Chapter Text
It was the beginning of the fall, judging by the color of the leaves, orange and yellow all around. Her favorite season when she was a child, before the outbreak.
Now, living in a cabin hidden deep in the woods somewhere in Wyoming, Juniper thought this was the most beautiful fall she had ever witnessed. And there wasn’t any other soul to see it. Only her.
She sat in an armchair by the window, a book in hand. 2001, by Arthur C. Clarke. Whoever had lived in this cabin first loved science fiction. Maybe that’s why they prepared for the end of the world so well. She was almost finishing the book and her mind once again wondered about what happened to the original owner of the place, who enjoyed books about all kinds of distant futures and the downfall of human civilization. They should be around to see the real thing now.
But they weren’t. Instead, Juniper found the place empty three years ago. Or so she thought, it was hard not to lose track of time when no one else was around.
The cabin was self-sufficient, with a rainwater harvesting system and solar panels that provided electric light. But she only turned the lights on a couple of times, afraid someone would see it from far away and come to find her. In the basement, she found enough canned food for a lifetime and some traps for animals.
At first, the act of killing animals caused her a profound aversion, but now, after a lot of canned food, the idea became more appealing. She made a habit of setting traps in the woods once a week. She caught mostly rabbits, that she did her best to cook.
Juniper finished reading 2001 and proceeded to put on her boots and grabbed a jacket before going out to check the traps. She inhaled the air of the woods, the smell of pines, and closed her eyes for a couple seconds.
After everything she had faced in this life, the quietude of the woods amidst a beautiful fall felt like a blessing much bigger than she could’ve ever dreamt of.
She walked slowly, savoring the moments of peace within the trees. It would be easy for her to spend her remaining days here, without having to see another human being ever again. Given the current situation of the world, it would be for the best.
But life had other plans.
Destiny or coincidence or fate or misfortune guided her steps in that afternoon. When dusk was starting to fall, she set her left foot on a bear trap.
Juniper felt panic rush through every fiber of her body. The trap wasn’t hers, she was sure of it. She knew these woods like the palm of her hand at this point, she knew where she placed all four of her traps. And this one, carefully hidden under a pile of leaves, was someone else’s. There was a hunter in the woods with her.
Her pained scream cut the air, the only sound in miles.
Not far from where the girl was, the two hunters heard the holler. Joel and Tommy exchanged a look; there was no way to mistake this. This was no animal, it was a human cry.
They rushed in the direction of the noise, stumbling at their feet when they reached its source.
A young woman had been caught in one of their traps. Her left foot was a bloody mess as she tried to free herself with no success, her hands were shaking too much.
When she lifted her head and saw them, it was as if all the pain was replaced by a deeper, primal fear. Two men, much bigger and older than her, had placed that trap. No matter what they were hoping to catch before, she was their prey now.
Sensing her terrified state after noticing their presence, Tommy tried to calm the girl as he approached her with small steps.
— Hey, we’re not here to hurt you, okay? We’re gonna help you.
But it only seemed to make her more desperate. Juniper tried to move her foot, making the trap sank its metal claws further in her flesh. She didn’t believe him, not one bit.
Both men were getting closer to her and she thought of one last resource. With one shaky hand, she got the knife she had hidden in her right boot.
Joel noticed her unsteady movements first, thinking she was going to try to cut off her foot, but the girl had other ideas. To his horror, her hand moved right to her jugular, aiming for a quick death.
He was faster than her, grabbing her hand and throwing the knife away with ease. He knew the look of plain despair across her teary face would haunt him for days. And those eyes. The fear he saw in her big eyes pained him.
— Listen to me, we’ll get you out of this. — Joel tried to sound as gentle as possible, but he was also nervous. — We won’t hurt you, I promise.
Juniper tried to stand up before Joel and Tommy held her down.
— You lost too much blood already, stop that. You need help. — Joel spoke again.
— We’re going to help you, just stay still, okay? — The other man said. — I’m Tommy, this is my big brother Joel. The trap was ours, we apologize. We had no intention of harming you. Just, please, stop moving so I can take your foot out of it.
She turned her gaze to Tommy, her eyes still filled with fear, but it was getting more and more difficult to not succumb to the pain.
— We won’t hurt you. — Joel repeated. — We’re not this kind of men.
Juniper looked at them, acknowledging she could never fight both men and escape in this condition. There was no other choice, so she nodded.
— Okay. — She finally said. — Please, get me out of this.
— Joel, hold her leg for me.
The older man put his hands on her leg, making her stop shaking as the other one studied the trap.
— We’re from a town nearby, from Jackson. — Tommy sounded like he was trying to calm her. — It’s a safe place, we’ll take you there to get medical help afterwards.
— I… I don’t wanna stay in a town, I… — Her voice was becoming weak.
— It’s okay, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to, you ain’t our prisoner. You’re just going there with us to get patched up and you’re free to go. — Tommy said before exchanging a worried look with Joel, enough for her to know her foot was bad. — Brace yourself now, I promise it’ll be over soon.
Juniper closed her eyes, knowing what was about to come. She was starting to feel lightheaded. There was no fight left in her, gone with all the blood on the ground.
A second later, the younger man managed to open the trap, freeing her foot. If her eyes were open, she would’ve panicked even more at the sight of the blood gushing.
— Tommy, she’s bleeding out.
It was the last thing she heard before passing out.