Kevin hadn’t really slept last night. He had gotten in a few hours before the storm really got going, but it wasn’t enough to keep him alert. He was groggy, as were his siblings when they got out of their beds. The floor beneath every window was soaked, and half of the blanket Thomas had been sleeping on was soaked. It was humid inside, way too humid for anybody to be comfortable. Their mother had already left.

The three boys stretched a bit, Kevin going to open their only working window, hoping to let some fresh air in. Humidity mixed with dust wasn’t feeling great, so he grabbed Thomas’ blanket and hurried outside. The yard smelled great after the storm, and the cold dew wetting his feet as he stepped onto the grass woke him up a little more. He brought the blanket over to the old clothesline and hung it up, yawning as he heard the sliding door roughly slide open. The middle brother turned his head, seeing Thomas walking out towards the river. That’s where he usually was during the day, by the river catching frogs, or trying to catch minnows with a piece of garbage he found. He kept to himself a fair amount, but Kevin was just happy he was able to entertain himself.

Turning his eyes back to the house, he could see Dane getting ready to leave. Kevin didn’t know exactly what he did in town. He knew his brother sold drugs, and picked up a little food from the women’s shelter. But he was gone for way too long for that to be all he did. But Dane wasn’t very open to talking about it, so Kevin didn’t ask. He headed to his own little spot, an old deer stand half a mile into the forest.

Kevin walked into the trees, leaving his yard and following the thin path that had been worn through the grass. He wondered what it would be like to hunt something. Probably fun, but there was no way he’d be able to get a hunting gun anyway. He saw plenty of deer and rabbits around, and even occasionally he’d see a turkey. Too bad he had no way of catching them. That would be good eating, if he had any way of preparing it. Which he didn’t.

The boy reached his location and climbed up the tree, grabbing onto the rugged branches and pulling himself up with slight difficulty. He let out a heavy breath as he got onto the wooden platform, sitting cross legged and leaning against the tree. He looked out at the forest, and wondered what was out there. He had found some abandoned things in the woods before- like some old farming tools, broken down buildings and similar things, but he’d never gone far enough in that direction to know what was over there. Something had to be through it but he was too scared of getting lost. But what did he have to lose? He decided to leave his deer stand already, he knew that if he thought about this expedition he would think himself out of it. So he got to the ground and walked deeper into the trees, keeping an eye out for anything interesting.