"Are you ready?" asked Julian.
Rayne nodded, eyeing his duffel bag curiously.
He reached out to hold her and walked her over to the SUV, opening the passenger door. She happily hopped in and waited to see the surprise location.
"Are you nervous?" he asked, noticing her antsy hand movents.
"Nervous? Not at all! I'm simply excited! You're being so mysterious, so I'm really curious about where you want to take ", replied Rayne.
"Good! Fair warning, we're going to be walking for a good portion of it, so be prepared", he smiled.
-
They drove off down the familiar road that led towards the city, but just before they arrived at where the governnt base was, Julian turned down a small side road that led down into the valley.
"Is this near where your bunker is?" asked Rayne, looking around in the forest.
"Close. I'd say we're closer to where your RV was parked, but we're still a good way away. This road will only take us so far into the valley, so we will have to walk here soon".
Rayne looked out the window, noticing the difference in the forest from when she lived here before the cold snap and heat.
The forest was still dense with evergreen trees, however, there was a lack of greenery surrounding them.
Most of the surrounding grass was yellow and dry, and the smaller critters that were usually out and about were nowhere to be seen.
Still, the valley remained beautiful, and after the recent rain, there was hope that things would return to how they were.
-
"Looks like we'll have to walk from here.", said Julian as he parked the car.
They were in the middle of the valley, on the opposite side of the river from where Rayne originally set up her RV.
They hopped out of the car and began walking through the forest. The shade from the trees made the walk enjoyable.
Not long after they started walking, Rayne noticed how this new section of the forest was green and full of life.
"We must be getting closer to the river", she comnted while looking around at all of the critters.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the river. The water level was visibly lower, but the river was large enough that it didn't dry out.
Crystal clear water was still flowing, and Rayne could see the silver fish swimming underneath the water's surface.
Julian looked up at the sky, "What do you say about a bit of a fishing session? We still have so ti before we need to make it to where we are going."
"Sure!", smiled Rayne.
mories of their last fishing competition flashed through her mind as she giggled.
"Are you going to catch sothing this ti?" she teased.
Julian accepted the fishing pole from her hands and looked at the river with a very determined expression.
"Absolutely!" he claid.
Rayne continued to giggle, looking at how serious he was. She took out a pair of lounge chairs and a tackle box filled with lures.
"Okay! Let's catch sothing so that we can grill it later!" she smiled, casting out her line.
Julian watched with graceful movents, analyzing every step of it.
He stood up and cast his line out, mimicking Rayne's fluid movents, but a few monts later, he heard her burst out into laughter.
"So close!" she said, laughing.
He looked over at where his lure landed, noticing that he had put too much power into his cast. It missed the river completely and landed on the opposite bank.
Julian quickly reeled back the line and looked at her, "That one didn't count! I was just warming up!"
"Okay, okay", laughed Rayne, nodding her head. A few monts later, she felt sothing bite on her hook.
She ripped the line back and started fighting the fish as she reeled in.
"Wow, this one is feisty!" she exclaid as she continued to reel in. The tip of the pole was bent as the fish continued to struggle, fighting its way away.
Rayne gave it so ti to get tired before reeling it all the way in, and once the fish broke the waters surface she gasped.
"It's massive!"
Even Julian, who was standing by her side, widened his eyes.
"It looks like a salmon", said Julian.
The fish had shimry silver scales with a darker silvery-blue color towards the top of its body. It wriggled its body, trying to get itself off the hook.
"Ah, I'm so excited! Just look how big it is!" Rayne's eyes sparkled.
Julian looked at the fish with a determined expression, wanting to catch one just as big. He cast out his line once more-- this ti it hit the water.
He watched the line expectantly, hoping that a big fish would snag the line. Minute after minute, he watched the water, unblinkingly, waiting for sothing to happen.
Rayne had already pulled out her third fish while he was still waiting for his big catch. She walked over and sat down beside him with a teasing smile on her face, watching him stare at the water expectantly.
"Shhh! Don't say anything. It's coming, I can feel it", he said quickly before she had a chance to speak.
She giggled and watched him from the side, curious if he would manage to catch sothing this ti.
Julian finally started getting antsy as nothing was biting. He began to wiggle the fishing pole and even bent down to beg the fish to bite.
"HAHAH", Rayne rolled over laughing at this scene. She had never seen a fisherman get down on his knees to ask the fish to bite before.
Julian looked over and handed her the pole, "Here, you try. I think there's sothing wrong with the fishing pole."
The second it entered Rayne's hands, she felt a tug on the line.
"Oh, are you sure?" she asked teasingly and pulled hard.
An even larger fish than the first salmon was ripped out of the water, flopping down beside Julian.
His eyes widened, "Hey! That was my fish! I should have waited just a little longer, and that one would have been mine!"
Rayne laughed while wiping the tears from her eyes, "Sure, sure! Whatever you say!"
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