The next day, the group rose bright and early to back up and prepare for the forest trip. They had thought they would need to travel up the river until it was easy enough to cross, but Angela picked the car up, like it was a toy, and set it on the other side.
Glasses, Coat, Bandana, and Slacks all drove ahead while Helmet stuck with the girl who walked behind.
“You could have left me,” she muttered shortly after their walk began. Helmet sat at the edge of the hole, held only by a rope he tied through where a bullet pierced the metal armor and around his waist, and shook his head.
“We don’t want to go leaving you all alone.” Due to his position, the older man's back was turned to the girl. He didn’t see her frown and red eyes looking at the metal floor before replying.
“I’m fine with being alone,” she said confidently. More force had to be used to get the words out than she expected, and she felt like she wanted to bite her tongue off after.
“Fine, or used to it?”
“What’s the difference?”
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Helmet sighed, and for a moment, only the metal clang of the legs, as they walked, filled the air. The jeep slowed down as the trees grew denser.
“Have you ever thought about getting out of this thing?” he asked as the machine’s large legs uprooted trees.
“Of course. Are you stupid? If I knew I would have gotten stuck in here, I would have never—” Angela stopped suddenly and took a deep breath with her eyes tightly shut.
“Fair enough,” Helmet's voice grew somber as he spoke, “I imagine you’ve probably given up; it’s hard to do about anything else when you are alone. I don’t know how to get you out, but I know I’ve seen Worms going in and out, so it is possible. I will help you find that way if you would like.”
A small smile betrayed Angela’s lips, but she quickly bit her lower lip to kill it.
“I don’t think your buddies would be so keen on the idea.”
“You’d be surprised then; I’m sure when I tell them, they would all be on board,” Helmet said with a smile.
“Even the bald one?” she asked skeptically.
The older man grabbed firmly onto the machine side as his laughter scared some birds from the treetops. He pulled himself back to recover from where he slipped out.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said once the laughter subsided, “Just don’t call him that in person. But, yes, you’d be surprised how cooperative Slacks is.”
“You might die trying to help.”
“We might die every day; better to do it by helping someone with many more years ahead of her,” the older man answered.
Angela didn’t reply, but she bent her face into an ugly frown as Helmet turned to show a smile that reached his ears.