For the prompt thing you posted:
Doctor Mechanic #12
Okay, sorry Anon, I'm terrible at keeping things short...
12. "Don't look at me like that."
Raven tapped the face of her watch, rolling her eyes to herself when the screen remained blank. Removing it, she slipped it into the pocket of her trousers and, struggling to pick up her pace, she continued to follow Abby through the dense scrub. Two weeks ago, the very same woods may have felt tranquil. Two weeks ago there would have been enough gas in the tank to make it all the way to the cabin Abby’s family owned. Two weeks ago there would have been no need to get to the cabin so desperately.
Abby hadn’t said a word since they had set out that morning. As Raven had finished packing up the tent on her own, Abby crouched over an old paper map. The path to the cabin had been marked roughly, the pen close to running out of ink as Abby tried to draw from memory the best route over dirt tracks. There were no road markings or street signs to help.
“Which way, captain?” Raven smiled, hoping Abby would hear the effort she was making to be as positive as possible despite everything that had occurred in the space of a fortnight.
Abby folded the map, the thick paper creasing easily, knowing its own way back to one-eighth the size. She pointed west, and everything in Raven wanted to persuade her to walk the water’s edge until they couldn’t any longer, to keep the river in sight for as long as possible, before moving inland. As Raven contemplated how to plead her case, Abby had already started towards the vague trail through trees that would lead them back to the dirt road.
There had been a good hour of daylight already. Struggling to find any comfort which would allow her to drift back off to sleep, Raven had heard the sounds of birds waking and the gentle ebb and flow of the river a few feet from where they had set up camp. She was loathed to wake Abby when light began to seep in through the fabric of their tent and instead watched her sleep.
When Abby awoke, it was with a start, both hands pressing down by her sides as she lay on her back gasping, knuckles white as they clawed at her sleeping bag before searching frantically for the zipper. She sat up clutching her chest, pulling in long breathes before putting her head in her hands.
She flinched when Raven reached over to rub her back, recoiling from the touch, her whole body tense.
“Abby…” Raven’s voice was barely above a whisper, and even though she’d lowered her hands Abby flinched again looking at her accusingly.
“Don’t.” She bit out the word, throwing the sleeping bag off her legs, pulling them up to her chest, and breathing deeply.
Raven shuffled out of her own sleeping bag and moved around in front of Abby, lowering her head to try and catch Abby’s gaze.
“Don’t what? Do you want to…” talk about it? Raven wanted to ask but was cut off again.
“Don’t look at me like that.” There was a sadness in her voice that outweighed the sound of anger lingering on the periphery. Raven was reluctant to push any further.
They walked for hours, the sun shifting its position above them, casting new shadows and scattering in new directions between the leaves above them. They stopped only for water breaks throughout the morning. Raven presumed it was around lunchtime when Abby set down her pack, sighing with relief, and unzipped a side pocket to produce two apples and two protein bars.
They ate in silence, Raven trying to unravel her own thoughts before considering where Abby’s head might be. She looked around. They were hours from civilization, whatever that was looking like now, and heading towards a place that had a generator, food supplies, and an open fireplace. She looked over at Abby. Despite everything, despite the way the world had changed in a matter of days, Raven felt like she would have everything she needed once they were at the cabin.
Abby, on the other hand, was grappling with much more. She was on leave and had therefore not been at the hospital when the first cases came in. They had seen the news a fortnight ago about an illness that was rampant in the UK and had heard reports that some cases had been suspected in Canada. Within the week there were pockets of illness across the globe and those first patients hospitalized were dying in droves. Bloodborne. Highly contagious. Severe gastrointestinal devastation.
Abby’s daughter, Clarke, lived over 200 miles away and they’d had no contact with her in the four days since the phone networks shut down. And then in a little over 24 hours, the power had gone out too. While plenty of buildings, businesses, and homes had generators that would buy them some time, people still went into panic mode. Looting began within hours and the mass gatherings of people in the streets saw further spreading of the disease.
Abby and Raven knew they had to leave their apartment. Packing food, blankets, warm clothes, and other essentials into two rucksacks, they donned gloves and masks, and goggles from Abby’s medical bag and made their way down the stairwell of their building and into the parking garage. Raven loaded up the car with camping gear and tools from their storage locker while Abby left a message on the locker for Clarke telling her to meet them at the cabin. They left the building less than forty minutes after making the decision to go. A car far bigger than theirs had rammed its way through the garage barricade before them.
They had run out of gas within a half hour of reaching the cabin, Abby cursing and crying before they repacked the rucksacks and gathered as much from the trunk as they could carry, and began the walk on foot. They had walked for less than an hour when nightfall set in and Raven insisted they set up camp for the night.
Guessing they had at least another two hours left, Raven finished her apple and stood, offering a hand to Abby who was sitting cross-legged on the rough ground. Reluctantly, Abby took her hand and allowed herself to be pulled up and into Raven’s arms. Raven held her close and felt Abby relax into her for a moment. As Abby pulled away, Raven reached up a stroked her thumb across Abby’s cheek.
“Hey.” Raven wanted to lean in and kiss Abby who pulled back, voice raised.
“I said don’t look at me like that!” Abby panted, her hand on her hips as if she were trying to hold herself up.
“Like what Abby? How am I looking at you?” Raven tried to keep her voice steady but heard her own despair.
“Like I’ve already lost her.” Tears rolled down Abby’s cheeks now. Rage gave way to hopelessness. “Like there’s no fucking hope.” Her breath caught in her throat and she covered her mouth as Raven reached for her again. “Like I have nothing left.” She whispered the last words against Raven's shoulder, Raven tried to ignore the way the words stung as she held Abby and let her cry.
She kissed Abby’s hair and forehead before using the sleeve of her sweater to wipe the tears from Abby’s cheeks. She held Abby’s hands and dipped her head, daring to try and shift Abby’s gaze again.
“This is shit. The world is fucked and we don’t know exactly where she is, but we know she will do everything she can to make her way to you, so we need to get to that cabin in one piece and start making a plan.” Raven saw the smallest hint of a smile grace Abby’s face. “I know you need to be with Clarke, or at least have proof that she’s okay, but you’ve got me, alright? You’ve got me, and I’m kind of a genius, so you could do worse right now.”
Abby snorted, a small laugh breaking through the tension. “I’m sorry I’m taking this out on you. You don’t deserve it.”
In lieu of words, Raven placed a single kiss to Abby’s lips before lifting one of the rucksacks, holding it up while Abby slipped her arms into the straps and secured it across her chest and hips. Switching, Abby did the same for Raven and as they started back along the track Abby reached for Raven’s hand, squeezing it in her own.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being you.”
