The First 700 words of Chapter 2 first draft

The boar hung upside down by its legs. Its feet were tied together with a braided twine. It swung from side to side below a sapling tree. The tree rest upon the shoulders of two young men as they silently marched through the brush. The men followed a path through the dense vegetation of the boreal forest. Tall pine trees and huge ant mounds surrounded the path.

“So how many did you say you saw?” Jude asked the curly haired boy in front of him.

Without turning to face him, the boy lifted his left hand with 4 fingers.

“I’ve never seen more than one at a time!” Jude exclaimed, “Let alone four. You’re either really lucky, Luis, or really good.”

Luis shrugged both his arms, the pole effortlessly balanced on his shoulder.

“Don’t be modest.” Jude responded, “Four colossals, man that must have been terrifying.”

Luis shook his head.

Just ahead of Luis the path opened up and light streamed through the darkness under the forest canopy. The path slowly transitioned from pine needles and sand to tall grass bent and compacted into the earth. Luis raised his hand, all his fingers pointing up.

Jude lifted the pole off of his shoulder in concert with Luis. They lowered the pole, placing the boar on the ground. Jude shouldered his rifle while Luis knelt and armed himself with a crossbow. Jude stood next to Luis and pointed the rifle down the path. He peered through the rifle scope and saw a green flag a few hundred yards away. The flag was raised high into the air above the walls the Sanctuary. He scanned the top of the walls to see a man with binoculars patrolling the perimeter. Jude lowered his rifle and gave Luis a thumbs up.

“What were they?” he asked Luis.

Luis raised his hand, crawling his fingers across his other arm.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Jude said shaking his head, “I would have died just seeing them.”

Luis made his fingers into a fist, then opened them up a couple times, spreading out his fingers. He then finger spelled “did” while not looking at Jude.

Jude lowered to a knee and placed his hand on Luis’ shoulder. After a moment Luis placed his hand on top of Jude’s. The thought of lost loved ones flashed through his mind. He remembered his Dad. The last time he saw him he was leaving the Sanctuary on this very path. That was 6 years ago, when he was still a young boy.

Jude stood up and offered his hand to Luis. He grasped Jude’s hand and he pulled him up. Jude tapped two fingers on the back of two fingers of his off hand. He repeated the motion with the off hand, then tapped four fingers on the bottom of his palm. “We can rebuild,” he said as he motioned. Luis looked at Jude and used four fingers to wipe his lips, closing them into a fist. Jude nodded and walked back to the other end of the pole.

The two lifted the pole onto their shoulders and they continued down the path. As they entered the grassy field several flying insects began bussing around Jude. The grass was a few inches shorter than he was, and he could still see over top the vegetation. Even though Luis was unable to see over the grass, he still was the lead. This was not just because Jude needed to see his hands for them to communicate. Luis was the best tracker Jude had ever went out into the bush with. Many of the others doubted his usefulness because of his disability. Jude figured that was crazy. Luis was in training before the world ended. He had valuable experience and has proven to be an asset.

Ahead of them Jude could see the walls of the Sanctuary. The perimeter was made of odds and ends welded together fifteen feet high with a walkway at the top. He waved to the sentry patrolling the perimeter. The man waved back. A few moments later two pieces of metal began to separate and a man with brandishing a shotgun exited through the gate.

Bug

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