eliminated

:6:

so this chapter made my eyes bleed. im sorry that this is so bad. also ik i said only fridays but sundays is more convenient for me so ima do that instead ok bAcK tO tHe StOrY

what to listen to while reading this chapter:
"the woods" -hollow cove

•~•

i closed my eyes for just a fraction of a moment and shook my head in confusion. an outside organization simply couldn't exist. "but there aren't any other people in the outside."

"well," she looked down on me in a disapproving manner. "obviously there are, or i wouldn't be standing here, now would i?"

i looked over at sean, but he was just as mystified as i was. it was actually refreshing to see him show an emotion other than anger or unsociality. i looked back at the troop of people, all of them staring at me in bewilderment, like i had just said something outrageous. they seemed kind of stuffy and pretentious, like they thought they were better than everyone else. i bit the side of my cheek, thinking. does this mean there are others?

"i, wait, i mean, we thought..." i fumbled for words. slowly, i breathed in and out. "we were under the impression that we were the only survivors of the war."

the girl tilted her head at me, disconcerted. "which war?"

sean and i exchanged a quick glance. i could tell he was thinking the same things that i was. do they not know which war i'm talking about? i drew in another shaky breath, trying to ground myself. "the war that almost destroyed the human race.

"the great war."

a collective gasp of consternation was heard from the people on top of the rock. perplexed murmurs and whispers of shock echoed through the forest eerily. i furrowed my brows. surely they'd heard of the great war. i didn't know anyone who hadn't. if it were not for the war, we would still be living in a world of famine and oppression where angels of death farmed our souls relentlessly. everyone who died in the war died for a noble cause, so the rest of us could live.

and it's thoughts like that which lead to beliefs that only the intelligent matter.

"may we speak with your leader?" sean said.

the girl smiled smugly. "you are speaking with her at this moment." sean's eyes widened in understanding. i was right.

she raised her head regally. "if you'd like, you may stay at our camp for a few days and we can tell each other our stories. maybe that will help us to understand one another better. will you accept our offer?"

i looked at blair, who was staring at the rock like she was about to pulverize it, and then i looked at sean. he was shaking his head lightly, and it was clear that the message was we have to keep going. some part of me knew he was right. if we didn't leave soon, the society would find us and capture us and kill us for the traitorous acts we committed against the community. and we had no idea if we could trust these people. for all we knew, they could have been just as blood-hungry as the society was--or even secretly working for them. but if they were who they said they were, we could go back to their camp and have a decent shelter for a few days. maybe even collect some resources for when we got back on our route (whatever that was). also, we needed information. maybe the information about the great war wasn't that relevant to our situation, but we needed as much material as we could get about the society and what else was in the outside. was there even a chance for us to have another life? who knew. but we had to start somewhere.