and chased after him.

Ray jumped over falled trees and small creeks. The man was hot on his tail. ray looked behind his shoulder. He saw the man jumping over the obstacles. He wasn't paying attention and tripped on a tree root that was sticking out. He fell face first into the dirt. The man landed on top of him. Ray let out a grunt of pain.

Ray tried to lift his head, the man pushed his head back on the ground putting the pistol barrel on his forehead.

"Who the f**k are you and why are you sneaking up on me and family? Huh?", He yelled.

"Hey! Get off him. He's just a kid," the woman said to him, running up to him with the girl behind her

"Why was he in the bushes then?", He asked her.

"Maybe he thought we were a threat, so he tried to hide," the girl said.

The man looked at Ray, "Is that true?", He asked.

Ray nodded his head. The man let him go. Ray quickly got onto his feet. The man stood up. He put his pistol away.

"Almost wasted a f*****g bullet on your ass," he muttered and turned away.

The woman rolled her eyes and turned to Ray.

"So, what's is your name?", She asked.

Ray pointed to a ray of sun poking through the trees.

"Aaron?", She asked, thinking he was pointing to the tree.

He shook his head.

"I think he was pointing to a sun beam," the girl said.

"Sun beam....oh! Your name is Ray, correct?", The women asked him.

He nod his head yes.

"Well, my name is Camilla. The one who attacked you is Andre. And this our daughter, Jordan. The one that's on the way is Jacob. We are the Wright family," she explained.

Andre turned around, "Why would you tell him our identity. We don't know who he is or where he came from?", He asked, "We for sure don't know why he ain't talking," he said, looking at him.

"He's harmless. He doesn't look like he would hurt anyone unless they absolutely need it. Am I right, Ray?", She asked, looking at him.

Ray nodded his head yes.

"See," she said.

Andre crossed his arms.

"Where are you planing to go?", Camilla asked.

Ray pulled out the map of Florida. He showed her Miami.

"Oh that's perfect!", She exclaimed, "That's exactly where we are going. Would you like to come with us?", She asked.

Ray looked at Andre for approval

"Fine, but if you lay ONE hand on either of them, I'm killing your ass," he said.

Ray put his thumb up.

"Okay, let's get to the car," he said.

He walked past Ray, giving him an "I'm watching you" look. Ray sighed and walked along with them.