Survive... Part-2

Freeman disappeared into thin air, leaving Thime and the remaining crew behind.

The crew hadn't been able to recover from the horrendous shock, and Thime was the same. He was still in shock; it wasn't because of all the deaths he saw, but because of Freeman's last word.

'What are we going to do?'

Thime looked at their terrified faces and questioned his leadership skills. He believed them to be his responsibility.

Almost all people in the crew were men, apart from Yukima and her assistant Faith.

After being separated from Yukima, Faith was in Thime's group and was also amongst the handful of people that survived the creatures.

It was her first time seeing such horrifying bloodshed, and it scarred her for life. She just stood still, saying no words.

Thime rolled his eyes at the group and saw ten heads, Faith being one of them. He felt hopeless watching her; blood trickled her brown hair as her dull eyes screamed her state of mind.

"Are you okay?"

Thime knew there was nothing he could do to make her feel better, but it didn't mean he would turn a blind eye.

"Yes."

Faith replied in a lifeless voice.

Thime looked at her again and then at others.

"We are all alone on this island and must stay together to escape this hellhole."

Unlike before, his voice was hoarse.

Everyone nodded in silence as Thime went towards the pool. His eyes fell on the transparent surface with disgust. His hands itched as he drew out his bottle and filled it with water.

"Everyone, grab anything you can that can hold water." He shouted, but no one moved. Everyone was too terrified to reach the pool.

"I would say it once more. We need to survive, and we need water."

Before calling them, Thime looked deep into the pool to check out for any ambushes, but he found none.

One by one, they approached the pool and filled their bottles.

Once they all filled their bottles, Thime asked them to hand him the fruits they picked, but hardly anyone picked over three.

"One. Two. Three." Thime counted the fruits. "Twenty-five and including these, we only have fifty-five of them left."

Thine scanned the group and handed them one fruit each, and kept the rest in a bag he carried with him. No one argued on the fact that he kept the rest as he was the largest contributor.

Thime was adept in survival in the wild; it was the few things he learned before becoming a sailor. He took the compass he asked from one of the crew. "We are heading towards the North. Get ready everybody."

Thime and the other got ready for their adventure on an unknown island with beings unknown lurking behind, watching them from the shadows.

~~~~~

Veru ventured deeper into the thick forest and eventually found a similar pool, but with autumn-red trees with red fruits hanging on the branches at arm's length.

His stomach grumbled. He was hungry and exhausted by the time he reached the pool and leaned his back on the trunk of a tree standing nearby.

He was sweating; the air was humid.

He crawled towards the pool and sprinkled water over his face until he was content and then plucked a fruit lying just above his head.

Unlike the half-eaten fallen fruits, it was ripened and exuded a strong fragrance of cinnamon and honey.

He sniffed the aroma lingering in the air. He felt calm and relieved as the aroma simulated his olfactory glands. He bit into the fruit.

With a warm smile creeping his face, he closed his eyes in pleasure as he savored the honey-like taste.

It tasted different. Unlike the previous fruit that tasted like an apple and peach, it tasted like sweet nectar mixed with sweet cinnamon hitting his brain with a euphoric feeling.

He munched down the fruit and plucked a few from the trees. He gobbled down the fruits and drank from the transparent pool that tasted sweet before involuntarily falling asleep on the ground.

~~~~~

After Sanim left Hose and Hina, the two went into the forest as Hina continued to tell Hose Sanim's story.

"So, you have known Sanim for roughly two years."

"Yes." Hina pulled out a plant aside to make her way.

"So, when did Sanim turn out to be like this?" Hose asked as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"I don't know. One day she just changed. She started treating me differently, and when I asked her why she said nothing."

Hina turned backward towards Hose. "Don't you think she changed a little too quickly? The change happened in a single day, and before I could make any sense out of it, she acted as if I was her enemy."

"It happened a few months before you joined us."

Hose moved his lips but paused, Hina noticing it apologized.

"No, I don't care about it. I was just thinking, did you ever find why Sanim treated you like that?"

Hina shook her head. "No, and after a few days of clinging to Veru, she one day suddenly stopped coming to us."

"Did Veru say anything to you about that?" Hose asked in an obvious tone, but Hina couldn't differentiate.

"I asked Veru about her behaving strangely, but he too kept quiet on this topic and said Sanim won't be bothering him or me."

Hina had a nebulous glint of confusion in her blue eyes, and Hose couldn't let out soft chuckles secretly. "So, what do you think? What could be the reason for Sanim changing suddenly?"

"I don't know. I didn't even spend much time with her, as whenever we were together, Veru would keep on disturbing us and separate us, taking Sanim away from me."

Hose looked at the dark trees standing at a distance of a few meters. "Why don't we stop here for a while and take a rest?"

Hina looked at her surroundings and replied with a brief shaking head. "No. Let's continue until we find a nice place to rest. We can't just take rest anywhere."

"I guess you are right." Hose looked at the horizon, and all he could see was an infinite stretch of trees soaring high.