The Last Dainv-Chapter 33

The Last Dainv-Chapter 33

The tension in the tent was thick. Literally. It would've been easier to eat honey or peanut butter in one swallow than staying at this crude table that looked like a poorly made war tent. It was one of those times when all Gale just wanted to do was shrink back and let the adults fight.
Ollie traced a path on the map made of bark. It showed a route to the exit portal.
"We'll skirt the edge of the forest until we reach the giant tree around here. Remember that giant beast we fought there?" Ollie said.
Annett nodded. "All for it. Don't think we can use the route Gale took. Too dangerous for the elderly and children."
"Are you sure even if we use your time slow again to soften the landings?" Rachel asked.
"Waste of mana. Might as well enter a beast's mouth if we ever encounter some on the way." Annett crossed her arms.
"And remember this? The place we faced that faceless crow," Ollie said.
Rachel's hand twitched as she looked upwards to catch Gale's eyes. She smiled softly at him, but Gale understood her. She's probably thinking positively. None of them would die again. With this large of a group? No way that was happening. Definitely… no way.
"Finally, we'll circle around this hill and make a run for the exit," Ollie pointed to a raised area on the map. "But we need to avoid Blue Haven. They might have patrols out looking for us, and we can't risk being seen."
Gale leaned forward.
"What about here?" he tapped on a spot just south of the hill Ollie had pointed out. "It's dense with dead trees. Could provide cover if we need it."
Ollie nodded. "Good catch. We'll keep that in mind as a fallback."
Rachel shifted her weight on to her other foot. "And if we do run into a patrol?"
"We avoid engagement at all costs," Ollie replied firmly. "Our goal is to get out of this place. Fighting is a last resort. Conflicts won't matter after we escape."
Gale envisioned each step. First, go through the forest to the giant tree. Second, go through the stone tower. Third, skip Blue Haven. Fourth is a question mark whether they fight or not. Fifth? Profit. That was all fine, but that was way easier said than done.
Ollie cleared his throat. "Any questions?"
Lennard stepped forward, his weathered old punchable face creased as he opened his weathered old punchable mouth. "Damn right I do. This plan is too reckless! Why are we rushing? We should take more time to prepare and gather supplies-"
"We've been over this, Lennard." Rachel cut him off. "Every hour and every day we wait, the more time you give those assholes to trap us."
"At what cost?" Lennard shot back. "We're risking everything on this mad dash to an exit that might not even exist!"
"It does exist! Didn't you hear Ollie say so?!" Rachel shouted.
"With that red ball thingy majick thing? I don't need no orb to tell me what I can eat or not eat. I already knew the fruits we got were edible before he told us!" Lennard retorted.
"There are a lot of things you don't understand here, and a lot more things you don't understand back on Earth. You were just a
mundane
." Rachel slammed her hands on the table as heat in the tent increased. "How do you explain this whole world that we got into? Are you still thinking, Lennard? Or are you just pretending to be senile right now?"
"I might be getting old, but you better respect me. I was the one that held this camp together when you were out there looking for an imaginary exit."
"The exit for all of us to get out of here! Unless you want to stay here like those guys at Blue Haven." Rachel glared down at Lennard.
"How many more people would end up like John in this crazy idea?" Lennard spat, getting too close to Rachel.
"That's one way to tell me that you'd rather stay here and live like this until you die of old age, old man." Rachel replied.
While the argument escalated between the two, Annett leaned closer to Gale. "It's been like this before you joined. Rachel wants to keep looking for a way out. Lennard wants to just live… wait for help to arrive."
Ahhh. It was the telltale ancient argument between caution and adventure. Typical.
He'd been so confused by the external threats that threatened the literal lives of people. Looking back at the times he was in this camp, Lennard was never there. Maybe to him, Gale embodied the personification of adventure. Laughable.
"Enough!" Gale shouted. All eyes turned to him. It was rare for him to insert himself into these disputes. So much for shrinking back and letting the adults fight it out.
"We don't have time for this," Gale continued. "Every moment spent on arguing gives death a chance to catch up. The forest won't wait for us to clear our differences."
Before Rachel could say anything, Gale put up a hand to stop her. He continued, "Both sides have correct stances. Not going out there keeps the group alive. Going outside and venturing can save everyone. Both have its merit."
"Hmph." Lennard's nostrils flared.
"Caution doesn't save us. Adventuring blindly kills all of us-"
"Caution gets us to live another day," Lennard cut him off.
"And living another day to die tomorrow," Gale sighed, then turned to Ollie, "We're not doing this blindly. We have a plan. That plan is solid. It's safe enough and not blind."
Lennard scowled but stayed silent. Rachel let out a small sigh as her eyes softened. She looked at him and smiled.
What? The whole argument was stupid. He didn't mean to save her from the annoying old man.
"Now," Gale continued, "stop arguing. Use this time to look for weakness on the plan. Lennard is old. He can use his oldness to give advise on what to prepare for along this route."
Annett raised an eyebrow.
Stolen novel; please .
Lennard glanced around the tent, pausing at Rachel, who scowled back at him. Leaning forward on to the table, Lennard pointed at several spots on the map.
"These areas are likely hunting grounds for larger predators. We've encountered some nasty beasts there before."
His finger traced a path between the marked locations, lingering on each one as if recalling past encounters. "We can't make it through here without getting hurt."
Well, will you look at that? Actually useful information from an old man.
"The creatures here... they're not like anything you've seen before. Some can hear a twig snap from half a mile away. Others can smell fear." Lennard's voice dropped lower, almost to a whisper. "And trust me, they're stronger than the ones you've encountered so far."
Actually useful information that's not very helpful. Don't think anything other than the 3 garbage truck sized forest predators can match anything that Lennard and his group of mundanes have seen.
Gale then replied, "I can use my abilities to create distractions if needed. That'll buy some time for the convoy to keep moving while we eliminate the threat. What's next?"
Lennard grumbled, making the wrinkles on his face even more pronounced than before. He ran a hand through his thinning gray hair before continuing.
"This path around here," he said, placing his finger on a part between the giant tree and the stone tower, "it's a choke point. Forest beasts converge there, drawn by some instinct we don't understand. They fight each other, tearing into flesh with teeth and claws. It's a bloodbath."
He continued, "There's no way we can go through without a fight. The beasts will smell us coming from miles away. They'll see us as fresh meat, easier prey than their usual opponents."
Lennard's fingers traced the path on the map, then stayed at the choke point. "Tracks go up from here or down. Whichever way, but I've seen what happens to those who try to sneak through. They go dead. The beasts there… they're different. Bigger than any of you have seen. More aggressive than anything that attacked the camp so far. It's like a concentration of all the worst parts of the forest in that one area."
"We've faced the worst there is, Lennard. No point in trying to break down morale," Rachel said.
Gale put a hand on her shoulder, softly gripping it. "Rachel's right. But keep going if you have more."
"Hmph. Overconfidence leads to death, young boy," Lennard snorted. "I say we go through there, we're asking for trouble. And not the kind we can easily handle." Lennard pointed slightly off route to what the red marble had given.
The route that Lennard proposed would have added an extra hour to the hike. Highly inefficient use of resources at hand. No point in having combatants if they're not going to be used.
Gale responded immediately, "Ollie and me will go scout ahead and create an opening through the choke point. Annett at this point will be in the rear with the rescued women's squad. They can handle their own, or at least they're going to have to. They should be able to keep the rear guarded. Rachel, keep the middle of the convoy in check."
"Fine. But if anyone gets hurt, that's on you, buddy," Lennard said.
Everything was already on him. No point in saying that, old man. Typical adult not taking accountability.
The meeting wound down. No more questions or 'interesting' proposals on the path they were about to take.
Ollie rolled up the bark map. "We leave at first light-I mean figuratively, anyway. Get some rest, everyone. Tomorrow, we face the forest."
As the meeting wound down, Gale caught Rachel's eye. She gave him a small nod.
Ollie, Annett, and Lennard all filed out while Gale lingered. He let out a huge sigh, releasing the stress he felt through all of that discussion. Heck, if he had the choice, he'd force everyone to just push through the most dangerous parts to cut the travel time by more than half. But no. Rachel wouldn't have liked that. He would have been in Lennard's situation. And making her angry was… not a good feeling.
Gale sighed again, turning to the flap of the tent. However, Rachel stood there, blocking the entrance of the tent. Her left arm held her other arm's elbow, and her eyes awkwardly looked around the tent, attempting to avoid eye contact with Gale.
His heart almost skipped a beat as he nearly bumped into her. Why is she blocking him? Dad always did say that mom was stronger than a bear.
Gale shook his head. Why remember what dad said now? Useless thoughts. Go away.
Should he be saying something in this moment, though? Why does he have so many questions in his head?
"Are you okay?" Gale finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper that it almost sounded like a hiss.
Rachel nodded quickly.
"I'm fine," she replied, but her voice trembled.
Fine doesn't mean ok. Possibly most definitely not okay.
Rachel's eyes flicked to the map on the table, then back to Gale.
Does she not like the plan? Talk to me woman.
"I should go. My squad needs me," he lied, taking a step towards the exit. He could feel Rachel's stare boring through his back. Literally. Breath of the Void was always active. Nothing escapes my senses.
Moving to leave the tent, Rachel's hand shot out to grab his arm. Her hand was soft and firm on his.
"Wait!" her voice cracked slightly.
Gale froze, feeling the warmth of her hand through his sleeve. Social interactions were never his strong suit. Curse you again, stupid parents.
He'd spent so long alone in the orphanage and then in the forest, relying only on himself. Now, faced with Rachel's vulnerable expression, he felt completely out of his depth, lost even. He kept looking for words to say.
Books? Definitely not.
Parents? Well done, almost burnt.
A thousand ways to kill a beast. No. But that would be a good title for a book.
Gale looked around the tent, searching for something to talk about to avoid looking at Rachel's face. He noticed the way the dim blue moonlight filtered through the torn bits of the tent. They cast rays of blue light. But it's weird. There was nothing that could make a moon glow blue, possibly. All this thinking made all his muscles tense, as if a beast was about to attack. Maybe she wanted to fight.
Rachel took a deep breath, clearly struggling to find the right words herself.
"I... I'm sorry," she said finally. "For not believing you back in Blue Haven."
Gale's muscles relaxed after hearing those words. He hadn't expected it. Didn't even realize that was something he wanted to hear from her.
Rachel continued, her words tumbling out faster now. "Sometimes I wish I could be more like you. Not afraid of being pushed around, not caring so much about what others think. Being independent and doing what's always needed to be done… instead of being pushed into place by others."
Gale shook his head. A soft smile played on his lips that he himself didn't realize. He forgot the last time he felt like this. Maybe even never.
"I'm not really like that kind of person you're describing…," he said. "I-I care about other people too. It's just... hard to care when death is always so close."
He paused. "I'm still lacking... in a lot of things. There are times I want to run away, survive on my own. To leave everyone behind because it's easy to just be alone. Even now, while all of this is happening, I want to run away."
Gale sighed, releasing more of the pent-up tension in his system. "But I know that's not the right answer. I'm trying to find something else, something more. I feel like I'll hate myself if I run away."
Rachel's eyes widened, putting her hand on his arm, squeezing softly. She whispered, "You know… after hearing that, I'm actually afraid of going back home. Being forced back into that life I lived back then... Elliot's words about Blue Haven... I have to admit, they were tempting."
Rachel laughed, then continued, "Even though we're just constantly on survival mode, I feel free here. Free from all the worries and expectations, even with all the danger... yet I can't be selfish, right? There are too many lives at stake. The unawakened can't live here safely."
She looked down, her voice barely audible. "I'm sorry again for not believing you."
Gale gulped hard. Looking back at it, she was the first one to ever say 'I trust you' to him. And for some reason, he wanted to hear it more.
Rachel squeezed his arm again, "I trust you. It won't happen again. And if there's a disagreement between us in the future, let's talk it out."
Gale didn't realize how hard it was to hold back tears that he didn't want to show.
"Nnn." That was all he could say.
The moment stretched. Wind flapped the tent open. He could sense the kids still playing while not knowing what was about to begin. Gale found himself wanting to say more. Wanting to talk more, to get solace from her. Maybe after they all go back. Yeah, that's it.
—Why was it suddenly getting too hot in the tent?
"I-I should go. You should go too, you were about to go to your squad, right?"
"R-Right." Gale replied in a stutter.

.
!
Chapter 33