TRENCH

Lion's Den - Chapter Five

David had seen better times. He was wounded heavily and was barely making any progress to the place he knew he would at least be safe.

Back and shoulders were bruised. Cuts and abrasions littered his body. His jumpsuit torn in odd places and dusted with the mineral mix he slid down.

He knew wisely that Clancy could handle the camp, what he failed to think about was his sons, Seth and Flynn. The boys were strong-willed, and Flynn had already been troubled with loss before. David was unsure about Seth, and because of that, he worried.

The entire Bandito camp believes he's dead, and it will be even longer if he doesn't pick up the pace.

That's when the path came into his sights. The one that leads right to Dema and goes through a mountain's cavern. It was this time in a long time that David has ever done anything irresponsible. But he was doing his best to convince himself that it was anything but that.

He didn't want to hurt his boys' feelings after leading them to believe he had departed, in fact, he may never be able to let them see him again. He could tolerate Dema, but what he could never bear to see was his sons being heartbroken all over again.

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"Banditos!" Clancy yelled from atop the charred and scorched car. "From recent events, I've decided that I am going to have us move the camp further East from Dema grounds."

Everybody looked to each other in the crowd, obviously, they would be confused, this curveball came from nowhere with seemingly no reason.

"I know, we've been here for a long time now and moving the camp is long overdue," Clancy excused. "It won't be easy, but if we have the ambition, we can do it."

"Isn't further East closer to the wolf territory?" Asked a man from the crowd.

"It is, but-"

"We can't go there! It's too dangerous!" cried a woman.

"There's enough of us to drive the wolves to another chunk of land," Clancy reminded. "Hundreds of us against a pack of wolves shouldn't be difficult."

Clancy then pointed in the direction they would soon be heading. "That valley will be safe when the wolves are gone. We will be renewed from Dema's hardships out there."

Everybody looked around again.

"We can do this," Clancy said. "As soon as the hunting troops get back, we will begin our journey."

There was a loud, muffled whisper among the crowd before they all dispersed equally into the camp. That's when Clancy took a deep breath and jumped down from the car roof.

Delroy was there, with his arms crossed. "I knew it," he muttered, looking down.

"We're all going through a big change," Clancy blamed it. "Of course things won't be easy."

"What do you need me to help with?" Delroy changed the topic.

Clancy thought for a moment. "Nothing," he replied. "Maybe you could get a look around the camp before the tents come down."

Delroy looked up, but only caught Clancy's backside as he walked over to a group of people handling the horses.

Delroy then looked to his left and decided to walk around.

The first set of tents were being used as infirmary houses. There were only a few people being treated and for less major things. It was a peaceful assurance that the camp was healthy, it was only a matter of keeping it that way.

A bit further down was what Delroy would consider being a daycare. A woman was busy dividing food for all of the children. He stopped and watched as the blonde-haired woman went around a floor table and sat on the floor with her legs crossed. She began reading a book to the children.