Morning came, briskly and gloomily.
I glanced over at the girls, who shivered while huddling close.
When they came looking for me and realized I was determined to stay outside, they also stubbornly remained by my side.
My lips curled up fondly.
"Cold morning isn't it?" Sani came walking in with a grin.
"Hm."
"Vans just told me that he wanted to hold a meeting this morning, Parker's a little better so it's best that we move forward with the original plan."
"Is everyone going?"
She shook her head, "Just a select few."
Another nod.
"I also spoke to Parker," Sani started slowly, "he said he was sorry he couldn't defend you properly yesterday."
He defended me more than he should've.
"Lucky stopped him from following you since-"
"I know." I replied. Then a quietness settled between us until I spoke up once again. "What time?"
"He said around noon."
That gave me some time.
"Okay."
"Wait, where are you going? It's breakfast time." Sani glanced at me cautiously. "And I need someone to help me wake the girls up."
"Give my plate to whoever wakes up first." After sending her a slight wave, I began to walk along the edge of the cave.
My silent footsteps were soon joined by the soft pit-pats of four paws.
I turned to look at Nukka, who shot me a slobbery grin. An awkward smile decorated my lips when I realized that her muzzle was covered with blood stains and small tufts of fur.
"Someone ate breakfast already." I spoke with her as if she'd respond.
In a way she did, her tail began to wag happily as she trotted behind me.
"I didn't think you'd be an early bird." I smiled. "You look like you'd stay asleep all morning."
I froze.
What am I doing? I- I should just focus.
Nukka tilted her head, but I steadily ignored her.
My objective this morning consisted of scouting up in the mountain we found refuge in. Though the chances were slim due to the thickness of the sky, I could maybe- maybe see the base.
It wasn't a fruitless endeavor either.
If I could see nothing, I could at least know the terrain a bit more.
When we reached the base of the mountain, my head looked up to see a small ridge 40 meters above us.
"Stay." I mumbled.
Nukka stared at me as I began to climb, and began to whine when she realized she couldn't tag along.
Though it had been a while since I had climbed such a steel wall, it seemed like my exercise helped maintain my muscle.
Soon enough, I reached the ridge, there was barely enough space for me to sit down.
I blinked at the sight before me.
Everything looked so small.
The towering trees looked smaller than before, and the large wolf that was with me a few seconds ago looked like a puppy.
The air was thicker up here, while the smog was covering more than I liked.
Still, I scanned the area earnestly.
My heart sank when I saw black smoke in the distance.
That's the direction of the town.
The smoke was large enough to indicate a large party, which made me sure that they were still here.
Five days had passed since the incident. And seeing that they had not left yet, meant they had found something of importance or… captured a few men.
I hoped it wasn't the latter.
A gentle breeze hit my face and my chest began to unsettle.
Closing my eyes, I battled against the voices that clashed around in me.
It was your fault.
A part of me kept shouting and blaming.
It's your fault they died.
My teeth clenched.
Why couldn't I just leave?
My eyes opened.
There was no blue hue in the sky.
That voice kept screaming that I had imagined the blue sky that day I tried to leave.
That it was impossible for a blue sky to exist.
I should be high enough…
Instinctively, my body began to lean forward as my eyes fluttered closed.
More. More.
I kept leaning until-
"Snow!"
My body stopped.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" It was Sani, and she seemed furious. "Get down here this instant!"
I looked at her for a few moments, then made my way down.
As I reached the bottom, she forcefully pulled me down.
"Why-" She sounded upset, "why did you go up there? That could've been dangerous!"
"They're still here." I mumbled.
"What?"
"Those bastards."
She froze for a second before nodding, "Well- that's- that's normal."
It wasn't normal.
"We can- We'll talk about it in the meeting, come on."
Though she kept her composure, I knew that she was scared. Her eyes trembled slightly as she spoke. Yet, I couldn't find the words to comfort her.
We walked in silence, until we reached the cave entrance.
Upon entering, the atmosphere inside instantly changed.
The chattering and motion stopped as everyone directed their attention towards me.
Anger and fear maintained in their eyes as they stared.
I ignored the feeling in my chest and walked forward, keeping my head straight and my eyes away from others.
The meeting space was the area in which I had woken up from, it was perfect as it was secluded from everyone.
Parker, Lucky, Vans, and Claire waited for us there.
"Good you're here." Vans nodded.
I glanced at Parker for a moment but quickly looked away when we made eye contact.
"Let's begin." Parker announced. "A plan has been made in the case of such an emergency, which was only known by the leadership, myself, and a couple of others. I'm going to relay it to you all now."
The plan consisted of first escaping the base and reaching this cave. That was done.
The next part was to, by groups depending on the size of the crowd, leave to another location of refugees known to the organization. To reach the location, it would take a total of a week and a half. So, minimizing the group amount was crucial. In total, the plan would take two to four months depending on how large the group was. Of course, the main escorts would be those with the most gun and fighting experience, which was low but enough.
"What about any survivors?" Lucky asked in a quiet voice.
We grew quiet.
"You mean-"
Parker was cut off by Lucky. "What if they're still alive?"
"It's too risky, we don't even know if they're alive." Vans shook his head.
"There's a chance." I spoke up quietly.
They turned to look at me.
"They're still here."
Van's look quickly furrowed.
"It means-"
"They have prisoners or have found something worth staying for." Vans finished for me and heaved a sigh.
Sani turned to look at me.
"So there's a chance right?" Lucky asked.
"It's still risky." Vans concluded. "With our man-power, we'd most likely lose more people."
"But we have to try!" Lucky protested, Sani seemed like she wanted to agree while Parker remained quiet.
"More people could die."
"There has to be a way to save them." Sani muttered.
"My priority is to take everyone to the next location safely. Not save those who might already be dead."
Lucky bit her lip.
"Then I'll go."
Again, the attention was to me.
I looked at them, "I'll go see if there's any survivors."
Vans chuckled in dark amusement. "You think you're invincible?"
My eyes stared at him darkly in return.
"I'll go with you." Parker pipped in for the first time.
"Are you crazy?!"
"No."
Lucky and I interjected at the same time.
Vans frowned. "Are you trying to actually die this time? You're not even in a condition to stay standing for long."
Miss Claire also spoke up. "I agree with Vans, Parker. You're the last person that should go."
Parker opened his mouth to protest but Vans cut him off.
"If you are so bent on doing so, fine. I'll assign two of the strongest people to go alongside you."
"I'm going too." Sani volunteered.
Parker glumly nodded. "When will be the best day?"
"Two days from now." I responded. "I need to monitor the situation first."
Miss Claire looked at me with concern. "Alone?"
"I can go as well." Sani piped.
I shook my head. "It'll be less noisy alone."
"But what if you run-"
"She can handle herself." Vans responded. "I'd rather have you here to help with preparations for the original plan."
Parker looked slightly unsettled and upset but gave in with a nod. "Then it's settled. In two days, we'll have a rescue mission executed. Any other concerns?"
"Food." Mrs Claire began. "There's only enough for a month with this size of a group. Even then, it'll have to be rationed."
"I can teach a couple of people how to hunt. They should be able to pick it up." Vans offered.
"Thank you."
"Anything else?" Parker asked.
No one responded.
"Then, we'll meet every afternoon to keep each other updated." He concluded. "Grandma, if you could give me a number of how many people are here, so Vans and I can start separating them into groups and delegating escorts."
"I'll do that as soon as I can."
"Thank you."
I glanced at him again, a blanket covered his shoulders.
"Snow." He called me. "Can I talk to you?"
Everyone took it as a sign to leave.
He shifted for a few moments before asking, "Are you okay?"
I wasn't sure how to respond.
"I- I'm sorry about yesterday. I-"
"It's okay." I quickly cut him off.
"No it's not." His voice trembled. "It wasn't your fault, and for them to treat you this way was uncalled for. It was horrible and I should've stepped up more aggressively. I-"
"Thank you."
He grew quiet.
"Thank you for defending me." I smiled softly.
He wasn't able to respond as I had already quickly made my way out.
I didn't deserve his defense, but seeing someone stand up for me felt- it felt nice.