The trio traveled slowly, their tension high, as they creep ever closer to the source of the smoke. The setting sun turned the sky into a silverish lavender, far from the red crimson sunset of the Earth's. No one spoke about the beauty and marvel of the skies, no one needed to, it was clearly written on their expressions, like a billboard advertising their feelings out into the world. No. 13 thought it looked amazing also, but he keeps those feelings buried. Danger could appear at any moment and he does not want to be caught off guard. And, this scene is going nowhere if they survive, they are bound to seee it again.
Everyone now is bent low, their heads barely peaking over the tall grass, just enough for them to see what is ahead of them and to keep track of one another. From here, No. 13 could make out more than one source of fire, but about ten in total. Dark figures gathers around the open flames, and from here, No. 13 can only tell that they are humanoid in shape. This scene however, leaves the group in shock. Even if they had an inkling of this being a possibility, it is still a surprising sight.
No. 13 gives them the signal to advance and he waits for the trio to reach him before they can further discuss any new plans. No. 13 continues to watch the scene while he waits.
There is not only the humanoid figures in the distance, but No. 13 can make out horses and wagons. Scanning quickly, he guesses there must be at least twenty wagons. It puts his estimate of the humanoid figures around perhaps 100 people, 200 max. There are also horses tied to trees with no riders on them near what he figures is a camp site for a large group. Taking in the panoramicview streching from the endless horizon, he sees what he guesses as sentries posted around the perimeter with groups of two moving and keeping watch of the surrounding area. No. 13 is sure that it is dark enough for them to hide, just as long as they don't disturb the grass too much. The gently blowing wind also helps to mask their presence, swaying the grass so even their small movements are unlikely to be noticed.
He hears the others behind him and he gestures for them to duck low to the ground. Julia was the first, her movements No. 13 notices are like that of a soldier and he is now definitely sure her father or family, possibly herself, is military. Chase follows next and then it was finally Rachel. There is suprise, fear, and possibly hope in their eyes but he ignores it for now.
"Is that what I think it is?" Rachel whispers in excitement.
"Maybe... Right now we don't know what is it really is until we get a better look." Julia responds. "Devin, how far do you think the camp is from us, 300 meters?"
No. 13 looks at her, most of her face gone with the incoming night and the casting shadows, but he can make out her outline. "I beleive so. Our guess is the same so lets go with that for now. Also, there are horses and Wagons and my only guess is that their level of technology is lower than our own world, possibly by 400 years give or take. Anyone know history that well?"
Chase answers. "Not a history major but I have seen those covered wagons in pictures before. I would say 18th century or earlier. But, I wouldn't correlate their level of technology with our own. Since they are using horses, I would state their technology is preindustrial age and lower and maybe even to our medieval period. I think cover wagons could of been built by then but it is something you shouldn't quote me on."
Fair enough. We have no history majors here. Anyways, you are right, assuming that things will match our world is an assumption we should not make. I estimate around 100 to 200 humanoids. I counted around 20 sentries and another 10 pairs out on patrol."
"So, what is our next step?" Julia asks.
"I suggest I go in alone and check things out but we can at least watch them for another hour before we decide. The more we can watch them, the more info we can gain before making a move.: No. 13 says.
By yourself? Isn't that dangerous?" Rachel asks, a tinge of fear touching her voice.
"Possibly, there is always a risk but determining whether to take it is also dependent on the risk and rewards involved. If they are humans, I doubt I could even communicate with them. I don't believe they are likely to speak English. Languages evolve over time and go through variations. And, I am assuming here, that many generations have passed since their arrival. Those trees, animals and plants that are found on Earth, some have already gone through changes. I doubt even the peach tree is the original from Earth."
"Devin is right."Chase says with some reluctance. No. 13 can make out Rachel turning to her cousin under the fading sun. Chase then continues. "I beleive that we need to find out whether they are hostile or not first and assume hostile. Being human matters second in comparison."
"I agree with Chase." Julia says. "Being human does not make them automatically friendly."
"We observe them for now. Watch their behavior and movement. So far, the sentries are not going pass about 100 meters beyond the perimeter. We should be safe but we also need to keep in mind if they might have scouts incoming and outgoing. Chase you pay more attention to our rear, Julia, watch our flanks. I will continue to observe them. Be prepared to flee quickly. We don't know the extent of their senses." No. 13 orders.
"Yes. Julia responds and then she continues. "There are some simple ways of determining the morality of a group of people. It is to see how they treat their most vulnerable. I heard that quote somewhere from before but I cannot remember it presently. I know, I know, outsiders may be a different matter all together, but it is something you should look for when you do move in."
Julia looks directly at No. 13. He acknowledges her statement and he supposes there is some truth to that. People that can empathize or sympathize with others outside their group, community, race, and beliefs, the people in that society tends to lean more towards being progressive. Others that sees those people as others, something to be wary or even hostile against, tends to lean more towards being conservatives. Refugees are a fine example to go on. Some will offer fleeing refugees from war torn lands sanctuary and help them restart new lives. Others, may see these people as a threat, seeing changes that these people bring into their community, and they become hostile. Some will only see these people as a burden, a stressor upon their supplies and well-being and they grow resentful. More often than not, those that are hostile view these people as inferior. Given the reality noone chooses the circumstances of their birth, a poor refugee will have less resources placed into them like an education. In a more progressive society, the people may give up some of their resources as long as it does not affect their quality of life, they tend to want to see the world that is closer to an egalitarian one. Sometimes, this belief is that the better most people are, the more stable the world would be. That also benefits themselves as stability often means more safety.
The only reason why No.13 would care about these people's morality is directly due to the fact it may affect his own well-being. He was made to survive and if these people are accomodating, he will gladly use that to benefit himself. It was heavily imprinted upon him to try and live, even if that means sacrificing others to do so. So, if Julia, Chase, and Rachel were threatened, he may shoot them in the leg if it meant he could escape. He would find it distasteful but there is that compulsion driven deep within his psyche and, reinforced with mind altering drugs, that he might preform such an action. This is only in the case where his life is threatened to the point of there being little to no chance of escaping. If the situation were favorable for him to be safe, he might try and rescue the others if his life has a great chance of being secure. Super soldiers like himself are heavily trained in threat assessments. They would rank something from 1 to 10; 10 being the most dangerous. If the threat level were a 4 and below, they might help others.
An hour passes by and the light fades further from the sky. Distant stars wink into the heavens with the departing sun. A vast moon phases into existence, bringing the luminescent light. The darkness comes, but the moon still holds it at bay, awaiting for the return of the sun to once again take up its place. Clouds above look like angry patches of bruises in dark purple, blue and black, and the air becomes much chillier with tiny mists escaping the breaths of the individuals. Seeing the chilly night air bother Rachel, he hands her over his jacket so her chattering teeth would not give away their position.
Chase offers his own jacket to Julia whom doesn't accept it. Chase's jacket is more of an accessory than something substancial to help keep out the cold. Still, the thin synthetic fabric is tightly woven so the wind cannot easily penetrate the material. Even if it is poor at keeping out the weather, it is still better than nothing. No. 13 beleives there is something more than a friendship between the two but it is none of his business. As long as it does not affect his well-being, he will not care.
No. 13 returns his full attention back towards the camp. In the last hour, when the sentries were close enough, they did make out some sort of language that Rachel and Julia believed to be something akin to Latin, but not exactly. These people also had human features and they were donned in some sort of leather armor perhaps with chainmail, clattering about them as they moved. Each man carried a spear and the two guards that came in close enough, had woven cloaks wrapped about their bodies. They were within 50 meters of the sentry and everyone remained silent, until the people passed.
Not that these people were an actual real threat, since their own group holds actual firearms. A bullet could punch through their armor with ease but he doubts that they can shoot them all down before running out of ammo.
It is not realistic to expect that each bullet would equal one kill, far from it. Contrary to popular belief, people actually miss more often in a chaotic situation. Their pumping heart, the fear that makes their muscles twitch, it is all condusive to making people poorer marksmen. For No. 13, he beleives he could make it workk with an 80% to 90% kill rate to ammo consumption. There are always wacky factors. Normally he can judge thanks to his faster mental processing speed, but it is still only a guess. If he can save the ammo for a life and death situation, he would prefer it. Well, he doubts the people are friendly but it does not mean they will be hostile. So far, noone seems distress and nothing monstrous is occurring. In fact, other than the larger size from his novels, this seems like a typical caravan he has read about in his fantasy novels. He is not going to trust fictional stories but he can only make inferences on what he has so far gathered.
No. 13 witnessed little beings he presumed as children, running around in a chaotic manner. Larger forms would try and chorale them into some semblance of order. Some of the adults were also feeding the children. Mostly, the majority of people were setting up small tents and others were stretching while they await their own turn to eat. All seem normal so far but he can tell some of these people were of some importance. Guards would always stay by a couple of wagons and from the material, it seems a lot more expensive compared to the others.
No. 13 was about to move in to infiltrate the camp but something happens on the exact opposite side before he could make his move. Whatever the cause, the camp is awash in panic and chaos. Figures grabbed weapons, children and some adults were pulled into the center of the camp, and many of the guards scrambles into a defensive formation, weapons pointing outwards. The wagons were already in a circular formation and the sturdy materials help form a small fortress with guards filling in the gaps. More people stood on top of wagons with bows and other missile weapons in hand. Guards with spears and shields held steady, protecting the archers and the rest of the camp. Some rushes around, adding more fuel to the fire for the defenders to have more light. Even admist the chaos, there is a sort of order, a well coordinated dance.
Then, a loud thunderous chreeching of a high pitch tone fell down like a sledge hammer upon his ears. Behind the screeching, there was fury and ferocity, that hid behind the madness. It was unrelenting the way it kept booming in the vast open grasslands. It threatens to flatten all those that oppose it, shattering the will of the weak of heart. Not too far now, shadows flickers across the field and towards the caravan.
Curious, No. 13 was slowly creeping forwards when a voice hisses from behind him. "What are you doing?!"
Knowing it to be Julia, he quickly turns around and replies in a harsh whisper. "Checking things out. I can gather valuable intel. We also need to know what we are dealing with, both humans and whatever the fuck those things are."
Are you going to help?!" Julia demanded.
"No, why would I do such a thing." No. 13 says a bit angrily.
Why No! There are children in there!" Julia states angrily.
"They have guardians. We know nothing of what they are facing." No. 13's intensity matching her own. "They should be the ones to die for them, not me! I owe them nothing and, besides, we are not even sure if they will need our help so chill."
"Fine, if you are not going to save them, I will." Julia says defiantly. Her gaze challenging his own and not backing down one bit. No. 13 is not a complete monster, he wants to help no matter how much he denies it but years of training and programming makes it difficult to will himself pass over a decade of the work they put into trying to make him a remorseless killing machine. That child again, a brief image of that innocent child whose life he has stolen plays in his mind. It torments the part of him the bastards have not yet killed off. Even now, if their line doesn't hold, he doesn't know if he will join in or not. He curses his own weakness but he maintains his poker face to the outside world.
"Okay. Do as you please, I am not your supervisor or commanding officer. But, I suggest you wait first."
She quickly looks over and then nods her head. "I can do that much. I am still going in with you though."
Inwardly he sighs. This is only a mutual alliance of needs. Anyone is free to dissolve it at anytime. The only problem is, the world is a big unknown place with now monsters and who else knows what's out there, that it tightens their group closer to one another, a notion he is uncomfortable with. He has never really worked together with anyone besides some training from a prior generation of spooks. Sometimes, it is easier to have no control, to just be and not care. As much as he was a slave, life was easy at times even if he found the job distasteful.
"Hey Julia, count me in." Chase interjects.
"No. She replies instantly. "Watch over Rachel and protect her. I think we both can handle it."
"But I..." Chase says but then falters.
"I know." Julia says softly, the tension around her eyes easing up quite a bit.
No. 13 sees that he wants to argue with her but held his tongue. Chase then turns to Rachel and the pearlescent moonlight highlights her fearful face. No. 13 only hears a soft sigh coming from Chase and No. 13 knows the young man has capitulated. The choice is a reasonable one. Of the four, the only one that cannot protect themselves is Rachel. No. 13 sees Chase look deep into Julia's eyes. "I know you will do your best to save the children. But promise me, that if it comes to their life or your own, that you will come back to me."
Julia nods and reluctantly agrees. No. 13 is unsure if she will do it or not. The choice of either will torture her and even if she does make it, he is not sure if she will be able to see Chase again without the constant guilt. He knows nothing can ever take that away, even if time help eases it a bit.
Already, a thunderous clash sounded when they were in the middle of their heated discussion. Only less than half of a minute passed and the screams and wailing of the dying fills the air, shattering the once peaceful night. The huge roaring flames cast the faces of monsters wrapped under the shadow of night in a demonic display. but No. 13 is too far to make out their faces completely.
Without another word, the two figures streaks across the field, keeping low still since sentries are still on watch from the opposite side. Julia is amazing, far more so than she ought to be. It somewhat suprises him and it makes him curious about her background. He may be moving with speed and grace but she is nearly matching his every step. Not as well-trained as himself, he wonders if her training were ever completed or she was slated to be something else. Too many questions about her and he needs to keep his guard up until he can get some answers. The question then becomes, would he share with her in return.
In less than half of a minute, they make it to the perimeter. The loud clashing and the swaying grass helped masked their movement. Another fact is that the guards appears worried and their attention is not where it should be. More often than not, their focus is completely away from No. 13 and Julia's direction. He is not sure whether he should be okay with the guards' incompetence or not.
Ignoring the guards for now, the pair scans the area before their focus moves onto the focal point of the action. It is also the first time No. 13 sees an alien species. Rather, they are the aliens but he is still unsure if these creatures are natives or not. This world for all he knows is not only connected to Earth.
A large hulking monster jumps onto a wagon and slams a long thick arm into an archer's chest, sending the poor bastard flying into a fire pit. Unimaginable screams of pain and agony sounds even beyond the clashing of flesh and metal and the tiny hairs along No. 13's arms pricks up from the goosebumps. A large man cut down the burning guard and placed him out of his misery, at least his suffering has ended.
No. 13 looks back in time to see what appears to be a large creature, probably at least 2 meters tall with long arms and thick black fur covering the majority of its body. Large bat-like ears frame an elongated face with jagged rows of sharp teeth. The monster's nose is short and somewhat is shaped like a pig's. Large black onyx eyes mirrors an inverse world in a dark visage with glowing red hot fire burning from those demonic eyes as the fires reflects off of them. In all, those creatures are quite disturbing and they are much faster and stronger than their human foes. No. 13 would guess their speed is several times that of the guard and the same goes for their strength. Each creature is only half as physically gifted as himself. What the humans lack in physical gifts, they more than make up for it in numbers and weapons to rely on.
About five or six arrows flies at the monster, and each finds a mark but it seems to infuriate the creature rather than take it down. Its flesh also is probably really tough, even that is similar to his own. Nonetheless, another volley impales itself into the monster and it stumbles back and off the wagon. Sevral spears soon after thrusts them selves where the monster should of have landed.
For the most part, the line holds, the guards' teamwork doing a fine job at protecting one another and keeping the monsters at bay. However, even if their numbers are inferior, the monsters still applies a lot of pressure on the line, ever so slowly pushing the guards back as man and monster battle for dominance. It is thrilling, man versus monster, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Shifting his gaze to the center of the camp, he sees the children frighten, some even holding up wooden weapons in defense of the smaller children. There is it again, a slight pain in his chest whenever he sees those innocent children that just want to live. Some of those eyes mirrors the same ones on that night. Before he allows the guilt to eat away at him, he turns his gaze away. 'Coward,' he thinks to himself.
Looking at Julia next to him, he sees an anxious face but one set with determination. She has conviction, something he is sure he cannot match with her. If she is a super soldier like himself, he wonders if her hands are cleaner than his own. His gaze quickly moves to her hand and he notices her tight grip on her pistol, ready to down these creatures. They are tough for sure, but No. 13 believes he can handle them without much trouble if he is only facing a few at a time.
"He whispers to her. "Wait, if the line does not hold, I will help. You stay here and use your pistol as a last resort. I think, the less we show our technology, the better. We will not be sure how they will handle it if they saw it and what they may do to try and obtain it for themselves."
"She nods and No. 13 is thankful that she is at least this reasonable. He knows she is a rational being from earlier but he doesn't know what will trigger her. Everyone has a trigger point, something to cause them to act rashly and he knows children are one of her's now.
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Seeing the line buckle, No. 13 notices about a third of the guards are down or injured. There must be around 150 guards initially, a bit more than he estimated. There must be about 250 people with 100 of them not combatants. Well, the ones that seem to be dressed in finer clothing have weapons, but they are not guards themselves. Most others are dressed in poorer clothing and he would guess they are slaves or servants, something common in this period of human society.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves a bit, he quickly stands up and holsters his pistol. With his resolve set, he dashes forwards and quickly like the wind passes the surprise guards that could barely register his movement. He sees a breach in the defense, one of those creatures about to pass the defensive line and he takes a spear he found from a surprise guard and launches it with his full strenth. It flies through the air, whistling its deadly intention. Not too soon after, the pointed sharp end finds itself buried about 15 centimeters into the monster's flesh.
These things are a bit tougher than he anticipated. It is no wonder why these guards with normal human limits are having a tough time actually cutting through these monsters. However, he is not worried, it may take a bit more effort on his part, his strength is far more superior than he has shown so far. Not fearing that he will be surrounded, No. 13 knows these guards will keep most of these monsters' attention away from him.
Seeing a dead guard, he grabs a shorter sword, possibly about 60 centimeters long with a broader blade than most swords he has seen on the net. There is enough of a hilt for a one-handed grip and a metal pommel that is useable as a weapon in of itself. The dead man also has a long sharp knife tucked away in his waist on the other side. He takes a hold of it and its own blade is half of that of the sword. Seeing that the man no longer needs these things, he feels no guilt in taking them. Only the living can complain.
A monster passes through the breach before someone could fill it in and No. 13 hurries to meet this new foe. The hulking monster sees him as its primary threat. It too, rushes to meet him, its long, clawed hands pulling back and determinately ready to finish him in one quick powerful blow. The idiot is actually telegraphing its move. No. 13 can tell that this monster is only use to using brute force and speed to kill their opponents. That would easily work for someone inferior. No. 13 possesses faster reflexes, speed, and he has years of muscle training to rely on. Normally, brute strength can surpass technique if the gap is high enough between their level of strength. A person can only parry a blow from someone strong before that brute strength will simply overwhelm their parry. Technique is not the most important when it comes to fighting, strength, reach, and speed is quite more useful. Technique comes in handy when going against someone of the same physical attributes.
The monster swings its arm, the motion seeming kind of slow for No. 13. He has fought with super soldiers whose speed matched his own when he was training with them. With some excellent footwork and body movement, he easily avoided the attack and since the monster gifted him with a wide opening, he gladly took it. He spun around and positions himself from behind the monster and with lightning precision and surgical-like efficiency, he slices through the back of the monster's knees. It screeches in pain but in just a split second later, No. 13 thrusts the knife directly into the monster's spine, ending its miserable existance.
No. 13 doesn't fill in the gap. He needs his space to operate. Before the gap could be filled, another monster tries to break through but No. 13 sends the knife flying and it sinks itself into the monster's neck. Blood sprays in a dark black mist before it comes leaking out in a stream. The monster's heart tries harder to supply the blood to more areas of the body but it only helps in pushing out more of the monster's life essence. The monster's next mistake is pulling out the knife and it only causes its demise to be that much faster. Instead of the stream, it comes gushing out like a geyser.
No. 13 scans the area once he sees several guards close the breach and he found a couple more points that are about to break. He rushes towards the more vulnerable one that is about 30 meters away.
He makes it in time to face off with two monsters. He is not worried, he has speed, and skill on his side and these monsters are nowhere near even matching that. Both tries to attack him at the same time but he repositions himself quickly to limit his exposure to their strikes, showing off his amazing agility in the process. With a quick slash of his own, he slices through a quarter of one of the monster's neck and then kicking the monster away, sending it into its own kind to throw it off-balance. In the quick glance he saw of the others seeing him, they have shocked and amazed faces. He doubts some of these people would want to tangle with these monsters one-on-one, it would be suicidal on their part.
Recovering quickly, he sets his foot and launches himself in a quick lunge at his foe that is struggling to regain some footing, both of its arms momentarily occupied with holding its dead comrade. It allows No. 13 to get behind it and thrust the sword in his right hand directly into the monster's spine. Since he has no clue about the arrangement of the organs, going for the spine seems like the more reasonable thing to do.
The fight did not go on much longer, No. 13 killed off several more before the guards were able to stabilize the line and push these monsters back. Eventually, enough arrows pinned themselves into the monsters, slowing them down enough for the guards' spear to finally find themselves into the monsters' flesh. Though the arrows were not that effective, thanks to the thick matted hair and really tough flesh, it can still disable an arm when it pierces a shoulder and kill outright if it can find a neck or some other vulnerable area.
No. 13 is suprise that no guard tried to attack him so far, a lot of people inside of the camp seeing that he actually helped them. No. 13 also thinks it is a bit of fear, how he easily took down those monsters. No.13 is sure that these people cannot even connect with their arrows even if they tried. Unless there are hundreds of them and he has nowhere to dodge, there are not enough archers here to take him down. He could easily leap about 10 meters away without any running room.
Looking around himself, he counts that at least 50 guards are down, maybe a third of that is dead. For the monsters, about 30 are down and dying and he realizes then that he is responsible for a fifth of the attackers casulties. Seeing pass the guards, he notices that half of them made it out and he suspects that half are at least injured.
The spell of silence was only broken when the moans and cries of the injured snapped the people around him back to reality. With urgency, the guards carries the injured away, no doubt to seek some sort of medical help. He notices them carry these injured to a couple of the carriages, the ones that seem richly fitted with moree expensive materials.
A tall man approaches No. 13. In the firelight, he can make out the man's broad shoulders and hard-lined face that the fire only further accentuates. No. 13's incredible eyesight can also make out the slight grey streaks in the man's pitch black hair. It is easy to see that the man is middle-aged. He is also donned in finely crafted armor. A metal he is unsure of, glints in the warm colors of autumn, each plate appears to be just removed from a forge. beneath the plates, leather armor could be made out and it is black in color as far as No. 13 could guess. Around the man's waist, is a finely crafted sword, though it looks plain, No. 13 could see it is not some blade of a common soldier. The man also has 6 guards in tow, each with hard gazes and focus as they keep their sight onto him. It doesn't take a university degree to figure this man is of some importance. He may even be the leader of this entire group.
The gravelly voice of the man says something in a language he is unfamiliar with but it sounds like he has heard before. If these people came from Earth at any point, then their root language must have some commonality with his own. Unsure of how to answer the man, No. 13 could only show the man that he speaks in a language entirely different than his own and hopefully the man has enough intelligence to figure it out, that he is not from around here, especially when his clothes is so different in style from those around him.
He would never thought this would work, but he did what he has seen in movies and books when other protagonists tried comunicating with other humans that spoke a different language. He points to himself and calls out his fake name and then points to the man and shrugs, and puts a questioning look on his face. Luckily, the man catches on fast and he calls himself Augusto Andares, a name with Roman origin perhaps. These people must of been brought here from the Roman eara 2,000 years ago from Earth. He can only speculate that. Unless it is extraordinary that another human civilization came up with a language similar to Earth's own. He is also sure that with time, like any other language with especially isolated populations, that the language will morph over time. It does that naturally no matter what but it seems to do so less when the world became connected.
Another surprise is the lack of more hostility and suspicion. He sees it, but it is not prevalent as it should be. If he were the others, he would still lock No. 13 up just for good measure. No. 13 would think a man coming out of nowhere and following their camp, would be someone quite suspicious, even if they originally followed the smoke to see the cause of it.
They tried gesturing to one another and some of it comes through and No. 13 beleives the man wants him to follow him. No. 13 takes the risk and follows. If he is going to be stuck on this world, he will need help getting started and he will need their help in learning the language. He needs a lot and he is afraid he might have to sell his services to these people to gain something in return.
No. 13 is lead to a really large carriage. It is about 4 meters long and about 2.5 meters tall. With the four large metal wheels,it must stand around 3 meters in total. 6 monstrous horses are kept in place and are the ones likely pulling the carriage. These things legs must be more developed than the horses he has seen on Earth, with their legs twice as thick though their bodies may be a bit smaller. These horses must of been bred with some other creature whose DNA is compatible enough or evolution here is somehow different than it is on Earth.
Several strong-looking men brought a table and several chairs and places them down onto the ground near the carriage. Young women, dressed with tightly fitting clothes held several platters of food and drinks and then places them onto the table. A goblet and several linen napkins were placed before a chair and Augusto signals for No. 13 to take a seat.
Before he does that, No. 13 makes his own gesture of a wating sign. He figures he might call the rest here and he points to himself, and then slowly brings up three fingers and points outwards and then points to himself again.
Augusto nods, still puzzled but No. 13 walks closer to the edge of the camp and whistles before calling out the trio's names. The guards were on alert but No. 13 gestures to Augusto to calm them down. He does so, though a bit reluctantly. No. 13 orders Julia, Chase, and Rachel to come in with nonthreatening gestures. He hates taking this risk, but he will need to do so at some point in time. His intuition tells him that Augusto is not a bad man for this period in history and he still hates to rely on his intuition.
The trio march in, their weapons already holstered. Julia looks the calmest of the trio and Rachel was like a jittery rabbit, ready to dash at the first sign of trouble. Chase himself, has a wary look, his gaze scanning around constantly. Without much deviation they work their way towards him. Most of the men's eyes were focused on Julia, with her naturally swinging hips and extraordinary face that causes No. 13 suspicion rather than full blown attraction. She reminds him too much of the female super soldiers for his liking. Rachel on the other hand, though not as impressive, also gets her own fair share of looks.
Augusto signals for a couple more chairs to be brought but there was still enough food to feed at least eight people on the table. They obey and the beautiful servant girls also brought more goblets. They then stand back and await to serve them he guesses.
Everyone takes a seat and Augusto sits along with them. Everyone has trouble trying to communicate and it was a slow going process. While they ate, it was Rachel that was able to quickly pick up the language since she studied a fair bit of Latin over the years. She notified them that there are differences and she has a hard time understanding the man's speach. It still required a bit of hand gestures and even servants had to bring out parchments to try and help both side communicate by drawing pictures. Luckily for them, they use the same alphabet and even No. 13 was able to learn some words and phrases after an hour of trying.
No. 13 did enjoy the food enough. It was mixed nuts and fruits with some bread, butter, and meat that was roasted this night. He was not sure what the meat was but its texture is close enough to beef. Wine and sider with some water kept filling their goblets. The group was slightly dehydrated from the lack of water throughout the entire day. Somehow, eating food and drinking help alleviate some of the depressive expression on his companions' faces. He supposes the serotonin has some affect and it even makes him feel a bit better.
Augusto hands over to No. 13 a pouch after the meal and signals the guards to clear a carriage out for them to use. They obey and Augusto, upon further inspection, looks a bit tired himself and he motions them to go rest and Rachel tells them that they will talk more with Augusto tomorrow. Rachel wants to retreive her friends and Augusto promises to send someone with them should they choose to go. No. 13 tells her that they need to plan and communicate to her friends prior to their departure.
Unfortunately, their communication band requires a satellite and communication towers for most of its function. However, there is a function to help send radio signals but noone is sure if Rachel's band can send one far enough to reach the others. They will try once they have enough privacy. No.13 warned them about showing these people things from Earth and they have heeded his warnings.
Before they rest, several servant girls came with a bucket and some clothing to help them change into. They help wash No. 13 clean after he removed his clothing and stood naked near the warm blazing fire. For No. 13, nudity is not an issue. He stood naked in front of the researchers and teams of people so many times before that he is not embarrassed by such things. Rachel's face grew red but Julia and Chase seems nonchalant about nudity too. They were washed after No. 13 and Rachel was the last, telling everyone to leave and they had to set up artificial walls before she stripped.
After their sponge bath, the group met in front of the carriage they were given. Looking inside, about eight people can fit comfortablly enough to sleep. But before they get in, No. 13 opens the pouch to see what was inside. About 10 gold coins fell out. Each was the size of the US dollar coins with double the thickness. The minted coins had an engraving of a temple on one side, and the face of another man on the other side. Unsure of how much a gold coin could buy in this world, No. 13 figures it is better than nothing.
After that, Rachel quickly tried sending messages to her friends, the AI in her band trying different ways and bands of sending a signal. Rachel just hopes her friends did not try and save power. After a minute, she actually had gotten a reply but the message was still garbled.
"Oh thank goodness you are still okay." A female voice sounds from Rachel's band.
"Careole, is that you?" Rachel asks.
"Yeah, it is me and everyone is still here. Rachel, there are some fucked up noises out there. We turned off the lights and only the heater is on the bus. Is there anything out there?" Carole responds with fear in her toen.
Rachel sighs and gives her the truth. "I'm afraid so. Devin killed these bat-like gorilla things and gotten some gold coins for it."
"Wait, what! What is going on and why is there gold coins?" carole asks, her voice suprised and still fearful.
Rachel narrated what she has witnessed and how they came to meet Augusto. She then went into little detail about the language that is close enough to Latin with many words crossing over. There was a momentary silence after she was done and Rachel was afraid something happened to the signal. She then calls out. "Carole, you still there?"
"Yes." A voice ansers back. Several other voices could be heard in the background. "Sorry girl, that is a lot to take in, you know."
"Yeah, I know." Rachel says while slightly chuckling. "The food is not so bad either and the cider taste good."
"Wait, you also had food? We are so hungry here and we just ran out of water." Came Owen's voice. No. 13's group hears Darrell and Brittany agreeing with that sentiment.
"Well, we have a plan to get you tomorrow but you have to be ready. Devin told me to tell you to leave early, really early and then head north. Abandon the bus and hide it somewhere. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves more than we have. The rest of us will discard our communication band since they will be worthless without power soon enough."
The other side tried arguing a bit but Rachel was able to remain firm on this one without No. 13 telling her to do so. They wanted to keep the bus. No. 13 can understand that. They view it as something to provide them safety but No. 13 knows it will only make them a target. They reluctantly had to agree that the bus is something so valuble here that too many would be tempted to try and kill them to get it for themselves. Some didn't want to get rid of their bands, it is the only ties they have to their families. On it, there are pictures, videos, music, all things that originated on Earth but again, for their safety, it is something to be rid of if they want to live and not make anyone else a target.
So, in the end, the group will move north and ditch the bus and bands. They are to move west for several kilometers and stay on the edge of the forest. It will help No. 13 and a guide to easily find them to bring them back to the camp.
With that mess over, the group discusses what their plans are.
"Well, I guess you all figured out I am no ordinary person." No. 13 sighs as he lets this information go. He figures it does not matter now. So, he told of his history and that his name is not Devin as he claimed. Julia told of a different background, her father is a super soldier like No. 13 but his training was different. He was suppose to blend into the civilized world and be more of a part of it. The others listened, even Chase did not know that about her and he understood why she kept it a secret and why she seems so talented.
"So, I plan on selling my services for now." No. 13 says. "Anyone is free to join up but I will be the boss."
Julia sighs. "I will join you. Like you , all I know is fighting. My training is not extensive as your own but I was taught to be a hunter by my father. I am pretty good with a bow. I am also good at tracking and handling myself in the wilds. I believe these skills will be useful for you."
"If you are joining, then so am I." Chase announces. "Your father taught me too. He was more of a father than my actual one. Since mother died, your parents were the only true parents for me."
"Rachel sighs and looks depressed. "I cannot. I don't know how to fight and I don't think I could kill anyone. I think I will find a place to settle with my friends, somewhere safe. I am not sure on what I will do yet."
Chase hugs her and consoles her. "Don't worry Rachel, you are still family, I will help support you since I know our friend Devin here will be paying me the big credits."
No. 13 raises an eyebrow but when he sees Rachel give a tentitive smile he doesn't bother arguing. Julia also hugs Rachel and promises to help her out as best as she can. There close bonds makes him feel a bit envious, he has never had such warmth and care. But, when thinking about that child and all the things he has done, does he deserve such things. Now that he is separated from the organization, he is seeing other sides of humanity pass the scum he has so far experienced. This side of humanity, the ties of friends and family, is something he knows nothing of. He shakes his head, dislodging those thoughts. He needs to plan ahead. There is so much to do.