"Your mistake almost got us killed, and now this fucking PSEF company thing, whatever it is, knows about us and Is actively hunting us down!' Axel half sighed, half growled, burying his face in his hands.
"Rekka, girl. You gotta stop taking care of everything yourself. If you hadn't sealed Wicke up in some cave and questioned her privately, we could have helped figure out there was a tracking device," Jasper added, not angry, but concerned.
"If we want to survive, we'll have to work together. All of us have to have a part in everything we do, otherwise things like this could happen again," Julia added.
"Yeah… W-we can't fight," Macy said meekly, nodding her head.
"I know, I know," Rekka said, exasperating, pain written clear on her face. Her voice cracked a little, before she noticed and composed herself, drawing herself up to her full height. She put her hands in front of her gracefully and took a deep, long breath.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. I'll be less controlling from here on out. You are right, we can't afford any mistakes, especially ones made by me. I can only ask that you'll allow me to better myself and ensure this doesn't happen again."
Axel sighed, more tired than furious.
"You really do need to get better at this leadership thing. If I'm being completely honest, you're way too strict. You're always pacing, lost in thought, and you don't communicate. You just give orders," he lectured.
"Oh, yeah, like you're any better," Saya butted in. Silas' heart dropped as he saw the anger on her face.
"Rekka's been trying her hardest to keep us on the right track. The situation we're in is incredibly hard to process – imagine being told you're the last humans on the planet and you're responsible for the safety of everyone else. Imagine the toll it takes on her! She's been guiding us amazingly so far, except for this one little mistake, and all you've been doing is isolating yourself with Evelynn and hiding behind her every time we fight."
"Saya!" Jasper barked, his eyes ablaze. "That was uncalled for." His glare was enough to cut diamonds. Saya, caught out guard at the sheer intensity of his gaze, backed down, albeit not without a grumble.
"The fuck was that for, eh?" Axel hissed. "Don't talk about Eve that way."
"…Sorry," Saya mumbled, not sorry at all. "C'mon Silas, let's go."
She beckoned to Silas with a gesture that said, "please go with me, I need to vent my frustration for a sec," and Silas obliged, despite his misgivings.
The two of them walked off on their own. Silas knew what was going on inside Axel's mind right now – "You hypocrite" – but he didn't say anything.
They had made a temporary camp after walking themselves to near exhaustion. They had opened up their backpacks eagerly, ready to gobble down what little they had in there - but after scouting, Saya fond that food and water sources in this specific area weren't all that great, so Rekka ordered everyone to split the food into rations and consume a portion on an interval she set. Nobody had been happy about that, and that led to Axel complaining to her, vexed that he hadn't gotten his fill.
When Saya had found racawn nests nearby, nearly everyone had rejoiced. Everyone except Rekka, who told them that she wouldn't be able to cook the racawns without starting a fire. A fire would easily allow expert scouts like Wraith, who, even though was injured and couldn't fly, could see smoke from miles away. That was a major mood killer. Cooked racawn tasted like civilization. It reminded them of their humanity, in an instinctual sort of way.
Now Silas and Saya sat together on top of a small mound near a large nurse log. The log would've been much comfier to sit on, but even though Saya couldn't sense a magical presence, they'd developed a fear of trees in this part of the forest.
"I hate Axel," Saya was saying. Silas couldn't catch the expression on her face, because he was looking away, but he surmised it wasn't all that pretty.
"He's not that bad. You can tell he's really devoted to Evelynn," Silas reasoned, trying to pacify her.
"That's exactly it! The two of them have perfect synergy. They're way too close to each other. It's been what, two days? It's creepy I don't trust them. I have a feeling they're the ones who are hiding something."
"That's true," Silas said noncommittally. If he were being honest, he kind of respected Axel for being able to forge such a bond with another person so quickly. If only he and Saya could be close like that. Saya didn't seem like a bad person, but her habit of assuming she knew so much about other people made him feel icky. He wasn't sure if he could get past that.
"He just hides behind her, too. He's so weak, all he can do is support his girl while he hides behind her back. I mean, what use is air magic, really? It's not something you can actually touch. It's useless. Evelynn might as well be the man, and Axel the girl," Saya ranted.
"So that's what you think," Silas said. Disdain for the weak? Then Saya and Silas weren't compatible, after all.
"What?"
"…nevermind."
"No, no, speak up! I'm such an idiot. I've been talking to you this entire time, but yesterday and today, I haven't even asked you what you truly thought. I've just been blabbing on without giving you any chance to speak, I suppose. Oh, and I'm doing it again, right now. I should really just stop. Yeah. Anyway, what was it you wanted to say?"
"Well…" Silas looked at the ground. "I don't really think there's any shame to be had in being protected by a girl. I mean, we shouldn't have to feel ashamed about it." That's what Silas said, but he couldn't help it. Someone kind-hearted and strong like Julia could easily protect the whole group, while Silas just sat beside her, emotional and fragile. He didn't want to feel ashamed. But he did, anyway.
"Oh…" Saya said. She realized what she was implying. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. But in all honesty, if you think your earth powers are useless, you're dead wrong. You can do more in a fight than I can. And you're definitely not weak."
"I'm not?" Silas asked, surprised she thought so, before recovering. "Yeah, I'm not." Saya chuckled.
"Boys and their egos," she said, which made Silas feel uncomfortable.
"Yeah," he fake-laughed alongside her. But at least she'd tried. And maybe they had hope. "Thanks. I mean, I just think that, cause if you look at it logically, it just makes sense."
"There are bound to be lots of girls who are really powerful, like Rekka, take her for example. And there's other boys, like Jasper, who can't fight physically. So when it comes down to it, Rekka is the one who's going to fight, not Jasper. It's just a matter of who you're dealing with, it can't be a general rule."
"I get it, I get it," Saya waved him away. Then she perked up. "Ooh, I see now. Are you trying to tell me you're guilty that Julia saved your ass from the bristleback?"
Silas tried to look her in the eye, but he wasn't brave enough for that yet. "…Maybe."
"Well, don't feel too bad. You'll have plenty of chances to save her, I bet. Then you can play the honorable knight. And I'll shower you with flowers, and roll out a red carpet… that's your fantasy, ain't it?"
Silas would have loved to be appreciated like that… but it wasn't exactly what he desired most. It was almost it, but not quite. Still, it unnerved him at how close Saya's comments were, and how forward she was with him. And there was one more thing…
"You act like that's a good thing, that I'll have more chances to save her. Honestly, I'd like to never fight something as terrifying as that again. It gave me a nightmare last night that I don't want to relive. And I hope that the people who are chasing us never find us again… even though that's the chances of that are slim."
"You never know," Saya said. "We have to remain hopeful. It's harder to survive if we think we're all going to die, I suppose."
"Sure," Silas said, already tired of the conversation. But it hadn't been so bad.
"Anyway, I sure got all that stuff off my chest. Thanks for being a great listener," Saya said flashing Silas a bright and full smile. Silas had a feeling it was meant to dazzle him, but her teeth were kind of filthy. And she smelled. Really bad. She hadn't bathed since the fight with Yona and the others, and she'd worked up quite a sweat. Silas didn't really mind, but he hoped they'd find another place like the oasis where they could bathe again. It was harder for Silas to think clearly when he was dirty. It made him feel sluggish.
They began to walk back to camp when Saya suggested that they take a little detour. She had to use the bathroom, and she said she was too lazy to go back to camp and grab somebody like Macy to bring all the way out. Silas was already there to stand guard while she did her business, so Silas shrugged and agreed.
Saya turned and found a large and non-mutant tree to squat behind. Obediently Silas turned around, humming to himself absentmindedly. He thought he'd take the time to ponder about what the tattoos everyone's thighs meant. Last Stand? Rekka, in the heat of the moment, had decided to call the group Last Stand. But what did that really mean? The Last Stand? Humanity's Last Stand?
It made sense. But that meant that they were probably some team that was a last resort. But what was the point of preparing a special group of humans that were supposed to be humanity's last hope, if they couldn't remember a single thing? If they didn't even know that they were the last humans, they were bound to wander into a city, find monsters, get captured, and then killed. It was an insanely stupid idea. So why had they lost their memories?
An odd sound in front of Silas stirred him from his thoughts. It sounded different from the faint trickling Silas was trying his best to ignore behind him. It sounded like… sniffling.
Spurred on by curiosity, Silas crept forward, trying his best not to disturb the numerous yellow and brown leaves that lay strewn across the forest floor. He stepped lightly as he passed a thick tree that was blocking his view of…
Rekka.