Nuclear Love

5 | SOS

**I wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you for reading so far! It's really been a fun ride, and now that the beginning is all set we're going to really start opening things up in terms of choices, and where we take the story. Let's see if Quinn can save our newfound cool chick Brig...

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AND SO, I RUN.

"Brig! Brig!" I yelled wildly, my adrenaline forcing the pain to leave my leg.

"BRIG!"

Whipping branches claw at my face and exposed arms, the wire still sending shoots of pain up my leg, but I don't care. I try to keep the thundering noise close at hand so I don't lose her. While screaming, I see little drops of blood reflecting eerily in the silver moonlight, and my muscles tense up even more.

I leave the wooded patch where Brig's house hides, and step out onto the broken pavement once again, slowing just a tad to avoid completely falling on my face. I stop to listen and then I hear –

"Quinn! Quinn! HELP ME!"

It comes from what looks to be a clearing near a craggy rock cliffside just off the road. Boulders are strewn here and there, and it looks like giants have been playing croquet with all the rocks.

"BRIG!" I yell one more time as I come over to a rocky shape jutting out of the ground. In this clearing, every boulder could hide something killer.

"Over here! Quickly!"

I see her long figure, laid out against a boulder shaped like a fist, putting pressure against her leg, trying to stem the flow of blood freely flowing now. Her calf has a chunk of skin taken out of it, her face and hands seem to be scratched badly from the haul over her. Yet she still manages a crooked smile as I come out.

Running over to her side, I glance left and right, not seeing the bear. "Where'd the thing go? It just left you?"

Shrugging, Brig shakes her head incredulously.

This time, it's my turn to help her to her feet. I notice one of her hands holding a long bowie knife, and I reach my arms to lock into her free arm. She does her best at hiding the pain, but cringes as she gets up. Her leg looks like a mix between a burn and gash – I try not to stare because it gives my stomach the funny feels. We support each other like two broken crutches, hobbling slowly between the fallen rocks.

"Keep your head on a swivel, kid," Brig grits.

"Oh," I reply. "I love the weird way you military types talk."

A rumble of thunder passes to the right of me.

This time I'm ready.

The hulking bear comes diving from behind a large boulder where it was concealed. It roars again, my ears going numb from the decibels.

"It set a trap," Brig says, whispering to me and pulling out a handgun she has holstered under her arm. "The bear wanted two people with one gulp – smart thing."

She says the last part, as if she's impressed with the creature's military tactics. I nod, pulling out the rifle from behind me and cock it back.

The bear stands on all fours this time, edging toward us cautiously and I can see the deep gashes that run across its ugly face – mementos left from Brig I take it. Glowing yellow-red blood trickles down its face, covering the bad eye I shot out earlier.

"It definitely doesn't like dying does it?" I ask rhetorically, readying to shoot the rifle.

"On my count," Brig says out of the side of her mouth.