In the Grasp Of the Enemy W/Icystorm

Eddie didn't need to lean on him yet nor did she want to. Eddie didn't want to be a burden and she didn't want to be perceived as weak, needy, or anything of the sort either. She shook her head at the boots though she had to think about that more.
"No...they'd be way to big. I'd do more harm to my legs and feet then good." She explained truthfully.
"You should wear them. They might fit you." She encouraged. Eddie limped painfully and silently long for the next few hours. The camp had been a ways away from anything even by car so with walking they would be out here even longer. That could be a good thing they wouldn't get caught easily that way, but in civilization they might find sympathizers.
"So...know any locals that might sympathize with the American side?" Eddie asked Seth. They were still at least an hours walk probably more from the time but may as well get a plan started.
 
Her decision was something Seth could respect. In most cases the only person you can rely on is yourself. That did not mean getting help from others was bad, but there was a time and place for everything, and now was the time for strength. He understood the size issue of the boots, and being a medic she was probably right about them causing more harm than good. For him to wear them.. "To be honest, knowing the man they belonged to, I would much rather burn them than wear them." For the next few hours he listened to the silence and wondered, picking up any small sticks he found that might work in taking the cuffs off. Why has no one come after them yet? Did Alkaev wake up and have a different idea in mind? If so, what? He was relieved when Eddie spoke, although he wished he could be more help with her question. "My mother, but I can't go back there. Other than that no. Anyone else I know would rather turn us in because they could use whatever reward might be offered."
 
"We should at least keep the laces. Any string is good and some boot have paracord laces. Mine did. " Eddie explained. She sounded a little bitter about the last part. She'd loved her boots they were comfortable for pretty much everything. She'd had to have her boot special ordered because she had small.
Eddie didn't comment about Seth not wanting to go to his mother. She understood mother problems sort of,but at the same time it was pushing away a valuable resource.
They walked on in silence until they got to the town which they skirted bevause they didn't want to risk getting caught. It was a bigger town so they couldn't just easily walk around it though.
Eddie was starting to feel the toll of her imprisonment babe didn't know how long she'd been in there. Maybe a week or more not super long...but having very little water and no food the entire time plus her injuries made her energy drain fast. She felt exhausted but didn't want to say anything. They needed to get a good distance from the camp right?
 
He looked down at the shoes and shrugged. She was probably right, and the rest of the boots might come in useful also. He was not sure what but time might answer that. He looked down at his own feet. They seemed to be doing fine. He had stepped on a few questionable rocks, but none must have pierced the skin. That was good. The last thing they needed was to leave a trail of blood. A scent trail was bad enough.

After skirting the town he could not help but look back and stare at it longingly. There would be food in there, even if it came from the trash, and possibly water too. The food and water was not what he wanted most though. The few empty buildings that he saw tugged at him. It reminded him of the home he could not go back to. One of the buildings also could have had a couch to rest on. Shaking these thoughts away he turned his attention the the land around them. After walking for awhile longer he stopped and tilted his head. Water? "Do you hear that?"
 
Eddie had been lagging. Her leg hurt and her whole body felt weak, bruised, and achy. She could feel her muscles shaking from exhaustion, but she's kept pushing on.
Eddie stopped suddenly almost running into Seth and leaning in her stick listened as she slowed her breathing to normal. She nodded. There was something there. It sounded like a running stream. They didn't really have away to filter water right now because a fire would make too much of a signal. Running water was better than stagnate water and at the moment she was so thirsty anywayer sounded good.
"A stream..." She mumbled. Almost afraid they were hallucinating or something.
 
"Jackpot." Seth slowly walked toward the sound, keeping one eye on the path ahead and the other on Eddie. It only took a moment of watching her to decide they needed to stop. Once they got a drink they would begin looking for a place to bed down. If they were lucky they could find a cave, and one not already in use. If not..well they would think of something.

Reaching the stream he set the few items down, and through cupped hands drank greedily. His reflection was distorted through the moving water, but he could make out enough to get a general idea of what he looked like. Scarred face, bloodshot eyes, he looked like a monster. All the sudden he didn't feel thirsty anymore. Turning away, he checked to make sure all the items were still there, and then scanned the surrounding area. "So, where do you fancy sleeping tonight?" If only they could have stayed near the town.
 
Eddie slumped down at the stream and leaning over drank greedily from the cold water. She stopped and stared at herself in the mirror of the water.
Her face was a mess. Her hair was going every direction and looked like there were patches missing where it's been pulled out. Her face was bruised, there were bags under her eyes, her lips were swollen and badly chapped they were cracking and bleeding slightly from the dryness.
Well hello sexy...she sarcastically greeted herself. She splashed water on her face and neck and drank some more before even thinking about Seth's question.
"We should cross the stream...throw our scent off a bit and then find shelter somewhere that doesn't require a lot of changing and work. ". She suggested. Eddie was adverse to work but they didn't want to leave easy to track clues about themselves and they could t afford to use up too much energy.
 
Seth nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good." The stream wouldn't do anything if dogs were put on the scent, but at least that would make it harder for other people to find them. His eyes moved to study across the stream. It was the same except for one plant. With a quick glance at Eddie he made his way across the stream and over towards a bush. The bush held long berries the same color as blueberries. Some animal had gotten here first, but he picked what was left and walked back to Eddie. After eating a few he held the rest out to Eddie. She needed them more than he did. "Haskap berries." He explained. "They are suppose to be good for you."
 
Eddie took some of the berries leaving a few in his hand. She didn't want to take too much, after all he was bigger therefore he needed more calories. She ate them slowly. They actually tasted pretty good, like a Raspberry, Blueberry..maybe some Elderberry taste in it too. She ate what was in her hand pretty quickly though she tried to go slow. She still felt hungry but she smiled at Seth,
"Thanks." she said. Eddie slowly stood up with her walking stick and looked around,
"Let's find somewhere to make a shelter...we'll need to establish set watch times tonight..I was taught how to make a low visibility fire...kinda remeber how if we can make a spark and want to risk it." she said slowly.
 
Seth reluctantly ate the few she left him. If he was going to die of starvation it would have happened long before he joined the military, when he was young and dumb. Heck, he still wasn't the brightest. If he was he would not be in this position right now. If he was bright he would know how to survive the wilderness and not just the streets. It seemed he would be learning a lot from Eddie in the days to come. There was one thing he did know about though. "If we can find some mushrooms it might be worth trying a fire. We could cook them and eat them." It had been one of the only things he had listened to his father about. Mushroom picking meant he got to spend time outdoors, and in the process he had learned what was edible and what was not. "But first," He glanced down at the sticks he had collected and held up the handcuffs. "Mind trying to get these off?"
 
Eddie nodded and say down again she grabbed one of the sticks Seth had collected and after making hi sit next to her started fiddling with the lock. She wasn't good at picking locks, but she could manage sometimes. Some of her brothers were way better at it then she was.
Eddie grunted in frustration as the stick broke and she grabbed another and went back too work. Her hands were shaking...probably from pain, dehydration, etc...hopefully not from an infection. She finally got the hand cuffs undone and unsnapped them from Seth's wrists.
"Used to be better at that." She muttered softly.
 
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Seth smiled and rubbed his wrists after the cuffs were removed. He had started to worry he was going to have to take more drastic measures, but she came through. "Thanks." The skin where the cuffs were was raw, and blood caked a few small areas. That would heal fast at least. To better enjoy the freedom he tilted his head toward the sky and ran his hands through his hair, enjoying the feeling of his fingers sliding through the shortish strands. It felt better when his hair was longer, but this would do for now.

He looked back to Eddie, the smile still on his face. Being released from the cuffs gave him an extra burst of energy (although it would probably be a short one), but she seemed like she needed a rest very soon. "Lets find a place to rest, and while you are making a fire I can look for mushrooms." It seemed like a good plan so long as there were mushrooms to be found.
 
Eddie nodded her agreement. She looked around. They needed a good place to build a shelter possibly some trees close together that could be used to support something.
She crossed the river carefully in hopes of finding a good shelter building place and possibly some more berries.
She eventually found a small grouping of trees bearish the river but not right where they could be seen on the river bank. She looked around. It looked like a good enough place to set up shelter. Eddie started to scrounge of sticks.
 
Seth picked up the few items they had and followed her. Once she found a spot he left Eddie to deal with the shelter while he went off to look for mushrooms. He checked around the trees and made sure not to stray too far. Eddie was very helpful and he would hate to get separated from her. After about a half an hour of searching he gave up and went back to the shelter empty handed. "Sorry, I couldn't find anything. If you need me to help with anything just let me know." He looked down at the ground, slightly dejected, but then looked at Eddie. "Tell me about yourself. You probably don't want to tell me anything too important, and I can understand that, but we might as well get to know each other better."
 
Eddie had built a rough lean-too and had tossed leaves on it as a form of camouflage. She was now digging a hole. She was making a Dakota Fire Pit so they could have a fire without making too much light. Eddie glanced up at Seth when he returned, she felt her mood sink a little when he came back empty handed. She'd been so looking forward to some food but she didn't show her disappointment.
"Grab some really dry stuff we wanna avoid making smoke." She told Seth. She listened to his questions and shrugged.
"You first." Eddie responded to him.
 
Seth watched Eddie for a few moments before turning away to gather the driest stuff he could find. Only after he had gathered a handful did he speak. "I was a hellion of a child. I went to drastic measures to make sure I got whatever I wanted. One day I overheard my parents talking about sending me away to fix my attitude, so instead of dealing with that I ran away. After that I lived on the streets until I decided to try and do something with my life. I turned to the Russian Armed Forces." He paused long enough to drop another handful." If it was not for Alkaev I don't think I would have ever gotten in, but he must have saw something in me. Whatever it was it seems he was wrong. Besides that there is not much to tell." There was more to tell, but he either did not feel it was something she would care to hear, or it was something he did not care to talk about.
 
Eddie listened quietly and nodded. She threw the dry stuff into the hole and held her hand out for the lighter,
"Gimme the lighter." she requested. Eddie thought hard about what she'd tell Seth, she was pretty sure he wasn't double crossing her at this point so she didn't have to be on guard with him.
"Well...I have 11 brothers, 6 older 5 younger. No sisters." She started. She moved her fingers quickly trying to get Seth to hand her the lighter. "Grew up in Texas...dad didn't have a steady job so we moved around a lot and lived out of our van. We had a lot of issues in the family so CPS would sometimes take us away and put us in foster care or with relatives. I enlisted at 18...wanted to at 17 but couldn't the papers signed. " Eddie said. She ran her hands through her hair with her free hand. She missed her brothers, they were pretty tight considering all they'd been through together.
Eddie ripped up some sticks trying to make kindling and tinder so it would light well when Seth gave her the lighter.
 
Seth grabbed the lighter, but as she spoke he stopped what he was doing and listened. He watched her reaction after she spoke, and then finally handed the lighter to her. "That must have been tough." He said, sitting down next to what would be the fire. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but I am sure your brothers are proud of you." They were probably worried sick about her also. That was one..no, eleven more reasons to help her get home. It was not as if he had anywhere he needed to be, so he had no reason to not help her until she was safe. He looked her in the eyes. "I promise to get you home, or die trying." His facial features stolid, while inside he was hollow.
 
"It was tough and we all grew up fast and rough, but I don't think we turned out too bad." She responded. She just nodded when Seth promised to get her out of here.
Eddie lit the fire and blew on it gently. She finally got it going. It was a rip roaring super hot fire it was small and down in a hole but it's des some heat to the pathetic shelter and was better then nothing.
"This may be none of my business, but if you got all your hellion out of you why don't you make up with your ma?" Eddie asked. She knew it was probably dangerous territory to ask him something like that but if they had someone in a town willing to help them it'd be much better then out here.
 
Seth closed his eyes and looked away. "When I was eighteen I went to visit my parents. After I saw I had a brother, he must have been eight or nine at the time, I didn't even make it through the front door. It was my mom who answered the door, and after a quick apology and assuring her I am doing ok, I left." He looked back towards the fire and dug his fingers into the ground, the cold dirt cooling already cold skin. "It has nothing to do with my mom, and everything to do with me." His voice, which had been soft at first, hardened. "I ran because I didn't know how, and still don't know how, to deal with the emotions that come with being around people that care about you." A broken laugh filled the air as he watched the small fire, flames dancing in his eyes. "I let pain become more welcoming than love."
 
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