｢andley｣ Wild Divergence

The sound of a gun fired off as Andy began to take off running, small branches and sticks in his arms as he raced through the forest he had been in for so many years.

The sun's rays casted onto the land around him. The now sixteen year old managed to escape the group for the most part, his incredibly long legs giving him the advantage to outrun them.

"Fucking savages." He muttered, his voice raspy from lack of use. There was nobody to talk to, nobody to listen. So where was the point of using it?

Three years ago, after he had cried himself to sleep in fear for his dad, him and his mother had discovered that he had died in a brutal attack a week later. They had only known because he had found his corpse... lying in the ground with animalistic scratches and a gun shot to the head.

And soon after, his mother died as well, begging someone to take her life to join her husband. He had only found out because the person who had killed her told him, and promised that they'd keep away from him.

He was left alone after that, using the same old camp for three years. He still mourned his parents' deaths, crying himself to sleep with no one to comfort him.

The world hadn't changed from then, it was still the same, cruel land. Filled with power hungry people, and others who just wanted a happy life. Others who had family and people to go to for help and reassure. People who had their hopes.

Andy had none. He had lost his hope, his family, the will to maintain power. He had lost his comfort.

He was on his own in the cruel world. A world some would consider a living hell. Nothing could save him from the hungry people. He was at the bottom of the food chain, a meek teenager with no support from anyone. He feared of the man with the golden-brown eyes, the man who had wanted him dead.

Could you blame him though? He was nearly killed at a young age. He was scarred. He was so scared to go out and hunt for food or other supplies. He barely felt safe at home, the campsite being out in the open for anyone to stumble upon.

And now, as he carried on running through the forest, he had realized something. Was there truly any point in living anymore? Was it really worth living if he was going to die young anyway? Rather it was suicide or in the hands of another man, where was the true meaning of life?

Dying now would only put him out of his misery, pull him away from the sick beings that had inhabited the world. It would be much better than waiting to see how long it would take for him to die, and suffer.

Andy stopped at the thought, sighing softly as he looked down at forest bed. What was the point? The question repeated in his head, the answer unknown. He slowly dropped the small branches that had occupied his arms. The faint sound of footsteps grew, he knew what was coming.

The footsteps grew, yelling being heard in the distance. They had found them. Only this time, he wasn't quite scared.

"Just fucking do it." Andy spoke as the footsteps stopped and the feeling of someone behind him grew, he didn't turn around to see who it was. What was the point of that?

He waited for a minute or so, before he had gotten annoyed. He whipped around, not looking the person in the eye before speaking.

"Well what the fuck are you wait-" Andy stopped himself, a gasp escaping his lips as he looked at the man. The man he had feared for oh-so long. The thought of dying had left his mind, only to be replaced with a variety of emotions. "You-you..."

"What is this? The kid who stole from my territory?" The man spoke, causing Andy to step back. Andy's breath seized, eyes wide with the newfound terror. He stared into the man's eyes, his mind rushing with thoughts.

What he had just had, was false confidence. Try all he might to make himself believe that he was a strong person, a careless being, but the second he's in trouble, it's all gone. He'd go back to being the teenage boy that no one, not even smaller children, could rely on. He'd become the useless being with no point in living once again.

This man, he scared Andy so- so much, and he'd rather much have his father here with him to protect him. He shook with fear. He could see the gun that was bound to his hand that day years ago. The gun that would've killed him if he had of ran slower, or tripped and fell down, being shot before he could get up from the ground.

"Pl-pleas-se don't hu-hurt me. I'll do anything but please- please don't hurt me!" Andy began to pleaded to the man, shaking terribly.

"All talk but no action?" The man scoffed at the thought. "Anything, huh?" He smirked at the shaking boy.

He'd do anything for his life, huh?

"Come with me."

The man turned and began to walk in the direction in which he had came from, leaving Andy stood there, eyes still wide. The man stopped, as if knowing that the boy was not following him.

"Come on, we don't have all day now." He said, snapping Andy out of his thoughts. Andy stared at the man in confusion, a bit shocked by his sudden change of attitude. The boy ran over to man and soon the two began to travel wherever the man was leading them to.

"The names Ashley, Ashley Purdy." He said after a few minutes of silence.

Andy snapped his head up, quite surprised by the sudden voice. Andy hesitated. What did you expect him to do, tell a stranger, that might just kill him, his name?

"Well?" Ashley pressured the boy. Andy let out a sigh, seeing as there was no way out of this.

"Andy." He answered, looking down as they continued walking. His mind was racing with different thoughts and emotions.

Did he trust Ashley? No, not at all. The only reason why he was going with him was because he did want to stay alive, despite the times he's asked himself what the point was in it. And he was the dumbass who decided to say that he'd do anything.

Who knows what would happen once they had gotten to wherever he was being taken to.

"You will be helping us for now on. And hopefully the others will be nice to you." Andy heard Ashley chuckle, squirming as he could feel the smirk on his face.

What has he gotten himself into?

*

Andy sighed as he sat on the ground outside of Ashley's cabin. These guys were advanced, more than he had thought. They also didn't like him all that much, which was why he was here, waiting for Ashley.

The boy's head perked up as the sound of metal clicking reached his ears, relaxing as he saw that it was Ashley. Upon getting to the camp, Andy had realized that Ashley was practically the only person he could bring himself to be around; mainly because the others were so rude to him.

They would spit on him when he walked by, push him into one another back and forth. They'd push him to the ground, laugh or yell at him for making a simple mistake. He had only just arrived, so he couldn't have done anything to make them hate him.

Maybe it was because he was young. They were all adults according to Ashley, but why was that such a big deal? Surely they would've tried to teach him things or protect him. Surely they would've given him some sympathy.

It all confused him, to say the least.

"What are you sitting out here for?" The man questioned, pulling Andy from his thoughts. He looked away from Ashley, looking down.

"Waiting for you." He answered simply.

"And why is that?"

Andy shrugged, his hair falling into his face. Strands of blonde hair peeked through the black. Seeing as he had no dye to fix it, he let them be. His hair ran down the middle of his back, unable to trim it without scissors. Hair fell in his eyes, though he would move it out of the way.

Ashley stared at the boy with curiosity. Something about him just made him intriguing.... especially since he had the nerve to come with him. He did nearly kill him, and now he was here, with a group of strangers who could also have a go at killing him. Ashley sighed at that thought, shaking his head.

"Come on, we need to show you around, make sure you don't get lost."

Andy looked up at Ashley, though only for a second, before standing from where he sat on the ground.

The two walked about the grounds, Ashley finding it quite amusing as to how much of a lost puppy Andy was, you'd think a thief would recognize his surroundings. Considering the amount of times he'd stolen from here.

"Why so lost, thief? Sure you know this place very well." Ashley teased, making Andy shy away with a small blush on his cheeks. Truth be told, Andy didn't do well with keeping up with his surroundings, he was quite horrible at not getting lost.

The two walked about, Ashley showing Andy where to get food, where the 'bathroom' was, and where he'd sleep. There wasn't much for Andy to know, really. All he was to Ashley was a thief, and his own personal thief at that. Ashley had a plan for Andy.

And he had a feeling that he would enjoy it.

Notes