Can She Journey Through This Fragile World?

twenty four - survivor

Kobi peered at his watch. It's already 11. He thought, sighing. And there's not a single livable shelter around.

He took a glance over where Tina was, relieved to see that she didn't seem to worry at all. He thought that maybe it was because she didn't have a wristwatch or any sort of clock on her. Can she even read the time? Or know about it at all?

Kobi concluded that he shouldn't let her know about it, thinking that being gullible would be better for her.

He walked towards her and sat next to her. "So, where do we sleep?"

"There's no other option but out here." He replied.

"Outside? Again?" Tina complained. Kobi rolled his eyes and ignored her. "I have a sleeping bag here and a blanket. It's big, so we can share it if you want to." He said while looking at the contents of his travel bag. He took the sleeping bag and blanket out of his bag. Kneeling down on the ground, Kobi spread the sleeping bag across Tina. "You can use it. I'll be on guard for thirty minutes, after that, I'll wake you up, and then you'll be the lookout."

"Lookout? But I can never protect myself, much less you!"

"You don't have to worry about that. Just wake me up. I'm a light sleeper so that's not a problem. A few taps and I'll wake up," He sat on the edge of the sleeping bag, which was double Tina's size. "Go ahead and rest. Don't sleep inside the sleeping bag, though." He said, handing over the blanket.

Tina, who felt guilty over complaining all day without paying attention to Kobi's state, reluctantly held the blanket. Still, her tiredness was slowly taking over her, so she accepted it. "Okay then, if you insist...," she quietly said.

Tina knelt and slowly lied down on the sleeping bag, placing the blanket over her body. As she lied, Tina couldn't help but stay awake, even though she was tired.

"Um, why shouldn't I sleep inside the bag?" she asked Kobi, who sat beside her, his back leaning on a tree. "So that it'd be much easier to get up and run in case some sort of dangerous creature comes to us," He answered, not looking at her, but to the surroundings. Tina figured him not paying much attention to her as a sign that she should just sleep.

Once she closed her eyes, sleep crept to her. It didn't take long for her to be sound asleep.

Kobi glanced at her and sighed once he saw her in peaceful slumber. "Thirty minutes isn't too long. I can stay awake." He told himself.

However, the long day of running, jumping, and staying attentive unfortunately took its toll on him. His eyes became heavy, and so did his body.

Slowly, very, very slowly, Kobi lost his balance, and fell to the space left on the sleeping bag.

~

While the pair slept, there was a rustling in the bushes. The withered leaves on the ground crunched, and the scattered twigs broke into pieces, as something...someone, stepped over them. The crunching and breaking weren't loud, though, as this someone was approaching them carefully.

With sharp steel on hand, the suspicious person walked and crept cautiously. Whenever Kobi or Tina made even the smallest movement, the suspicious person reacted to it instantaneously, aiming their weapon towards them and stepping back.

The suspicious person walked closer and closer. First, to Tina, they searched her clothes, cringing at her chosen attire. Even when I was a kid, I wouldn't wear anything close to this flashiness.

Once they were sure that Tina didn't have anything on her, they switched to Kobi. Kobi wasn't turned to their direction, so they had to turn him towards them.

But as soon as they did, Kobi immediately grabbed their arm using his left hand and pulled them to his side. Kobi successfully pinned the unknown person down, with his whole body weighing over them, his arms caging them, his grip strong...at least, stronger than theirs.

"Who ---"

When their eyes met, Kobi was stunned. Before him (or under him) was a girl, a female, with the brightest amber eyes, with unusual hair color. It was the lightest color of platinum blonde; a hair color that started to spread after an incident decades back. Her garbs were a clear statement of how she lived, as they were obviously woven out of pure materials, and tattered to a degree that wouldn't look too scandalous.

Her look towards him was fierce; it would've scared him off had she not been so beautiful.

As soon as Kobi let down his guard, she moved him over to her center and used her elbows skillfully to escape. She scurried away from him but chose not to flee. She pulled up her wool hood, which was laden with leaves, and pointed her spear-like weapon towards him.

"You...are you part of a group?" The angry lady asked. Kobi decided not to fall for her looks. "I have no business answering that. What do you want from us?"

She only scowled even more. "This part of the forest is my home. I don't like seeing people I don't know walking around it!"

Kobi huffed. "As if there are even other people living here. Besides, I don't see any signs stating your ownership, and if there was one, it's invalid. No one owns anything."

At first, her scowl was ever-changing, but soon, she let out a sigh. "I can't much deny that fact."

"It's too early for you to trust me, or us," Kobi stated, following up with his thoughts, I don't even fully trust Tina yet. "But I can assure you that we're harmless as a fly."

The lady seemed to look at Tina, who was sleeping peacefully. "You sure seem to be. But indeed, I can't just trust you...but a little hospitality to rare fellow humans would be appropriate."

Soon, she eased up and lowered down her weapon. She then pulled down her hood.

"I'm Michaela, your fellow survivor."