Brave New World Chapter 23: Camping in the wild👽

[Some time in the Future]

"Thank you." Nora whispered.

I looked up at her in shock, "Now those are words I never expected to be on the receiving end of, especially from you." But I made sure there was no condescension in my tone.

"Yeah, well. Don't get used to it." She said it, but her tone didn't bear any bitterness from before either.

"You're welcome." I smiled at her, understanding.

She nodded back with a genuine tiny smile of her own.

No more words were exchanged. None were needed.

#

[Preset Time]

I was speechless.

If someone had given me the opportunity to lead a group of people back in college, I would've accepted in a heartbeat.

But circumstances were different. It was a dangerous situation. Could I possibly take responsibility for so many people? Their lives depending on my decision? Not exactly mine, as Mark was the real leader, but still to be able to influence his decision. What if, I influenced it the wrong way and led us all to death? Could I bear that?

Mark could see I was not as positive about it as he was probably hoping. I looked back at the group and we had an audience, who might not be able to hear us from where we were but they could see our reactions. I rolled my lips and took a deep breath to apologize and advocate once again for Xavier, who knew everything and everyone better than me and would definitely be a better candidate instead of the 'harbinger of doom' that most people saw me for since I entered the Ark.

It was nearly dusk and darkness was spreading just as fast as the cold. We had descended a lot after that midday break. Now, we had found an opening among the fir and conifers to camp for the night. Multiple big and small campfires were lit.

Some of us were tasked with cooking the dinner, others had been given the job of setting up tents and some were given patrol duty to keep an eye out for sudden predators. After the adventures everyone had had in their respective ecosystems, no one was going to take a chance, especially now that we all knew that we stood on sub-terrestrial lands.

Even though I was not in the cooking party. I understood that cooking for sixty-five people was not an easy task, so I volunteered to work with them wherever I could. I was not good at cooking, but I could help as I was good at following instructions. So, that is what I did.

I was chopping some herbs that were picked by a group member who was familiar with their edible characteristics, when someone sat beside me.

"Not experienced with a knife, I see." It was Xavier, who had just finished setting up the tents.

"You should see me fishing with this in a stream." I replied with a smirk.

"That won't be too long on this path." He challenged with a smirk of his own.

I concentrated on the herbs as he turned serious suddenly and spoke softly, "Mark said he offered you to be his advisor."

It wasn't a question but I felt the need to answer it. But before I could, he looked me in the eyes, "Why'd you refuse?"

I was in no hurry to answer. I didn't even know what to answer. So I simply told the truth, "I don't know." I thought for another moment and said, "You are obviously a better choice, and I've known you less than a week."

"Maybe I am a better choice, but Mark didn't ask me. He asked you. And, I agree with him." He spoke so confidently I was surprised by the trust he had put in me.

"Why?" I asked confused.

"Call it a gut feeling. But you look like someone who won't back away from a challenge or leave anyone behind." He shrugged like it was the most obvious thing.

"So would you." I told him.

He could see he wouldn't be able to convince me otherwise yet and decided to change the topic, "So, what's for dinner?" He smirked like we weren't on sub-terrestrial grounds where death could be lurking around the corner.

Once the dinner was over, everyone huddled in their group tents trying to find comfort in each other's presence. The first night back in the wild was making everyone restless. After dinner, there had been an argument between Nora and Mark which resulted in Nora shutting herself off in her tent alone while Mark decided to join the patrol group to clear his mind.

I was joined by Caroline and Kiera in my tent. They had brought the mysterious black cases with them to try again. So far nobody had succeeded in opening their case yet. Even though it was quite obvious, first I, then Kiara, tried to use our first or last names but were too short. Caroline did not even bother, saying 'If these cases contain stuff that is private, having our names as passwords would be too stupid.'

It was our first night in the wild. The night air was chill, thankfully the tents were pretty cozy especially when sharing in groups of threes and twos. Nobody wanted to be alone. Caroline had almost dozed off, as Kiara and I were silently waiting for sleep or exhaustion from the recent events to envelop us. That is when I heard it. The first time I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me but the next one was unmistakable.

I jerked to sit up, panic evident in my eyes. Kiara asked alarmed, "Anara?"

"Shh!" I exclaimed with a tremor in my voice, "Did you hear that?" I asked in a whisper.

"Hear what?" Kiara asked before a faint howl pierced the silence of the night.

It was the voice I didn't want to even hear in my nightmares ever again. I was back in the forest, in a tent. And I knew what was coming.

"What is it?" Kiara asked touching my shoulder cautiously.

I could only make out one word, but she understood me and jumped up ready, "Run!"

That one word made Kiara jump up and push Caroline to wake up, all while packing her things.

"What?" Caroline complained but stopped as she saw the state I was in. "Ann!" She looked panicked at Kiara who simply informed, "She heard howling." As if right on cue the howls sounded again, louder than previous ones. "She said, run. Ask her more, I'll go gather everyone."

That broke me out of my trance, "No!"

They both looked at me, so I clarified, "No time. Run!"

My hands had a tremor, Caroline looked at me, "Ann, pull yourself together! What is coming? Where do we go?"

Images of huge beasts running through the dark foliage flashed in front of my eyes. Then came Herbert's bones. And then the sounds of tearing flesh and stench of blood. Nobody knew what to do, but I had survived them. Something clicked in my head when the howls increased in volume and number. I stood up decisively.

"Pack and carry as much as you can. And then climb the nearest tree, as high as you can, preferably higher than a horse can reach."

Caroline and Kiara noticed the change in my attitude but instead of questioning thankfully decided to follow my advice. I stepped outside to see many of us had come outside the tents to try and find out what was going on and if they should do something about the increasing howls.

I spoke loudly and clearly, "The howls you are hearing are of bloodthirsty predators. Pack and carry only things that you can and are important and climb the nearest trees as high as you can! Preferably higher than a horse's reach." For a second, nobody moved, I was confused as to why didn't the idea of blood-thirsty predators make anyone else's skin crawl.

Nora sounded from behind me, "So, She refused at first but decided to take charge behind the leader's back!"

Like always she had chosen the worst possible moment. I didn't even know what did she have against me.

**Author's note:

Do you guys think Anara can save these people or will Nora distract them to their untimely deaths?