Chapter 3

As the group clawed their way out of the brush dragging twigs and leaves with them they peered all around. Angela asked "is it clear?" "Seems so." answered Jason. He looked around and continued "we need water. Without it we will all be dead within four or five days." The group nodded in agreement. "Should we split up and look around?" Asked Bob. Angela whimpered at the thought and began shaking her head in panic clinging to Prisha who patted and stroked her head like one would a small child. "No we should stick together. We can't guarantee one of us won't be attacked while seperated." Responded Jason. Angela was relieved as the thought of being alone nearly scared her to death. Everyone nodded in agreement save Darek who tried to hide the disappointment at not separating as well as he could as his eyes lingered on the small girl. "Does anyone know ways to find water?" Asked Prisha looking around the group.

Jason had some ideas but he wanted to hear if anyone else knew better then him. Samire spoke. "I'm not sure but the grasslands are not a good place to look. If we do find any water it's likely to be stagnant and if we are caught out in the open there will be no place to hide. I think heading towards the mountain is our best bet. Water runs down hill. We could find a stream. Look at the mountain. There is a valley running down towards us. It's a likely spot for a stream." Angela looked aghast and started shaking again. "But we have to go deeper into the forest to get there! There are monsters in there!" Prisha soothed her again and told her "there could be monsters anywhere for all we know. Any step we take could be dangerous so it's best to at least go where there is likely to be water right?" Angela thought for a moment and then nodded with hesitation.

"She does raise a point though." Samire pointed out. The group gave him a questioning look so he continued. "Where there is water there is prey and predators. If we find water we might be finding danger too." Darek inserted himself into the talk and said "if you're all going to be a bunch of cowards you might as well die right here anyways. We need water. This is why we need a strong leader. If anything happens out there I can protect us. Especially the women. They need to be protected." He puffed his chest out as he said this and eyed the two ladies reaction.

Jason knew his intentions immediately. "He's trying to impress women right now? What a fucking idiot." He kept those words to himself only thinking them. Angela seemed slightly swayed by the words thinking to herself that if anyone could protect her it would be this massive bear of a man. She was naive in her thought and had not noticed the lewd glares the man was shooting her way since he met them. Prisha on the other hand knew Darek was up to no good. "Even if you are strong there is no guarantee that physical strength will mean a thing. Could your muscles help you fight that dragon from yesterday?" Darek wanted to say something in return but knew for a fact that dragon would have eaten him like a half bite snack in a second flat so he simply said "maybe not the dragon but not everything here will be as terrifying as that was." Once again showing his muscles in what he thought was a subtle gesture. "Why is this bitch opposing me right now? I'll teach her a lesson later." He thought.

Jason raised his voice slightly and glared his own glare at Darek while saying "We don't need a leader. We need cooperation. If you can't cooperate then maybe you should leave." Jason hoped Darek would take him up on it but was disappointed when Darek said "as if. You would like that wouldn't you cherry boy?!" He left others to guess his meaning while he glared at Jason. Samire spoke up. "We need weapons." "Where are we supposed to find weapons?" Asked Prisha. "We can make them." he answered. "We can fashion spears out of branches." Darek snorted and replied "hey smarty pants how are we supposed to sharpen them?" Samire showed irritation at Darek's comment and continued "we can run them against rocks to sharpen them. All we have to do is find a rock sticking out of the ground with a sharp edge or even a hand sized one to use as a knife."

The rest of the group showed appreciation at the idea of having weapons and their spirits lifted ever so slightly. "Or we could just use this." Spoke Jason pulling out a somewhat sizable pocket knife whose blade was at least 5 inches long. Its seemed very old and had an odd shape. "Why do you have that?!" Asked Darek suddenly happy he hadn't tried to attack Jason or pulled any tricks so far. "I live in a pretty pretty bad neighborhood and having something to scare off punks and thugs is usefull. Its was a gift from my grandfather but that doesnt matter. Let's get started. Time is important." Everyone nodded in approval and began searching in a small area around themselves for branches. "Dont use branches that are dead or fallen. They will break easily." Commented Samire. After a few minutes branches where gathered and it was easy work for Jason to sharpen them. His odd knife seemed to cut wood like butter. Angela , Prisha and the old man had a hard time breaking branches off trees thick enough to be used so Jason helped them.

Darek wanted to sharpen his own spear with Jason's knife but Jason wasn't stupid and just glared at Darek when he asked for the knife. Darek gave up quickly. "At least I have a spear now." he thought. "Better then nothing." As the group where finally armed they set out with Darek at the front as he tried his best to impress the two women. Jason was surprised for a second before he thought. "The dumb beast thinks with his penis. Good! Let him be the one to run into trouble first." Samire and the old man followed behind him and then there was the two women. Jason took the rear as he deemed it the second most dangerous spot in the group.

As they walked Prisha started wincing and groaning and walked in a manner that showed she was in pain. As Jason began to notice this Prisha bent down took off her heels and used a rock sticking out of the ground to break off the heels of her shoes. "Smart woman" Jason thought internally. He smiled at her when she noticed him watching and she smiled back. It would not fix the problem of her having horrible shoes completely but it would help. He walked closer to her and said "if your feet get bad I can carry you. If you destroy your feet and can't walk at all it will be bad for the entire group." Prisha nodded and said "thank you" a blush creeping onto her face at the thought of being carried by this young man. The sad part was she would probably have to take him up on his offer before long. She already had blisters forming on her feet. "Damn it why did I wear heels yesterday!?" Kicking herself mentally she continued on.

After about an hour of walking Prisha noticed Angela was breathing raggedy so she spoke up. "We should stop and rest for a bit. Angela is tired." The group looked at Angela and agreed. Especially Bob who wasn't doing much better himself. Darek seemed pissed at the break but attempted to seem kind by agreeing. "Its should take another 3 hours to reach the mountain based on our current pace." Samire said. Once again pushing his glasses up in what was probably his go to gesture.

As the group sat down where ever they could Jason started climbing a tree that seemed easy to climb that was also one that stuck above the others. Darek asked "What are you doing?" Acid in his tone. Jason didn't answer as he continued climbing shaking his head at the fool. Samire chimed in. "He's probably trying to see if there is anything around us." Darek grunted not impressed.

As they waited for Jason to come back down Angela pulled an inhaler from her pocket and took a drag. The entire group noticed the action and looked at her. Worry showing in their face. Darek thought "great she's dead wieght!" And didn't hide his irritation. Noticing the others looks Angela said "Its not so bad I usually don't need it it just helps a bit. I sear I won't drag you guys down!" Worry was etched into her face. She was obviously very scared of being abandoned. Prisha looked her in the eyes. "Don't worry I won't leave you behind because of this. Look at my feet. I'm no better then you right now." Angela looked down and could see the redness and swelling of blisters around the rim of her shoes and felt pain for this sweet older woman who seemed to protect her. "Is it bad?" "No not yet I can keep going for now." Prisha responded.

As Jason climbed back down everyone looked at him. "There's a fire in that direction" he said while pointing in a direction to the right of the mountain. "It might be a camp fire but I'm not sure." Everyone's eyes sparkled at the news. Where there is fire there are people. Where there are people there is food, water and shelter. "There is no proof that going to it would be safe. We don't even know who or what started the fire but I think we should decide." Commented Jason.

The entire group passed their gazes around and thought for a bit. Darek spoke up first. "I think we should go. We can't be cowards. Maybe there are people there." Angela abstained from giving an opinion and stayed by Prisha's side. Bob seemed to look at Jason and Samire for an answer. Samire spoke "we should give it a try. It's worth the risk." Prisha nodded as well. Jason said "It's decided then. Lets rest here for another 15 minutes or so then go.

As everyone sat resting Jason closed his eyes and started meditating to regain his strength. Shortly after beginning his eyes shot open. There was a look of incredulity on his face that none of the others noticed. Calming his breathing he closed his eyes again. A minute or two passed and a smile slowly crept onto his face. Delight evident in his expression. He kept his thoughts to himself for now and continued meditating. Breathing in and out in an odd pattern his weariness from a night of no sleep and the hour walk seemed to evaporate. When Darek spoke up and said they should go in case the people at the fire move Jason opened his eyes that where absolutely filled with glee. He mouthed the words "first core" with disbelief. Noone heard him. As the group got up and continued walking Jason thought "thank you grandfather." And held the pocket knife to his forhead.

Jasons steps seemed more confident now. Stronger somehow. The twigs that normally caught on everyone and dragged at their clothes he completely avoided. A smirk fought it's way onto his face. "It should be about 20 minutes walk that way." He told the group. Everyone nodded. Hope growing in their chest at the thought of safety. After about 15 minutes they could smell burning wood and meat. Darek spoke then "food ! Cooked food! It has to be people! Hahaha" he picked up his pace. The rest followed suit.

As they approached the smell they could hear the whinnies of horses and see smoke drifting through the forest. Darek was ecstatic. Laughing loudly and picking up his pace to a jog. "Wait you idiot!" Jason half yelled. But it was already too late.