Two Months

Sweet Treats

Satisfied with their puffalo adventure, the brothers decide that it's time for some ice cream.

——

The five of them sat there for quite some time, hoping to give Floyd a sufficient amount of rest in order to start making their way back to the village. They mostly sat in silence, but every now and then someone would speak up and either ask a question, tell a story, or just point out something interesting that passed by them. Eventually Floyd declared that he felt well enough to start walking back, but his brothers still kept a close eye on him. Just in case.

They took more breaks on the way out of the forest than on the way in because they didn't want to risk Floyd getting too tired, but no one complained as they also enjoyed having some time to rest and catch their breath.

Once they had made it out of the trees, they took one final break to admire the beauty of nature, and then headed towards the center of the village where they were sure to find a place that sold ice cream and other sweet treats.

As they neared the village, they began to discuss what flavors of ice cream they would be getting, and asking Branch to make sure those flavors would be available so they wouldn't cause the workers any trouble. When they did arrive at the ice cream stand, they ordered what they wanted, payed, and continued walking around.

They passed by a few other shops and stands, looking through windows or at products that caught their eyes. Bruce mentioned how he'd like to visit the center of the village again soon to see if he could find stuff to bring back home. As much as his brothers didn't want him to return to Vacay Island, they knew that he had a family to get back to, and they were not about to keep him from that. Besides, they could always visit him, or he could come visit them. Maybe next time they'd all be able to meet and get to know his wife and kids.

Eventually they all finished their ice creams and they began to brainstorm what their next activity of the day would be. They didn't want to do anything that'd be too exhausting because they were all already tired from walking through the forest for hours, and it was starting to get a bit late. It seemed as if the sun would begin to go down soon, and that meant that it was probably time to head back inside.

Making their way back to Branch's bunker, they discussed the day's events. At one point, Bruce and Floyd were walking ahead of everyone while the other three were just a few feet behind. This gave JD, Clay, and Branch a moment to talk about something that had been on everyone's mind.

"What would've have if we hadn't found Floyd sitting against those logs?" Clay voiced the question they were too afraid to ask. "'Cause think about it. If we hadn't been so vigilant with what he was doing and where he was, would we have even noticed?"

"If we had been vigilant with what he was up to, we wouldn't have lost him in the first place, Clay," Branch stated. "I'm just thankful that we were able to find him. As safe as it seems here, the forest is still quite a dangerous place to be in by yourself. There are some creatures who aren't anywhere near as friendly as the puffalos are."

Silence fell upon them again. They'd almost lost their brother once before. For a second they actually did lose him. The fear that they'd lose him or anyone else again was always lingering in the back of their minds, and there was no way to shake that feeling.

The rocks that marked the entrance to Branch's bunker could be seen off in the distance, so the three of them quickened their pace to catch up to Bruce and Floyd, joining the conversation the two were having about Bruce's family and his many, many kids.

They each promised themselves that they'd do whatever they could to ensure that all of them remained safe and out of harm's way, no matter what.

If only it were that easy.

——

This feels like a filler chapter, which it might be, I'm not sure yet, but I promise I've got some (hopefully) good stuff coming up in the next few chapters.