[center]  [b]Finn Loughty // Nicole Brenn - Mall Parking Lot / Truck / Finn’s Shelter - Nathalie Soltero [@wolverbells] [/b] [/center]


Finn Loughty’s intense eyes followed Nat as her hands gingerly ran over his face, arms and finally his hands in order to make sure he wasn’t bitten. Her touch brought a sort of calmness over him, somehow telling him that everything was going to be alright. It brought back old feelings, feelings that he never thought he would have again. They had made it. He couldn’t understand it. He thought he was a goner and she had freely risked her life and used her bullets to save him. His heart was still racing from all the adrenaline and his poor chest heaved as he attempted to catch his breath.[i] You’re not out of the woods, yet, Finn.[/i] He heard a voice. [i]Hold on a bit longer. [/i] Next thing he knew, Nat had grasped his hand and began leading him back to the truck. Like a runner on his final lap, a shot of renewed energy burst through his veins and he began to surpass her and guide [i]her[/i] back to the truck. After Nicole unlocked the door for them, he promptly slid the key into the ignition. The Ford fired up, roaring back to life. Boy, he has never been so glad to see his old truck. 

     [b]“Told ya I’d get him back. I never break promises,” [/b] was the last words that escaped from her lips before Nat fell asleep. Finn looked at her with compassion. She was utterly exhausted - probably even more so than him. “Nicole, take my coat and put it over her,” he told her, grabbing his extra winter coat that always left in his passenger seat if he ever needed it. Nicole nodded, immediately obeying him. “You should’ve seen her, Finn. She was amazing. I don’t know what I would have done. She risked her life for you,” Nicole murmured as she gently pulled back strands of hair that dropped across on Nat’s features as she slept. Nicole heard her brother answer in such a quiet voice, that she almost thought she didn’t hear him.

   “I know she did,” he said almost in a whisper. She was right. She had saved his life. He stared out at the parking lot at the walkers dead on the ground, unable to deal with the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling at the moment. He set gear on drive and reversed the truck to get back on the road. “Let’s go home,” he announced, more to himself than to anyone else.
   [i] Ten more minutes and we all can sleep.[/i] Finn thought to himself, as his truck’s mud-filled tires rolled against the asphalt. There were no other cars on the road. The pine car freshener swung back and forth from the rear view mirror. Nicole had also gone out like a light. Debris and potholes covered the roads now, making him miss the old days when he would take spontaneous midnight drives over smooth and carefully laid concrete. Over the horizon, the sun was beginning to set, streaking the Floridian sky with plum and burnt orange colors. 
   The ride began to get a bit more bumpy as he turned into a dead end road which led into the forest. At the end of the long road, he stopped the truck and stepped out, leaving Nicole and Nat sleeping inside. To the left side of the entrance of the forest, there were big branches and leaves that he used to smokescreen his truck. He transported the branches and leaves to the side and veerd back to the truck to reverse it into the concealed parking spot he had made. After doing so, he put everything back in its place. If a mere stranger was driving on the same dirt road, they never would have noticed there was a truck camouflaged nearby. He slid the key out of the ignition and put the parking brake back on. He unlatched the truck door. The monotonous beeping sound came on, indicating that a door was open, filling the surrounding quietness. He softly nudged Nicole awake to tell her that they arrived. He was about to wake Nat up; but one look at her, he did not have the heart to do it. Without a word from him, Nicole knew exactly what to do. She grabbed her pack and dashed off into the forest. They were about thirty feet away from where their shelter was.

     It was as an old hunting cabin that some men had built a long time ago in the trees. Finn had discovered it a few months back and was determined to fix it up. He even added a loft and extended the roof. He managed to add a fire pit made out of rusty metal which he had found on one of his expeditions and refurbished. He put it out on the small deck that extended out in the back of the cabin, so that it didn’t pose a huge risk to burn the place down. Nicole, who discovered she had a knack for cooking, enjoyed to cook over the pit. At the entrance of the cabin, there were a few stairs which led down to the ground, but he added a ladder at the end so that it can be pulled up with a rope just in case walkers or people attempted to make their way up. It was a good home for the state of the world at the moment and Finn couldn’t help but feel proud of it. That’s why he did everything he could to keep it hidden for as long as he could.

   Finn creaked open the back door and slid his arms under Nat and lifted her up in his arms, his coat wrapped around her warmly. She was petite, which made it easier for him to carry her to the shelter. He tried to be as respectful and gentle as he could so she didn’t wake up, the leaves crackled under his worn boots. Nicole had lowered the ladder for him, and he shifted Nat’s position in his arms so that he was able to climb it while carrying her. It wasn’t as complicated as he thought and before long he had already passed the ladders and had made it to the top of the stairs. Nicole had taken her cot down from the loft and brought it down to the main floor for her friend. Finn lowered her down with softness and delicacy. After making sure she was alright, he went back to the truck to gather the rest of the things left behind. He put his pack, Nat’s pack and her wine bottle in the corner of the room and went to grab the rope to pull the ladder back up. Nicole, who was more starving than tired, was already cooking up something for her to eat and then for Finn and Nat, whenever they would wake up. Bent over the fire, she stirred the beans in the pot, grateful for the food they had found today. 
  Finn’s cot laid there, welcoming him with open arms. Usually he would wash himself in the creek nearby before laying down but this time he was too fatigued and depleted to even think about that. As soon as he laid his head on the berth and closed his eyes, he went out like a light.