(Time-Stilled World, 21 Kilometers from Forest Entry – Leo's Team, Day 2)
Almost an entire day had gone by since Leo and the others got separated from Raiden's group— and thankfully, nothing significant had happened during that time, as the last twenty-four hours passed in a haze of silent walking, cautious glances, and the ever-present weight of the forest pressing down on them from all sides.
Patricia adjusted the strap on her satchel with an irritated grunt, her boots sinking deeper into the mulch with every step.
"Are we even going the right way? Or are we just walking in fucking circles?" she snapped, glancing around at the seemingly identical trees stretching endlessly in all directions. "Because none of this shit looks different."
Leo didn't answer right away, he kept walking with the confidence of a man who knew exactly what he was doing, as he said, "We are moving in the right direction, don't worry. Just follow my lead–"
However, while he himself was confident of his directional skills, both Bob and Patricia seemed uncomfortable with continuing to walk blindly.
"She's got a point. This terrain hasn't changed for hours. How do you know we're not looping?" Bob asked in a firm tone, as Leo paused and let out a deep sigh.
"Watch—" he said, as he pulled out a dull gray radar from the satchel Raiden had given all team members and pointed towards the reading being displayed on the device.
"The two of you also have this device on you, pull it out and note the distance being displayed here.
It shows that we are 161.0 kilometers from the entry point beacon we set up," Leo said as he walked up to a nearby tree and carved an 'X' into the bark.
Then he took a few slow steps forward.
"See? 161.1 now."
He stepped a few paces to the side.
"Back to 161.0."
He looked at them both. "This is the straight line, I've been mentally keeping track of it while walking, as the moment we deviate even slightly from this line, the distance resets.
Currently, it takes me about 124 steps to cover the distance of 100 meters, and so anytime that it takes me 127-130 to do the same, I make a small course correction and ensure that we get back to the precise 124 step pathway, which is the shortest, straight line distance due West.
That means we're not circling. We're still heading west— toward the exit of the forest."
Patricia stared at the mark, visibly calming, as Leo's explanation made a lot of sense to her.
"Gee… I've never felt so wet and turned on because of someone's brains…. Guess there's more to men than just their pretty faces" she said, almost smiling now.
"Alright then, since you know what you're doing, lead on, Skyshard." Bob added, as they resumed their journey.
—------------
After every 8-10 hours of walking non-stop, the team took a short break where they made a clearing on the ground, dumping surrounding moss and dirt to make a boundary, as they ensured that their backs touched no trees or roots.
"Gods, this is dry," Patricia muttered, nearly gagging on a tough piece of dehydrated nut loaf, as she ate the emergency rations with a visible disgust on her face.
"Chewy and joyless. I used to think good food was nothing special back home, but now I realize it's the only thing that kept me sane in this cursed world." She said, as she tore a bite of the loaf in anger and kept chewing at it grumpily.
Leo didn't comment. Neither did Bob.
Although the two of them also did not enjoy the dry rations, they were thankful for the meal regardless and did not fuss about it like Patricia.
—------------
(Meanwhile, Raiden's Team, in a different part of the forest)
Unlike Leo's group, who were surviving on dry rations and flavorless packs, Raiden and Cipher ate like kings.
The fire stones that Karl set up glowed a soft orange beneath the blackened cooking wok, as he dropped in thin slices of root vegetables, letting them hiss and sizzle before swirling in a few bottles of sauce, turning it into a steaming, aromatic broth that filled the air with warmth.
Cipher slurped quietly, expression blank, while Raiden sat a few feet away with arms folded, his back against a moss-coated tree, saying nothing.
The last two days since their separation had been nothing short of exhausting, as unlike Leo's team, who had somehow escaped further chaos, they were attacked almost every 2 to 4 hours, and were forced to fend off against wave after wave of twisted creatures lurking within the forest.
Unfortunately for Raiden, Cipher wasn't much help in actual combat, and Karl was about as useful as a wet twig— forcing him to shoulder the brunt of the fighting alone, pushing harder and taking more risks than he ever liked to.
Thankfully, he hadn't picked up any major injuries just yet, but if he did, he already knew what he'd have to do, which was to set up a temporary shelter, hunker down, and wait out the pain until his body normalised again.
As without anyone else to rely on for safety, he did not wish to continue moving while in an injured state.
Karl, meanwhile, stared down at the broth, his thoughts far from the moment.
'Raiden and Cipher, they're steady, I'll give them that, but they're also slow, dull, predictable and replaceable.'
His hand twitched slightly on the ladle.
He could've done it last night. A bit of powdered root extract in the soup and he could have taken both of them out without a struggle—
But he didn't.
'Not yet. Not here.'
Because the truth was… he didn't want to be alone.
Even in a broken world like this, the silence that followed solitude wasn't something even a transcendent assassin like him could afford.
Raiden and Cipher were tools. Imperfect ones. But ones that still helped him feel grounded, keeping him sane.
So for now, they lived.
And he continued stirring the pot.