Almost There
The Wilderness - Bighorn Basin, Wyoming
Perrine sat at the front of the wagon, guiding Luna through the post-apocalyptic landscape with a practiced hand. His thoughts churned as Sophia spoke, the weight of her past evident in her careful words. He glanced over at her, noticing how she stayed vigilant, her deep blue eyes always scanning their surroundings. Honey, the wolf, was equally alert.
As they continued to travel, the environment around them seemed to shift and change with every passing mile. The flora had transformed in strange ways since the Rupture. Trees with twisted, gnarled trunks stretched skyward, their leaves a mixture of vibrant greens and eerie, bioluminescent blues. Vines with thorns the size of small knives wound around anything they could grasp, creating natural barriers that were both beautiful and dangerous. Occasionally, they would pass mutated animals, their forms altered in ways that defied nature—an extra limb here, glowing eyes there—each a reminder of the world’s new, unpredictable reality.
Perrine absorbed the sights, his mind oscillating between the immediate tasks at hand and the larger question of their survival. He turned to Sophia, her quiet resilience striking a chord with him. When she mentioned her skills, he nodded appreciatively, knowing how valuable a hunter and gatherer could be in these times. Her admission about being useful for "other things" gave him pause, but he respected her silence on the matter, understanding that everyone carried their own burdens.
"Ve'll stop zoon.," Perrine said, his speech impediment making the words come out slowly and with difficulty. "Knoown place. Safer den here."
"Vhen ve get dere, ve kan use yer help. Setting oop camp," he continued, glancing at her. "Gooduh to harve ya huntr. Gooduh to harve heelp ."
"Hoow did yoo n Hooney meet?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He always found comfort in understanding the bonds between humans and animals, perhaps because his own bond with Luna, Peekaboo and Whisp had become such a cornerstone of his life.
As they continued their journey, the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across the mutated landscape. The sounds of the wilderness grew louder as nocturnal creatures began to stir. Perrine kept a steady hand on the reins, feeling a sense of peace despite the constant danger that surrounded them. He knew that with Luna, Whisp, Peekaboo, and now Sophia and Honey, they had a better chance of surviving whatever came their way. The wagon trundled on, each turn of the wheel bringing them closer to their destination and the promise of a safer night.