[Prompt 23] That's Not Good

My hand meets Silent’s soft nose as I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Where the hell is Hunter?” I sigh as I feel Moira’s breath along my back. The loss was great, but Hunter, I’m sure Hunter survived. 

The flood couldn’t have killed him, could it? I saw him swimming, maybe he made it. He’s a strong swimmer afterall. My mind went back to the sensation of drowning. Of my clothes weighing me down. Of my head going underwater. Of ice cold water pushing its way into my nose. Of me sputtering once I finally reached the surface. Of a hand pulling me out of the water.

I turned to face Moira. “We have to go back, we have to find Hunter.” I whispered. Moira, the sixteen point two hand Loshenka mare seemed to startle at the thought of rushing to save someone, a guy no less. “Please.” I tried to reason but Moira’s eyes held still. If I wanted to find Hunter, I’d have to do it on my own. 

I trudged against the freezing wind. It was fucking freezing. There was no way around that, with my clothes soaked to the bone, the snow on the ground, and the harsh winds, it was fucking freezing. It would be a miracle if I didn’t get a myriad of diseases and illnesses.  I managed to look back, of course she wouldn’t follow me. Moira stayed where she was, watching me. 

The flood caught the village by surprise. Even though me and Hunter were only visiting with the horses, we somehow got caught in the middle of it. I felt my body shudder at the memory of being swept down the river; water infiltrating all my senses. 

I heard a sigh behind me, and when I whipped around, sure enough Moira and Silent were at my side, helping me go on the hunt for Hunter. 

“Thank you.” I whispered to Moira, cupping my hand around her soft muzzle, before patting her hard cheek bone. “I love you.” I whispered, leaning a bit on her side as we continued walking. The signs of life weren’t looking promising. 

There weren't many dead people, most of us got lucky, but whenever I did see a body, I shielded my eyes and held ​​Moira closer, letting her guide the way instead. My heart panged with guilt. I was one of the lucky ones. People who had lived their whole lives by this riverside village had lost everything, yet I was the only one here who didn’t lose quite as much. I didn’t have a family here, a livelihood, or a shop as quite a few of the villagers did. I came with practically nothing, and if I find Hunter alive, I’ll leave with everything I came with. 

The shops were destroyed, kids cried and mourned losses, everything was just so much.

I heard a sniffle and a cry behind me. I turned, praying to god that it was in fact Hunter. A tall man stood hunched over, his hands raking through his short, dark brown hair. 

“Hunter.” My voice quivered as I waited for him to turn. If it wasn’t Hunter, then this interaction is going to be weird as hell. 

“Rye!” Hunter’s eyes lit up as he closed the small distance between us, pulling me close to his chest. I sighed as I listened to his heart beat. He was alive. Hunter was alive. A grin tugged at his face as he pulled back. “You made it.” He smiled. In that moment, it felt like it was just me and him in the world. He pulled me closer to his chest, his ragged, warm breaths hitting my ear. “I love you Rye. I thought I lost you.” He whispered, his arms winding tighter around me. 

Silent was adamant about the fact that Hunter didn’t check on him first. At least, that’s what I think that was. He kept nudging Hunter and shrinking with horrible pitched screams. 

Eventually we find an untouched tent, which we duck into. The owner there is kind, insisting that we change out of our soaked clothes into fresh, warm, and clean ones for free. 

The owner takes full care of us, making sure we have something to eat and drink before finally letting us leave, under one condition. We stay the night, and play with his two kids who run around the tent in arguably light clothing compared to the horrible weather. 

The rest of the night is a blur, most of the townsfolk work to rebuild shops, but they all insist that we stay put, and constantly load us up on drinks. I lean against Hunter as Moira and Silent lay down close enough to the fire to be warm, but far enough not to be burned. 

It’s late morning when I wake up, Hunter already has a cup of coffee in hand. I sit up, wiping the drool from my face. Hunter chuckles, putting a hand to my cheek. 

“Easy.” Hunter hushes, pulling me closer to him. The fire is still lit and burning. 

“I thought I lost you, you know?” I tell him, looking up at him as I rake my hands through his hair. He nods, but doesn’t say anything else. His eyes are a soft brown. 

A sudden scream, bangs, followed by horses screeching takes my attention away. I jump to my feet in time to see Silent and Moira both tangled in, what are those, christmas lights? The townsfolk run around them, trying to help them by any means necessary but it seems that the two brats have other plans as they stumble, trying to catch their feet. 

Fear is everywhere in Moira. Her eyes, her body language, even the way she screams. Silent is the same as Hunter and I stride over to calm our horses, quite literally. 

A loud pop, and sparks fly, the lights on the christmas lights go out and a smoldering stench filles the air. 

I rush towards Moira, grabbing a pocket knife and slicing through the wires. “Fuck!” I drop the pocket knife and flail my hand. “Electricity is still live!” I call before Hunter has the chance to make the same mistake. 

The townsfolk help us free our idiotic horses, and before long we are all cuddling by the fire, my hand wrapped with gauze as the worst of the burn starts to settle in. I sigh, while reaching for Moira. So much for an uneventful quick town visit. My bets are by tomorrow morning we’ll be riding off again, trying to get to my sister before her wedding.