Remainers

Search for the Golden Arch, Part 3

After about a week of trekking through cold forests and chilly mountain ranges, Caleb and Hope arrived at a large forest emanating with the sounds of wildlife. It was thankfully situated in a more temperate part of the country, so while it was still in the midst of winter, Caleb and Hope didn't have to worry about snow worsening their trip.

As they walked through the forest, they noticed signs of campsites and movements made by other remainers. Their encampments were scattered, taking shelter in small clearings within the forest or little burrows allowing them to shelter from any possible rain. As Caleb looked around, he started seeing remainers wandering the forest, including a couple he could recognize.

"So you're here too, huh?" A voice called out from behind. Caleb spun around to see Escher and Rael, a remainer pair he had met a few months back.

"Just got here," Caleb said as he gave them a casual greeting. Rael nodded as he stared curiously at Hope, who returned his stare with a perplexed look.

"She's the girl, huh?" Rael muttered under his breath. "Well, never mind. I doubt you've got much of an advantage even with her around anyway."

"Hm?" Caleb was surprised. "You're taking it a lot more seriously than I expected."

"Why wouldn't I be? It's a chance to leave our names in history. You're not interested?"

"I wouldn't mind if I missed out on it."

"Suit yourself." Escher shrugged. "We don't mind not having any extra competition."

"Big talk for a guy who's looking around like an amateur. Are you sure you're even a surveyor?"

This voice, which belonged to a petulant young woman, came from the left, and sure enough two women emerged from the bush, their clothes stained green from the foliage. The person who had spoken out was obviously the young European woman in the front sporting a fierce expression on her face.

"Tia," Escher grumbled, clearly intimidated by her presence. "On the contrary, you might be taking things too seriously. You like butterflies that much?"

"Save your sarcastic remarks for someone who wants them," Tia shot back. "I've been here for more than a week now, and I'll be damned if I let someone else get the glory."

Tia suddenly glared at Caleb, which surprised him. He didn't recognize her, so he doubted he could have done something to offend her or anything like that. Of course, if there was a reason for why she was upset, she didn't look like she had any plans to inform him.

"Aislinn!" she called out to her partner, a quiet yet tall red-headed woman. "Let's get back to camp. I've been crawling around all day and need some rest."

Aislinn, a tall yet quiet woman with black hair, gave the others a polite nod and followed after her partner. Escher sighed and motioned to Rael for the two of them to leave as well. Now left alone, Hope gave Caleb a pointed glance. "That girl from earlier was glaring at you. You must have really gotten on her nerves last time you met."

"Can't see how I could have, seeing as this is the first time I've met her," Caleb sighed as he began looking for a good place to camp. "I don't know why she's angry with me, but I don't have the time to spend it smoothing things over with her."

"I guess you just have one of those faces," Hope remarked dryly, to which Caleb only replied with a wry smile. Somehow, she had learned to be sarcastic when he wasn't looking. He had no doubt meeting with some of the other remainers at the party had already begun rubbing off on her.

Caleb wandered the forest for a bit and eventually found a nice clearing that hadn't yet been claimed by another remainer group. He put down his large pack and began setting up his tent.