35 Hope? What is that? Do we eat it?

Both of us were heavily wounded yet we were on our feet. The sinister voice was quite worrying but we didn't forget about the voice that saved us either. "I've heard that voice before."

Lianne looked at me without any emotion. "You think so?" I didn't blame her. We were barely alive and emotion was the least of our worries.

My memories seemed were a little fuzzy. "Yes, but I can't seem to remember who they were or where I met them…."

I got the feeling that Lianne knew something about that but she didn't tell me anything. Perhaps it was her grandfather, perhaps it was someone else. But I couldn't just ask her out of speculation either. The way she'd told me, a lot of her relatives were supposed to be here, so I couldn't jump to any conclusions.

"Well, whoever they were they already left." Lianne didn't look at me.

They said, Lia. Could it be, Lianne? I vaguely understood things but didn't have time to dwell in such things. After all, I didn't have business with those people. My current business was how the hell I was supposed to survive.

It took some time to pick up pace. We were close to the end of the forest but the condition we were in made it seem too far. We still had some herbs left. They were useless for Lianne so I used them. My wounds didn't heal. The wounds were too deep and the herbs were too little. I did feel somewhat better though. It was probably placebo effect.

Without further ado we got out of the forest while writhing in pain. Walking when your ribcage and a few other bones are broken can be quite amusing; the world got bright and dark at the same; time warped as well- as though I was drugged. Getting out of the forest was the easy part, but now what? That was the question I suppose, as our saviors never showed their faces.

The outside was also filled with greenery. And it was too bright for my poor eyes. Why does this world have so much green? My heart sank a meter. Honestly I wanted some civilization there, so we could survive and stuff. Was it really too much to ask for a change?

"Not again…" In front of me was an infinite field of green. It was expected since the other side of this forest had a field of green too. But boy did I hope this wasn't the case. Yet, unfortunately, it was.

"Don't worry. There should be adventures out frequently in these roads…" Although Lianne assured me, I wasn't in the least convinced. After all there was virtually nothing in front of us but greenery. As for the roads she spoke about, there wasn't one. The only thing that remotely resembled a road was just a thin line of dirt and that was it. This is supposed to be a road? For who, a cow? It was pretty thin.

When your body gushes with adrenaline that's when you realize that time slows down. Although I couldn't breathe or even walk around properly, I could still feel the wind, see the moving white fluffy clouds and hear the screeches of wildlife in the distance. It was weird but I felt humane again and really painful.

For the first time I became wanting of modern technology. Was it really that bad? Was having technology and the ease of modern life really that bad? If I had another shot at life and I had to choose between worlds, I'd most certainly choose my own world. Even on a cold day in hell, I wouldn't choose this world.

We continued to walk in our tattered body and gear for about two hours without food or drink. Maybe my world wasn't so bad after all… Most of my love for fantasy worlds had vanished the night I came to this world. However much I had left (if I had any to begin with) disappeared right now.

There just wasn't any reason to rest, as, if we let our mind rest even for a second, we'd surely pass out; we were that much wounded. And passing out here, meant death.

"Is that what I think it is?" Lianne looked in the distance.

"Finally…" My vision wasn't as great as normal (Due to extreme hunger and wounds) but I could still make out the small thing in the horizon.

But the pain was worth it. Greenery was everywhere but there was something else. Something that gave us hope.

What I did see in the distance, was a cart. My heart skipped a beat. I felt joy even without considering that they might not help us. More winds passed us by. Sighs of relief escaped my lips and I fell on my knees. I couldn't stand anymore.

Gradually the cart came closer and closer. Whoever was on the cart saw us- that much we could tell. With every passing moment, I felt my chest tighten. Was it excitement or was it pain? I didn't have an answer for that.

The cart was spacious and had some people- at least that was what I could tell from the outside. Some seasoned adventurers were there and even a novice like me could tell. They were poking out their heads to gauge the situation outside. For a second I almost felt envious.

They came prepared to fight against all sorts of danger during their travels- I guessed. The person driving the cart was a middle-aged man who looked quite healthy. And then came the fatigue. It was like my vision failing.

When they got close, seeing us in shambles, the middle-aged man said something. I was glad but my vision was too blurry now. I didn't really look at Lianne but she was probably in an even worse shape than me as she couldn't even receive healing.

But before replying to the middle-aged man, everything went dark. During that period I could hear the people around me murmur but I couldn't understand them. I felt something soft underneath my head. (It felt amazing)