Respite

Liam-31 and Judas-12 had been walking for an hour since they had blown up the building containing the arachnae's, as the sun began to fall, slowly leaving the two in darkness.

Liam-31, almost instinctively, turned around and noticed Judas-12, who had been slouching down in his posture, his arms hanging like he had been carrying 45 kilogram kettle bells.

"Do we need to take a break?" Liam-31 asked Judas-12, who looked him in the eye. Even without being able to tell his facial expression, Liam-31 could sense just how exhausted Judas-12 was.

"Ha... Yeah, that's a good idea..." Judas-12 said with heavy breath, his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths.

Walking for an hour they had made their way out of the city and into one of the forests in the area, with no signs of place to rest. 

Observing his surroundings, Liam-31 spotted a fallen tree that had been seemingly chopped in half, a perfect place to rest for a short while. 

"Alright, then we'll rest on this fallen tree until you're ready to walk again." Liam-31 said, as they walked towards the tree, sitting down as Judas-12 let out a sigh.

"Man, I always forget just how good it feels to rest my body once in a while, it's like I just took off all my armor and I'm just laying on my bed..." Judas-12 said, stretching his back as he leaned back, supporting his armor with his hands. 

"How long have you been on Earth?" Liam-31 asked.

"Hmph..." Judas-12 looked up at the sky, relaxing his posture as he slowly began to lean further back. "I'd say about two months now? No, maybe even more than that, I lost count."

Liam-31 twitched slightly, the thought of being alone on this demon-ridden planet was enough for chills to be sent down his spine, let alone the thought of mustering the courage to continue searching even after two months.

"Why are you still going?" Liam-31 asked. Judas-12 got up from his relaxed position, looking at Liam-31 with his head slightly bent.

"What do you mean?" Judas-12 asked.

"I mean, why do you still have the courage of walking on?"

Judas-12 took a minute to answer his question, placing his hand on the bottom of his helmet as he looked forward, before finally looking back at the sky.

"Hope, I suppose."

"Hope?" Liam-31 was confused by his answer.

"Yeah. I mean, just walking around, nobody with you, creatures roaming around itching to kill you the moment your spotted, and the inability to finish the mission you set out to accomplish, there really wasn't much for me to continue going off of." Judas-12 said.

"So then, how did hope stop that?" Liam-31 asked.

"I think... it was just the idea that soon enough I'll find someone in this hell, and that when that day came, I wouldn't be so lonely anymore, and hell, maybe I would be able to get out of here and stop those creatures." Judas-12 said, turning towards Liam-31.

"And I guess..." Judas-12 fixed his posture, sitting perfectly still.

"That hope was you." Judas-12 finally said.

"Me?" Liam-31, perplexed, pointed to himself as his body leaned back.

"Yeah, you. Listen, if I hadn't found you at that point I would've been killed by those raptors pretty much instantly. But seeing you take them on so easily, I sort of figured, that the hope I was still moving for was you." Judas-12 said.

Liam-31 could only look at Judas-12, not a single word could be released from his lips as his words echoed through Liam-31's mind, unable to be let go.

"Haha, cheesy right?" Judas-12 remarked, leaning back into his previous position. "Still, I was glad I found you."

Liam-31 looked up towards the sky which had turned dark before he had even realized it. Since he had first sat down, his body began to relax itself onto the tree's bark, slowly beginning to close his eyes as if his body was being enveloped into a deep and relaxing sleep.

Just as his heavy eyes began to fully close, Liam-31 noticed the faint hint of smoke in the air, opening his eyes further, he could tell that the smoke was coming only a few kilometers away from their position.

"It's time to move forward." Liam-31 sprang up from the tree, his body almost instantly forgetting just how tired it was from the constant moving. Turning towards Judas-12, he reached out his hand.

"I guess it was about time." Judas-12 let out a soft laugh, grabbing Liam-31's hand as he got up from the tree. "Where should we go from here?"

"There was smoke coming from the distance. If we move now, we will be able to get there in half an hour." Liam-31 said, as he began to move the moment he finished his sentence.

Looking up at the sky one last time, which had become covered in stars, Judas-12 began to walk shoulder to Liam-31, as they continued to follow the smoke trail to the camp.