Chapter 12
After walking for about half an hour, Jeff suggested they take a short break, noticing everyone's fatigue.
He chose a large rock to sit and rest on, despite not feeling very tired himself.
"Oh yes, young man, here's the axe. You'll need it, won't you?" Charlotte said, stepping in front of him to hand over the axe.
"Thanks," he mumbled, accepting it.
Charlotte just smiled as she walked away and went towards the five of them. Charlotte, Emma, and the three girls got to know each other after that half an hour.
Since girls tend to communicate to know each other better, when the topic was about Jeff and they heard that this young man in front of them was the definition of awesome, they were in awe.
(The reason I understand why girls engage in this behavior is because I've experienced life as a gay individual and often had these kinds of conversations with my girl friends—not girlfriends, but close platonic friends. That's the evidence I can offer.)
Ariana recounted her experience about Jeff being able to make fire, build shelter, and even catch a fist with his bare hands.
Other than that, they don't know anything about him, since he was not very talkative.
The two nodded their heads when they finally had an idea about what kind of person this young man in front of them was. A cool one and a young man with good principles.
"Have you all rested enough? We have to keep moving and find some water. We only have about 1 hour left to continue exploring before going back. Since going back will take around another 1-2 hours," Jeff spoke, looking at the five of them sitting in a circle.
Hearing what he said, they looked at the sky and understood what he meant. They had to get back before night struck, or they would be in big trouble.
"We are good now, young captain," Emma exclaimed with a bright smile as she stood up.
"Yeah, we're good to go, Jeff. Five minutes of resting is not that bad," Charlotte added.
As they stood up, Jeff redirected his way to another one, if his luck was good and he could find a source of fresh water. Gripping the axe, he cleared every obstacle in the way.
But after an hour, there was no sign of any river at all. There wasn't even any spring to be found, making him sigh.
The five of them were having a hard time to move, especially Emma and Charlotte, since they were wearing heels.
After taking them off, they are now walking barefoot on the rocky road. Since the terrain is kind of ascending bit by bit.
Seeing the struggles in their faces, and then looking up above the sky, it's already 3'o clock in the afternoon. They need to get back before sundown.
"Let's go back. The sun is close from setting down. We'll look for other ways to get water," he bellowed.
Charlotte, Jessica, Emma, and the others nodded in agreement as they made their way back. The road was challenging, strewn with rocks, and Charlotte's slip that caused her a moment of fear.
She was well aware of the risks, given from this rocky terrain, "Ahhh!" she exclaimed in fright.
Suddenly, in the nick of time, someone came to her aid, holding her in the waist. Feeling the sudden touch, she opened her eyes, which were trembling slowly, and saw that she was still alive.
Looking up, she saw the face of the familiar young man in front of her. He hurriedly helped her stand up and let go.
"No need to be in haste. The road is quite steep. You should slow down," he said as he left her.
Charlotte looked at him in a daze. Emma, beside her, pursed her lips and giggled.
"Don't tell me our great CEO is having a crush on a young man, that's bad you know~," she said in a flirtatious tone.
Hearing her words, she fully woke up and looked at her coldly, "I'm not you big booby vixen. Let's go," she retorted with a red face.
Emma did not say anything anymore, seeing that her face was so red that it was about to explode.
They then continued their journey in a quiet one. They were finally back in the early evening.
"Finally, we are back," Ariana said with tears in her eyes. She hurriedly went to their shelter and slumped down. Jessica also dropped down on her back to close her eyes, too.
All of that walking had clearly taken a hard toll on their legs. For Layla, she just sat down on the sandy beach to let the fresh air wipe away her sweat.
For Emma and Charlotte, they were also beside her, while Jeff was just standing, looking at the horizons in deep thought.
"Is making a makeshift filter good? But using coconut for that, is not going to be easy. I should search again for tomorrow. If I find nothing, then making it is my only choice," he thought inwardly.
Jeff then decided to make some traps for food, so every time, he wouldn't need to waste his time catching it. But night was about to strike again, so he had to make it tomorrow.
So firstly, he went towards Layla, where the snake was attached to her neck like a necklace. He wondered if this girl was not afraid of being dirty at all.
Emma and Charlotte, seeing that Jeff walked towards them, glanced at him.
"Layla, do you know how to cook this snake? Just burn it in the fire, then it's good," Jeff muttered.
Layla, hearing this, nodded her head in his command, "Yes, I can," she said happily, seeing that she could help.
"Alright. I'll make a fire first and get some coconuts. While I'll try to catch some fish after that for our evening meal," he stated.
She nodded, acknowledging his command, then Jeff made the fire, which Layla began to cook the meal.
[You just made a fire. You have gained 5 experience points & 2 points.]
[35/100 exp. Remains to unlock a skill]
Jeff was about to start his work when a call behind him was heard, "Young captain, can we help? Since we don't want to be a burden at all," Emma exclaimed, looking at him pridefully.
Charlotte just stood there, also waiting for his reply, since they also didn't want to be spoon-fed at all.
Jeff nodded with a smile and replied shortly, "Sure, follow me."
"That's great, young captain. Are you going to hunt fish? Build a shelter? Or get supplies? Or…," Her mouth kept mumbling and mumbling, and Jeff felt like his ears were buzzing crazily.
When he couldn't handle it anymore, he answered quickly to make her shut it, "We are going to get coconuts after that, catch some fish, that's all. So, you can stop asking for now," he said feeling his ears was buzzing.
Charlotte, witnessing this, couldn't contain her laughter and nudged Emma in the side. "Look, even the child is overwhelmed by your rapid chatter. Perhaps you should consider speaking less," she remarked, chuckling.
"Hmph," Emma snorted childishly, glancing sideways.
Although they were around 23 or 24 years old, they behaved like teenagers towards each other.
"We have arrived. I'll go up and get some coconuts. You then gather them and take them back to the shelter," Jeff said, as he dropped the axe in the ground as he climbed up.
The two, seeing him climb so high, were a bit scared since the coconut tree that he climbed was high.
When he was up, he motioned them to stay back a little so they would not get hit.
Understanding his signal, the two stepped back. Subsequently, several coconuts started to drop to the ground.
They made a pronounced thud upon hitting the sand. Jeff gathered around 9 to 10 coconuts, as there were well over a dozen of them.
The pair then took two coconuts in their hands, going back and forth. Because the coconuts were large and the shelter was somewhat distant, they grew tired.
Their lack of exercise meant they didn't have much strength. Jeff then descended to catch some fish, and the two followed him, eagerly to see him catch fish with his bare hands.
"Let's see if what they say is true," Emma whispered, her gaze fixed on Jeff.
Charlotte did not say anything, but deep down, she agreed with his words. Since seeing that kind of thing was kind of cool and manly.
There they have it! They just saw that Jeff's hand came coming down as fast as lightning, catching one, which made them in awe.
"What they were talking about seems legit," Emma said with stars in her eyes, looking at Jeff lustfully.
This was the first time she saw a young man to be so capable. So capable that she could not help but fall for him.
Charlotte was really lucky to be teamed up with the young man in front of him. That seems to be a multi-role kind of person.
"Here, catch," Jeff said, tossing the unconscious fish, which would be jumping if he hadn't knocked them out.
After catching about seven to eight fish and realizing there were no more to be found, he sighed in relief that so many had come ashore.
[As the host consistently engaged in the hobby of catching fish barehanded, you have earned 5 experience points.]
[5/100 exp. needed to unlock a skill.]