Green blip

There were no more blackberries now. Most of the fruit trees were barren. No longer could they pick grapes from vines and enjoy their garden of Eden paradise. Fish were leaving too but for the time being they could still catch enough and eat plenty of wild plants like garlic mustard, sorrel and dandelion leaves too.

They would only be completely gone in winter along with the majority of wild grasses that would become more dormant and produce less seed for flour production. Marcus had begun to explore outside the valley more often again. Sometimes he'd bring James too but it wasn't always safe to leave only two people at the base.

To avoid danger, Marcus planned his short expeditions on days when everyone had less chores to do. This way they'd be sheltered in the bunker while he was away. Today, Lana had offered to tag along and Marcus had no reason to refuse. They wore short blankets from the bunker around them like cloaks to stay warm.

"Can you see anything on the map?" She asked whilst sub-consciously looking over his shoulder before realising only he could see it. "Only you and me," was his reply. They continued walking.

"Can you believe James got smacked in the face by a fish this morning," she giggled. Marcus let out a slight chuckle too.

"I don't know how he does it," was Marcus' reply. He took a moment to think whether it was okay to say what he couldn't stop thinking about. "I saw your drawings this morning by the way." Lana stopped on the path.

"Um... Uh, I..." she was lost for words and her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

"They were really intricate. I almost lost myself in the detail," Marcus went on. "You have incredible talent." Lana finally looked up at Marcus. For all her beauty and all her grace, she could still become bashful over something as cute as a hobby.

"Th-thank you," she stuttered. Marcus was glad she took the compliment. "I-if you like. I can show some more of m-my drawings when we get back?" Marcus hesitated not expecting her to make such an offer. He didn't want to miss the opportunity though so he quickly regained his composure and gave her a warm smile. "I'd love nothing more."

Realising what he'd just said, Marcus joined Lana's blush. They went back to walking and were more or less silent for some time. Inside their heads however, there was nothing but shrieks of joy.

Marcus checked his stats to see his suspicions confirmed. His charisma had incremented slightly again having spent so much time with the group. Training had improved his physical traits to levels worthy of an olympic athlete and reading countless books on survival had raised his intelligence above a senior university student.

His wisdom was the lowest but that tended to increase after memorable experiences so Marcus just had to make more of those. Opening up the map, it showed the same old nothing as it always did. It drove him crazy just thinking about how they might have just missed someone if they'd just decided to explore in the other direction or if they'd only gone a little further out.

There could be a person one kilometre out of reach from them right now but they couldn't possibly know. Marcus was just about to close the map when a tiny, insignificant blip appeared. It had only lasted for a brief millisecond but Marcus wasn't going to ignore it.

Grabbing Lana's hand, he ran in the direction of the blip. "Did you see a person?" She asked as they splashed through a river.

"Yes!" Marcus exclaimed with utter excitement.

"Are you sure it wasn't a monster? It could have been red!" She yelled as they rushed past a clump of bushes.

"I'm sure of it! I saw it flash green. Even if it was brief, I wouldn't forget such a clear afterimage!" He called back. Stopping at the top of a hill, Marcus opened the map back up. "Come on we must have caught up." He scanned his screen fervently until there it was. The green dot moving toward some unclear destination.

Just above the dot was not one or two but six people! An entire group had woken up together without a single death! Marcus explained what he saw to Lana who was also just as ecstatic to learn this. She turned to Marcus before asking, "so what now?"

"We don't know if they're friendly or not. It's likely they're more capable than us if all of them survived so I can't guarantee our safety when confronting them." Marcus was torn. If it was just him, he'd go without a second thought but with Lana... he was responsible for her too as leader.

"I don't think that should put us off them though," she spoke up. "You're not the only one imagining all the worst possible outcomes. For example, will we have enough food if they come to stay with us, what if they kidnap us and take us back to some sought of slave camp, they could be cannibals!" Marcus felt more at ease knowing that he wasn't the only one scared to act. He was also impressed at how Lana had obviously thought a bit harder about this than him.

"Also, there's so many good possibilities as well. They still have their guide so they can tell us more information. They might be able to share some of their food, they can help us build better things to improve our way of living, it would be nice to have some more friends." Marcus was glad that was how Lana saw it.

"You're right. We can do nothing and regret it forever or we can find out for ourselves what benefits we can reap." Marcus was filled with new determination again and boundless optimism.

"Just in case things do go south though, I want you to hang back with your bow to cover my escape in case they aren't friendly." Lana nodded in agreement.

Marcus made sure to make himself as visible as possible. Easy to spot so they wouldn't even be looking out for a second person. Lana positioned herself in a tree far away from Marcus but close enough to provide support.

"Hellooooo!" Marcus shouted to get their attention. He waved his arms in big circles so it only took a moment for them to spot him. They turned and began to make their way over to Marcus. None of them ran excitedly. They stayed together as a unit.

'So they're thinking of their own safety too. Their leader must have some sense at least or maybe they're all capable.' Marcus walked steadily and calmly. Being overly friendly would only cause experienced and intelligent people to act suspicious. So Marcus should assume they already have a plan to capture him and therefore should choose wisely what information to reveal about his situation.

As he approached, their appearances were easier to make out. Three girls and three guys. Two of the women had brown hair tied back but the third carried herself differently with more of a swagger. Her hair was a fiery orange. One of the boys was also ginger but the other two's hair were like the ying and yang as one was a gothic black while the second was a snowy white. Their eyes were both a piercing blue though.

The red headed girl seemed to have complete heterochromia as one eye was blue and the other green. The ginger guy's eyes were just green though. The other two girls shared brown eyes. Only one's was slightly darker just like her hair.

The group's clothes were what caught Marcus' eyes however. Leather jackets, tough trousers, belts, pockets and scabbards all carrying tools, equipment and weapons. The leader was the one with white hair. He carried a gun. A simple pistol of which Marcus was definitely within the most effective range of.

"Hey..." Marcus greeted them. He offered a modest smile. He gave himself a short introduction and decided it was safe to reveal he'd been out searching for survivors. Their leader stepped forward and gave a formal greeting of his own.

"Hello Marcus. It's nice to meet you but before we continue, may I ask that your partner come out from their hiding place?"

'Ack! Of course they would know. Their guide has a map too dumbass!' Marcus tried to keep his face neutral but knew he'd revealed some sought of frustration.

"My apologies sir. I was just being cautious and didn't want to put my companion in any danger if strangers like yourselves were not interested in a peaceful encounter," Marcus responded swiftly to not create a misunderstanding. The leader nodded as though he understood this perfectly.

"Then I'm sure you won't react irrationally when we explain that we sent two people of our own to restrain her and confiscate her weapons?" The leader snapped his fingers and Lana was dragged from her hiding place over to them by two men that easily had much stronger builds than even James. It was then Marcus knew. They were at their mercy.