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Conflict of Interest

Chapter 2

By Lily CaudillPublished about a year ago 6 min read
1

Alice watched the sun rise over the hill and graze the horizon. Colors of orange and yellow were streaking through the sky like ribbons. She watched Lucas grumble as his body began to wake him. He looked different with his glasses off. The tape in the middle did give him a classic type of nerdy look. She crept out of the sleeping bag and put on her boots. Carrot looked out but stayed in the warm comfort of the sleeping bag. The fire still was smoldering, so she bent down and warmed her hands before putting on her gloves. She looked down at the puddle in the rock cavern and caught her reflection. Her brown hair looked matted, but her grey eyes shined back at her. She looked at her cheeks and saw how she was beginning to look thin. Still healthy, but thinner than 2 weeks ago. Normally she would be jumping for joy about losing a few pounds, but now she saw her extra pounds as a commodity. The thought of jumping on a treadmill or lifting weights for fun seemed like a cruel joke. She fed carrot a few bites from yesterday's meal before putting her pan and spoon away in her backpack along with her sleeping back. She looked over at Lucas still stirring in his sleeping bag. He must be tired. She knew exactly how he felt. He was probably sleeping through high blood sugar which drained your energy. Sleeping with high blood sugar somehow made you feel like you hadn’t slept at all when you woke up.

“Hey Lucas” She finally said after putting her pack on with all the gear safely packed away.

He awoke and squinted at her and then put his glasses on. “Good Morning,” He said cheerfully…”Too cheerfully for this early in the morning” Alice thought to herself. His hair was somehow silky black without a single knot braided to his shoulders. His skin had a golden complexion that seemed to glow along with the painted ribbon sky.

“Which way are you heading?” He asked as he got out of his sleeping bag.

Alice thought for a moment. She didn’t want to tell him, but she didn’t have time to waste by telling him the wrong direction and then switching ways on him. Plus if he was just going to follow her what was the point anyway.

“I’m heading to Lexington, What about you?” She finally said

“Me too!” He said enthusiastically.

Alice sighed but caught herself.

“I heard they have insulin there,” He said

“Yeah, I’m assuming they do. That is where the national guard should be with first aid supplies if the entire world hasn’t got to complete shit” She replied

“Well, I hope so becasue if they don’t I’m probably being a gonner... You know because of diabetes..” He awkwardly laughed

Alice laughed awkwardly along with him. “Oh yeah. Diabetes”

Alice put her gun easily accesible to her side and picked up Carrot and put her in her jacket. Thank Goodness she was the runt of her litter and small enough to carry she thought. Carrot peaked her head out the top of her coat like a window.

“That is a seriously cute dog,” Lucas said

Alice was very excited to not talk about the subject of diabetes and jumped at this comment. “If only I could post this on Instagram. I’m sure I’d get 100 likes.” She then pretended to take a photo with her hands.

Lucas chuckled and spoke with a fimanine tone. “#earthquake #endoftheword #spoiledpets.” You could tell her was proud of himself for the joke.

He lugged his backpack on and they began walking through the trees together. Many had fallen but most still stood tall,

“Do you think the rest of the world is like this?” Alice asked

“Completly torn apart from the quake?” He asked in return

“Yeah” She replied

“Nah, probably this section of Kentucky, but I assumed up north wasn’t affected too badly.” He said as he stepped over a log.

“So do you live around here?” Alice asked

“I go to school at Morehead and I just had decided to stay there for spring break. First Spring break I hadn’t gone back to Lexington.. And my last spring break. Can you believe that?”

“That’s almost humorous.” She said

“Why were you here do you live in this area around Cave Run Lake?” He asked

“I was just camping, so I got lucky and had a huge amount of camping supplies when the earthquake happened,” She said

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think anyone in the middle of an earthquake is lucky,” Lucas said

Alice cracked a smile. “True,”

“What kind of things do you like to do? Like when life is normal?” Lucas asked,

“Don’t throw anything at me, but I love to hike and play with my dog.”

Lucas turned around on the trail. “I guess you're just having a ball then”

“Hiking isn’t the worst part of this for sure, but I do swim laps, and I like to read, write, and play with my dog. I’m quite the coffee snob. What about you?” She said

“I see. I see. Well, I like reading. I go thrifting sometimes. I mostly like to gawk at strange things people think they can sell. I like gaming. I like to build my own computers and I can code pretty well.” He was bragging about himself a little.

Alice watched him as he talked. The type of guy she normally would be impressed him. Plus they already had so much in common. He sounded incredibly intelligent, but out here none of that mattered here at the moment.

“Do you happen to ever hunt for fun?” She asked. Not a question she normally asked men right after meeting them.

“No, I wish I did” He sighed

“What about you,” He asked

“No, I have watched my dad skin a lot of animals, but that’s about it. I have an idea, but I haven’t attempted anything yet. I’m hoping I have enough dry food to eat or can pick up along the way” She replied

“Well, you’re way ahead of me. I would have no idea where to start. All the canned food I have found is full of carbs. It would probably be a bad idea for me to eat it without a lot of insulin. Diabetics have to take insulin for how many carbs they consume so that kinda sucks for me.” He said

“I can only imagine” Alice replied

Series
1

About the Creator

Lily Caudill

I take inspiration from my family roots in The Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. You will find that my works have a darker undertones with a dash of humor. I am currently working on a novel Conflict of Interest. I hope you enjoy.

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  • Lea Kingabout a year ago

    I can’t wait to read more chapters because the 1st and 2nd have me hooked.

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