I sat in the middle of the training field’s entrance, unsure of what to do next. I wanted to get some exercise but I also couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to go back to that camp right away. We weren’t noticed as far as I could tell, but what if they’re more alert now? And what of that stalker? Maybe if I try to show up now, they’ll be in a fight already. Although, if I wait too long, then I could still end up walking into a fight. That risk isn’t going to go away, so it’s no use trying to predict it…

 

    I smacked my face with both hands and stood up, shaking my head back and forth. No more wasting time thinking about it. The smell of cooked fish over a campfire drew my attention away from my worries and onto Rubi.

 

    “Hey, Rubi.” I approached her. She looked up with a blank face, still roasting the fish even while looking at me. “Since I’m, uh, mostly better now, can you train me again? You mentioned in our first training session a few days ago that you want to teach me multiple martial arts. Do you think I’m ready for that?”

 

    She looked to be deep in thought, but then turned back to the fish she was roasting and pulled it back to inspect it. Seemed cooked enough to me. She put it into the wooden crate that contained our supplies at the start. She then stood up and faced me. “Yeah, probably. You’d probably get bored if you practiced the same knife routines every day, right?”

 

    “Not really, but I do want to get stronger as soon as possible.”

 

    “Okay, just don’t get too hasty. I’ll show you a secondary fighting style that doesn’t involve weapons. Follow me.” She wasted no time in leaving to the open field. I dug the sheathed knife out of the crate and followed after her.

 

    “Alright, Yu, I did some thinking about it. Do you know what Muay Thai is?”

 

    My eyes opened up a bit. “Oh, yeah. Well, I know it from a video game…”

 

    “Haha, that’s fine! You’re not the tallest person, so I think this would be good for you to learn. Your upper body is already starting to learn how to defend itself with Kali. Muay Thai’s upper foundation is close enough to Kali, so you can probably combine them. In fact, Silat Melayu is an existing martial art that is similar to a fusion of those two.”

 

    “Uh huh…”

 

    “By the way,” she continued, “your ‘system’ refers to the different martial arts or forms of inspiration that combine to make up your self-defense core. Today I am mainly going to show you how to use your lower body with Muay Thai.”

 

    “Right… Hey, wait, I thought Muay Thai was for tall people with long limbs.” I questioned.

 

    “Oh, fiction highly exaggerates it. I mean, if you fought a tall Muay Thai user as a short Muay Thai user then you would probably lose, but in a self-defense or mixed martial arts setting, focusing on close quarters combat while using powerful knee and elbow strikes can even the playing field against someone who has longer limbs and wants to keep you at a distance with them. It is a martial art that is focused on the body’s natural mechanics, not overpowering the enemy.”

 

    I nodded with my mouth open. I was surprised to hear that, but it did fill me with some excitement to get started. I wondered if I would be able to do flying knees by the end of this.

 

    “Try to forget whatever silly notions you have of the art, please. I’m going to show it to you from scratch.” She smiled awkwardly. I gulped. It was as if she saw right through me… “Roger that.”

 

    “Good! Okay, take a stance like this, please. You may keep the knife in your hand. As I said, you could blend this with Kali if you’re experienced.”

 

    Experienced was not a word that applied to me, but I appreciated her optimism. I watched her shift to a new stance. Her hands were raised in front of her like in the knife moves she had shown me before, except the hands were open and straight. Her left foot was planted on the ground in front of her with her knee raised up. The tip of her shoe was the only part of her foot that was touching the ground. The other leg was planted firmly behind her. 

 

    “From this position, my right leg is supporting my balance while my left leg is prepared to shoot up to attack or step aside to defend. When dodging like this, make sure your legs never cross each other like this.” She showcased this by taking a step to the left with her right leg, causing it to end up behind the other. “All it would take is a light shove to get me off my balance when I’m like this. Never end up like this.”

 

    I nodded. 

 

    “So, you see, this light footedness is good for evading knife attacks. Muay Thai is not designed for combat against armed foes like Kali is, but it should help you alongside what I already taught you. This fighting style focuses a lot on manipulating distance, which is crucial against an opponent with a blade. If the opponent has a knife and is expecting to fight from a distance, you can throw them off their game by suddenly approaching and putting them at a range that is too close for comfort. Up close, shift to Muay Thai. From afar, shift to Kali. You can use kicks to get your opponent off of you and then slash at them with the distance you created. Moving on, you see how my ribs aren’t guarded right now? My arms are all the way up near my head. In your case, your hands will probably be lower while holding a knife. I think a higher stance is good against armed opponents, though. You never, ever want to block a knife with your arms the same way you would block a strike. The opponent is likely to aim for your stomach with a knife, and having your arms down there just means that there’s more surface area for them to hit and it’s harder for you to dodge. As for them striking at your face or neck, in an emergency you would much prefer for your arm to be cut than your throat. With your arms raised, you can also strike at your opponent’s face more easily, although don’t be afraid to shift your arms into a lower stance when the situation calls for it. Remember, don’t let this new training overwrite your Kali experience.” I lazily nodded along. She raised her left knee up until it almost touched her elbow. Then, she shot it out in an incredibly fast kick before instantly retracting it back into that one-legged stance.

 

    “Woah.” I watched in awe. Even that small leg of hers seemed like it could pack a punch with that move. Before she could instruct me, I tried to copy it, kicking my right leg in front of me and almost falling over thanks to my poor balance.

 

    “Not like that, Yu. Raise your knee up like this first.” She lowered and raised her knee a bit to emphasize the positioning. I copied her. She continued her lesson. “You need good balance for this. If that’s an issue for you, I’ll design some training for you that will improve it. You’re right-handed so being able to cover your other side is valuable. Anyway, is your left leg your strongest leg? That’s the case for most people. Try that one. After you’ve raised your knee up at a 45 degree angle, you may then strike. Afterwards, return to this position and keep your knee up.”

 

    I watched her as sweat dripped from my forehead. I breathed in and lifted up my left knee this time, holding my arms out at my sides to help me balance. I then attempted a kick, but it was too forceful and I stumbled forward onto my feet. My left did feel a bit stronger, as she said. “Damn…”

 

    “It’s okay. I’ll give you some solo training for your balance that you can do while I’m gone.” She clapped her hands together once and shook them, dropping them to her side as she kicked her feet up in place to warm her legs up. “Can you see how this would help you, though? This kick is called a teep.”

 

    “Yeah, I can.” I said. “I remember you commented on my skinny frame when you first showed me the knife stuff. Is working on my balance supposed to make me more nimble?”

 

    “Yep!” She seemed proud that I had picked up on her methods. “Your durability is lower than the rest of ours, so if you can master swaying and dodging swings, you’ll be unstoppable.”

 

    “Heh… Does sound kinda cool.” I snickered quietly.

 

    “The teep is basically for determining range, keeping the opponent away or putting them off their balance. When it comes to doing damage, you want to use knees and roundhouse kicks.” She demonstrated what she was talking about. The knee strike was about the same as when she lifted it up to prepare for the teep, just with an extra thrust added to it which resulted in it looking much more like a sharp angle. Her roundhouse kick almost sent her spinning with how much force she put into it. She stopped herself once she had spun back around to facing the direction that she was prior by planting her foot.

 

    I tried to remember my training session with Garald and Rubi a few days ago. I tried using knee strikes back then. I copied it a couple of times, but I had to put my foot on the ground every time to stop myself from falling over.

 

    “Looking good, for a start! Here’s something that applies to Kali as well, but Muay Thai also uses elbows. A potential tactic is to strike with a backwards knife and elbow them with the followup. You know, like this.” She picked up a stick and twirled it so that she was backhanding it, the long side coming out of the bottom of her clenched fist. She swung it in a sideways arc in front of her, quickly thrusting her elbow out at the same time. “If they dodge the knife by leaning back or something, this can hit them. It’s not a lot of extra movement but be careful you don’t get punished for it regardless.”

 

    Rubi dropped the stick and brought her hands back up with loose, open hands. “This is hard to do with a knife in-hand, so for now only try this when you’re unarmed. Muay Thai has a focus on parrying, so go ahead and strike me.”

 

    I looked down at my fist and blinked twice. Without much pause for contemplation, I jabbed at her with my right fist, but her left palm thrust out to push my arm away at the same time as her body dodging to the left.

 

    “See? This is why my hands are open. This ties back into why the stomach is seemingly unguarded. You bait them into taking what seems to be an opening, then you brush their strike aside, and at the same time you can step in, grab the back of their head and boom!” She imitated the situation she just described, pretending to brush aside a strike while stepping in and putting her hands on the back of an imaginary head, following up with a knee.

 

    “If you were fighting someone else who uses kicks, like a fellow Muay Thai user, then catching a roundhouse kick aimed at your ribs would put you in an incredible position. This open hand position is also for chopping. Remember, you could hurt your knuckles badly by trying to punch too hard. Chops are safer for you to use and can be just as damaging if you hit them in the neck or somewhere equally vulnerable like a nerve cluster. Anyway, parrying a knife strike can be followed up by any of the disarming techniques I showed you in the past. Very good to do. A downside of a seasoned Muay Thai fighter being attacked by a knife is that Muay Thai often teaches you about toughness. We’re going to be focusing on a version fit for smaller people, as well as for fighting against armed enemies. It’s easy to do this without compromising the core of the art.”

 

    My image of a Muay Thai user was a 7 foot tall monster so hearing this made me feel like I wasn’t getting the strongest version possible, but it was probably the best I could ask for.

 

    After that, she gave me a few training routines. Mostly repeated teeps with some knees and roundhouse kicks thrown in there. At some point, she made me incorporate switching legs, but that was way easier said than done. Even though my injuries hadn’t bothered me yet today, this balancing act did make my back burn a bit.

 

    “Look, Yu, you always want to be ready to swap your planted leg and your loose leg. Think of it like that. One leg is always ready to strike while the other is supporting your weight, but they are always prepared to switch places depending on what position you need to strike from. Mix up your approach. Catch an opponent off guard. A knee to the stomach or a roundhouse kick could seal the deal!”

 

    I followed her directions and tried my best to live up to her standards. After many clumsy kicks, she left me with some meditation poses that all involved balancing on one leg. “See how long you can stay up like this. Clear your mind, too. We can go back to that camp in a couple of days. I want to see if you can master these moves enough to be trusted on a solo mission. No offense, Yu.”

 

    I grunted, but I understood her concerns. “I get it. I’ll try my best.” If this was what it took to get her blessing then that’s just bonus motivation. I was already going to try mastering these, even without her encouragement. Not like I needed her blessing to do it, but it made things easier.

 

    I spent the next few hours drilling her lessons into my mind and body. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed until I was done. I doused my face with water from the river. Garald and Barb were standing near the edge of the camp with Rubi facing them.

 

    “You remember the map?” Rubi tapped both of their shoulders with her wooden sword. I looked over to it and saw that she did in fact carve the new spots we discovered into it. The two nodded and walked off into the woods. Rubi then came to sat beside me, prompting me to turn my attention back to the water so that it didn’t seem like I was staring at them.

 

    “They’re going to scout. I asked them to see if they could give us an update on that camp but not to get too close. It’s not their main objective, if it’s too dangerous then they’ll just keep going. You seem pumped up with the practices I gave you, so if you keep those up then I’ll go along with your plan. You wanted to befriend them from the inside and learn info about them, right?”

 

    “Yeah, that’s the gist.” I cupped some water with both hands and drank it. “Whether or not we send them home will depend on what I find out.” I fully intended to take them down, but this was the best thing to tell Rubi. It isn’t a lie. I wasn’t 100% sure that I wouldn’t find something to change my mind while I was there. Only 99%.

 

    “Alright. I don’t want to question your resolve and I know you already said that you plan to stay alive with us, but if I get the feeling that you’re trying to throw yourself into danger then I’m not letting you go.”

 

    “Hey, I… Ugh. I know why you’d think that. I’m not that kind of selfless person. At the end of the day, I protect you guys because I want you around, not for your own sakes.”

 

    She looked like she wasn’t convinced by that but didn’t push it. “Whatever you say.”

 

    I was a little frustrated that she wasn’t taking my words at face value. I ignored it and went back to my training once I felt that my body had rested enough. I still couldn’t stand on one leg for very long, so that was top priority. All of this training with such a close deadline made me feel like I was getting ready to go out to war. Just had to remind myself that getting into a fight out there is the worst case scenario. I need to try avoiding it. This is just to prepare myself for the very worst.

 

    

 

    

    My meditation was interrupted by the sounds of Garald and Barb returning and greeting Rubi. I lowered the leg that I had lifted up in a yoga pose and jogged towards them. Garald waved and wasted no time in breaking down their discoveries.

 

    “We found a long strip of land beyond the camp you guys were looking at. There’s no other teams there from what we can tell.”

 

    “Did you look into the camp?” I couldn’t wait for the rest of the lecture.

 

    “Uh, I was just getting there. There were three people in the camp, two of them were sparring.” Garald informed me.

 

    “Really? Three, huh? I wonder if one of them was the stalker… Usually your camp has either two or four people, but one person leaving alone is odd…” I pondered. Barb gave me a look as if to say, “Is that right?” I gulped. I guess it is possible that a fourth team member could have gone out by themselves…

 

    “Did you see a tall guy in a stupid outfit?” I pushed further. The two scouts shook their heads in denial. 

 

    “Nah.” Barb said. “We couldn’t tell who the captain was just from looking.”

 

    Rubi spoke next. “And you’re certain the fourth member wasn’t tailing you?”

 

    “Well, we can’t be certain, but we’re pretty sure,” said Garald.

 

    I thought about their report for a bit. Now I wanted to go and solve the mystery myself, but I worried about what would happen if I got into a fight with a team of four at this point. That couldn’t end nicely. Even if I got enough training in this new style, would I be able to? I needed Barb with me to even beat that one guy. Should I assume everyone on this new team is as strong as him? Shit, I’m second guessing this plan now…

 

    I went back to the open yard, feeling sufficiently rested to continue my practice. Garald ended up joining me, doing things like pushups instead of practicing any specific techniques. I guess for someone like him, that’s what’s best. I looked down at my flat stomach and wondered if I should be doing more workouts like that. What I was doing currently was still a workout. My arms and legs got really sore after every training session. If I kept this up, I’d probably see some muscle building. Now that I’m thinking about that, this balance training I’m doing is starting to hurt my core.

 

    In anticipation for being able to leave tomorrow, I trained myself to my limit that night before going to bed. When I woke up, I rubbed my eyes and tried to sit up, but flinched and fell back as I realized that my abdomen area was incredibly sore. Barb was already up and turned to me. I waved my hand at her to tell her that I’m fine. My hand on my chest probably told her that it was just post-exercise pain.

 

    Some time passed and I stood up. I felt like the injuries on my back had returned to me, but I couldn’t tell what was from the inside and what was from the outside. I walked outside, stretched my arms and legs out, rotated my upper body and let out an annoyed sigh as I realized that it wouldn’t be a good idea to do any traveling in this condition, especially to a dangerous place. Rubi, who was awake on guard duty outside the tent, looked up at me. “Feeling unwell? Only natural. The previous drills I gave you didn’t involve the muscles as much as these. It’s all a part of learning martial arts, my student.”

 

    She looked smug. I tried to squat beside the burnt wood pile but I fell onto my butt and winced in pain. That little stunt made my legs scream in pain. I fell over on my side and steadied my breathing before I lazily reached into the crate for some meat. I gripped a handful of cooked fish chunks and started eating it. Rubi giggled at me. “You look like you’re dying over there, Yu!”

 

    I huffed and turned away, licking my fingers clean once they were hidden. Garald yawned loudly and sat up. “Mornin’, y’all… Hey, are those two healthy enough to take on the night shift again? I’m getting sick of it…”

 

    “You’re still gonna be doing it a lot.” Rubi rebutled. Garald sighed.

 

    I laid limply on the grass. “I don’t know if I can do the mission today. I really want to hurry up and get into that camp… Ugh!”

 

    “Don’t worry, dude.” Garald said. “The situation couldn’t change that much in just a couple days.”

 

    “Wouldn’t that apply to me too, then? I’m training my ass off over here…”

 

    “Er-” He went quiet. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

 

    I stared up at the clouds in the sky for a bit longer. I looked over to see if Rubi was still around. “Hey, boss, do I need to rest or can I keep going?”

 

    “Not a great idea to work out like this.” She answered. “Easier to tear something. I have ways to treat it, though. Taking a cold bath in the river would help you. How many days has it been now?”

 

    “Shut up! I’ve had way more to worry about than my hygiene…” I blushed and folded my arms over my chest. I was always bad about missing showers back on Earth and I hated having it brought up. I would have done it last night, though. I got really sweaty after that training, but I was too tired. I turned away without a word and did just as she suggested. I brought one of the towels from the crate with me. It did feel very soothing. I kept my arm on land just in case my legs cramped up and I got carried away or something.

 

    When I got out, towel wrapped around my body as much as it could, Rubi approached me with a very matter-of-fact expression. She held out her palm to show me a handful of cherries. “Here. They contain antioxidants that help with tense muscles or soreness.”

 

    I looked at her like I wasn’t sure if they were edible, but the expectant look on her face made me unable to deny them. So I took a handful and started chewing on them. “Is it better if I chew a lot or swallow now?” I spoke through the mush in my mouth.

 

    “Um. I don’t think it matters. If you want, you can keep chewing. Just make sure you swallow as much as possible and it doesn’t stick to your teeth.” She said. Her face turned to look around her with her hand resting on her chin in contemplation. “You know, I’ve seen a lot of different wildlife around here that I don’t think would be growing so closely to each other. I don’t think this area we’re in is based on any specific forests from Earth, but rather a composite of every forest in the world.”

 

    “That makes sense.” I swallowed my food. “I mean, I never thought about it, but I probably would have guessed that. Maybe the alien wanted to reward people who can spot useful plants? Make it more interesting?”

 

    “Plausible. I’m wondering how big this forest is. If it has no direct Earth counterpart, does it go on forever? When we were standing in front of the wall on the first day, it was mostly an open field. I wonder if that’s a different biome or if it’s just a part of the forest that happened to lack many trees.”

 

    “We’ll think about that when we get there.” I tried to get her mind off of it. Thinking ahead is good but I didn’t see the point in worrying about this right now. “What can I do for now?”

 

    “Isn’t it obvious? You shouldn’t be doing anything. Just rest.”

 

    I groaned. “Again? Seriously?! I’m gonna lose it if I have to stay still for another day!”

 

    “Maybe not the whole day. You could feel better by the end of it.”

 

    This was too much. Too many convenient excuses to do nothing. That’s all my life has ever been.

 

    “Hey, don’t get too down about it.” Rubi sounded worried. “You can spend the day planning what you’re going to do once you get into their camp. You could wash everyone’s clothes in the river if you want, or catch some more fish for us.”

 

    “Chores? I guess that would be better than nothing.” I won’t be doing the fishing, though. Not after last time.”

 

    She laughed and I didn’t resist the impulse to join. I got up and walked towards the edge of the forest, making sure I stayed in the camp as to not be ambushed. I couldn’t find any big branches, which was a bummer. I thought that since most of the pain was in my lower body, I could lift something heavy so I didn’t feel so left out. How frustrating. I decided to spend the next hour or so washing our clothes in the river. I truly wondered how “clean” they would get in water like this. I supposed getting the dirt and blood off of it was better than nothing.

 

    

 

    

    By nightfall, I had started to feel a bit more comfortable moving around. I tried doing some balancing practices, but quickly fell over. “Hmph. I guess I could play up the idea that I’m an injured straggler to make them sympathize with me?”

 

    Barb was fishing a bit away from me, but still close enough to hear. “Don’t make up too many lies, or it’ll get hard to keep track of them all and you’ll have to make up more lies to cover them.”

 

    “I know…” I rolled over onto the grass and stared up at the cloudy sky. The sun was starting to retreat for the night. Tomorrow, for sure, I would be going on a solo mission. I probably shouldn’t be making myself sound so cool. It’s something anyone could do, just don’t say anything stupid and get killed for it.

 

    “Bah, still not as good as Garald… I swear he got way better when we got here.” I heard Barb grumble as she dropped another fish in her pile beside her. It seemed like she caught enough to me, but she kept going. Despite being the oldest, those two were never going to outgrow that phase, were they?

 

    

 

    

    I woke up a few times during the night. The anticipation wouldn’t leave me. The anxiety. By the time I woke up the last time and couldn’t fall back asleep, I figured I had gotten about 5 hours of rest. Could be worse. Even if I couldn’t sleep anymore, I remained motionless in the tent for another hour or so, thinking about what I was going to do today. I started to wonder if somebody who could be so cheerful and careless in a situation like this would really be as safe a bet as I thought. Assuming that guy’s personality really is what I’ve gathered, then maybe he’s some kind of lunatic who would kill me for doing the slightest thing… Nah, I watch too many cartoons. If a guy like Garald can be here then why should I assume there’s nobody else?

 

    The others started to get up and at last, I followed them. I retrieved my dried clothes from outside the tent and put them back on. I had a hefty meal, or hefty by our current standards, while Rubi tried to drill in certain berries and plants to keep an eye out for at the last minute. I followed along as best as I could.

 

    “Yu, don’t try to do anything stupid. I know you said you aren’t going to sacrifice yourself or something, but please, really try not to…” Rubi stared into my eyes with a resolute look. I couldn’t look at her straight on, so I replied while looking around me at anywhere that wasn’t her face. “Yeah, promise…”

 

    “Good! I really would like to go with you, but they would get suspicious if they thought we could beat them. Besides, I can’t make Garald and Barb do all the work around here. Come back safely, and as soon as possible. They’ll probably force you to stay in the camp until they trust you enough.”

 

    I nodded. “Are they really gonna believe that my whole team got killed this early on..? Maybe I should tell them I got abandoned or something.”

 

    “I doubt a captain would do such a thing. Their captain must also know that. You could say that you got lost?”

 

    “I’ll figure something out.”

 

    She stared at me for a bit, and I tried to show her a confident expression but I wasn’t sure if she bought it. “You should have a solid plan, you know.”

 

    “I’ll just say that I got lost and I think they intentionally got away from me. Sound good?” I sighed.

 

    “I guess… I still don’t think a captain would…”

 

    “It leaves it ambiguous, maybe my captain was mean or maybe I was stupid and really did get lost. I think the open-endedness makes it a good shot.”

 

    “Yes, I like your reasoning.” She smiled. “See? I wasn’t doubting you, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t rushing into it.”

 

    I chuckled. “I know, Thanks for double checking.” I stood up and went for the entrance, which Garald and Barb were already waiting at.

 

    “If we don’t hear from you in 5 days, we’re gonna come make sure you’re still good.” Barb said. I had no objections.

 

    “If you die, I’ll kill you!” Garald said such a cliché line with such a straight face. I tried not to laugh, as I could see he felt strongly.

 

    “Thanks, you two. I won’t be gone for long. I need to do this to prove myself. I know it might be dumb, but trust that I’m not going to put myself in any unnecessary danger.” And just like that, I said such a cliché line, too. It’s infectious, I guess. Garald seemed the most touched by my reply.

 

    Rubi put a hand on my shoulder and walked in front of me to stand beside the others. “Yu, we can’t give you any suspicious items like a horn, if we even had one of those, but if you need urgent back up, yell as loud as you can. Hopefully we would be close by and could run towards you.”

 

    “I’ll remember that. I would practice my screaming if it wouldn’t alert everyone in the forest.” I laughed to myself. “Well, I ate a good bit this morning, just in case they don’t let me have any food right away. I would bring stuff with me, but if I’m supplied then it makes me look suspicious.”

 

    The others agreed. I walked through them but Garald stopped me with a fist to my chest. I looked at him in confusion until I realized he was offering to bump fists with me. Smiling, I returned it. Barb gave me one, too. Rubi gave me a tap on the back with her sword, almost like she was knighting me.

 

    “See you, guys. I’ll be back soon.” I waved to them, showing them a joyful grin before turning my back to them.

 

   My smile was genuine, but there was a worry tugging at my heart. That pessimistic side of me that couldn’t shake the feeling of this being my last meeting with them. I couldn’t listen to it. I remembered what Barb said, about stressing over things you can’t change. If I really did never see them again, then it’s over, so I need to be prepared for the future where it isn’t over. Thinking about what I would do if I lost them is like thinking about what you would do if you died. Nothing. You would just die.

 

    

 

    

    About halfway to my destination, I stopped to do some workouts.  It helped me get stronger, sure, but mostly to tire myself out. If I showed up full of energy, they may not be as likely to trust my story. I did some knife swings, although there was no knife in my hand so it looked like I was awkwardly boxing some invisible creature. After that, balance. I stood on one leg with the other one outstretched. My hands were together in front of me in a praying position. I was getting to be able to keep that position up for longer and longer. I wondered how close I was getting to the average adult with all of this practice.

 

    I dropped my limbs and dropped to my knees, taking a breather. Eventually, I got back on the path and kept walking. The trees started to get thicker. I wondered if this was the right path. I saw more light than usual and when I got closer, there was indeed the clearing that I remembered. My thought process at this point was how to introduce myself to them without coming across like an enemy. As I got closer, I once again saw nobody there. Not even the bush that had the stalker in it. I was still pretty exhausted from earlier, but I didn’t want to play it up too much at the risk of being obvious.

 

    I took a deep breath and poked my head into the opening, taking a closer look at my surroundings. I stared at the tent and noticed some movement. Another few breaths followed until I worked up the courage to step my foot on the dirt and walk forward. The movement in the tent stopped. Then, a head poked out. I stood awkwardly and waved at him. His eyes were wide, like he wasn’t sure what to do about me. I must not look like an enemy, but you can never be too cautious.

 

    “Um, hi!” I called, trying to raise my voice despite my reservations. “C-Can we talk..?”

 

    Another head popped up behind the man’s. They looked at each other and then stepped out so that I could see them. They didn’t get close to me just yet, but we could hear each other from this distance. A man and a woman, very casually dressed with normal-looking faces and hair. I wanted to assume that neither of them was the captain, but that would be too presumptuous. It’s not like every captain is going to look like a cartoon character. Average people have strong convictions too.

 

    “My name’s Yu, I was…”

 

    Click.

 

    I froze up. If the noise didn’t tip me off to what was happening, then the cold, hard muzzle of a handgun pressed into the back of my head did.

 

    “Damian? Maya? Who’s this chap?” I heard a man talking from behind me. It almost sounded like the large, clownish man that I saw in their camp, but it was a much deeper voice this time.

 

    “They just showed up.” The man in front of me replied, a casual look on his face.

 

    “I see…” He seemed to be observing me closely, despite the fact that he could only see the back of my head. I was now becoming more certain that this was the same man from the other day. Did I horribly misread his character?! I really thought he would be the carefree type!

 

    “They don’t seem like a threat.” The girl, I assumed Maya, said. “Your choice, though.”

 

    “Answer my questions, Yu. Turn around and put your hands up.” I did exactly as he demanded. His eyes were wide, almost frantic, but his demeanor was calm. His hair looked like a white powdered wig, the type they wore hundreds of years ago, but pale blond more than it was white. He continued speaking, “Why are you here? Are you a captain?”

 

    “N-N-No.” I stuttered out. “I’m not a captain. My captain abandoned me, so I’ve been wandering. Well, I guess I got lost, but I’m p-pretty sure they wanted me to get lost so they could ditch m-me.”

 

    “Hmm… We’re supposed to believe you?”

 

    I had no idea how to reply to that. Is there even a good reply to that? My heart skipped a beat or two. I inhaled loudly and replied. “I c-came here knowing that you would mistrust me and that you would be perfectly capable of killing me if you wished. I had no other options. I would die if I didn’t come here, so I d-decided to put my life in your hands and humbly beg for your hospitality…”

 

    I had never spoken so cordially before. I felt like my heart was stuck in my throat, I barely had time to think before saying whatever words I thought would stop me from getting a bullet in my head. Who the hell brought a gun in here, anyway?! Is it the same rules that let Rubi keep her sword? What bullshit!

 

    “Sorry, but we’re not running a charity.” He pushed the gun against my forehead harder.

 

    My breathing became faster and faster. “Please, I…” I knew it. I’m so sorry, you guys.

 

    BANG!

 

    My life flashed before my eyes in the instant before my eyes opened again and I realized that I was unharmed. The gun that was pressed into my forehead had been pulled back to make room for a flag with the word “Bang!” written on it sticking out of the hole where a bullet would have come.

    “Good one, huh?” 

 

    “Wh-wh-wh…” My half-words escaped my mouth in loud panting. I was now beginning to try to comprehend what he had just done. Was that some sort of joke? No, he couldn’t have. Seriously?

 

    “You okay, kid?” He sounded a lot more like the way I remembered him now. I turned my head to see that Damian and Maya were staring at me with beads of sweat on their faces.

 

    Realizing just how unserious the situation had become, I fell onto my knees and immediately started breathing as hard and fast as possible to return the oxygen that I had just lost from being breathless for so long. I could feel my head getting light and I leaned forward to rest myself on the ground. I wasn’t even looking at those three anymore. They could be holding an actual gun to my head and I wouldn’t have noticed. Too much had happened at once.

 

    The giant of a man squatted in front of me with a stupid grin on his face. Was he enjoying my suffering? “Hey, that wasn’t too much, was it? Oh, I’ve met kids like you before. You’re the type to be deathly afraid of haunted houses, aren’t you? My apologies, I should have put a content warning before that little goof. I’ll be more considerate with you.”

 

    I was too frustrated that he had made me put up my guard that much to mince my words. “Is this funny to you?!”

 

    The corners of his mouth lowered into what may be considered a frown compared to how it looked before, but was still a smile by most peoples’ standards. “The joke? Of course! Your reaction? Not so much. I was inconsiderate. May I make it up to you with a napkin to wipe your tears?” He held out a red cloth.

 

    I sniffled loudly to retract some snot back into my nose. “I’m not.. crying.. but thanks…” I grabbed the cloth and wiped my face with it. When I lifted my head, I noticed that it was tied to a blue cloth, with a sliver of a yellow cloth peaking out that was tied to that one.

 

    “Hey, keep pulling! Don’t be a debbie downer!”

 

    I did not indulge his joke one bit. I released the snot-covered napkin and let it hit his green overall straps, dangling from the other napkins. He seemed disappointed.

 

    “Hey! Don’t disrespect our cap-”

 

    “Maya! It’s quite alright. The child’s reactions are understandable. We should be trying to make up for it with hospitality, not yelling.” He returned to me and grabbed my wrist without waiting for me, pulling me to my feet which only made my head spin more. “My name is Wilhelm, but my friends call me Willy! You’re one of those friends, by the way. So, I’m Willy!”

 

    My eyes were half-looking at him and half-looking into space. “Right… Will…”

 

    “Don’t you go shortening it more…!”

 

    “Damian! It’s quite alright. Will doesn’t sound bad, either. This one doesn’t seem the joyous type, so I guess they wouldn’t want to call a grown man like me such a whimsical name. Although, the whimsy is why I prefer it to Wilhelm, you see. But now that you’ve said it, I also prefer Will to Wilhelm, though not as much as I prefer Willy.”

 

   “Okay…” I stopped listening somewhere near the start of that monologue. “Does this mean I can stay with you?”

 

    “Of course! I don’t want to make you sad. How would I fulfill my dream if you were?”

 

    I raised an eyebrow at him. “Dream, huh… Guess you are the captain…”

 

    “Ohoho! Do I remind you of your previous captain? Oh, wait, maybe I don’t want to be like them!”

 

    “Nah, you two have some things in common, I bet…” At least Rubi isn’t a total psycho…

 

    “I’ll hope you mean that positively!” Willy gave me a rougher-than-necessary yet playful smack on the shoulder and turned around to face the woods. “Hey, Mikey! You can come out! They are no threat!”

 

    I moved my head to try and see who he was talking to past his tall figure. I saw a silhouette slowly reveal itself to be a middle-aged man with slicked back, black and gray hair. As he approached us, my eyes must have widened as my hair stood up on end like a cat’s. This unmistakable energy coming from him, this miasma of indecipherable emotion, that meaningless smile… I remembered it.

 

    “Don’t call me that, Wilhelm. My name is Michael.”

 

    He was the man I saw when I arrived at the alien’s ship. The one with the pitch black eyes.

 

    Wasn’t he a captain, though? What is he doing with these guys? I thought I had safely found the best team to take advantage of, but at this moment I was devoured by the feeling that this was the worst possible group of people I could be affiliating myself with.