Stella quickly walked away from the place, deciding to go deeper into the forest.
"I have no other solution but to advance, otherwise I won't be able to maintain my life."
This was the only choice she had, whether she stayed in the place or left, both choices were bad, going deep into a forest like this is risky, and just staying in her place would inevitably expose her to death.
"I'd rather go in the middle of this forest than wait for death here. I may regret this too, but it's not like I regret staying while one of the masked men kills me."
She didn't know exactly where she was going but kept going one way forward in the hope that she would survive.
"Since there are people here, I may find someone to help me, but the problem is my appearance, the clothes of these masked people are different and their whole appearance is old-fashioned, even from the way they speak is a little different."
Stella realized that she had to change her appearance as soon as possible, what if someone saw her and told those men ?
She wore wide sports clothes, in bright colors, it was white and blue.
"First I have to find a place to hide, and think about the appearance later."
Previously, before moving, she had wrapped her skin with some adhesive tape, so as not to be stung by insects, especially since they may be poisonous.
"Since those men moved around in this forest without problems, then there may be no dangerous animals."
She was hoping not to end up here at the hands of a predator too, so she proceeded very carefully. She stayed like this for hours, would take a short break to drink some water and eat something.
The sun was about to set, but she still could not find anywhere to hide and had not met anyone, after all this some despair crept into her heart, and she sighed, "Oh my, I walked all this and still no one is a thing and not even a living being !"
She kept thinking that this was already her last day in her life, but soon the thoughts of pity were pushed away again, "Come on, I have to be a little patient, I will continue no matter what, in the end I don't want to die the same way."
The sight of her trip companions lying lifeless on the ground was a motivator for her to continue, along with the faint hope of survival.
After some time it was night, the weather turned from warm to very cold.
"Uh, I was afraid of dying through murder, poisoning or some predator, but I think it will end with me dead of cold."
Stella felt very cold, especially since it was warm during the day, so she didn't wear enough clothes.
She quickly took out a jacket from the backpack and put it on, this jacket was for the girl named Anna, it was lying on the ground, so Stella took it in anticipation of such a thing, in the end, Anna no longer needed it.
Stella continued to move on non-stop despite everything, all that mattered to her was to survive on her own, even though everything was against her.
"Everything has always been against me." sighed in her heart.
She continued walking, the only thing that was not against her on the day was that she could see despite the darkness, this was due to the light of the full moon.
After getting tired, she stopped to rest and sat down leaning on one of the trees, drank some water and got up to continue walking again, but this time her attention was attracted by something in the middle of dense trees, Stella said cheerfully, "Ah, and finally luck smiled at me, it's a hut !"
She cautiously approached the hut, despite her overwhelming sense of joy in his presence, she was very careful.
"What if there is someone inside ? Or some animal or teeming with poisonous insects, everything is expected here."
Stella thought about all the possibilities.
She hid behind one of the trees, grabbed a stone and threw it at the small window, there were no movements and no sounds inside, she again did the same thing to make sure, and again no sound was made.
After making sure, she lit the small light bulb that she had and went to open the door, she carefully opened the door, already there was no one inside, this hut was very old.
Its roof was full of cracks and holes, and dust, and green weeds were filling the place, especially the roof and the exterior facade, so there was nothing dangerous inside, she quickly closed the door,
"At least it's better than freezing in the open."
The continent was experiencing the opposite season from the other, while summer heat rose in its homeland, here it was time for the winter solstice.
She sat down to eat, it was a sandwich that she took from the bags of one of her murdered comrades, it was from the bag of 'Ed'.
Stella remembered the time she spent with the group, although it was short, but she was excited and had fun with them.
"I'm sorry, I was useless."
The feelings of sorrow and sadness she had whenever remembered them, along with the fear she felt when watching that terrible sight, was something she would never forget.
After she finished eating, she decided to take a break, because she had walked for hours for a long distance, to the point that her legs were numb.
"I'm going to take a rest here tonight, and tomorrow I'll try to find a solution to my appearance, no one should know that I'm not from the area."
After she locked the door, she lay on the floor trying to sleep but she couldn't, several thoughts were running through her head, from her coming until she ended up sleeping in an abandoned hut.
"What are they doing now, my father must have finished the operation hours ago, I hope Mom is not worried, otherwise Jean will worry too." Stella thought about her family a lot, and will she be able to meet them again.
She also thought about the masked men, and why they did that.
"He said that if we come here we will bring ruin, what did he mean by that ?" ,that is the question that preoccupied her the most.
After hours of thinking, she fell asleep from fatigue.
In the morning, Stella awoke with difficulty in the dilapidated cottage, the creaking of its worn wooden beams echoing faintly. The absence of furnishings left the space barren, with only dust and cobwebs adorning the neglected corners.
Despite the lack of comfort, the chorus of birds outside provided a fleeting sense of tranquility amidst the desolation.
Stella stood in her disheveled state, a testament to the long hours she had spent trekking through the forest. Her clothes, once neat, now bore the marks of her journey dusted with earth and streaked with grass stains.
Her hair, tousled from the wind's embrace, hinted at the wildness of the path she had chosen to tread.
"I'm going to look for something to change my appearance."
She rummaged through a large wooden chest inside the old cottage and found old and dirty men's clothing.
She decided to change her appearance using those clothes, making herself look like a poor boy.
Burned all her old belongings, except for her phone, so she could capture everything of interest.
Afterward, she made a vow to herself to explore and return to her homeland.
"I should find out everything here and then come back as planned from the beginning, I don't know how long, but I swear I will come back."