Chapter 13: The Second Day Kicks Off

After everybody collected what they needed for the day, we all came back together before seeing the two groups off.

"It's decided,” announces Ace.

With my arms folded across my chest, I follow the voice to my right. Gingerly holding a devoured apple core in his left hand while clutching the grip of a sword in his right, Ace leans the sword back and rests it against his shoulder. Alongside Ace stands three other individuals, with Blue and Delta on either side of him wielding swords of their own, while Grace shyly ducks away behind Delta, attempting to hide herself from being seen. Blue is wearing a backpack with an ax sticking out the top of it, and I assume that backpack also stores their food and extra supplies.

My eyes then shift to my left, where a group of five stands strong, with Ember and Sky being the leaders of this group. Along with them, there’s Hunter, who seems to have a newfound drive after yesterday's events. And as for the last two, I haven’t been around them much. Their names are Falcon and Forest, and they’ve been kind of on their own since waking up yesterday. At times, I sometimes notice Hunter with them, too. Although I don’t have a close-up view, I can still identify their most defining traits.

Falcon has a sharp, long nose that kind of resembles a beak. Forest, on the other hand… the surface of his skin looks rough and resembles a slightly darker tan-like color. His black hair is wrapped into a man bun, and he has a trimmed circle beard with some sideburns. He looks to be average male height, maybe an inch or two taller, and has a strong, stocky build with his calves sticking out like two sore thumbs.

Falcon and Forest are wielding swords, while Hunter is wearing a backpack with two axes jutting out the left side. Ember isn't carrying anything, but Sky is also wearing a backpack. They must've separated the food and canteens from the weapons, good thinking.

I then look back over my left shoulder briefly at the group staying behind at camp. Cliff, Violet, Hazel, and Faith are all standing awkwardly together, slightly off to the side. I only look at them briefly, but I can tell they are trying to put on their bravest faces for the rest, although I know they fear for their well-being in their hearts.

Glancing over my right shoulder, Code is sitting by the campfire alone, poking it with a stick.

Hmph.

"Try to be out for only a few hours, tops. If the sun starts to set, that's your final sign that you need to head back,” says Ace, speaking toward Sky and Ember’s group.

Sky replies, "Got it. That goes for you as well."

Ace turns, tosses the apple core into the bushes beside him, and begins to walk off. His group follows him as he waves his arm, "See you all later!"

Transferring my gaze toward Ember, she meets my eye.

"Don't do anything stupid,” I say.

She smirks as her group sets off, “That was the plan, wasn’t it?”

Sky places a hand on Ember's shoulder, and the two of them also depart.

Gripping the straps of her backpack, Sky looks back over her shoulder and merrily shouts, "Keep everybody safe, Scar!"

Giving her a nod, Sky looks back ahead, and now only six of us are left at camp.

Sitting by the fire, Code embraces its warmth as he recalls Ace’s words from the morning meeting.

“Damn it, Ace. Why did you tell everybody I was going with you today?”

Code sighs.

“I only agreed to the idea of leaving camp so I wouldn't ruin the flow of the conversation last night. No way did he actually think I was serious… he couldn't have seriously believed I would go out there and offer my life like that… to that monster. I'm not about to go die an unnecessary death to avenge some girl I don't even know.”

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"You were scared…” I say, approaching Code, not knowing what he just mumbled.

Not looking away from the fire, Code opens and closes his hand to relieve stress.

“Guess being lost in my thoughts made me ignorant of my surroundings. Rookie mistake,” he says, shaking his head with a glint of frustration. "Was it that obvious?"

I sit next to Code as he continues to gaze at the dancing flames, "Yeah, it was. Even last night, I could tell you weren't comfortable about going."

Code doesn’t meet my eye, so I tell him, "I don't blame you. Nobody will."

Scratching his head as he drags his teeth along his lower lip, Code says, "It’s as you said yesterday. After taking on this leadership role… I just don't want to seem weak. I want to be reliable, dependable, somebody people look to for guidance, but…"

Code shakes his head before staring at the sky, "But I also want to live..."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to live."

Code meets my gaze, forced to squint to block out the beaming sunlight.

"It's selfish of me… right?" he asks.

My golden earring glittering in the daylight, I reply, "Might be, but I have no right to judge you. It’s Ace who you’ll have to smooth things over with."

Code gazes back at the fire with disdain, "Yeah… I know."

***

Ace’s POV

Delta mumbles, “You better have made sure you got water for me.”

The slap I had given Delta yesterday has certainly left its mark. With a large, swollen bruise on her cheek, it’s evident that it’s painful for her to eat, speak, or even move her mouth all that much. Good, she deserved it.

But even so, that pain didn't stop her from chatting up a storm the minutes following our departure. Staring up at the sky, I take a breath.

We have a long day ahead of us…

Blue replies to Delta, "I got enough water earlier for all of us. No need to worry."

"Okay, but did you get enough for me?” asks Delta. “Because when I get tired, I get thirsty. And I get tired a lot, so I'll be drinking a lot of water, and I mean, like all-"

I stop walking, "I don't get it."

Annoyed at either my words or my forcing the group to halt, Delta remarks, "You don't get what? Why did you stop walking? Don’t you realize that we only have so much time and-"

Turning around, I ask, "Do you ever shut up?"

She scorns, "You can't be serious…right? You should be telling yourself that. I'm the one that deserves to talk whenever I want. Right now, I talk, and you listen, and you will only listen. And that is because-"

Shaking my head, I cut her off, "Do you want me to knock some more of your teeth out, or do you want to shut your damn mouth so we can get a move on?!"

Taking a step toward her, I ball my hand into a fist in view for all to see, "We aren't too far from camp, and personally, I don't mind if you somehow end up unconscious again…"

Delta looks me up and down in dismay, but she doesn’t snarkily respond as she did before.

I turn back around, "Just don't be such an immature brat, and that won't happen."

A moment of silence sits before Delta lifts her sword at me, muttering, "I'm nobody's pet. And I never will be. You can't tell me what to do..."

Scoffing at her boldness and spreading my arms, I face her again, "Why exactly did you come today? I expected you and Grace to stay back at camp after yesterday. You do realize-"

Delta rolls her eyes, shaking her head, "Do you seriously think I'm that incompetent?"

Cackling at herself as if she just told a joke, Delta bathes in her entitlement, "I'm not shallow-minded enough to make the same mistakes Flora did, not even close. If that girl even had a fraction of my intelligence, she never would have…"

I sternly proclaim, "Hey! What did I tell you about disrespecting her?!"

Taunting me, she puts her hands up as if she were acting innocent from a crime she just committed, but a wicked smile has mischievously crawled up on her face, "Oops, my bad.”

Taken aback by her stupidity and boldness, I simply stand there, puzzled at why she is the way she is. Letting out a heavy sigh, I resume trekking deeper into the wilderness.

Why did I have to get stuck taking care of those two? Actually, no, that’s not fair to Grace. Delta is the problem. Damn it, I wish Code had come with us to help me manage this. Can't believe he chickened out on me…

As we walk around a bend and the stream I visited yesterday comes into view, I can’t help but feel as if something is amiss.

No, I can’t think like that. Yesterday was just one day. Today will be different. It’s a new day. Because honestly, what could possibly be worse than yesterday…