Leo leisurely made his way down the side of the small mountain heading in the direction of the clearing where the two women were still frantically trying to start one of the dirt bikes so they too could get away from the area.
But try as they might, they were unable to get any of the bikes started before Leo arrived.
When the two of them saw Leo, they both screamed so loud Leo actually flinched.
Exasperated, Leo tried to calm the ladies down, "Ladies! Will you please stop screaming?! Are you trying to attract all the animals in the area?"
To Leo's surprise, the women actually stopped screaming!
He wasn't sure if the threat that he posed or the idea of the animal's in the area converging on their location was the reason, but he didn't care. He was just happy his ears stopped ringing.
After a brief moment of silence, one of the women managed to find her voice again.
"How can we calm down when we just watched you murder four people?!"
Leo didn't respond immediately and instead gave the woman with the courage to speak a once over with his eyes.
She seemed to be in her late 20's with relatively uninspiring features. She was the epitome of the 'girl next door' archetype. She wasn't beautiful enough to pull all the eyes of a crowded room towards her, but she was cute enough to make you look twice if you passed her on the street.
She had blonde hair that hung just below her shoulders in a pony tail, small B cup breasts and a small round buttocks to go along with them. She clearly took care of herself by hitting the gym every day and that was something that Leo could appreciate.
The other woman, who looked too scared to speak, looked to be in her early 20's, possibly a college student or a recently graduated one.
Her brown hair was cut in a stylish bob that framed her face perfectly. Her eyes were a striking blue, contrasting with her tan skin and dark lashes. Her face was round, with soft features and a cute dimple on her chin. Her lips were thin and red. She was petite and fit, with a lively energy that radiated from her every move, albeit an energy that currently screamed 'I'm scared!' at the moment.
Leo couldn't make out her measurements but the fact that she managed to hide her entire body behind the first woman meant that she was in quite good shape herself.
Based on his observations, it was likely that the two of them were related in some way.
Leo must have spent too much time observing the women because the first woman that spoke seemed to get annoyed at the way Leo was eyeing them and hollered at Leo, "Hey! Don't ogle us like we're pieces of meat! What's wrong with you, you pervert?!"
Leo simply laughed off the insult, "Apologies, I just thought you two were quite beautiful and I was wondering what you were doing with those six goons.
Oh and before I forget, you were wrong earlier."
Caught off guard by the accusation, the woman who was speaking ignored the compliment and focused on the fact she was wrong, "Huh? What was I wrong about?"
Leo smiled, "You said I murdered four people, correct? Well, I only shot three of them. The other guy fell to his death on his own because he fainted on a mountainside. You can't blame me for that one, right?"
"What does it matter if you killed three or four?! You still murdered people for no reason!"
Now Leo was starting to get annoyed.
He didn't mind being branded whatever the women wanted to call him, but he couldn't stand it when someone twisted the facts of a situation to fit their own narrative.
As Leo's face twisted into one of annoyance, He spoke, "I killed them for no reason? Really?
What do you think they would have done to me if I had surrendered?
You think those idiots were just going to give me a high five and let me walk away?"
Confronted with the hypothetical question, the woman shut her mouth and stopped talking.
It was quite obvious to all three of them what the group of men would have done had they gotten ahold of Leo.
They would have beat him within an inch of his life, forced him to hand over all of his supplies and then left him for dead.
If they hadn't just killed him outright.
After a protracted silence, Leo took a few deep breathes and calmed himself down.
"I don't care what you think of me, and frankly, you are unimportant to me. I only told the men to leave you here for your own benefit.
If you kept going around with idiots like these guys, you were bound to wind up dead soon enough.
You can hate me, curse me, or whatever else you feel like because that is your prerogative.
I'm not some snowflake who can't handle a few insults.
Now, if you can get those bikes working, you are free to leave. If you want to leave though, I suggest you do it quickly. The longer we remain here the more likely we are to encounter something that can threaten your lives."
The girl who had been hiding behind her sister all this time finally seemed to gather a little courage because she finally stepped out from behind her sister and stood next to her instead.
"Um... thank you for saving us. My name is Robin and this is my sister Amber.
I'm sorry for my sisters attitude. She doesn't mean any offense."
Amber, the older of the two, glared at Robin with a mixture of accusation and tenderness.
Clearly she hadn't wanted to reveal their names or relation but she cared too much for her sister to chastise her.
Leo observed their subtle interaction before responding, "I did it on a whim. No need to thank me.
Seems I was right about your situation then? You weren't here of your own accord?"
This time Amber was the one to respond, "The guy you shot first was my ex-boyfriend.
Last night he broke into our apartment and forced my sister and I to come along on this stupid bike ride into the middle of nowhere.
He kept going on and on about how this was his chance to become the king of the world or some bullshit."
Surprised by the gumption of the man, Leo glanced over his shoulder and looked at the lifeless body of Amber's ex-boyfriend.
'Not even 24 hours after the reckoning and people are already adapting. Frankly, I have to give the guy props for recognizing that although much has yet to change, it was just the precursor for more to come. Color me impressed.'
Looking back towards the two women, "What's your plans then? Will you ride back into town?"
Amber opened her mouth to speak, but Robin quickly grabbed her shoulder and moved towards her sister to whisper something in her ear.
Leo could tell that whatever Robin was saying clearly wasn't what Amber was expecting because her face morphed from surprise, to disgust, to confusion all while her eyes darted back and forth between Leo and her sister.
Unbothered by their private conversation, Leo took the opportunity to walk around the area, throwing the dead carcasses of the animals into his inventory.
When the area was cleared, Leo looked back at the women who were now face to face arguing.
Rolling his eyes, Leo ignored the two women and continued to clear the area.
Once satisfied that he hadn't missed any of his kills, Leo returned back to where the ladies were and found them still arguing.
Since they weren't his responsibility, and he didn't feel the need to waste any more time on them, Leo simply turned and began to walk in the direction of where his makeshift sniper nest was located.
After Leo took a few steps, Robin suddenly called out to him, "Please wait!