The Grim (Ravens #3)

xiv. the woods, again

A/N: Anotha one *drops mic*. I'l probably update less this weekend though since I think I'll be pretty busy. 

 The rover had dropped the five off at the edge of the northern side of the Fortress' territory perhaps six hours before the group had stopped to take a brief rest. If they moved fast, they could make it to Monarchia by Tuesday afternoon. It was Sunday. Their goal was Wednesday morning by the latest.

"You made it sound like blending in would be difficult," Skylar said, taking a long swig of water as they took a seat around a line of tree stumps. As Donny had recommended, she wore a beige long-sleeve v-neck, but the tattoos near her neck could not be hidden. "We haven't seen a single other person."

"We haven't gone that far," Levi pointed out. Although neither of them had ever been subject to the wild, they held up surprisingly well. Their mission was to go east towards Monarchia; nobody had any problem keeping up with the rapid pace.

The three roommates, however, were eerily quiet as they walked, a silence that put Levi and Skylar on edge. It was a strange feeling to return to the woods, to the lawless comfort they'd walked away from. They were walking in a dream, the grass a bloody nostalgia they couldn't quite tell if they feared or loved.

Because, when it came down to the truth, Sebastian realized the three years he'd spent in a forest just like this were the worst moments of his life, yet burned in such a blaze of glory that he wasn't quite sure who he was in the industrial world.

As though he could read his mind, Donny said, "Dickens said it best, didn't he?" When Sebastian turned to him, a slight puzzled expression in his brow, he continued, "'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'"

Sebastian sighed, shaking his head slightly as he took a sip of water. "I just don't understand how some part of me is happy out here. Most of me is terrified, and screaming that we shouldn't be back here, but part of me missed it. I don't know how that's possible."

"Pain gets you high," he shrugged, "We keep on coming back for more."

They had just begun re-packing their bags when a rustle in the trees made the whole group freeze. Sebastian reached for the knife in his back pocket, eyes focused on where the sound had come from. The weapon was steady in his hand when the figures appeared in the clearing, but when they came into the light, his muscles relaxed and his fear transformed into confusion.

There were three people standing beneath the trees, strangers, but not dangerous. No, not dangerous at all, for the youngest was hardly two years old. She was a child, a toddler, even. Three and a half years since the plague, she'd been born after they all were exiled. She was born in the woods, born to two teens who had no real future left ahead of them.

They were Sebastian's age, maybe younger. He knew that what he was seeing now was possible, had to be a reality for many outcasts of the forest, but part of him had always imagined it was impossible.

"We're here in peace," the girl said, eyes drawn directly to his knife. She clutched her daughter's hand tight, pulling her behind her so as to guard her with her own body. "Really, we're just trying to get north. We aren't a threat, I promise."

"It's alright," Sebastian said, placing the knife back into his pocket. "We're not a threat either, just trying to get across."

"I'm Gina," she said, holding out her hand. "This is Krystal, and Andrew."

"Gus," said the other group's leader. He received a short glance from his friend to his right, but didn't say anything. He wasn't lying, not really. Gus could be short for Augustus. Besides, he had old enemies in these woods. The name "Sebastian" did not need to resurface.