"Do I have to listen?" Silas was tempted to whine, but he was able to keep his mouth shut.
Silas took a seat next to Axel and Evelynn, who were huddled together. Evelynn's jacket was big enough to keep both Axel and Silas protected from the cold, but he remembered the vast array of weapons and his resolve to stay away from the enigmatic girl. Instead he opted to squeeze his knees together and seat himself precariously at the very edge of the log, arms crossed. He wondered why Axel was so willing to get close to those… weapons.
Silas' eyes widened, his heart beginning to race as Rekka recounted what she had heard from Wicke. She'd asked a few questions before running completely out of mana and putting Wicke to sleep in a cave behind the waterfall. She used Macy's vines to bind her. Macy was absent; she was standing guard. Silas couldn't believe his ears. The last humans… that was what the tattoo meant. Last Stand… They were humanity's last stand against the crimes of monsterkind.
Rekka told Silas the apples that Saya had brought into camp were radioactive – the entire area was a nuclear exclusion zone called the Badlands. Humanity had decimated the landscape with nuclear weapons long ago. While nature had easily reclaimed her stake, it was still very unhealthy for humans and monsters (who shared a very large portion of human DNA) to inhabit the area for long periods of time. The apples were fine to eat, just as long as they didn't eat too much. However, the radiation had caused mutations in the wild animals in the area, leading to the creation of ferals.
"The barrier," Silas realized. Of course, he'd thought there was something up with the great protective sphere he'd seen earlier.
"That would be Lachlan," Rekka said. The nearest city and where Wicke had come from. "I know it's a lot to process, so we'll discuss further in the morning. The rest of us have already built shelters within the cave system. Find your own and rest up. It's been a long day today, and we all need to recover our mana for tomorrow."
Despite having bathed while Silas was out, Rekka still looked disheveled. The symptoms of the magic withdrawal were already beginning to take hold. She wanted nothing more than to sleep and relax. Today's events had weighed just as heavy on Rekka, who had to shoulder the responsibility of leading the last humans on the planet.
Saya appeared silently behind Silas, spooking him. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder without saying a word, then walked to a cave to the far right, beckoning for Silas to follow. There were limited caves, so Silas and Saya were to share one. Saya lay on a bed of leaves and moss, facing Silas. Silas lay facing the wall. His fingers and toes twitched with energy. A minute passed that seemed like an hour before Silas jumped to his feet, startling Saya.
"I can't," Silas said out loud. Saya put a finger to her lips.
"I can't do this." His hands started to shake again. "The last humans? Why does it have to be me, and not somebody more capable?" He felt pressure seep into his pores. He hated responsibility. He hated the fear of failure. This was the greatest responsibility imaginable, and Silas was expected to just be okay with it? Go along for the ride? Smile like Saya? He bit his lip and it started to bleed.
"Sorry. I just need some time to process. I'm heading out to train."
"You shouldn't go by yourself, you heard Rekka."
"Rekka's word isn't the law," Silas bit back. "And I can handle myself. Do you think I can't?" he asked, fearing the answer. Saya didn't speak, which was the answer he'd been dreading. After a pause, he murmured,
"…Fine. You can go with me. Just don't talk. Or baby me. Or laugh if-" he paused, correcting himself. "…when I mess it up." Silas grit his teeth and got up from his bed, refusing to look at Saya. He exited the cave. The sound of rushing water never ceased, ever present even during the night. It drowned out the sounds of the crickets nearby. The moon was now out, shining silver light through the lush vegetation, a gentle and caressing figure. Silas wondered if he could light a torch like Rekka could. He'd been able to create a spark before, but it burnt him when it touched his hand. If he could get it to instead light on a stick, he'd be safe.
He picked up a twig that was lying on the wet grass. It was damp and a bit cold, but he hoped it'd be dry enough for a flame to persist. He focused his mana, staring at the single point in front of him. After a few seconds, a sense of despair and frustration began to seep in. He wanted fire! His gaze hardened, clutching the twig. He could feel it crack in his palm. Just for a second, Silas thought he could see a faint prick of yellow in the darkness. Then it was gone.
"It's no use," Silas sighed. "I guess I don't have much talent with fire."
"Don't worry," Saya whispered behind him. He felt her breath rustle through his unwashed hair. He felt behind his ear and grasped a spiky tuft, noticing how dirty it was. He probably smelled, too. Even still, Saya's hands were pressing up against his back. He felt her long fingernails brush against his spine. He recoiled, brushing her invasive hands off. They reminded him too much of the bristleback's claws.
"I also tried to light a fire. I couldn't manage a single spark. I suppose that's good and all. I don't want to accidentally burn something down."
When Saya and Silas reached the top of the hill where Silas had always gravitated to, Saya warned him to be quiet as to not wake the others. Silas thought Saya had much higher expectations for him than he did. The most he could do was move some rocks around, he said. Saya waggled a finger at him and told him to not give up and stay optimistic. That struck a nerve.
It wasn't like Silas wanted to give up. It's just that if he couldn't do it, he couldn't do it. It was pointless to waste time and energy trying something that was futile. But at the same time, even though he was pessimistic about his abilities, there was a stubborn sort of pride that had lodged itself deep within Silas' heart. It was a mix of frustration and an unquenchable desire to prove himself.
Silas practiced until he lost track of time. Saya at first attempted to make small talk with Silas, but that only broke his concentration, leading him to snap at her a few times. She played with the grass in boredom before realizing it was an opportunity for her to practice as well. She decided to name all the animals she could sense and where they were located. She did so with such ease that Silas stopped trying. His focus became distant, and his vision blurry as his eyelids began to droop. He halfheartedly tried to create some wind before throwing his hands up and giving in.
Saya had fallen asleep long before, but Silas was so intent on his practices (which yielded no improvement that he could see) that he hadn't noticed how vulnerable she was. She lay on the grass, her hands by her sides. Her head was tilted towards the sky, her blond hair framing her face and… her neck.
Silas looked at the pebble he'd been practicing with. It was sharp enough to piece skin, and Silas had been trying to shoot it like a projectile. If he really, really wanted to, he could drive the pebble into Saya's neck and potentially kill her.
Silas couldn't fully trust her, and the carefree, invasive way she carried herself was both unnerving and confusing. But she seemed to worry about him enough to remember his presence. She obviously wanted to befriend him, so Silas didn't want to rebuff her potentially good intentions. The thought of harming her wasn't an option yet.
But she was so vulnerable. Anybody looking down on her could end her fragile life in a blink of an eye. She'd left herself wide open to an attack, in front of Silas, who openly distrusted her. So why would she trust him? She could sense his intentions, so she claimed, but if Silas was willing to consider hurting her, even for a moment… how much confidence could she actually put in her heightened awareness? Even Silas didn't know his true intentions. There was no telling what fear would drive him to do.
There was no way he'd let Saya sleep, exposed like this, in the Badlands where a feral might appear. Chivalry and kindness were stupid when dangerous, but as long as Silas was safe, he'd do good for Saya. At first, he tried to hoist Saya in the air with air magic, just as Axel had did with Evelynn. She didn't move. Shoulders slumping, Silas reluctantly gripped Saya's back and carried her bridal style back to their cave.
She was surprisingly light. Even Silas, who wasn't physically gifted, was able to hold her weight easily. Silas shivered as the heat of Saya's side pressed into his stomach. It was warmer than the campfire, and the warmest thing he'd felt so far. He felt her relaxed breaths flutter against his shirt, like gentle summer zephyrs.
Now that Saya was asleep, Silas was free to look her in the face without her own eyes sowing conflict in Silas' brain. Her face had very light freckles, almost unnoticeable. Blonde tufts of hair streamed past her ears like a yellow waterfall. Her face was round and young enough that she could have passed for a girl a couple years younger. Her brown, thin eyebrows sat still and serene. Her crimson eyes were big, even when closed. They twitched in her sleep.
When Silas looked at Saya, he could have described her as pretty. She wasn't irresistibly attractive, but her face was inviting and welcoming. Silas pulled his gaze away, haven taken in enough to remember. There wasn't anything about her that aroused Silas in any way, but he couldn't help but feel a little warmer looking at her features.
"The last humans, huh?" Silas muttered to himself before entering the cave. "If that's true, Saya isn't going to die on my watch."