Chapter 6 – The Border?

October 9th 2027 19:49

‘We’re finally out of the forest!’ Pov said, happy.

They were finally inside a city. A quiet and deserted city. Perhaps the residents had all moved to the capital city due to concerns about their well-being. Though, if people were all moving to the capital city for that reason, how crowded would that place be now? Pov couldn’t help but wonder.

I’ll find out when I get there, Pov thought.

Carrie carried on. Picked a building for them to shelter in.

‘Carrie, aren’t you glad that we’re out of the forest?’

‘Maybe I would’ve been, if I was alone.’

‘Well, look, I know that I’m a burden, okay? You’ve made that perfectly clear. I would’ve stayed with the earth tribe if only they didn’t have that ridiculous ritual where I have to meditate alone!’

‘What is there to be scared about from being alone anyway…’

That remark irked her. Often, Pov would share about her fear of being alone, would explain it as best as she could, but people never seemed to understand. Hated how they downplayed her fear. Cursed them. ‘If you have this kind of fear,’ Pov said, ‘maybe you’ll understand.’

Carrie didn’t pursue the matter any further.

Maybe this was a mistake. Carrie was being talkative; Pov should’ve continued the conversation. However, she never really liked going into details about her fear, about how she developed it. She never wanted to be scared of being alone. But she just was. And, since it had come to that, she had no intention of ever facing her fear. Rather than conquering it, she would rather have other solutions. Like having someone beside her. Or, worst case scenario, eternal sleep.

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20:11

Inside a building, for dinner, with a portable stove, Pov had roasted… grasshoppers.

The reason behind that was because—when supplies were limited—those grasshoppers were bound to be eaten sooner or later. That night, Pov decided that sooner was better than later. Not to mention, she was… curious. The earth tribe only wanted to consume something that naturally comes from the earth; hence, no seasoning.

What if Pov were to add seasonings to the roasted grasshoppers? Could she make it tasty?

Thus, she added spice to hopefully numb the disgusting texture, then salt to add good flavor to it.

Pov ate it first, had a taste test, and…

… So, this is how it feels.

She offered the roasted grasshoppers to Carrie. She ate it.

‘… Tasteless,’ she said.

‘For this one, I have to agree…’

… At least it’s no longer disgusting, Pov thought; decided that this was a win.

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October 10th 2027 06:04

‘Oi! Wake up!’

Huh? Pov was woken up from her sleep. Since when had Carrie ever been rough like this? Also, why was her voice so… masculine? Did she have a sore throat or something? She couldn’t be dehydrated again, was she?

‘Oi! Wake up or I’ll shoot you!’

Shoot… me…? Pov opened her eyes and saw a gun barrel pointed at her. This scared her awake. Then, she realized that she was surrounded by three people. two men, one woman. Each had a rifle in hand.

‘What are you doing at the border?’

Border? Pov didn’t understand what he meant. As far as she knew, this was still the same country. Regardless, currently her panic was overwhelmed by the drowsiness from having her sleep disturbed. Get it together, Pov. You’re in a life-or-death situation right now! ‘I-I came from the forest. With—’ Carrie! She would know what to do!— ‘my companion!’

Pov looked around. Carrie was nowhere to be seen. Where is she?

‘Companion, you say?’ asked the man. ‘And where is this companion of yours?’

She just asked that same question to herself! ‘I-I don’t know…’

‘You’re hiding your companion, aren’t you?’ asked the woman.

‘I just woke up. Really.’

A thought crossed Pov’s mind. It was scary, being pointed at by a gun. Especially since the pull of a trigger could rob her of her life. However… considering that Carrie was nowhere in sight… If these armed people hadn’t come, Pov would’ve been alone. And that would’ve been absolutely more horrible! In a sense, she was glad that they were here. Well, the situation could’ve been better if her life wasn’t at stake, but she would rather this anytime over being alone. Anytime.

Bang!

The woman shot the roof of the building, creating a hole. ‘In case you aren’t aware, these are real. I will ask one more time: you’re hiding your companion, aren’t you?’

‘I am not! Really!’ Pov would raise her hands up, show that she was harmless, but it seemed that they had tied her hands behind her back while she was asleep. Is my survival instinct that horrible?! To not wake up despite having my wrists tied together?!

‘Time to meet your maker then.’ She pressed the barrel onto her forehead.

Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t want to die.

‘Wait,’ halted the man, ‘she knows nothing.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘If she is hiding her companion, then there’s no use mentioning her.’

‘The stuffs around here are for two. She knows that there’s no use hiding the fact.’

‘Looks to me that she mentioned her companion because she herself wanted to know where the companion is. She thinks that we’ve gotten to her companion first.’

In all honesty, Pov was just answering the questions without thinking much.

‘Besides, she’s at this border, the opposite direction from the capital city. I believe she did come from the forest. Of course, the possibility that she is sent from the capital city is there, but I don’t think that’s likely.

‘And if she’s not from the capital, then we need all the labor force that we can get. Kez would be delighted to meet her.’

‘So, we leave it to him?’

‘He would inspect her himself regardless. You know how our boss is.’

‘Fair.’

‘So,’ said the other man, joining in, ‘we send her to Kez then?’

‘Yes. Send a message through the radio. Tell Kez about the situation. See when he wants to meet with her. Until then, one of us can keep watch over her.’

Keep watch. Seemed like Pov wouldn’t be alone. That was good.

‘Check the luggage, keep patrolling after. I’ll escort this woman.’

‘Roger that.’

‘Let’s go.’