Once the speech ended, Mark came closer to Frank and asked in a low voice, "Didn't you said you don't trust everyone yet? Why talk about the stone circles? Also, why I don't see a stone circle around here?"
Hearing what Mark said, Frank gave a soft smile but didn't say anything, and grabbed his arm, taking him outside of the camp and leading both to a small hill by the side, the same with the plaque about the lake.
"Do you see that rock?" Frank asked while pointing in a direction.
"I see a bunch of rocks there," Mark said
"The bigger one... now there... do you see that other rock there?" Frank said, pointing his nose in the other direction and Mark finally understood what he was talking about and said "I see..."
Frank turned back to Mark and said, "Mark, you still need to learn a lot...."
"What you talking about?" asked Mark, furrowing his brows because Frank became stern all of the sudden.
"I never camped here, nor beasts chased me. After all, who can be chased by beasts and survive? It was just a story, Mark. This place here is one of the places listed by the rebels that has a stone circle. Today was the first time I came here, but I immediately spotted the rocks. You should pay more attention to details and not trust everything you heard."
"So... It was just a story? But Why? If you were going to tell about the place, why don't revel it fully?" asked Mark, feeling much more confused about Frank decisions.
"Just think.... Why would I do that? Also.... Why I would do that too..." said Frank, pointing his nose in the direction of a lone truck outside of the circular formation made of trucks.
"I don't get it," said Mark, while shaking his head.
"Mark... that's where you and I are very different... you were what? A teenager when the apocalypse came? I was a 'problem solver' as I like to call myself"
Mark didn't know if he felt insulted by that, or not, but he knew Frank had good intentions, so he listened in silence.
"What is the biggest problem right now?" Frank asked
"For me is the food, but for you is... that you don't trust everyone here?"
"Bingo! And that should be your first concern too... food can be dealt with... no one dies without eating for one day or two... but a stab on the back can kill you immediately... Now... If that is my biggest concern.... tell me Mark... How do I catch a fish without a bait?"
Hearing that, everything suddenly connected and Mark felt like he was a stupid kid playing adult games. He could not understand how Frank seemed to always be thinking one step ahead of everyone.
"Look Mark... I will be blunt with you now... I don't consider you a stupid guy. You are smart, a clever guy, but you need to stop thinking like a teenager. You are no longer in the school. This is the apocalypse right now... and I doubt things will improve with the appearance of people with super powers..."
Mark opened his mouth to say something but refrained himself, and listened to what Frank had to say. It was the first time someone lectured him since the apocalypse started, and he was not sure how to react. Even more because Mark knew Frank had good intentions and was not just spitting rage.
After seeing that Mark would keep listening and not react as a kid, Frank continued, "... more than that... They made things to you in that lab, and those things changed you. I don't even know the story fully, or what exactly they did, but I know for sure that your path will not be the same as me and the rest..... Sigh..... What I'm trying to say is... You don't even think about your own next moves.... This way, you will never be able to set up a trap like this one I made by passing... and will keep been dragged into other people's plans instead... Do you understand me?"
Mark opened his mouth and closed again, only giving a small nod instead.
"You don't need to give me an answer, or an explanation... You are better than this... Just think about.... Start thinking about your next moves... Your future... stop trying to just survive another day, ok?" Frank said while giving a single pat on Mark's shoulder and walking back to the camp.
Mark stood there, looking at the view, but also not looking at it because his mind was churning with all that Frank said. Mark knew that he was right, but it was also a slap on his face, it was the thing that Mark was avoiding most... He had to stop blaming the apocalypse, the other people, or the harsh way of living now, and put all the blame for what happened to him on his own choices.
He had to accept that the Mark now was the by-product of his bad choices. More than that, he had to stop 'trying to just survive' as Frank said, He needed to start thinking about his own path, his own choices. His future.
Mark looked up, to the sun setting behind the hills, and the orange glow it put on everything, and for some reason he felt that something inside him had changed, it was like, hearing it from someone else, hearing what he was struggling to admit, to accept, made he change his heart. A change that would take time, a change that would be more than just words, but a good change in the end.
After spending a few minutes thinking about what Frank said, Mark looked at the camp down the small hill and started walking back to it.
Not even a minute before Mark left the small hill, a black crow landed on the plaque, the crow cawed one time, but no one responded to his call, and he took off flying toward the small forest two miles behind the camp.