Harvey sat alone in the yard until the sun passed below the buildings, sipping the rest of his water and taking a well-deserved break. When the chill in the air changed from refreshing to uncomfortable, he dragged himself to his feet and meandered back to the general store. Gabe, Gary, and his group were nowhere to be seen, but that was fine with him.

  He bought a warm dinner of chicken, potatoes, and steamed carrots, refilled his water jug, and enjoyed a relaxing meal by the fire. Someone else must’ve added more fuel while he was away, because it was still burning bright. The second axe was missing, but hopefully it meant they were out replenishing the dwindling stock of firewood.

  He was exhausted. Mind, body, and soul. His weave ached from overuse, leaving him feeling like he’d run a marathon and gotten hit by a semi-truck right before he crossed the finish line.

  He plopped down into one of the chairs and pulled the other one in front to use as a table. He dug into the food, shoving chunks of chicken into his mouth with his left hand while scooping piping hot potatoes with his right. Usually, he hated eating with his hands, to the point he would eat his pizza with a fork and knife as long as he wasn’t with anyone who would give him too much trouble about it, but nothing would get in the way of this meal.

  Even when he finished, he didn’t move for over an hour. He simply sat and watched the fire dance. He wondered how long it had been since he last had a moment alone with his thoughts like this.

  Back home, he put on headphones the moment he woke up, listening to some random podcast while he got ready for the day. He’d pause whatever he was listening to and kiss Cleo goodbye, her doing the same while she scrolled in bed. Then he’d listen to music on the drive to work, focus music playlists while he was at work, an audiobook on his way home, and then fall asleep watching TV. Thinking back, he’d likely gone days at a time without a single moment of silence, and now he was bathed in it.

  Out here in the forest, staying silent meant staying hidden, and staying hidden meant staying alive. He hated feeling like prey, surrounded on all sides by danger. It did force him to spend more time with himself than he had in years, and he was surprised by how calming that quality reflection time was despite the circumstances.

  He stayed by the fire a while longer until he heard a distant voice calling his name. It startled him, and he began looking around until a flash of movement in the distance caught his eye. It was Julian, carrying a body over his shoulder as he led a sizable group of veilstriders towards the outpost. Hannah walked beside him, helping another young woman hobble along.

  “Harvey! We need a health potion, quick!” Julian yelled, barely audible from so far away.

  Harvey jumped to his feet and began running in their direction. His body had recovered a lot after eating and resting by the fire, letting him move unencumbered. As he got closer, his face froze in shock. Blood covered the left half of Julian’s face and ran down his leather armor.

  “Are you ok?” Harvey asked, panicked.

  “Not my blood,” Julian replied. “Do you have a health potion?”

  Harvey took the red vial from his belt and handed it to him as Julian gingerly laid the man on the ground. He had a nasty wound on his chest, and short, wheezing breaths were the only indication he was still alive. His robe was hard with dried blood that crunched as it met the ground.

  Wasting no time, Julian uncorked the vial and poured it down the man’s throat. In moments, color returned to the living patches on his face that had almost grown to match the dead. He let out a wheezing cough, turning to spit blood on the soft undergrowth at his side.

  “Thank… you,” He wheezed.

  “No, thank you, Victor. You wouldn’t have needed to wait this long if you hadn’t given your last health potion to Alexa.” Julian said, helping the man to his feet. “We’re almost there, everyone, just a little farther and we’ll have hot meals next to a warm campfire for everyone!”

  A muted cheer answered his attempt at motivation, the group resuming their tired march.

  “Are you guys ok? Do you need me to get anything else?” Harvey asked.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “These people have been alone in the forest for almost an entire day, and haven’t had any food or water since they got here. Almost everyone was injured when we found them, and it took every potion we had to get everyone back alive.” Julian responded gravely.

  “I’ll run ahead and get supplies,” Harvey said, receiving a slight nod of thanks from Hannah as she struggled to support her own patient. He turned and ran into town, barrelling through the door of the general store to see Gary standing at the mirror.

  “Julian’s got a group of tired and hungry survivors walking into town,” Harvey said. “We need to get some food and water asap.”

  “Hold your horses, kid, I’m shopping,” Gary replied, not looking away from the mirror where a takeout bag from a steakhouse Harvey recognized and an energy drink were piled on the floor next to three cardboard boxes like the one his own meal came in. The logo on the bag was from a chain restaurant back on Earth, and it must have cost a fortune, considering the energy drink alone cost 200 merit.

  “Can’t it wait? It looks like you already got your dinner, and these people haven’t drunk anything in almost a day!” Harvey snapped back.

  “Didn’t your momma ever teach you to wait your turn? They’ll make it another minute.” Gary barked back, a long metal spear appearing in his reflection’s hands before being replaced with a spiked mace.

  Harvey waited impatiently in the doorway, looking back and forth between Gary and Julian as the group walked through the gate. Different weapons and armor appeared in the reflection, each met with a disapproving nod as Gary perused the inventory. Finally, Julian caught up and joined Harvey in the doorway.

  “Is something wrong?” Julian asked, noting the concern on Harvey’s face.

  “Just here waiting my turn while Gary does his window shopping.” Harvey bit back.

  “Gary, what the hell, man?” Julian exclaimed as Gary laughed at the tall feather plume sticking out of a full-faced iron helmet.

  “What? A man can’t spend his money?” Gary replied.

  “You can later, when there’s not eight hungry mouths to feed,” Julian replied.

  “Whatever you say, bossman!” Gary huffed, piling the rest of the food and drinks into his to-go bag before cracking the tab on his energy drink. “But I’m only paying to feed my own house. A man’s only responsible for his own people.”

  “I’ll pay to feed all of them and you if you just get outta the way,” Julian said, pushing past him.

  “You a rich fella, Bossman? Sounds good to me! I’ll put this on your tab then.” Gary replied, laughing as he held up his dinner before leaving for the residential area.

  “Jackass.” Julian huffed as boxed meals and water jugs began appearing at his feet.

  When he was sure Gary was out of earshot, Harvey gathered as many meals as he could carry before speaking up. “Did you see what he was drinking? That energy drink costs more than all this food by itself! I can’t imagine how much his steak dinner cost.”

  “I know,” Julian muttered back in a low growl Harvey hadn’t heard from him before. “And what does he mean, his people?”

  “He’s been pretty territorial.” Harvey agreed.

  “I’ll deal with him. Even last night, when they were the tired and hungry ones, he rubbed me the wrong way.” Julian replied. “Where’s Gabe?”

  “Probably at Gary’s house with Amy and Elena. He left to help them as soon as we finished going through the town. We didn't find much.” Harvey replied, pointing to the few items placed on the shelves opposite the mirror.

  “Well, good to know nothing’s going to crawl out behind us,” Julian answered, picking up water jugs.

  “That’s what I said!” Harvey laughed, following him outside.

  They went around passing dinner and water to each survivor huddled around the campfire. They ate in silence, nobody talking as they enjoyed their first warm meal.

  “Do you know where the axes are? I need to chop some more firewood, and I’m thinking we can strip a few logs to make benches for everyone.” Julian asked.

  “I know Gary took one, and I’m guessing Gabe took the other,” Harvey replied.

  “Great, let’s go get one,” Julian said, offering his chair to one of the newcomers.

  Harvey led him to the house where Julian pounded on the door. When nobody answered, he pounded again. It took a while, but eventually Amy came and opened it. Inside, Gary, Gabe, and Elena were sitting around a mostly intact wooden table, eating dinner.

  “Bossman! Here to reimburse me?” Gary chuckled.

  “Where are the axes, Gary? We need one.” Julian shot back.

  “In my house. That means they’re mine.” Gary replied.

  “I bought them for the camp, not for you,” Julian said, pushing past Amy to grab one leaning against the wall before walking out the door. “Great to see you, Amy, hope you guys are settling in ok!”

  She froze for a moment, embarrassment burning on her cheeks, before gently closing the door behind them.

  “Let’s go.” Julian huffed, moving towards the forest.

  “Sure, one quick thing,” Harvey said, jogging to catch up.

  “What is it?” Julian asked.

  “Can we put the new arrivals in the church instead of the forge tonight? There’s something I need to show you, and it’s better if nobody else is around.” Harvey replied.