3 years ago, the plants began to grow out of control. There wasn’t anything else that came with it, at first. Just sudden and vast amounts of reports of lawns growing into something that looked like it hadn’t been cared for in months overnight. All plants seemed to be affected. The trees doubled in size, getting tangled in power lines. Weeds were able to grow over walls in a few hours. Flowers would squeeze themselves through floorboards. Mushrooms would sprout on any surface with slight moisture.
World leaders didn’t know how to react. The plants themselves weren’t doing a whole lot. They made life a little more annoying but seemed pretty harmless overall. In fact, they solved several problems. Deforestation was cured in a matter of months, the trees growing back faster than manufacturers could tear them down. Any farm that was facing a lack of harvest would have fields that were suddenly overflowing. Animals’ homes built themselves back. The world agreed that, overall, this was a blessing, not a curse. Peace was prominent across the globe.
The growing plants didn’t slow down, however. It started to become a problem when people’s homes were being torn apart and destroyed by quickly spreading vines. Someone’s house was raised off the ground when somehow a tree seed found itself in their crawlspace and it grew overnight, lifting the house with it. Not neatly of course: the house was torn apart and the family fell to their grisly death. Roads were not traversable, random sprouts tearing apart the asphalt.
Groups of people across the world started banding together to fight back against the wild growth. They fought for their governments to make policies to destroy the plants. Even if the politicians tried; there was nothing they could do. An entire task force was erected to burn down the plants to preserve cities to no avail. The plants grew faster than they could kill them. The world began to accept that this was the way it was now. If only rapidly growing plants were the only issue.
One day, millions of people came across a unique fruit. They looked just like any other fruit, often the person’s favorite, even if it didn’t grow in their area. The only thing that set these fruits apart from others was that they were pure white and glowed softly in low light. When this first happened, most that came across the fruit ate it. When they did, they would fall asleep, never to be awoken. While asleep, their bodies would transform into something unrecognizable: a hellish mixture of plant and human. The victims always had a smile that stretched too far across their faces. When these creatures woke back up they would immediately seek out anyone they could find and kill them. Reasoning with these former humans would do nothing to stop them. Killing them wasn’t easy either. If these creatures were injured the plants around them would grow onto them and wrap them up, somehow healing their wounds. Humans began to be eradicated. Scientists worked frantically trying to understand these fruits before humankind was erased. The last message ever broadcasted worldwide was a message about the fruits that caused these changes and what they were able to figure out before the world as they knew it was changed for good. The message went like this:
“Dear people of the world. We are in crisis! Every type of plant has somehow been altered to grow and reproduce at an accelerated rate. Any attempts to destroy these excess plants have been unsuccessful.”
“As well as this overgrowth of plants, a new type of fruit has been discovered. This fruit looks like an ordinary fruit but is always pure white and glows. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES EAT THE FRUIT. If the fruit is consumed, the victim will be turned into a mindless creature that seeks to kill humans. Recent evidence may suggest that some victims are chosen to be ‘heroes’ of this new world and receive inhuman abilities. These people seem to have the ability to control what we are dubbing ‘the Mindless’ creatures and tell them where to go. Because of this ability, they have gained the name ‘Commander’ from us. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES INTERACT WITH A COMMANDER. They are even harder to kill than the Mindless and they each have unique abilities that give them the edge over ordinary people.”
“This is a crisis that has no solution as of yet. For now, stay safe. Do not try to stop the Mindless or the Commanders until more information is found out. Governments around the world have been destroyed, and cities are crumbling. Stay alive. Learn what you can. Fight back when you have all the information. Human-kind will not fall.”
After this message went out, civilizations were cut off from each other. The plants continued to overtake cities, destroying any buildings around them. As of now, no cities remain. Human-kind has reverted to a more savage way of living. Technology became irrelevant and any buildings would be destroyed before they could even be built. Commanders and Mindless continued to hunt any human they could find. No solutions have been found and the world continues to be in crisis.
…
Kai adjusted her batting gloves again, a nervous habit she had picked up somewhere along the way. She supposed it came with the territory. Everyone on the team had their own thing ranging from cute little habits to borderline concerns. But if it worked, it worked, and who was she to deny other people’s life experiences? Who's to say that counting the grains on the bench didn’t affect the game, doing a few squats, or whatever other habits the team picked up?
Kai was getting pretty tired of having to bat when things were stressful. Sure, it brought in a lot of attention and stardom but it was starting to take a toll on her heart. For once she wished she was up to bat when they were way ahead in points; so much so that fans could get up and get a snack or stretch since they wouldn’t miss anything. But no, she was always up to bat when things were dire. She was always the one who saved the games. The one that every fan talked about and raved about. Kai sighed. If only life could be easy…and I wasn’t so good at being so cool.
Slowly she walked up to the plate, spinning the bat in quick circles to warm up her wrists. The crowd was afire with cheers and chants. They had been so quiet before, resigned to their fate of watching their favorite team get beat into the ground until Kai had made her appearance. Now they seemed convinced that the game was saved. She took her spot at the plate, digging her feet into the dirt, and kicking up small clouds. She pointed at the pitcher and then raked her thumb across her throat, a move that fans died for. She was particularly excited to get into this pitcher’s head. This bitch was infamous for her brutal pitches that seemed to hit someone at least once per game. She hadn’t managed to hit anyone yet. Perhaps she was waiting for Kai to make her grand appearance. As the pitcher pulled her arm back to throw, time seemed to slow.
Kai could feel the world watching her. The hundreds of fans present in the stands had their eyes trained solely on her. Her team stood behind her, yelling encouragement and jeering the enemy team. She also felt she could hear the opposing team as they waited in nervous silence, the ace up to bat. She could see the ball coming and nothing could stop her from turning the tides. The world sped up around her. Too fast. The ball was approaching at a speed that she wasn’t ready for. As the ball spun through the air she knew it was too late. She was fucked.
The ball shot at her like a bullet, drilling a hole straight through her face. Kai crumpled, screaming out in pain. The sounds of the game were fading away as her face started to drip. She uselessly put her hands up to her face but each time she pulled them away there was more and more blood. Had it gone straight through her face? She wanted to pull herself together and stand up and act like that hit had not hurt in the slightest, but no one would believe her. Her face continued to drip, so intensely that she wasn’t even sure if it was blood or if the impact had somehow damaged her face so badly that it was falling away from her skull.
Something in her mind convinced her she was in danger. The best thing to do was to run. Her feet moved before the thought had even finished forming. She couldn’t fully rise, something was keeping her tethered. She was thrown violently to the ground, her feet unable to fully move. She looked down to see that vines tangled up her legs. She desperately ripped at them but they wouldn’t budge. A figure stalked toward her, not in the slightest of hurries. She couldn’t even see who it was, one eye unable to see, the other blurred by tears of pain and pure visceral fear. Her hands flew across the ground in search of anything that would aid in her defense; a rock, her bat, anything. But her hands found nothing and the figure stalked ever slowly towards her. Her head fell back to the ground, all strength and will to fight leaving her body. The figure loomed over her but Kai didn’t even bother to open her eyes to greet death, she welcomed it with a smile.
Kai opened her eyes, awoken by a coughing fit. As the world came into focus, she saw that smoke filled the air. Last night she had decided to strap herself into a tree to sleep in, and maybe that was the right choice as below her a fire was raging. Adrenaline shooting through her system she was able to quickly untie her torso from the branch and grab her pack that was stuffed behind her. She pulled out her water and doused her face covering. With nimble fingers, she tied the bandage she kept over her damaged eye, looping around her head and under her ear. She then pulled the wet mask over her mouth and nose, hoping it would be enough to save her lungs from the excessive amount of smoke in the air. She slung her pack over her shoulder, not spending much time making sure everything was in its place as she climbed down from her perch.
After reaching the ground, she was better able to take stock of the situation. The path in front of her was pretty clear. The flames were slowly taking over more ground so she probably didn’t have much time to think. She ran away from the growing inferno, her heavy pack slamming into her back as she ran. Her coughing hadn’t improved since putting on the wet mask and she was slightly worried that she had been breathing the smoke for too long and there was damage. Not a good time to think about this.
If she was remembering correctly, there was a small clearing not too far ahead. She could get there to observe the fire and determine her next actions. She swore she could feel the flames beginning to lick at her heels, seeking to tear her flesh apart to feed its greed. This only motivated her to run faster; the only thing that mattered was her survival. She burst through some bushes that blocked her path, the small barbs grabbing onto her clothes and making small cuts on her skin. A figure stood there in silence as if waiting for her. She turned her feet to the side, halting her run. At the same moment, she tore her bat from her pack, it being stashed in the water bottle pocket like she did when she had a game the same day as class back in her innocent high school and college days. The wounds under her coverings burned as she raised the bat defensively as if reacting to the figure, remembering the threat from her dream.
The figure hadn’t been fully facing her before, but Kai had made quite the entrance, and it certainly saw her now. The person had a mask over their face, much like one you would have seen a firefighter wearing. They held what Kai could only guess was a flamethrower in their hands, tubes snaking around and connecting to a large canister on their back. She had never seen a flamethrower before, she had kind of assumed that they were works of fiction, but that would explain the flames. Doesn’t exactly explain what this person was up to, but that wasn’t really for her to know right now.
“Back…the fuck…up,” Kai warned, she was breathing pretty hard both from the smoke and from the exertion. The figure said nothing but slung the flamethrower over their shoulder, putting it into some kind of holster. Kai didn’t move. Despite this being a sign of “I won’t hurt you”, she didn’t know if she trusted her own judgment. The figure turned their back to Kai observing the blazing inferno building in the thick forest. This guy is obviously a psycho, Kai thought, still not moving from her position. The figure glanced over their shoulder, seeming a little surprised that Kai still stood there. They asked something but Kai couldn’t hear what it was over the crackling of the literal hell spawning behind her. The figure unclasped the mask. Long dark hair spilled out. Kai was surprised at how luscious it looked, like something that would be used to advertise a new shampoo.
“Aizawa?” Kai found herself asking.
“Who?” The man asked. He had the thickest southern accent Kai had ever heard personally.
“Ew, never mind,” Kai grimaced at the unexpected accent. The man did look kind of similar to one of her favorite characters from My Hero Academia, but after looking at him closer he wasn’t that similar. He had shaggy black hair that hung down into his eyes. There was a large scar that crossed from his left cheek over the bridge of his nose and ended under his right eye. He wore what looked like a combat outfit, fully black with tons of pockets. He had a large pack strapped to his chest like a soldier would. He wore a red bandanna around his neck.
“Ew!?” the man asked, bewildered, “What’d I do to you?” Kai glanced behind her at the raging inferno and then back at the strange man. She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. “Didn’t know you were there. Not a personal attack or anythin’,” The man said, shrugging.
“So you’re just setting random swaths of forest on fire because…” Kai asked, unsure of how sane this man was.
“Fun, mostly,” he responded, smiling broadly. A glimmer in his eye gave Kai a good answer as to whether this man was sane or not.
“You could’ve killed me,” Kai accused, pointing the tip of her bat at him. He shrugged again.
“Oh well,” He said nonchalantly.
“Oh well!?,” Kai howled, “Oh well!? Give me one good reason not to kill you right now psycho.”
“You’d lose darlin’,” He said. His tone was calm, almost gentle, but there was a clear threat underlying his words. Kai readjusted her grip on her bat, not allowing him to sway her. She’d beaten worse odds. “You think your lil’ stick is gonna do the trick?” He asked, amused. He slipped the flamethrower back out of the holster and held it in a loose, relaxed grip. Kai didn’t respond. She simply watched. If his weight shifted even slightly she would be ready. She wouldn’t lose.
Behind the man, the brush was rustling. Kai pointed her bat at the source.
“Mindless,” she hissed. The man flipped around to get a better view. It was all she needed.
Kai lunged, tackling him by the waist, sending them both to the ground. Her bat clattered away, and the flamethrower slipped from his grip. He was taller and stronger, and his limbs flailed wildly as she struggled to keep him pinned. He cursed, swinging blindly, landing blows at random. With a grunt, Kai slammed her foot onto the hose connecting the flamethrower to the tank and yanked with all her strength. The hose tore, hissing as it came apart. But a fist crashed into her jaw, sending her sprawling back. The man scrambled to his feet, ramming into her, pinning her to the ground. His punches were clumsy and desperate, but they still hurt. Kai kicked at him, landing blows to his stomach and face, but not enough to turn the tide.
“You lil’ bitch!” The man screamed, punching her in the face again. Two figures burst out from the brush where the rustling originated from.
“Mindless!” Kai screamed, panicked.
“I’m not falling for that a second time!” The man growled.
“Hijo de puta! Mierda! Dios mío, ayúdame!” One of the figures was yelling, frantically batting at the other with a jacket. The other figure had exited the brush in a roll, seeming to have tripped. Flames had engulfed the fallen figure’s arm. The man hopped off Kai, grabbing the gun of his flamethrower reflexively despite the hose being ripped. Kai was also able to rise, though she had dropped her bat too far away to easily grab it when she tackled the man. The one with the jacket was able to muffle the flames.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Alina! ¿Está bien?” the figure asked, who Kai could now tell was a man. “And you…” He pointed at the man with the flamethrower. “You light the fire, tu puta madre!?”
“Ay, Nico,” The person on the ground said, standing up. “Don’t pick a fight.” The four of them stood in a tense standoff, no one moving.
“Didn’t know y’all were in there either,” The man finally said, breaking the tension.
“You know what, it’s not a problem. No harm, no foul,” the fallen figure said, a woman, smiling. She stuck her arm out. “I’m Alina, and over there is my brother Nico. Sorry about any bad impressions we made, we were caught off guard.” She laughed waving her arm, the sleeve singed off.
It wasn’t until then that Kai was able to get a good view of the two of them. They both had light brown skin and dark brown hair. The man, Nico's, hair looked like it needed a cut, his bangs constantly hanging down into his eyes. The girl, Alina, had the top of her hair pulled back in a bun with the rest hanging down around her shoulders. Nico wore a mostly pristine suit and tie, an odd choice, really. Who wears a suit in the middle of an apocalypse? Alina wore a more appropriate outfit for an apocalypse: a loose-fitting shirt, and loose pants. She also had bandages covering her eyes. Very Gojo of her. Kai wondered if she could see under them. The man with the flamethrower laughed.
“Well, ain’t you a charismatic one!” He holstered his flamethrower and walked over, grabbing Alina’s outstretched hand and shaking it. “Dell.”
“Nice to meet you, Dell,” Alina said, still smiling broadly.
“Who’s that?” Nico asked, pointing towards Kai.
“No idea,” Dell responded.
“You too aren’t together?” Nico asked.
“Nope!” Dell laughed, “That lil’ bugger got gumption, that’s for sure. Tricky lil’ thing.”
“You’re the dumbass that’s lighting the forest on fire with no regard for who and what might be in there,” Kai finally piped up. She walked over to where she had dropped her bat, retrieved it, and stashed it back in her backpack. If there was gonna be a fight, she wanted her bat.
“And?” Dell asked.
“You’re psychotic,” Kai asserted.
“Maybe,” Dell said, shrugging, “But what I wanna know is why you care so much about what happens to the forest.” Dell sauntered over to her. His tone had again shifted to a threatening one as he stalked closer to Kai.
“I don’t,” Kai said, hiding her unease. “I care about what happens to me.”
“Sure, sure,” Dell dismissed, “Easy excuse.” He was getting uncomfortably close to Kai. “Interesting get up ya’ got goin’ there. Surely there’s a good reason. Certainly not that you’re hidin’ something.” His hand rose to caress Kai’s cheek, fingers playing with the edge of her face mask covering her mouth and nose. Kai smacked his hand away.
“Mindless got me,” Kai said.
“Sure,” Dell cooed, not moving away.
“Makes sense to me,” Alina butted in, her and Nico having moved closer to the two of them. She pointed to bandages covering her eyes. “Me too.” Dell glanced back at the pair. He turned back to Kai, a devilish smile spreading across his face.
“What are you…” Kai started saying. She was cut off by Dell tackling her to the ground. He pulled down her face mask with one hand and ripped off the bandages with the other, revealing Kai’s still-healing wounds. She hadn’t had the strength or time to look at the damage but based on the reactions it was bad.
“The fuck!?” Dell yelled, hopping off, a disgusted look on his face.
“¡Madre de Dios!” Nico murmured.
“What!?” Alina asked. “What happened?”
“No way a mindless did that to you. The fuck happen?” Dell asked. Kai pulled her face mask back up, covering the worst of the wounds. She could still remember the burning pain, a pain that haunted her deep in the night so often she would obsessively wash her face even if it hurt like hell. She could still remember the fact that no matter what she did, the acid kept eating away at her face, breaking her down into nothing. The remembered helplessness she had felt, not knowing what to do to save her own life.
“None of your goddamn business, asshole,” She hissed.
“Nah you got my attention now. Dish,” Dell said.
“I don’t gotta tell you shit,” Kai responded, starting to stand up. There was a click as something cold and metal pressed into her forehead, halting her ascent. Dell was holding a revolver to her head. If Kai wasn’t so scared she would laugh at the absurdity
“No problem, don’t tell me. I don’t care. I don’t need to know. I’ll just kill you,” Dell stated calmly.
“You’re gonna shoot me!?” Kai asked, not able to mask her fear.
“Yep!”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“No way you have ammo. That shit is rare as hell…” Kai was saying as Dell flicked his wrist popping out the chamber. He turned it around to show that it was full. He flicked it back close and held it against her forehead again.
“Your choice,” He said. Kai glanced at the pair behind him, hoping they would step in. Nico avoided her eyes and Alina looked lost. Kai was pretty sure she couldn’t see. She met eyes with Dell. He was serious.
“A Commander got me. I’m not one of them. I swear,” She said quietly, defeated and humiliated.
“Promise?” Dell asked, leaning in close, the revolver still pressed into her forehead.
“I swear on my life,” Kai affirmed, meeting his gaze. Dell pulled the revolver back, spun it around, and shoved it into his pocket, a move that would make an old-time movie cowboy blush.
"Good!" he announced, spinning around to face the other two. "Well, I better get moving. This place will be swarming with Mindless any minute now."
"We can come with you!" Alina declared. Nico smacked her. "What? We can."
"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Nico murmured.
"It’s a great idea!" Alina insisted. "We’re kinda useless on our own, Nico. We’ve almost died, like, a million times." She waved her arm, showing the singed sleeve again.
"Yeah... but..." Nico glanced at Dell, then turned his back to him, pulling his sister with him. "No sé si deberíamos confiar en este tipo...."
"Understandably," Dell said, "I wouldn’t trust me either." Nico looked back at him, confused.
"¿Tú hablas español?" Alina asked, sounding excited.
"Yeah, a lil'," Dell responded, smiling. "But don’t ask me to speak it. I sound stupid."
"I’m sure it’s not that bad," Alina said.
"Es así de malo," Dell replied, his thick drawl making the phrase sound nothing like Spanish.
"Hm, yeah, you might be right," Alina giggled. "So," she began, pushing past Nico, "what do you say, Dell? Wanna team up?"
"What do I get out of it?" Dell asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"We’ve got a ton of supplies, way more than we need," Alina said, tugging at the strap on the pack slung over her shoulder.
"Tempting," Dell mused. "Anything else?"
"We’ve got a nice rifle. You can have it," Alina added in a conspiratorial tone. The barrel of a rifle stuck out from her pack.
"Now you’re talkin'! Ammo?"
"Got a full box."
"Well, shit, you’ve got a deal," Dell said, sticking out his hand.
"Great!" Alina beamed.
"We gonna shake on it? The only way to truly seal a deal," Dell teased, shaking his arm slightly.
"Oh!" Alina stretched out her arm, missing his by a wide margin. He hesitantly took it, and she shook his hand enthusiastically.
"No offense, but..." Dell trailed off, seeming to search for the right words.
"The Mindless blinded me. I can’t see a thing," Alina cut in before he could ask.
"Ah..." Dell said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, no offense, but..." he started again.
"We’ve been pretty lucky—haven’t had too many fights lately. But our luck’s running out. That’s why teaming up makes sense for us," Alina explained, once again answering before Dell could finish his question.
"Works for me," Dell shrugged. "Mind if I take the gun now?”
"Not at all!" Alina said, pulling off her pack. She unzipped it, pulling out the rifle. After rummaging for a moment, she produced a small box of ammo. "Here you go!"
Dell turned the rifle over in his hands, examining it. He whistled softly. "Damn, this is nice. In great condition, too," he said, running a hand over the stock.
"Shoots great too!" Alina said, excitedly.
"How has no one killed your sunshine?" Dell asked, looking Alina up and down.
"I choose how I react to things, not how others choose to hurt me," Alina replied.
"Poetic," Dell said, laughing.
"Thanks!"
"Well, Solcito, let’s get moving. You too, luz de luna," Dell said, starting to walk. "This place is about to turn into hell."
"Your Spanish is awful," Nico muttered.
"I think it’s lovely," Alina retorted cheerfully.
"Gracias," Dell said, making sure to pronounce it worse than usual. Nico grimaced but followed.
Kai watched the three of them leave. She could’ve slipped away during the entire conversation, but she worried Dell would kill her if she tried to retreat. He’d probably come up with some excuse like, "Only a guilty person runs during a harmless conversation." Though she doubted he could string together a sentence that complex. She grabbed her roll of bandages from the other water bottle holder on her backpack. Pulling down her face mask—one she’d made herself to resemble Kakashi’s mask from Naruto—she rewrapped the bandages around her eye and the surrounding skin. Feeling better with her wounds covered, she pulled the mask back up and checked to make sure she hadn’t lost anything during the chaos.
"Hey!" Dell called. Kai looked up to see the group had stopped.
"You comin’?"
"Me?!" Kai asked incredulously.
"Who else?" Dell said, laughing.
"Why the fuck would I go with you?" Kai shot back.
"Survival, supplies, sexiness. Lots of reasons," Dell smirked, counting on his fingers, grinning at the last one.
"Yeah, right," Kai scoffed, turning away. She began walking in the opposite direction. Laughter echoed from all around her—the unmistakable sound of the Mindless.
"Shit!" Dell yelled. He scooped Alina up, throwing her over his shoulder. "Ya’ wanna live? I know ya’ do. C’mon!" He took off running, carrying Alina, with Nico clumsily trailing behind him.
Figures started to burst out into the clearing around Kai. Mindless: humanoid-like figures, varying in size and shape. They had barklike skin and their hands ended in long trailing fingers that could slice right through to the bone. Their eyes were covered with a crown of flowers, yet they were still able to see, and they always had a too-wide smile that constantly laughed at some unheard joke. Kai scrambled away as the Mindless spotted her, slashing out where she had been moments before.
She sprinted in the direction Dell had gone, the only path not blocked by Mindless. Behind her, she could hear them crashing through the underbrush, recklessly pursuing her. They ran on all fours, lunging forward with sharp claws swiping at the air, just missing her. She could feel how close they were, the rush of air from their near-misses sending chills down her spine. Against her better judgment, she glanced back. A whole horde of Mindless, grinning maniacally, were closing in. With only one good eye, it was hard to keep track of them and the terrain at the same time. Inevitably, her foot snagged on something, sending her tumbling. She hit the ground hard and rolled.
A sharp pain shot through her back. One of the Mindless had caught up, its long fingers stabbing into her backpack. If not for the pack, she’d be dead. The claws had pierced through, grazing her skin, but hadn’t gone all the way through. Desperately, she wriggled free of the straps, leaving the Mindless tangled in the backpack. She stumbled back to her feet and broke into a run, heart pounding in her chest. But the rest of the horde was gaining fast. She wasn’t going to outrun them. Suddenly, gunshots rang out. Several of the Mindless flew backward, bullets tearing through their heads. Dell was crouched ahead of her, calmly taking aim with his newly acquired rifle.
“¡Correr!” Nico screamed.
Kai bolted, trusting Dell wouldn’t hit her. As soon as she passed him, he stood up and joined the desperate run, Alina still slung over his shoulder. The three of them sprinted as fast as they could, hearts racing, legs burning. Finally, when the sound of the Mindless’ maniacal laughter faded into the distance, they slowed down. Nico doubled over, vomiting from the exertion.
Dell slapped him on the back. “Nice running, Luna,” He said, laughing.
“Fuck off,” Nico responded, still doubled over breathing heavily.
“So!” Dell said, walking over to Kai. “Gonna join us now, or was me saving your life not good enough for you, lone wolf?” He covered half of his face with his hand and furrowed his brow in an imitation of her.
“Asshole,” Kai shot back, chest heaving from exertion. After looking over her shoulder she sighed. “Don’t got a choice. They got my stuff. I’ll die”
“That’s the spirit!” Dell said, cheerfully. “Once Luna there is done losing his lunch we can get moving again.”
“Can’t we just camp here?” Nico asked.
“Nope,” Kai and Dell responded at the same time. They were obviously on the same page. Never a good idea to camp anywhere close to Mindless spotting: high chance they would be found again.
“At least you don’t have to run anymore,” Alina comforted, patting her brother on the back. After a bit, Nico seemed to recover and the group started moving again. Kai walked behind the group, not fully trusting these people. Alina held on to Nico’s arm as they walked as she made cheery conversation with Dell, even pulling Nico into the conversation if only for a few words. Kai reminded herself that once she had supplies she could go back to traveling alone.
…