"Night is settling in. We should set up camp here." Sion looked up at the sky, seeing the sun setting on the horizon within the dark-brown sky.
"Still no sign of possible rain." Melanie muttered as she scanned the area. "Okay, we should set up camp while the sun is still up."
The rest of the group nodded and began quickly setting camp.
"We only have two tents, separate genders?" Sion asked Melanie, who nodded as she brought out the tent from her bag.
"Yes. Females will sleep in our tent, while the men will sleep in yours." Sion agreed, and they both continued with setting up the tents. While they both did so, the rest went and found some dry branches so they could create a fire. The children were told to haul the smaller ones, while the grown-ups were hauling logs to be used around the campfire.
"We're lucky that there was a fallen tree nearby." Nicole said to Kevin, who chuckled as he helped Nicole heft the log back to camp.
While the two were busy bringing the log, Kevin's wife was trying to light a fire with the lighter and tinder Melanie had lent to her.
Once the tinder burned, the children piled branches on top of the growing fire with tired smiles.
Sion heaved a breath and wiped his forehead, which was slightly sweaty. Looking at the tent, which now looked smaller than yesterday because of the new people who would be sharing it, Sion sighed.
'The kids better not be messy sleepers.' He had a roommate like that once, a girl he had done the deed with. It turns out, she moves a lot while asleep. Hell, he remembered having her foot shoved up his mouth and the girl almost falling out of the bed when he woke up in the morning.
"The tent's ready." Sion called out to Melanie, who heaved a sigh as she stared at the tent she had propped up.
"All done here too."
Once the two of them were done, Melanie looked at the campfire with a smile.
"I should get the food ready." Sion nodded as he watched Melanie move to the campfire after grabbing the pot that she had washed last night and some canned goods.
He also saw Kevin and Nicole return with a log that was long enough to seat all of them with some space left over. Grabbing a saw that they packed inside their bags, Sion got to work by sawing the logs into separate pieces, before laying them around the campfire.
"So, how's it going?" Sion asked Kevin, who was sitting on a log after he was done with his tasks.
"Fine, all things considered." Kevin leaned forward as he stared directly into the fire. "Thanks for bringing us with you, by the way. You don't know how much it means to me and my family."
"You should be thanking Melanie for that." Sion gestured his head to Melanie, who was humming as she cooked our food. "If it was up to me, I would've given you some supplies, and let you on your way. You can't trust anybody in the wastelands."
"Aye." Kevin sighed as his eyes relayed the bitterness he had for the world and the state it had become. "I know that feeling all too well. I would've done that same thing with another group."
"Yeah." The two of them went silent as the only audible noises came from the chatting children, Melanie's humming, and the fire crackling. "Say, I forgot to ask you for your family's names. Mind telling me?"
"Sure." Kevin shrugged. "My wife's name is Keera, while my two boys' names are Jack and Jaques. My daughter's name is Jackie."
"Your two sons are going to be confused when someone calls them then." Sion chuckled as Kevin laughed.
"Yep. Happened before, and it will happen again."
"Dinner is ready." Melanie took that time to yell out, and all of us took our shares.
After dinner and a few chats later, Sion could be seen sitting on a log outside of the tents, keeping watch.
It was only a few hours into his shift when he spotted something moving under the corner of his eyes.
Squinting, Sion stood up and grabbed his mace. Grabbing a burning branch, he threw it towards the suspicious direction and saw a person hiding underneath the darkness.
His eyes met his, and Sion knew when to spot a bandit.
"BANDITS!" Sion yelled out from the depths of his lungs, his voice carried by the wind. Inside the tents, Kevin, Melanie, and Nicole all woke up from the loud sound. "BANDITS!"
Yelling out once more, Sion dodged a bolt heading his way by twisting his head slightly.
Now alarmed at the sudden warning, Melanie, Nicole, and Kevin all quickly woke up the sleeping people inside the tents.
Outside, Sion was trying his best not to get mauled to death by a hulking bandit brandishing a sledgehammer.
Roaring, Sion swung his mace upward, bashing the chin of the hulking bandit. With his newfound strength, the bandit instantly collapsed to the ground, his sledgehammer falling to the ground.
Grabbing the sledgehammer and placing the mace inside his Archive, Sion spun around and glared at the bandits who were staring at him with cautiousness.
Sion stepped backwards, gritting his teeth, his gaze never leaving the figures of the bandits hidden within the darkness.
He counted at least ten bandits within his vision, not counting those who were probably still hiding.
'Shit, this is a goddamn problem.' If there was one thing Sion hated the most, it was encountering numerous bandits roaming about in the wasteland.
If you were alone, you were sure to be fucked.
He heard the tent flaps behind him fly open, but his gaze never left the bandits.
"Sion, sitrep." Melanie growled as she came with her crossbow gun held high.
"At least ten bandits, possibly more." Sion growled as he saw a glint of light in the darkness. "One of them has a crossbow… Duck!"
Sion grabbed Melanie's head and pushed her down, a bolt flying harmlessly over her.
It flew inside the tent, and a pained scream echoed from within.
"Shit!" Sion cursed as he glared at the bandits. 'These fuckers will pay!'