The Admin's Reign: A Spark of Hope

Chapter 12

"Alright, let's move." Said Lukas, creeping carefully to the end of the wagon.

He peeked out momentarily before looking back at the others and giving a nod. A second later he had hopped off the back of the wagon and into the darkness.

Next, Ivor jumped, then Jack and Nerm.

Radar attempted to rise to his feet, trying to keep his balance despite the many bumps. Then he turned to Nikki and offered a hand to help her up.

"It's okay, Radar, I got it, thanks." She replied, getting to her feet.

A bump, however, caught her off guard and she toppled straight into him. Radar had to grab the cart framing to keep him from falling. It didn't help it to be any less awkward though.

"Sorry," Nikki apologized hastily, stepping back from him and turning away before he could notice the pink tinge on her face. She quickly disappeared behind the material of the wagon.

"C'mon, Radar, you're next," Jesse told him.

"Okay..." He replied, carefully stepping to the edge of the cart. As soon as he saw the ground beneath him he hesitated. This was going to hurt.

With a gulp, he jumped, roughly landing on the rocky ground. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his balance and fell on his face.

Jesse dropped from the wagon not far behind him and jogged over to help him up.

"You okay, Radar?" He asked.

"Yeah...I think so," The boy replied.

The group watched as the wagons slowly disappeared into the darkness. Silence fell over the tree-dotted plain, a soft breeze blew through the patches of long grass nearby.

The stars twinkled above, not a cloud visible in the sky.

Although the night was beautiful in its own way in comparison to the day, there was a whole new wave of dangers that veiled the land when the sun had gone to bed. The group hastily built a dirt hut to avoid the monsters that spawned by darkness. Once inside, they discussed their travel plans for when the morning came.

Lukas laid out a map as he spoke. "The front line is sitting in a mesa," He pointed in the direction the carts had gone. "We want to go around them."

"There's a swamp leading around the mesa on one side, and a desert on the other," Petra said, pointing to the respective places on the map.

"So which way are we going?" Ivor asked.

"The swamp would be the best option, especially during the day," Jack said.

"That, and the desert is an open space, and the border isn't unguarded," Jesse added.

"I have no problem with that." Lukas agreed. "Anybody disagree?"

Nobody said anything, which settled that.

"Good." He said. "Then to the swamp, we'll be headed."

"But in the meantime, we should probably rest, we need all we can get." Jack offered.

"I'll keep watch." Ivor volunteered from the corner.

"You sure? I know you're tired." Lukas asked.

The ninja nodded. "Quite sure, after all, who here isn't tired?"

"True." The blonde replied.

"Now get some sleep, I'll wake you when the sun's up." He said.

The group didn't need to be told twice. Many of them were fast asleep within moments. This time, only Petra could not sleep.