Fears 3 - Journeys

Chapter 26 - Tree

The ride back was rather relaxing compared to previous experiences, as I didn't have to do shit the entire ride back. I had wished that the ride would be entirely smooth sailing, but something felt... off. Nothing was wrong, and everyone was pretty full of life for the most part. All except for Jinn, who seemed more tired and frowny. Knowing how nice of a guy he was, I figured that he was just overthinking shit and decided not to bother him.

"Hey, Tree, it must feel nice as hell to be able to relax instead of running off with your dang camel," Pen joked.

"Shut up. I'm not that bad at riding a camel," I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"I smell a lie," Pen laughed.

"You guys..." Remote chuckled with a hand over her mouth.

"Jinn, how far are we from our destination?" Lightning asked Jinn, who was in the front.

"I'd say about ten-ish minutes, why?"

"Just wondering."

Although we were ten-ish minutes away, I could see the city in the distance, which was saying a ton. Camels had a shit ton of stamina to be able to travel so far without tiring. Especially since each one had to carry two people instead of one this time around.

The ride was full of jokes, jokes, and more jokes. I had to listen to Remote, Liy, and Bottle talk to each other relentlessly. It became tiring to listen to, but it was late, and I didn't want to tire myself out tonight by being mad at everyone like I usually was.

I readjusted my glasses. Before I knew it, we had arrived back in the city. Upon coming to a standstill, my friends and I dismounted our camels, and the people riding for us also got off. Jinn thanked the men who helped. He offered to ride them back to the city, but they declined, saying they would get picked up anyway. I had one thought. How the FUCK does that work in a dang desert?

I checked my phone. 11 PM. I felt less tired than usual, which was weird considering our rather eventful day. Lightning took the map out of his backpack and observed it to see if there was somewhere we needed to go.

"GUYS GUYS! LOOK!" Lightning called us over to the map.

Everyone but Jinn ran over to see what the hell Lightning was talking about. Now, there was a new location on the map. This was where the desert had ended. At this moment, I realized how far we had all traveled and the time we had been out.

"That place looks scary..." Bottle nervously smiled.

"Eh, it's gonna be alright, I bet. Nothing will be worse than this scorching desert," I joked.

Bottle gave a soft smile and a chuckle of amusement.

"Beats me. I'll do anything to be out of the desert for once," Liy nudged Remote.

We knew where to go finally. The night was dark, and the air was breezy. Jinn's flashlight was enough to illuminate the surrounding area, so nobody else bothered to do anything useful except for Lightning, who used the light to continue reading the map for clues and updates.

Before we knew it, we had arrived back at the hotel. Jinn led us inside and waved us good night.

"You're not staying here tonight?" Lightning asked with concern.

"I've got shit to do..." Jinn gave a fake smile.

We were caught off-guard by Jinn's demeanor tonight. Not wanting any trouble, we wished him a good night. He left without uttering a word, and we saw him swing the hotel doors open to go outside.

"What's up with him?" Pen asked Lightning.

"I don't know... He seems to be going through something... strange." Lightning mentioned.