"That brings us up to now… or to a certain point, but I really don't need to explain what happened next." Bell said as he and the man in the box walked side by side. Jacob gave the man his cloak since he didn't have any clothes on him.
"Whoa, mine sounds boring in comparison." The young man responded as he, Bell, and Rebecca walked to the Pyramid since the group of three left with the box to do a more in depth investigation. "So… magic exists?"
"Yeah, it's a very common thing to have for Doppelgangers to develop after meeting one another." Rebecca explained, making the young man feel more lost. He wasn't an idiot by any means, but even a genius would be confused after hearing a new concept for the first time. Rebecca noticed his silence and saw he was thinking about something hard. She could easily guess what. "Doppelgangers are people who have the same birth date and develop abilities. They were initially believed to be the first mages, but now we know they only naturally know one spell."
"It honestly sounds like a game mechanic for balancing." Bell nodded with a slight chuckle; never hearing someone put it in such an odd way.
"In layman's terms, I guess you have a point." Bell started to walk backwards to face the young man. "Now that we got stories and explanations out the way, I guess it's time for introductions. I'm Belltros and the one next to you is Rebecca."
"Hey." Said person said as the young man offered a slight nod to the two; a soft smile accompanying his acknowledgement.
The young man began to think for a bit. He was trying to think of a way to introduce himself. He already knew that he wasn't going to use his actual name since his kidnappers could know it, but he didn't want to lie to the two. He thought hard about his response before a name came to him. It was one he used as a moniker when he would play games online.
"Call me Nova." He said in a soft tone. He felt a little bad about using his gamertag, but it was better than being identified by name and attacked.
"It sounds… unique." Rebecca commented, but he did have to admit that it was a weird name. He had to shorten it down so it would sound less weird. His full gamer tag was Novam_Umbra, or A New Shadow when translated from Latin to English. It was mostly because he played as the healer in most of the games he played so he was the shadow of his teammates.
"In all honesty, it feels more fitting since it translates to New in English." He liked to name his characters something meaningful. He couldn't tell about the several hours he spent thinking of that name to fit his new play style.
"Fitting." Bell said as they continued their march. "Damn it, we're going to have to camp out for a few days before we make it back."
"Crap… I'll do the first guard." Nova looked around to see if he could find a well sheltered area. His instincts were kicking in. The land was barron, but there were a few boulders here and there that they could use as cover.
"You don't have an ability and you need to rest. You went through a lot today." Bell spoke for both of the Gemini, but Nova just glared at them.
"I'm taking the first guard because I don't have one. You two need to rest so you can deal with any possible threats at your fullest." Bell recoiled, not expecting that his weakness could be used as a strength in a verbal dispute. Rebecca knew he had a point. He didn't have any abilities to use and no means to defend himself, but they did. The more well rested they are, the easier they could deal with threats.
"Fine, but you have to wake us up if something happens." He nodded as he took a position where he could take watch in relative comfort. It wasn't something he wasn't used to; he had completed Army Basic Training not too long before he woke up in that box. One of the training exercises was operating in a platoon while in the field which included night watch.
The other two began to prepare to sleep as the human began his watch. Bell took care to pick an area that provided plenty of cover, a place to hide from the local wildlife, and provided a good area that would make it easy to spot any would-be threats. Rebecca looked at the human as he scanned the area from his post.
She couldn't help but be concerned for Nova since he apparently appeared in a new world. He seemed to be adapting well to the new environment and appeared calm after the first few moments. She wanted to talk to him when the chance presented itself.
Nova was wondering what made him push so much to take the first watch. He had nothing that he could use to fight back against any enemies or monsters that would wander close to their little camp. He had to borrow a cloak that was given to him by some hero he never knew just to cover himself, yet he thought it would've been a good idea to take watch for any attackers. He mentally burrated himself for the oversight on his part. He was going to do it anyway since he gave them his word. For the first time since Basic, he wished he had his M4A1.
Rebecca watched the human scan the area with his once soft eyes that seemed to gain some intensity that didn't seem possible for him. She then looked at Bell who was fast asleep in a sleeping bag. She wasn't surprised by that since he fell asleep easily and wouldn't wake up for anything other than the sun or his alarm. She wanted to, at least, give him something to help with that issue.
"Hey, Nova." Rebecca began as she moved to his watch position. The young man looked at the large raccoon who stood a full four feet taller than him. "Take this. It has the alarm to wake up Bell." The young man took it without a word, making the young woman nervous. "I turned off the lock so you don't have to type in the code."
Once more, Nova said nothing. He seemed to be more focused on his watch. Rebecca didn't know how to handle the awkward situation and stayed by the human's side. Nova didn't know what to look for, but he would've woken them up if he noticed something peculiar. In hindsight, he should've let Bell take watch.
"Are you okay?" The sudden question made Nova jump. He had completely forgotten that Rebecca was beside him. "You said you didn't know how you got here, but do you miss anything or anyone?"
Once again, he was quiet, but it was because he retreated into his mind. He didn't know how to respond to her question. He didn't have a lot of time to think of the situation he was in after he left the box.
"Oddly enough… I don't know." He said, his voice was low and seemed to mimic a whisper. "A lot happened today that I never got a chance to think about it. Now, I don't want to. A panic attack wouldn't be good right now."
"I guess that makes sense,but if it comes up. Let me know. I'll be here." Nova didn't respond as he continued to keep watch. He gripped Rebecca's phone, the device was much larger than what he was used to.
He had the discipline to stay up and do what he said he'd do. He had the ignored pain in his legs now that he no longer has the protection of pants or shoes. He had to do the same with the cold that nipped at his skin. He shivered ever so lightly from the chilling temperature. It wasn't something he hadn't experienced, but wanted to get clothes as fast as possible.
Rebecca soon fell asleep and rested her head on his shoulder. Carefully, he moved her head to a position more comfortable for her. He decided to actually move her off him when she was in a deeper sleep. Helping her keep her balance oddly helped him stay awake for a few hours before he felt ready to move her.
He carefully moved her off him before turning his only piece of clothing into a pillow. He made sure that there was no way she could touch the inside. He was also thankful that she wasn't as heavy as he expected since she was much larger than him; about ten feet if he could have guessed her height.
Despite his eyes threatening to close throughout the night, he welcomed the piercing light of the sunrise. It wasn't a first for him to pull an all night watch, but it was the first time he forgot. They seemed to know where they were going, but didn't tell him how far it was or how long it would be. Had he been younger or not as discipline, he would've been complaining the entire time. He didn't want to take his savior's hospitality for granted since he owes them far more than they realize.
The sun continued to rise as Nova began to realize something; he would have to continue relying on them even more than he thought. The time he spent watching was used to focus on any incoming threats that he didn't realize that he lacked a lot of the basic essentials. He mentally berated himself for his massive oversight. Still, he hoped that he could make it up to them at some point. It may only be a small task, but if it helped Bell and Rebecca in any way; Nova would be satisfied.
"Wait… WHAT THE HELL?! IT'S MORNING?!" Bell yelled as he woke up. The bright sun didn't have to be over their cover for it to hit his eyes. "Damn it, I overslept." He began to rush to put on all of the minor accessories he took off before sleeping to at least help take the load off Nova's shoulders.
Bell found said person peering at him from the other side of their cover. He was a little confused, hearing a small portion of the words he spoke. Bell froze out of embarrassment when Nova looked at him. Said human nodded, pretending to understand, and disappeared behind the corner.
"Bell, it's early. Why are you screaming?" Rebecca asked as she realized that she was in the spot where Nova was keeping watch the night before. She was slightly confused when she found a thin brown pillow where her head was. She picked it up and found out that it was the cloak that Jason gave the human. "What the hell?" She would've been louder if it hadn't been clear that Nova took the time to fold it in a sanitary pad to be used as a pillow. "Nova, would you like your cloak back?"
"Yes, please!" Rebecca didn't look in his direction, but threw the cloak to his voice… or what she thought was his voice as she threw it in the opposite direction. "Screw you." Rebecca couldn't see it, but Nova covered his mouth as the automatic response slipped off his tongue.
Bell sighed, now knowing that Nova gave them the night to rest. He didn't want to ask if that's what he did or not out of concern of what he would hear. However, had he asked, he'd find out that Nova completely forgot while he was lost in his thoughts.
The three began destroying their small camp post and scattering the evidence of their camp. It was a common thing for all three of them to do. Bell and Rebecca do it to prevent bandits and criminals from trailing them and Nova out of habit from Boot Camp. He wasn't a new soldier, but he never entered the actual Army since he was still undergoing training at Fort Benning for Airborne.
Nova took the cloke back when he was finished. He wasn't too bothered about being naked near others since the military seemed to put almost a hundred people in one room and expect them to share the same two bathrooms for two and a half months. Still, he was nervous being around the opposite sex being exposed like that. It was in this instant that Nova began to understand why military veterans in movies seemed to be able to keep their calm in any situation.
"Nova, it's time to go." Bell said as he placed what equipment he had on his back. Nova was hesitant to move, his feet still hurt from the day before and all the burning of the ground on his unprotected feet. Nevertheless, he understood that nothing would change about the area that would aid him. If he wants the best chances to survive and live, he'll have to bear through the uncomfortable feeling and continue pushing forward.
"Right, I'm ready." Nova responded before looking at Rebecca who was still trying to close the straps on her book back.
Sighing, Nova pulled the bag from her and kneeled on the contents within before closing the top flap with the buckles attached. Rebecca didn't expect the significantly smaller creature - that they had met yesterday - to help her with something so mundane.
"Thank you." Rebecca said in her soft voice. She slowly hefted the large bag onto her shoulders with a single pull. She adjusted the straps a little to sit on her shoulders until she was comfortable. "Ready." Without another word, they continued their trek through the barren land.