30 Journey

Stanis rubbed his face as he walked, his cheeks bruised from the recent scuffle with Orena. In front of him were Orena and Scowly, while beside him were Jayesh and a girl called Aaliyah.

Thinking back, perhaps he had acted a bit too rashly given the fact that they had all met him with weapons down. But Stanis still kept a grudge inside of him, purely based on the fact that they had watched him get thrown to the ground and not offer an explanation beforehand. In fact, where were they even walking to right now?

"Where are we going? Why are we going deeper into the Forest?" asked Stanis, trying his best to keep his voice humble in fear of another whacking from Orena.

There was a small silence after him asking the question, almost as if the others were wondering why he had decided to follow them without even knowing their destination.

"We're are heading Eastwards towards where there is apparently a Village, well according to what Ailean claimed anyway. There is no point in going back to our own Camp considering there is only 5 of us left, not enough to defend against any more large attacks" responded Orena, clearly humoured by his overdue question.

In truth Stanis had already thought this, but had then doubted it as he knew Orena and these guys had killed the Ailean and the rest of the betrayers.

"You believe what he said? Didn't you guys kill all of them?" replied Stanis. It was just before anyone could answer his questions that curiosity got the better of him as he added, "I thought you were with them Ore---". He stopped his question near the end as he realised his mistake, but the ship had already sailed.

Orena chuckled as she let Jayesh explain it.

"We hadn't expected such a dirty backstab from those cunts. It was lucky that Orena chose us over them, as she took on Anatoly, allowing us to kill the other bastards. As for the credibility of his claims, I'm not sure but I can't really see a reason why he would lie about that. Also, it makes sense that some of the better-organised camps already have Villages, doesn't it?"

Stanis couldn't argue against his logic, nor with Orena's as she explained her reasoning.

"I agree. As for choosing you over them, I prefer predictable people like you to the fickle, power-hungry types. Not that I blame Anatoly for his decision, but he was just too illusioned to be a good leader."

Stanis felt approval of Orena, until she finished off her reasoning.

"Also, he was strongest. I have always wanted to fight him to the death and I thought that was a better opportunity than any other", she licked her lips after finishing, much to Stanis's worry as he realised he was the second strongest here…

He then looked around him and realised that all the people here were the simple type. None of them had aimed for leadership, nor cared off much other than surviving this nightmare. It was as he forgot of his own aches and looked closer that he noticed that all of them were walking with limps or with awkward gaits.

He would have offered to Light Heal them, but then he remembered the good man he was and realised that a little pain like this was what built will-power and endurance into a person. Also the fact that none of them had stopped his bashing might have influenced his decision…

They were also dirty and muddy, although Stanis couldn't say nor was he as that was merely the norm after the Apocalypse. Orena was the bloodiest by far as her clothes and armour were completely soaked in it, ever her braids of hair had dry blood caked within.

As for Jayesh, he seemed less bloody but also more injured. Stanis guessed this was due to Titan's Taunt, which was basically a suicide wish within a large company of enemies like the Goblins. He had also lost a fair bit of weight since the Trials as he now looked gaunt, emptier than he was at the start.

Not that Stanis could judge, after all he didn't remember lusting after power or suffering on a daily basis in his old life. Instead, he remembered the young man who had worked hard to finally get the life he wanted, only for it to----.

Stanis stopped his thought-track and instead looked at the last two. Scowly was, surprisingly, as tall and muscular as before. Stanis wouldn't describe him as a bear like he had to Ailean, but Scowly wasn't far off. He also wore his serious expression, the very one that had earned him his name.

Lastly, there was Aaliyah. She had was of small stature, but also well endowed. Her bust and figure was something, Stanis was sure, that other ladies would have wished for in the past. She had the typical middle-eastern features such as the olive-tanned skin and black hair. Despite all the blood and grime on her, Stanis still couldn't bring himself to call her unattractive. In all truth, she was by far one of the quietest people in the camp, but he was sure that this was a good thing when compared to the other side of the spectrum. On the other hand, he was also certain that Aaliyah's good looks had been everything but good for her after the Apocalypse…

Stanis felt his heart relax in the midst of these people, he knew none of them were driven to the point of pursuing senseless murder. Well, all but one of them…

It was this thought that made Stanis wonder why Orena had wanted to go with them and not by herself. Stanis had left the Camp for the sea because he had been sick of the atmosphere in the Camp, and more importantly his own weakness. It had clearly been the opposite for Orena, and yet here she was with them.

"Orena, why didn't you go by yourself?" Stanis didn't know if he was pushing his luck but it was worth a go. He was surprised when it wasn't Orena who answered but rather the rumbling Scowly.

"I used to work in a prison y'know. As you can guess, the boys there were all rowdy and many times would get into violent fights, earning them a place in solitary confinement. Y'know the worst thing about that place? The lack of life, the lack of people to talk to. It makes a man go crazy; I've seen crazy go in, only to come back a lunatic."

Aaliyah nodded her head in approval towards Scowly, as did Jayesh.

"Maybe I would go loony" said Orena, not at all denying the fact that she was already crazy, "But I did it because I'm not foolish. With the amount of wounds I have, and how dangerous this world has already proven to be, I would rather not take foolish risks like that just for pride. Pride kills, that I know from first-hand experience"

The warming mood had instantly chilled after the two dark responses, neither what a person in a living nightmare like this wanted to hear.

And then the thought hit Stanis, the most obvious one that he hadn't yet asked.

"How did you find me?"

"Ha-ha, I was wondering when you were going to ask that", Stanis's chubby cheeks slightly reddened as he realised he was being read through, "Anatoly has a skill that lets him hunt people. He put a trace on you by the beach, and gave trackers to me and Ailean." She took out a triangular piece of wood that pointed towards Stanis.

Dismayed at the thought of having his location always detectable, Stanis said "Gimme it", to which Orena simply shook her head, before storing it back. He felt even more dismayed than before as he saw this, he would have preferred someone like Jayesh keep his location than a Demon in human form!

The conversations carried on, the group of 5 warming up to each other. The fact that the strongest, Orena, was only interested in fighting the strong and the second strongest, Stanis, was the youngest and most naive certainly helped erase the usual power structure and made the weaker three feel much more comfortable.

After a few hours with them, Stanis finally forgave them for their lofty behaviour when Orena had beaten him, and thus offered to heal their worst injuries. After getting another smacking from Orena, who was furious he had hidden it away for so long when his companions were so injured, and another watching from the others who agreed with her, he healed them and they got on their merry way.

It was 8 hours into their trek that Stanis used Scout and Sense once more, just to make sure that the path they walked wouldn't end up with death. On his radar showed up a group of armed Humans, marching towards them with haste…