The Remnant of the Past (GXG)

Chapter 6: The Selfish

They really have found me.

These troublemakers don't know how to nicely greet a person because the first thing that the girl did was punch me straight in the face. 

"Hey! I almost caught that fish!" I literally almost did until they decided to barge in.

"Where is Ezekiel?" Anne said through gritted teeth. Maybe she's the one who needs to eat, why is she so grumpy in the morning?

I moved on from the pain on my face and faced Anne with a boring look. "I already told you yesterday, I haven't seen him since we crashed."

Oops. I think I said something wrong that made Anne even angrier. I also just noticed that her sidekick isn't here to back her up.

"Where's the guy you were with yesterday? The one with curly hair?" 

Anne's face softened and just like a switch, her body become limp and was forced to drop on the sand.

I worriedly approached the problematic girl. "What happened?" 

"Conrad is dead. I saw his body somewhere in the woods when I woke up." The girl started to cry and I tried my best to comfort her, although it was kind of awkward because we're basically rivals.

I guess it will be just the two of us who will make it back to our section. The other rookies must be having the best time of their life right now, apparently, we should be on a camping ground to hunt and also socialize.

What we have here is kind of similar to them, minus the socializing. Anne was still crying but my mind kept on going back to the woman I left at the cave.

I cleared my throat and Anne's attention went to me. "I kinda have to go...there's something I need to get at the cave."

Anne gasped and her head starts to point in different directions like she was looking for something. "You found a cave?! Can I go with you?"

I was not really convinced that she will behave from now on, but seeing how she just lost two of her friends maybe I should have a heart and let her stay with us. I hope that nothing bad will happen.

"Alright, just...don't do anything stupid, please."

Anne eagerly nodded. We both stood up from the sand but before I could join her, I staked the fish that was swimming around my feet. I couldn't go back empty-handed.

I told Anne to follow me and we started to walk deeper into the woods. 

"You got serious skills about these things," Anne remarked as we passed the tree with a mark on it.

"I just read a lot." 

We passed the last tree that has a mark, which means that the cave is nearby. 

"There it is." I pointed.

Anne surprisingly ran in the direction I pointed at. Getting suspicious of her action, I also ran and reached the cave. I saw her momentarily walking inside, looking around the rock formations. 

"Woah...they look like exactly what they have told us." 

I smiled and nodded my head. My eyes went to where the woman must be but she was no longer there. The parachute and the jacket were nicely folded and placed beside the parts of the device. 

I sighed in disappointment. 

"You saved these? I lost mine." 

My eyes darted to Anne who is picking up the parts I sequentially stored in order. I hurriedly stood beside her and took the parts she picked and placed them back to where they were placed.

"Yeah, I'm trying to fix it. It's our only way to communicate with them." 

"Cool." Anne nodded and her eyes went back to exploring the cave. I started to prepare the fish I caught. It seems like it will be just the two of us to consume it. 

"You just sit there while I prepare our breakfast, okay?" Now look who's acting nice towards someone who just punched and threatened her a couple of times.

I saw Anna quietly nod and I took that as my cue to go outside the cave. I gathered all the wooden sticks I collected from last night and placed pieces of them on the top of these two rocks.

It was decent enough to look like the grill we have back at the section. I started a fire and placed the fish on the top of the sticks. While waiting for the fish to be cooked, my head started to think about the woman.

Was she even real? It's probably not safe for her to go to the woods alone, but what's the point of trying to find her if she's the one who left voluntarily in the first place?

I checked on Anna and found her mingling the parts of the device. I groaned in annoyance and left the fish for a while to talk to her.

"Anna...I should have told you that I put those in order. I don't want them getting mixed because the chance of fixing it will be lesser." I politely said.

"Sorry. I was trying to help." Anna raised both her hands in the air and suddenly I felt bad.

"Do...you know how to fix these?" 

Anna nodded with her eyes trained on the parts like she's piecing them all together inside her brain. I must say, I was surprised to know that she knows how these machines are maintained.

"Being a Nightwatch doesn't only mean a punishment. Most of the nights, I would sneak into the supply house to fix these devices that were already disregarded by the technicians. Let's just say that I grew up fixing things and I eventually get the hang of it."

Damn, this girl is full of surprises. Too bad I didn't get to know the stories of her other friends. How did they even die? There are no beasts here...so what is it?

I patted Anna's back and gave her permission in fixing the device. "Alright. I'll be back with the food in a minute."

I almost forgot that I was cooking something. I rushed to the grill and transferred the fish into the enormous leaf I picked along the way earlier. It doesn't look dirty and doesn't smell bad so I took it.

"Anna, please lay down the parachute," I called out.

My head tilted in confusion when I haven't heard any movement from inside the cave. I turned my head and saw no one inside.

"Shit." I gasped. 

All my belongings were nowhere to be seen. Even the parts of the device are gone!

"Oh, boy...this is bad."