Alone for a long while, the young woman watched the empty road and the flat ground across from it, wondering how long it would be until Marcus would be back and how far they would go before they found a neat place to settle. Hopefully it would be long before winter, as the early summer heat was beginning to sink in, and the open sun was a tough place for them to be and the threat of a drought was as realistic as can be. She was worried about the survival of the group as a whole, as realistically, they could survive with two or three less members though she knew that death would bring hopelessness upon those who survived the attack and ultimately bring about the end of the rest of them. It was in fact an irritating thought, that so many of those with them could be swayed by such emotional events in a way that they may not wish to continue living; it was reasonable, but illogical in the young woman's mind. Soft grey eyes passed over the horizon, watching patiently for either the return of Marcus, or the arrival of another being, living or dead, though with the long silence drawn out of the time spent sitting alone and alert. Instead of pondering the logistics of their time, she turned her attention to the volume in her hands, leafing through the pages of agricultural knowledge until she reached the page she had last read the day before on their journey. It had been Marcus' request for her to learn as much as she can about farming while they drove north, looking for sanctuary and a place they can settle for the winter. Staying out in the open in the cold would be more dangerous then staying in an old house for the winter, and she'd been keeping an eye out for landmarks when they came back through here later. No one was sick, pregnant or injured, but she would love to take time to search through a library or university for things they could use.
If there was any chance of getting into a hospital then she would be grateful, as their medical supply store was pitiful, barely more than a first aid kit. Anastasia and Lara couldn't take care of everyone like that, not if Anastasia couldn't find any of the natural remedies her and James had used after their parents death. The volume closed as she heard the door to the RV open and two emerge from it. Panting, sniffing and faster padding into the grass told her that it was Lara and Lazlo leaving the RV and walking toward her. The nurse had made it a habit to make sure she was alright every morning, with her crippled leg she was the weakest member of the group - aside from Johnny. She knew the nurse was worried about their medicine running short too, even though neither would express such worry in front of the rest of the group. Anastasia planned to bring it up to the small council to look at their possibilities. "Fine. It's going to rain later though." She mentioned, feeling the changes in air pressure that caused her leg to ache dully. "We should get everyone fed. Marcus will be back soon."
Anastasia had never been the most friendly in the group, but she was never openly hostile either with any of them, since she knew none would take her seriously if she allowed emotions to control her. She was the youngest of them, and crippled. All she had to offer them was the extensive collection of knowledge she kept stored in her mind. The girl slid over on the rock, allowing Lara a place to sit comfortably, though as she did so she slid further than she had meant to, nearly falling off of the rock. She barely managed to catch herself on her crutch, digging the end into the dirt to stop it from moving as she settled again. The dull ache in her leg flared, and she knew she'd pulled it the wrong way, but showed no sign of pain other than biting her bottom lip, which could easily have been a nervous tick of hers. Even after a year she was aware no one here would be able to understand her and she wanted it like that. If they didn't ask she wouldn't have to lie to them.
With the arrival of the clearly bored male, she looked up at him, grey eyes watching him smile at them though she rarely returned such a gesture to anyone. "It's too quiet." Even she was aware of how long it had been since they had seen anything moving apart from themselves and the occasional bit of wildlife, it was throwing off Marcus and herself. Apprehension was high, and the air tense when anyone spoke of the quiet. They could be massing another horde here in Montana like they had in Atlanta, but they were coming from the north of them. The closer to winter the most often they saw groups of them. Glancing about the empty field, her gaze lingered in the direction that the military man had gone on the motorcycle, before she scanned everything else around them.She couldn't claim the best sight in the group, but she could claim the sharpest mind. "Nothing since three this morning." She said, aware of the time because of the watch she kept in her pouch. The battery would last months, and the last time she had replaced it she had counted the seconds and minutes she'd lost to put it back on proper timing.
Love Dove