°Thirty-Nine•Doubt°

It was around noon when we had just decided that we've had enough rest and continued our journey. This usually only takes me about two to three nights but after the encounter with the wolves, it really took a lot of energy from us. It might take more time this time around.

We walked 'til it was sundown and we took another rest to try to catch some sleep for the night so we'd have enough energy to continue our walk the next day. We were both leaning against a tree while looking up to the starry night sky.

"What if we're not from this world after all?" the petite girl beside me asked. I shrugged my shoulders without turning to her, "What makes you think so?"

"I don't know. I don't remember a lot of stuff. That also includes how I managed to live 'til today with a minimum amount of food and especially that I can't touch water. It just makes me question how I'm able to be here. I have zero memory of any of it," she explained.

"Rhea, don't doubt your existence. Whether or not you're from here or not, you're here now. There must be a reason, don't ever doubt it, okay?" I told her. I saw her nod from the corner of my eyes. "Close your eyes, Rhea. Get some sleep, we'll walk the whole day tomorrow too," I said, giving her a small head pat.

+++

We set off a little after sunrise. We ate some bread I brought and had continued our little adventure to the town. We walked for the whole morning before taking a rest at an apple tree. The apple trees seem more common now than it was back then. Like the day before, I grabbed some apples and gave them to her. She used my dagger to slice it.

After the rest, we continued our walk. We didn't rest for long because we wanted to reach there sooner. "Arran, do you believe in magic?" she asked. I shrugged my shoulders, "It depends on what kind of magic. I think magic exists but it isn't something that can be seen, you know?" I voiced out my personal opinion.

"Yeah. I believe magic is a beautiful thing. If only there was a magic that is able to fix my condition," she said sadly. I reached out to give her a pat but she slid back. Wait, something isn't right. I turned around to see her being restrained by a thug. His hand was covering her mouth as she struggles.

I reached for my dagger but a gun was what replaced it. Where did the gun come from? Why can't I remember? I've only ever used a gun a few times and those were training. I don't think I even own a gun! Whatever what's important now is to make sure Rhea is safe. I aimed the gun at the thug's head.

"Let her go, or I'll shoot!" I told him. He just laughed, "You look like you've not held a gun before. I doubt your aim is good," he snickered. He then pulled Rhea closer to him. His hand left her mouth as he reached out into his pocket and pulled out a knife. He pressed the knife down on her neck.

"I want money and you get the girl," he said. I rummage my pockets and was only able to pull out twenty bucks. I handed it to him, "this is all I got. We were about to go to the next town to do some business before you stopped us," I said, carefully taking small steps towards him with the money. He took the money gently but refuses to let Rhea go.

"This is not enough. Your girl is only worth twenty bucks? Pathetic!" He yelled. He leaves me no choice and he was close enough for me to shot him without missing my shot. I held the gun tight before aiming it at his head and pulled the trigger, "No, she's worth a life," I whispered to him as he fell.

Rhea fell down with him due to his body weight. She screamed in pain as the knife in his hand sliced her shoulder. Damn it! I was careless. I carefully took his arms off of her and pulled her up. I took my handkerchief out and dry up her blood. I took a bandage out of my bag and wrapped her shoulder with it, "I'm sorry you're hurt because I was careless."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it, at least he's gone," she said, pointing towards the dead thug. I nodded and rummage through his stuff and took my money back. I too took some of his belongings such as an old watch and the knife. "It's kind of weird to see a thug being alone. We'd better leave before his mates come after us," I said to Rhea.

She nodded and we continued our journey. "Are we almost there yet?" she asked, "It feels like there's an obstacle every few miles and it's kinda getting tiring."

I thought about it. She's really not wrong though. We have been running into so much trouble. I don't remember having to go through all this trouble before. "We'll be there soon in another day or two," I assured her. I heard a heavy sigh from her. I turned to her and gave her a pat on the back.

"If you're tired, we can take a rest," I offered but she shook her head. "I want to reach there as soon as possible," she said. I gave her an okay and continued to walk. My stomach grumbled as we were walking. I pulled out some bread from my bag and breaks it in half. I gave half to Rhea which she gladly took. "We need to get more food unless you're okay with eating plain bread for the rest of the journey."

She just shrugged her shoulders, "I don't mind."

We then ate in silence as we walked. I spotted another apple tree in the distance and decides to get some for Rhea. "There's an apple tree there, you wanna take a rest? I'm gonna collect some apples for you," I said. She nodded and I reached up to get some apples and put them in my bag. These apples are really fresh and juicy, I may be able to sell them to the market.