The Prospect's Deal

10

Ezra approached me slowly with the oxygen tank. Ezra was trying not to make any sudden movements as he got closer towards me. Ezra slowly handed me the tank. "Here you go, this one should last you much longer than the temporary one I gave you before."

I nodded as I took it from him and equipped it to my gear.

Ezra watched intently as I equipped the tank to my gear. Ezra kept his eye on me, he wanted to make sure that I was not struggling or having any problems with it. Ezra spoke softly once more. "Everything all good? Is the oxygen tank attached properly?"

"I think so..." I said quietly.

Ezra walked over and looked at the oxygen tank that I had attached. Ezra was making sure that everything was properly secured, after a while Ezra nodded his head and spoke up. "It seems like the tank is fully secured, you'll be fine. Try and take your mind off your oxygen levels for now, okay? Just keep your focus on the hunt instead. I'm sure you'll be fine."

Ezra walked off towards the doorway and then stopped. He turned his head towards me and spoke again, his tone of voice was still soft. "Just call me if you need help or if you feel like your oxygen level is getting too low again, alright?"

Hours had gone by, the others were sleeping inside the Moon Base and I was the only one who was awake and outside, looking for more alien stones. I had already spent several hours in the forest alone and it was still dark outside. I carried a flashlight with me for additional lighting as I walked around the forest, carefully inspecting the surrounding area for any alien stones. I was doing this all by myself, with nobody there to keep me company or protect me.

As I continued walking, I noticed that the forest was growing quieter by the minute. I could hardly hear any animal noises or other creatures around me. The only sound I could hear was the wind blowing and my footsteps as I walked. The quietness of the forest was starting to make me feel uneasy like anything could happen at any moment. The forest around me was starting to feel a little bit eerie, but I continued to stay calm and focused.

I kept walking, I was now starting to feel even more uneasy. The wind was starting to blow even harder and I could see the trees slowly swaying back and forth in the dim lighting provided by my flashlight. The quietness of the forest now looked slightly unsettling to me, like there was something else in the forest besides just me. The longer I stayed, the more I kept feeling uneasy and uncomfortable. However, I was still determined to find some more alien stones.

Ezra heard the commotion going on outside. Ezra heard his partners complaining about me trying to "steal" stones from the forest. Ezra quickly rushed outside to see what was happening. Ezra immediately ran over to me, he saw that one of his partners had a gun pointed in my direction. Ezra looked angrily at his partner, he spoke in an angry tone to his partner. "What on Earth is happening here?"

The partner who had pointed the gun in my direction seemed shocked by Ezra's sudden appearance and tone of voice. The partner quickly lowered his gun and spoke up, he sounded a bit defensive. "She was just trying to steal some of our stones!"

Ezra spoke to the partner once more, his tone of voice was still angry. Ezra stared at his partner with an intense gaze. "We have plenty of stones already. We do not need to be pointing guns at her or accusing her of robbing us, I can assure you that she was not looking to "steal" anything from us."

The partner that had pointed the gun at me was taken aback by Ezra's tone of voice and strong statement against him. The partner backed up a bit and spoke up, he seemed a bit uneasy now. "But she was messing around with our stones! I thought she was going to steal some of our stones, I didn't mean to point my gun directly at her, I was just trying to stop her-"

Ezra continued to stare the partner down, he looked more angry now. Ezra's tone of voice became even harsher as he spoke. "Are you trying to tell me that you pointed a gun at her just because she was "messing around" with our stones? Is that really it? That isn't a good enough justification for a gun to be pointed at someone. You need to use some common sense."

I had tears falling down my cheeks as I spoke quietly. "I wasn't stealing..."

Ezra's tone of voice became softer as he realized that I was starting to cry. Ezra felt bad for me, he also didn't believe that I was trying to "steal" any stones even if his partners said so. Ezra spoke calmly. "I know that you weren't actually trying to steal any stones from us. I'll deal with the partners that accused you in a second. Now, I want you to focus on me and not say anything else..."

I nodded slowly.

Ezra started to speak in a louder voice, addressing his partners. "Why were you guys even accusing her of stealing in the first place? We have tons of alien stones in the base already, there wasn't any reason at all to accuse her of stealing just because she was investigating some stones on her own. Did I make myself clear?"

All of Ezra's partners went silent for a moment, they were all taken aback by the way that Ezra was speaking. The partners who had accused me of stealing felt embarrassed and a little bit scared by Ezra's reaction. They were not expecting him to react in such a loud and strong manner. Ezra spoke once more, he sounded even more annoyed this time. "Now, everyone except for her, go back to bed. I'll deal with this situation on my own..."