The words made Barry halt. Rarely had Thea talked this seriously to him, and each time…she was always correct. Barry knew this had something to do with the conversation earlier. Focused, Barry asked.

“What is it, Thea?”

Thea didn’t reply, she just looked deeply into Barry’s eyes, searching for something. Having found it, she sighed.

“Why? It’s too dangerous” her voice rang out softly.

Barry understood. He knew what she was referring to. He knew he had to step lightly around this situation. A wrong answer could lead to undesirable consequences.

"You know why. You know it well. I just promised her. I can't go back on it, not after what I did."

Barry's words were direct and held clear meaning to Thea. She now seemed lost for words.

"You didn't have to. Yesterday was just luck. You yourself said it. To go even bigger, how far would you have to go?" she spoke up and asked, brooking no lies.

"Indeed, you are right. There is not much of that size nearby. I would have to either futilely search for a long while nearby or just head deeper into the woods."

Barry's words were laced with worry. The forest was something to fear. It always was.

"You don't have to do either of those. You could just go for the normal prey. Vio would understand..." Thea whispered.

"...I wish I could. I have been keeping something from you. All prey nearby disappeared weeks ago. I tried my best but I couldn't find any. Desperate, I have been slowly going deeper into the forest, just to have a sufficient catch. That's how I discovered the deer." Barry replied, averting his gaze.

Thea’s eyes slowly widened with each word that flowed out forcefully from Barry, until they could no more. An indescribable emotion suddenly filled her eyes. A strange mixture of shock, horror, and disbelief.

Barry had hidden something from her. Something important. Something they should have discussed beforehand. For the first time.

"...no wonder. No wonder you took longer each day to return. You...you..." Thea stuttered, her eyes tinged with disbelief.

"...we couldn't go hungry. I couldn't. You couldn't and especially not Vio, she definitely couldn't. I had to go."

"You could have died. You could have died and left us all alone. You could have died, Barry..." Thea repeated, her voice slowly getting softer until it was no more.

Time crept on by, marked only by the drifting of the hazy sun in the sky climbing to its zenith. At its peak, the light somehow seemed sharper casting deep shadows in its wake. A rumbling cloud covered the sun. Barry looked at his feet, unwilling to look up. Thea looked up at the sun, with eyes squinted and a gaze unclear.

"Ah, it is Vio's lecture time. She must be waiting for me. I should have gone earlier. I have wasted too much time." Thea spoke to no one in particular and left towards the house.

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Thea had left. She had left without a single look at Barry and that was all that mattered.

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It hurt. It hurt so much. I knew it would and was prepared, but it still hurts.

To see Thea just go. To not even look at me. To stay quiet. It hurt. It hurt more than I could bear. I would have preferred her shouting, screaming even cursing at me. Anything other than this empty response.

It was wrong of me, to hide such things. I knew that deep in my heart from the moment I decided to go 2 weeks ago. But is it wrong for a man to desire that his family live happier and more fulfilled? Is it wrong of me to want that?

There was no one there to answer the calls of my heart.

Feeling the glare of the sun in my eyes, I rose from my turmoil. It was getting quite late. I had prey to hunt. Prey deeper into the forest. I turned and looked towards a particular window of the cottage. One could faint sounds of stern lecturing emerging from it. I looked a bit longer before heading towards the house and into my room.

A lone wardrobe sat in a corner, immersed in darkness. Opening it slowly, I laid my gaze upon my weapons.

An axe. The head was as clean and sharp as the day it was made, the steel gleamed under the faint light that drifted in. The haft was pure birch marred with age, reinforced with belts of steel. It had faithfully served its original purpose years ago and now served a mightier task.

Hanging above was an unstrung bow, signs of years of use spread across its strong, flexible maple. It was quite large, suitable for a man of my build. It was going to need a replacement soon.

I took the boarhide string and stored it in my pack. After fastening the body of the bow to my back, I took the pack of quivers that lay to the side and hooked it over to my back. The arrows within were light, tipped with steel, the finest of city-make.

Grabbing onto the axe, I departed swiftly from the room. With swift steps, that brought my pace to a near run I headed out of the house along the path to the gate.

It loomed, and the shadows it cast fell upon me. A sudden sense of pride bloomed in me, making me temporarily forget my current mood. I had built this. This protected my family when I was not here. This was our safeguard.

Beside the entrance was a wheeled sled, having two prongs at the back for pushing and two in front for pulling. It also had ropes bound to the sides, very useful in keeping prey in place. I quickly bound sturdy leather straps to the front prongs. They would help me greatly as I can just pull it along.

Removing the heavy crossbar that kept the door shut from the inside, I pushed the gate open. With a silent groan, it slowly opened revealing a dreary sight.

The forest...or what used to be one, spread across my vision. The fence seemed to divide the land in two. One side was our land, green and fresh, with thriving trees. The other side was less. Bare trees with meager leaves sparsely scattered onto dry land. Thorny bushes populated the landscape as far as one could see, greedily sucking up any water that dared drain into the ground. This was my world. The one I had known since birth. One that humanity had known for years. Shaking my head to myself of these redundant thoughts, I looked deeper hoping to catch sight of one thing that was gone. It was in vain.

One couldn't see any animals for miles, the prey having headed for greener pastures deeper in forests and predators, those that remained anyway, along with them. The few stayed behind, I made sure to preserve them for the future. My efforts have borne fruit for a couple of years, but now they are all gone. Vanished into thin air. I hope it isn't due to them.

Clenching my teeth, I slowly sucked in the air blowing up my lungs. Maintaining this state for a few moments I exhaled slowly. A few cycles of this later, I strapped the sled to my waist, stepped out, and closed the gates behind me. Thea would bar the gate later.

I was now alone. In this forsaken land, I stood. I was beyond the gates once more, to head out deeper into the maws of the unknown. I could learn more, but the I price I would have to pay...the Contract is heartless...

Having wasted even more time, while cursing this bad habit, I began to trek across the land, heading towards the stream. It would guide me to where I need to be.

The sun slowly sank from its brightest point, and I reached the stream. The only thing clean and "living" in this place flowed through the entire forest, emerging from the great lake deep within. I had been there once, before the Collapse. It had been the first thing of beauty I had ever seen. The wastelands didn't have much in that regard so the awe it left in me...brought me where I am now. Alas, the lake is now unreachable, the Collapse having twisted it beyond reach. It's a miracle that the water that flowed from it was left alone.

Quitting my reminiscing, I began to walk on the bank against the flow, deeper into the forest. My steps left deep marks in the muddy soil, leaving a trail.

It was time to hunt.