CHAPTER 53: From Now On, My Name Is Bait!

[George's POV]

The girl had me cornered against a tree wall-slam style. The way the golden sunlight gently pierced through the leaves of the trees creating a halo around us would have made it quite the romantic atmosphere if it wasn't for the occasion.

I looked around at the beautiful location in wonder.

Is this what they call sun-kissed?

I was in such awe that I forgot what kind of ordeal I was in. My mind came back to me when she punched the tree behind me.

"Listen up. You're going to be bait for me. Got it?"

I rolled my eyes. Who does she think she is?

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

She smiled graciously.

"It's good you're reasonable. Let's go."

She pushed me forward. I walked ahead while she followed. We kept walking for a long time and I got bored eventually.

I started to complain.

"Say, how long are we going to walk for?"

She replied in a menacing tone.

"Shut up."

As we kept walking through the endless cluster of trees without meeting a soul, I eventually got fed up.

I stopped walking and turned to face her.

She pointed a knife at me as if to threaten me.

"Keep. Walking."

I stood without budging.

"I will not. I'm sure you mean to kill me at some point, so why should I cooperate?"

She put the knife against my neck.

"Don't try me."

I looked her in the eye without flinching.

"What if I do? I don't really care what happens to me right now, so you should be careful. I suspect you won't be able to survive this without using me as bait."

She shoved me to the ground.

"What do you know? You're just trash from Group 39."

I chuckled and looked at her with pity.

"The way I am right now, I think I can see the situation a lot better that you can. You're in Group 22, so you might be quite high up, but what's to say you won't meet someone higher than yourself? That's why you want me, so you can make me stay in one place and draw attention to myself."

She looked shocked, like I had uncovered her entire scheme.

I sniggered.

"Surprised? If you are, then I have something that will leave you stupefied. Your plan is absolute trash. It's so stupid, I feel like I'm talking to a five-year old. Wait, you should be six or seven right? Then I retract my statement. I was not talking to a five-year old, I was actually talking to a seven-year old whose mental age never passed five."

Her face went so red, I thought she was going to explode.

I sighed inwardly.

I blew it, didn't I? Most people wouldn't dare to insult their captor when they have a knife pressed against their neck, but I'm different from other people.

I stared deep into her amber eyes. I hadn't noticed this before, but she was actually quite average in terms of looks. She had moderately plump lips, short brown hair that reached her shoulders and a face that was quite normal. Her body was also quite slender, almost delicate.

I kept staring into her eyes while she was quietly fuming. With any luck, she would be someone who could restrain her actions and not act thoughtlessly.

I wonder if it's getting weird now. I've been trying the thing where a villain stares into a protagonist's eyes until they get uncomfortable. I figure it's the quickest way for me to get this knife off my neck.

We kept the staring match going until she looked away and removed the knife.

I rubbed my neck that now had a mark on it and shook my head in scorn.

I guess she's still a child under that tough exterior.

Even though I was out of immediate danger, from the way she was glaring at me with a little intent to kill, I had to appease her quickly.

"Unless the person is stupid or refuses to actually look at the situation, there's no way they'll not think a person in the middle of the forest doing nothing isn't strange."

She sneered.

"Of course I know that, dimwit. But most people will drop their guard when they see the thirty-nine tag on you. So get moving before I actually decide to kill you."

I set out again but I could feel that girl's gaze on my entire body.

My stomach growled.

"I'm hungry. When are we eating?"

There was no answer from her.

I suddenly had a disturbing thought.

"Do you even have any plans for food?"

I looked back to see her face that was rapidly turning red, not from anger this time but from embarrassment.

I sighed and smiled bitterly.

"Let's stop. We don't even have water, so there's no need to exhaust ourselves. Where are we even walking to?"

She ignored my endless questions and pushed the knife against my back.

We passed ditches, depressions in the earth, and eventually reached a cliff that overlooked a river that raged wildly.

I couldn't help but get very nervous as we walked towards the edge of the cliff.

"Why are we here? Is this an execution?"

I kept asking questions and annoying her until she finally relented.

"If I tell you will you shut up?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm meeting the people from my group. Happy?"

Happy? No, I was most certainly not happy. That simple and short answer that vaguely responded to my query might have removed my initial speculations but created a lot more.

How is she meeting them? How will they find each other? And what happens to me when they gather?

Scenes of meat being roasted over an open fire went through my mind.

I laughed and got rid of those absurd thoughts.

Nah, that is not possible. It couldn't. Could it?

I peeked at the girl and I found her to be gaping at me with a light in her eyes that I did not like.

My heart started to pound rapidly and my eyes widened. Sweat also started to trickle down the side of my face.

No. No. NO! I must be wrong. I have to be wrong!

Turning away from her to conceal the emotions raging across my face, I then started to probe for information.