Ch 11. The ones who fight back

Mori: "You know? I've always wanted to ask you... how come you are such a weird guy?"

"Excuse me?"

Mori: "Haha, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, how come you never fit in and stayed hardheaded and fixated on your way?"

"That...doesn't really sound much better."

It had been almost a year since we started traveling together. All this time, it had been mostly only the two of us. So I thought she already knew me better than this. Yet here she was asking some really rude questions. I didn't even know if she was teasing me or actually trying to start a fight.

Either way, I better not start something now, when she has the scissors so close to my neck.

I don't know how she was able to take care of herself so well this past year, but even after all this time living like some renegades, she looked perfect. Me, on the other hand, I was starting to look more and more like... well, like you would imagine a person living in the woods for a year would look like.

"You know, no use to keep it that long, it's not like you have any use for it..." were the words that got us in this situation. After throwing a confused, maybe even nervous look her way, we clarified that she was talking about my hair.

"She knew damn well what she was saying" is what I thought about the remark that could have easily been misinterpreted.

So that was how we got into that situation. I don't know how she was able to cut her own hair, but she instantly refused to let me cut mine on the basis that "It would be a pity to ruin something so nice."

It was not like I didn't trust her with my life at this point, but she had gotten way more cunning in her little games, so I had to pick my words carefully in that situation.

"It is not like I am doing it on purpose, I just do what I feel like doing. Going by pure instinct is what I am good at."

Mori: "So, you mean to say you are just being selfish?"

"That hurt."

Mori: "Oh, sorry! Where did I cut you?"

"No, not the scissors..."

Selfish... yeah, I guess you can say that...

In a whole year, we had gotten pretty close. Yet I was not able to make that final step. It was not that I was scared. I just liked the current situation, so I felt no need to move it one step further.

What does making it official change anyway?

That being said, it was pretty easy to notice that her sharp tongue came from the fact that I was making her wait a bit too much.

...

We were somewhere in Africa by now. I forgot to mention, but our destination was, as luck would have it, at the other end of The Hub. We were deep in the savanna, yet only 70% of the way there.

I was coming back from picking up some food. A rabbit that I ran after for like 2 hours.

When I came back, I saw someone talking to her.

After so much time with no human interaction, you would think we were getting bad at it, but she seemed to have no problem smiling and talking with that guy standing there.

Stranger: "So, what about coming to our camp?"

"Yo, thank you, but we are ok here. Haha..."

Stranger: "Who is the guy? I could swear he was nowhere near us a minute ago..."

Mori: "Oh...he is my...hmmm...a person I know."

I was surprised they didn't hear my heart with how loudly it cracked.

It makes sense, I guess. No name. No defined relationship with her. How could she even present me?

"Call me whatever you feel like. So...what was the talk about before?"

Stranger: "Well... before Third Wheel just teleported here, I was about to ask the lady to come back with me to the camp."

Would Mori get mad if I punched him?

Mori: "Please call me Mori. I didn't get to hear your name yet."

Stranger: "Kellan."

Mori: "Kellan, nice to meet you."

I don't like him at all.

I was no stranger to jealousy, but it had been a long time since I felt it last.

Looking at Kellan, he looked pretty intimidating.

He was tall, had a good build, yet he was still on the slim side. His hair was really short, but you could see the curls that would make for an insane afro.

"So, Kellan, as I was saying, Thank you for inviting us, but we have places to go."

Kellan: "Places to go in the middle of the savanna? You taking the girl on a safari?"

Mori: "Actually, we are going much farther. We are going to Europe."

I feel like she shouldn't have mentioned that.

Kellan: "EUROPE? You taking the girl on a walk that far? Is that any way to treat her?"

"I..."

Kellan: "No no no, don't say anything now. Mori was your name? Come to our village. We can get you a nice bed to sleep in."

"Don't make me repeat myse..."

Mori: "Ok... we will both come to your village."

"What..."

Kellan: "What..."

...

The resistance. It has been so long since traveling, and yet this is the first time I hear about them.

There was not much in terms of fighting strength. It was just a village of around 100 people. But they were well connected.

Kellan: "There are at least 50 fighters for each Hub city around the world."

Kellan was the leader of this tribe, and apparently he was looking for a bride.

Not that Mori is going to fill that role.

My relationship with Kellan was bound to be a shaky one from how I met him. But I was happy to hear that people were living in organized structures outside of The Hub. After all, I had to think about what to do after confirming the situation with my family.

And that was how, on a whim, I became part of this resistance. I did not yet know what I wanted to achieve by doing that, but I just felt like it was something I wanted, or maybe had to do if I ever wanted to have a better tomorrow.

Only later did I find out that joining meant I had to go through some training. The supervisor? None other than the leader.