Nathan's POV:
After walking non stop for the whole day, I decide to rest and find a place to stay over the night.
There's a river right up ahead, maybe I can find something to eat nearby.
I spot a few Parasaurs feeding on the river plants. These herbivores are very passive so killing one shouldn't be a problem.. unless they start running that is, I'm pretty tired now and won't be able to keep up.
I slowly make my way to the Parasaurs, hoping they don't notice me.
As I approach them, I notice that behind them there is a nest, with three or four eggs on it.
That should be enough food for tonight..
I pick up a small rock from the ground and throw it on the opposite side of the nest to distract the dinosaurs.
They notice it, and go in that direction to see what the noise was, leaving the nest unprotected for a moment.
I rush in, and grab two of the eggs that were on the nest.
These are heavier than I thought they would be.. guess this is all I can carry with me.
I go away as quickly and quietly as possible, successfully stealing the eggs.
A bit further ahead, I find a small cave on a cliff side, perhaps I can use this place to lit a campfire, it's getting cold already...
Katherine's POV:
"Hey, here's something for you to eat." A masked man says while untying my hands.
My son, Nathan.. I wonder if he's alright. He left with Jason so he should be fine.
I pick up the apple the masked man threw on the ground. Finally some food.
This really was unexpected.. everything was good and out of nowhere, the Dark Clouds launched a full on raid.. and even worse, it seems they managed to tame some dinosaurs. They used Raptors to kill our only fighters and then their Triceratops rushed onto our houses and destroyed them completely.
Then, they took the woman and children hostage, tying us up and carrying us on their dinosaurs.
Now we've been left on this weird Dark Clouds outpost.. it seems they have been preparing for this attack for a while now.
The masked man goes away after giving an apple to everyone that was captured. At least we have a bit of food to eat.
"HEY! That is mine!" Someone shouted.
I look to where the voice came from and it seems that a kid took the apple from another one.
The child that got his food stolen jumps on the thief and headbutts him, making him mad and punch him in return.
Someone has to stop them.. but everyone is too afraid to even move, fearing the Dark Clouds would kill them.
Seems like I have no choice..
"You two, stop." I say while walking towards them.
They look at me, both crying.
"What are your names?" I ask.
The one that got his apple stolen answers first.
"Nick."
And then the other.
"Allen."
"Well then Allen? Why did you take his food from him?"
"I'm hungry.."
"We all are Allen. You'll have to hang on with just the apple you were given, alright?"
"But I didn't get one!"
He didn't get any food? Now that's a problem..
"Ok then, give Nick his apple back, I'll let you have mine."
Allen does as I say and returns Nick his food.
I sit next to them and handle my food to the starving kid.
He eats it faster than everyone else in this place, proving he was really hungry.
A few minutes go by in absolute silence, until the masked man returns.
"Listen up everyone. Do as I tell you and no one else gets hurt. You're now all prisoners of war and will probably be sold to slave buyers from distant lands, and let me tell you they're really eager to get some new toys. If you want to live, you'll stay quiet and don't even think on running away. We have a pack of Raptor riders roaming around this outpost and will kill you instantly after seeing you out of this place. Do you understand?"
Everyone has their heads pointing down, fearing the worst.
One of the Dark Clouds appears and tells the masked man:
"Captain, we got the Carno. They just came back with it."
"And the traitor?" The masked man asks.
"They also got him. He's now tied up and caged. Should we send him north?"
"Yes, make sure he goes in the stronghold, and make sure he does not die."
"Yes Captain."
Traitor?.. Oh no, they must be talking about Jason.. Does that mean that they got Nathan as well? I hope he's alright..
Nathan's POV:
Morning has finally come. My belly hurts a bit since I ate the eggs raw, but nothing serious.
"Well then, time to keep going." I tell myself.
Hopefully I get to the Warriors base today, I don't want to waste any time. If what the old man back at the village said is true, then mother should still be alive and well. I wonder if Jason managed to get out in one piece.. there was still the Raptor riding group hunting the Carno nearby, they probably heard that loud signal and went to check what happened..
Either way, all I need to do is get the Warriors to know the current situation, I'm sure they'll take care of everything.
I leave the cave and continue my way.
The Parasaurs I stole the eggs from last night are making some weird noises in the distance, they're probably sad.. the eggs were not fertilized though. At least I don't think they were..
A few more hours pass by and still no sign of the Warriors tribe. Weird, there should be at least some scouts around, where are those soldiers that were in the village yesterday?
I keep going west with hope of finding someone that could help.
An hour later, I finally find tracks of a person. A few broken arrows were on the ground, next to a campfire with the ashes still letting out a bit of smoke, meaning it was recently used.
Maybe it's someone from the Warriors tribe. I should be getting close.
A few more steps ahead, I come across a couple pairs of footprints, leading to a nearby forest.
Guess I should follow them.
Arriving at the forest, a find some blood marks on a tree.. This can't be good.
"Get lost!"
I hear someone screaming from behind distant trees, along with the sound of blades clashing.. They must be fighting.
I follow the sound and lay down so whoever is here can't notice me.
There are two Dark Cloud members with Raptors attacking a group of five men, three have swords and the other two are standing back with their hands free, both injured and bleeding.
"Surrender, and you'll live. Probably." One of the Dark Clouds says.
"What do you want from us? We did nothing to you."
This reminds me of my encounter with the Dark Clouds yesterday.. I also asked why they were attacking, but it seems they really are just heartless.
Guess I'll go help them, just two Raptor riders can't handle this much people at once.
"Get away from them." I say while revealing myself, unsheathing my sword.
"Who are you?" The Raptor riders ask.
"Doesn't matter, leave this place, they did nothing to you."
One of the riders looks at the others and says:
"We should go, the dinos are getting tired and we'll be late for the meeting if we stay any longer."
"Right.. You're some lucky guys." The other one tells us. "We'll be back for you anyway, don't think you'll live much longer."
They turn around and leave through the forest.. I hope they don't really return.
"Are you alright?" I ask the group I had just helped.
"Mostly, thank you for your help."
"May I know your names? I'm Nathan." I asked, so it would be easier to communicate.
The one in the best shape answers for all of them:
"I'm Leonard. That is, Silva, Filipe, Daniel and Miguel."
A lot of names.. I hope I can remember them all.
Leonard's POV:
I don't know who he is so I'll be on guard for now. He did help scare those Raptor dudes away thought, so I am grateful. Miguel and Filipe are hurt, we should find a place to rest and heal them.
"Are you travelling alone?" I asked Nathan, wondering what he is doing here.
"I am. I am planning on going to the Warriors tribe main base. The Dark Clouds attacked my village so I was going to update the Warriors on the situation."
"Guess we're on the same page then. We also got our hometown destroyed by them, not many survived."
"I see. Mind if I join you guys? I've been alone until now and would definitely enjoy some company. It would also be much safer to travel."
"Surely, we should camp somewhere hidden for now, we gotta treat their wounds." I point at my injured friends.
"I can help with that." Nathan says, while reaching for a small bag hanging on his waist. He pulls some sort of blue plants and goes to Miguel and Filipe.
"This plants are great for healing, you can find them on the riverside in case you get hurt again, not that common but you'll manage to find some if you really try."
He starts rubbing the plants on their wounds, I hope he's saying the truth.
"That burns a lot. Thank you nonetheless." Miguel says, trying to ignore the burning pain.
We should get some food as well..
"Daniel and Silva, go hunt something for us to eat." I say, and they immediately nod and start searching for food.
"Can I assume you're the one giving out the calls?" Nathan asks, wondering if I'm the leader.
"Well it's not like I enjoy bossing people around, but I guess they trust me enough to do as I say."
"I see, in that case, I don't mind if you tell me what to do in certain situations. If they trust you like this it must be for a reason. Besides, I'd probably just panic on my own."
"Surely."
This has been an interesting day... If he ends up being an enemy spy or something I'll be really annoyed. I'll hope for the best.
...
After around half an hour, Daniel and Silva return, carrying a whole Parasaur with them.
"Wow, you didn't need to bring the hole thing with you."
"If you don't want it then you can just watch us eat and starve yourself, idiot." Silva says.
I like this guy, his words may not be the best but he'd die for us.
"Haha, let me get my knife, I'll help you skin it and cut the meat."
Nathan seems sad to see the dead Parasaur, I wonder if he's against animal hunting.
"Are you okay Nathan?" I asked, curious of what he's thinking.
"Yes, don't worry. I just had some history with that dino and I feel a bit guilty."
"Huh? What do you mean some history with it?"
"I stole the eggs from the nest it made."
"Oh.. Well, no turning back now, could you get a bit of fire going? Can't wait to eat."
"Alright."
He starts looking for dry branches and some sharp rocks to start the campfire, while the rest of us work on the Parasaur.
After everything is prepared, we feast on the recently caught animal and enjoy a nice time together, even while knowing we're in constant danger and can get attacked at any time by the Dark Clouds bastards, it's very refreshing to enjoy moments like this.
We share our story with him, of how we were able to survive the raid and escape from the attackers, and he tells us he's own story.
"A Carnotaurus huh, I have never seen one alive, although the hunters from my village killed one once and brought the body for us to see." I say, impressed with what Nathan just told us.
He seems to be a capable fighter, hopefully he stays with us for the time being.
After we all finished eating, we pack our stuff and prepare to continue heading west. The Warriors base shouldn't be too far away now, so getting there by tonight would be the best possible outcome. If we stay out here one or two more days, I doubt we'll be able to survive with the Dark Clouds around.
"Let's go then." I tell everyone, and we begin walking again.
With our new companion, we should be able to reach the Warriors and get to safety today.