Planet B

Ch.3

A somber crowd waited for them at camp when they returned. Everyone went about their business, but with downcast eyes and tight throats. Luke was busy sorting and storing the collected swords and there was a steady stream of people bringing and taking from him. Some people were talking of their close calls in battle and the blow they'd given the Cryton force. William knew in the grand scheme of things it wasn't much, but in their neck of the woods the Crytons would be licking their wounds. There were those who could had grown numb to the loss of comrades. It was still bad, it still hurt; it just didn't hurt as much. The dead were still treated with dignity and received proper burials and news was passed to the outside world when able, there were just far fewer tears.

Whispers of news from outside soon reached William and the other returned war-weary, cutting through their post-battle emotions. Their group was functionally near ground zero of the North American invasion point, so news from unoccupied territory was hard to come by.

Each continent had been invaded, they knew that right from the beginning, Crytons appearing somewhat near each's center and then pushing outward. Initially it was all everyone heard on TV. But due to the expanding EMP field the Crytons naturally exuded there was no way to get regular news in. The bits and pieces they were able to pick up only told a partial story. The Detroit faction that had arrived during the battle was stationed near the edge of occupied territory and had valuable information and news to deliver.

The three made their way to the smithy, dropping off the swords and getting a nod of appreciation from their resident blacksmith. In the back they could see the half-finished Cryton plow, a retro fitting of a military grade all-terrain vehicle. Several of the blades were unaltered and instead welded to the front to impale those who tried to jump over the top of the vehicle.

They had to check their memories a few times navigating back to their bunks. The camp was mobile, not wanting to stay in one place too long, so the arrangement of buildings and tents often changed. Usually they tried to keep the same layout, but often times the space available didn't allow that. It was passing by the mess area they ran into Joel.

She seemed to have cooled a bit from earlier though he could tell she was still upset with him. And he supposed she had every right to be.

"How'd that go?" She asked the two of them. "He tell ya anything useful?"

"Only if you're interested in an old man's bunions," Chaim said and her exaggerated grossed out face answered that clear enough. "I've got some stuff to check on," he said, "I'll see you two at the meeting." Chaim walked off into the camp and didn't look back, though William imagined he was still chuckling inside about that "being safe" comment from earlier. He'd figured it out a few minutes later and turned red from embarrassment. Some of the embarrassment came from the subject matter, but most was that he missed the joke and now he felt dumb.

Joel grabbed his hand and the two started walking back toward her tent.

"You know I'm just mad because I worry, right?" She asked.

"I know," William said. "And I'm sorry. I was just worried too. About Chaim and Luke, you know?"

"I get it," she said. "It's not like there are always clear or good choices to be made. Sometimes every choice is wrong. I like that you care and you worry, and I don't like that you always run headlong into things without thinking it through. But you are who you are, just as I am who I am." She leaned into him to kiss his cheek. "Just take a moment before running off next time, okay? And maybe don't leave be behind."

William nodded and couldn't help but grin. He knew the smile wasn't the right non-verbal response to her question, but he still got grinny whenever she kissed him. Part of him still couldn't believe she and him were an item, even though it hadn't been that long. There weren't many in the camp in their age range and while some people did have relationships, most were too occupied with the invasion to worry about a significant other.