Spurred on by a sense of competition and curiosity, the group slowly got onto the bikes and prepared to leave.
The pairings were Dan and Morgan, Mark and Lilly, Ian and Amanda, and then Rachel and Brittney riding solo.
When Leo confirmed that the group were ready to leave, he walked to the front of the group and turned to face them.
"Do try to keep up.
If anyone falls behind, well, it'll make it very hard to protect you guys." he yelled over the hum of the engines.
"Whatever Mr. Badass. Just go already! I want to see why you think you can outrun these dirt bikes!" Ian yelled as he revved his engine.
Expecting Leo to turn around and sprint off at a pathetic speed, the group was caught off guard when Leo remained facing them before he shot off down the road, running backwards.
Before they could register what was happening, Leo was already a quarter of a mile away and getting further.
"Shit! Let's go guys!" Dan yelled as he and Morgan took off after Leo.
It took another few seconds for the rest to gather themselves, but they too took off in the direction Leo ran.
Ian was sweating bullets as the wind whipped against his face.
He was going as fast as he could, albeit with a degree of safety in mind, and was unable to close the gap between him and Leo.
'What the fuck is wrong with this guy?! How can he move so quickly?! And backwards at that!' he was screaming internally.
While his vision was fixed on Leo, the image of the man suddenly disappeared before returning a dozen seconds later.
'What the fuck was that? Where did he go?' Ian thought as he continued to chase after Leo.
As the group continued to travel down the road, Leo continued to run backwards a short distance ahead of the group of bikes.
A few in the group eventually realized that Leo wasn't running backwards to taunt them but was rather watching over them and the surroundings.
Dan and Morgan had caught sight of Leo appearing next to them for a moment before a loud gunshot rang out.
Although they hadn't seen anything attacking them, they had started to realize that Leo rarely did anything without a purpose, so it was likely that he had just saved them from some sort of attack.
After an hour or so of riding, Lilly practically had stars in her eyes as she desperately tried to follow Leo's movements.
She had caught glimpses of him shooting and killing dozens of animals by that point and knew that she had made the right choice in following him.
Ian had long given up hope of catching up to Leo and was just trying to remain with the group to not lose too much face when they inevitably reached their destination.
At one point, Leo dashed a little further ahead than he normally maintained and came to a stop next to a barely noticeable dirt road.
He lazily signaled for the group to turn down the dirt road as they approached.
In awe of his stamina and ability, the group no longer questioned Leo and simply followed his orders.
"Follow this road and you'll run right into our camp! Park the bikes next to the car you'll find and I'll come find you when you do!" he yelled as they passed by.
Bored of going at their pace and knowing it was a straight shot to the camp at this point, Leo decided to take a few extra minutes to clear out the surrounding area now that he hadn't been killing them as often.
Zig zagging his way through the area, Leo dispatched anything and everything that he came across without discretion.
He made sure not to get too far behind or ahead of the group or it would be difficult to ensure their safety.
After riding for a while, the group on the bikes saw a car not too far in the distance and could make out the figures of three individuals standing next to it.
As the group got close enough, they saw Leo and Amber waiting next to a rather impatient Robin.
Since everyone in the group knew Robin from school, they also knew who Amber was so they recognized her immediately.
When the bikes came to a stop, Robin rushed up to the group beaming a bright and cheerful smile.
"Morgan, Dan, Ian, Mark, Brittney, Rachel, Amanda and Lilly!!! I'm so glad you guys are okay!! I thought the worst had happened!" she yelled.
The girls quickly scrambled off their bikes and embraced Robin one at a time with smiles upon their faces.
"Robin, oh it's so good to see you!! I can't believe you got such a stud at your beck and call!" Morgan said with a wink.
Robin shrunk back embarrassed, but that only made the other girls tease here even more.
While the group of women, sans Amber, were lost in a torrent of happiness and joy, Ian and Mark both approached Leo who was chatting idly with Amber off to the side.
Seeing them approach, Amber could tell by the twos expression that whatever Leo had done had clearly enlightened them to a new world.
Same as he had done for her and her sister.
When the duo reached Leo, Ian looked at Leo with a mixture of awe, envy, and determination.
"Leo, can I ask how you are able to do that? I mean, how do you move so fast? Run so far? It's beyond the bounds of what any normal human should be able to accomplish." asked Ian.
Leo didn't answer Ian's question and instead looked at Amber and said, "Amber, show em."
Amber rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not some circus act you know..."
Despite her protest, she still activated one of her skills and disappeared from where she stood only to reappear behind Ian a split second later.
Ian and Mark both jumped in fright when Amber materialized behind them.
"What? How? Huh?" were the only words the two could form.
"This is what is possible if you embrace the system that you now have and work hard.
Amber and I both have classes that were provided by the system that enable us to achieve things that are beyond human comprehension.
I doubt you even noticed the little fairy floating over there either." Leo said as he pointed in the direction of the group of gals.
The two men turned their hands and were astonished to see a small girl floating in midair with wings sprouting from her back.
The girls were currently surrounding the little fairy while Robin was explaining who Luminara was and why she was there.
"Luminara, the fairy, is proof that Robin has also received a class and is leagues stronger than even you two are." Leo said. "You guys think I'm fast and strong, right? Yeah well, you ain't seen nothin yet. I'm only beyond your understanding because I've eclipsed what a human should be capable of.
In a month or two, my current self will be considered weak by comparison to the enemies that we will be facing.
You want to know why I'm capable of what I am capable of?
It's because I worked hard and earned it.
I hunted animals for days on end without barely any rest."
The two young men seemed overwhelmed by the whole situation and didn't respond.
"Awh.. you've broken them, Leo. That wasn't nice." Amber teased.
"They've been living in a fantasy world and refused to face the reality of their situation.
Maybe now they'll realize it's time to wake up and do what needs to be done to survive." Leo scoffed as walked back towards the entrance to the camp.
Amber chuckled coquettishly as she patted the two men on the shoulders and whispered, "Good luck boys!" before she chased after Leo.
Ian and Mark remained lost in thought for a few minutes before they both came to a conclusion.
"Damn, does Amber look even better now than she used too?"
"Right?! I was thinking the same thing..."
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Hope y'all are having a good weekend and enjoying yourselves!
Thank you for the collections and power stones! They are greatly appreciated!