Survival

Acquaintances

As the two were walking back to camp, they decided to wash up, Quinn being first. "Hey Emilio, I wanna wash the underwear as well so if you dont mind turning around please?" He nodded and went behind a tree so she can feel more comfortable. As Quinn was washing herself, she began wondering about Emilio. What was his story?

After some time, Quinn finished in the river and changed into the new clothes, calling out Emilio to let him know it was his turn. As he was bathing, Quinn asked something that's been on her mind for a while. "Hey Emilio. Tell me about your past. Since we're gonna stick together for a while, it'd be nice to know more about your background." He smiled while he washed his hair.

"Well, I was a volleyball player in middle school. We were called The Hunters, mostly because our mascot was a black panther. It was really fun and my teammates were all such great people. Then in high school I joined track and field. I get average grades so it's not like I'm a genius. And uh.. I guess I like pasta?" Quinn chuckled at his detailed response. "I didn't expect to get that much outta you. What about family?"

His face grimaced a little bit. "Well, there's my mom and my dad."

"Were you an only child then?" He flinched a little at the question. "..Yeah. An only child. I guess.." he muttered the last part so Quinn couldn't hear but she ended up noticing what he said. "You guess?" Emilio let out a shaky breath and put on a smile. "I'm finished. We should get going after we eat something." Although confused at the sudden change in topic, Quinn went off to find some edible wild berries while Emilio catches the fish. When they finished eating, they packed up their belongings in a handmade bag made from animal hide and vines (which Quinn made) and started traveling upstream.

"So Quinn, you never really talk about yourself. Since our walk is gonna be long, it gives you plenty of time to talk." Quinn smiled, glad that Emilio wanted to know about her too. "Well, back home, I'm a digital artist and I get some pocket money from doing illustrations. I'm also an average person in the academics department, unfortunately, but I'm really good at science! I'm a single child, both family wise and relationship wise. I prefer staying in my house since I can focus on my art better and uhhh.. yeah, I guess that's pretty much it!" She let's out a toothy grin.

"Well, I hope you'll get to show me your art skills in the future." Emilio says. "Definitely!"

As they followed the river, they took short breaks for water and rest, thankfully avoiding other people at the same time. Although they were alone, they didn't expect to have a smooth journey. Other people would have tried to find a water source, it'd be safe to assume that others have found the same river. After a few more minutes of walking, their predictions were proven right.

"Emilio, look, firewood." Quinn bent down. "Seems like it's still warm too. Be careful, the people who camped here are still close. Let's keep walking." Emilio nodded in response to Quinn and started walking. But halfway, they saw people ahead of them. The duo hid behind a tree.

Emilio started whispering. "Quinn, those people.. are they from the camp?" Quinn took a closer look. "Hmm, we can't be sure that they went upstream like us but, let's assume they are. We don't know them but they seem friendly. Still, let's be cautious." The two nodded and approached the group. "Hello! My name is Quinn, and this is-" the group staggered back. "Stay away! Don't come near us, leave us alone!" Quinn looked surprised but kept her composure.

"Look, I understand you guys are being cautious but I just want to let you know that we are good people. If you think we want to hurt you, trust me, we don't, especially with our situation right now. We need more people to join our group, if either one of us dies or gets lost, it's over for us. So trust me, we need you guys. If you want, I'll show you everything that's in my bag and his. Deal?"

The girl who seems to be the leader of the group nods hesitantly after looking at her comrades for their decision. Quinn looks back at Emilio. "I'll have to throw the bags in the middle." Emilio didn't like the sound of that. "What if they steal our supplies?" Quinn nods. "I know but.." She looks back at the scared group. "Its seems like there's no other way for them to trust us. We have to let them know what we have. And if they do steal our things, you can get them back right?" Quinn flashes a toothy grin.

Emilio sighs in defeat and smiles. "Alright, Quinn, you can count on me." Jeez, this girl is really reckless sometimes.

Quinn proceeds to throw the bags so they can search it. A guy around his late teens steps up to search the bags thoroughly. He finds the weapons we made. "Ah right, we also have a spear on our backs." The duo turns around to show them and the guy nods. He throws back our bags and Emilio catches them, giving Quinn's bag back to her. "So? Can we join you guys?" The leader nods and Quinn runs over, Emilio following behind.

The group was made up of 4 people. 2 little boys, the leader around Quinn's age, and the guy. The girl talked first. "What's his name?" Quinn gently pushed Emilio forward. "This is Emilio, he's 18. I'm 17. You?"

"I'm Riley, 17. These rascals are Liam and Kou. Liam is 8 and Kou is 6. Kou doesn't know English that well but we're still able to communicate. This bean pole here is Atticus."

Quinn nods. "Its nice to meet you guys. Me and Emilio will try not to leech off of you guys that much, we can take care of ourselves and benefit the group. I'm good at analyzing and strategizing while Emilio is good at fighting and self defense."

Riley starts to speak after Quinn. "I'm good at finding food and crafting. The kids are actually really good fighters, Liam practices boxing and Kou knows some Kendo. Atticus does the cooking and scouting." Quinn looks over at Atticus. "I hope you're a good cook, me and Emilio have been eating plain fish. We're dying to try something different."

Kou suddenly looked alarmed, "Dying?! Quinn and Emilio is dying?! Help quick!" Liam slapped the back of Kou's head. "No idiot, it's an expression. They just want to eat something different." Kou quickly calmed down and took out both of his hands. "Let's be best friends!" Quinn and Emilio shook his hand smiling. "Yeah" they said in unison.
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A/N: This chapter is a little short but hopefully the next one will be longer!