“Well, you’d better start right now, because I sure as hell don’t think that the things that we’ve seen can be easily reasoned with,” Ryan snapped. He gestured behind him, up towards the darkened skies. “Not the thing that flew after you, not the things that were just flying out there, and I doubt those beast men that were riding them. And who knows about the ones on the horses? Humans can be dangerous too.
“It’s pretty clear that this isn’t our world, and it definitely is like being in a whole different age. You’d better start caring real quick, Erin, about the rest of this group. If you choose not to eat, and continue to be stupid about that, that’s your problem. But you’d sure as hell better help us defend ourselves, because that’s my problem too… and if you don’t like it, you can take a walk right now.”
Erin looked entirely incredulous at the open berating by Ryan. More distressing, Lee could see the defensive hardening of resolve in her eyes.
Whether or not there would be any appeal to logic was no longer of a concern to Lee. The moment was degenerating quickly, into something that none of the group needed.
“Ryan, Erin, everyone!” Lee interjected firmly. “We’ve all gotta stay clear-headed, no matter how upset we get at anything.”
“We do,” Lynn then concurred in a low voice, nodding to Lee. She turned her head and looked with a stony expression towards Erin. “We can’t let emotions get in control. Lee’s right. We’ve gotta use our heads.”
Lee was immensely relieved. He knew that while he had some influence with Ryan, Lynn had the greater insight by far into her recalcitrant friend. There was little doubt that Lynn’s words were directed right at Erin, as much as they were also a reinforcement to Lee’s response.
Ryan took a long, slow breath, though not before shooting another angry, darting glance at Erin. He finally stated in a tense, low voice, “I guess so.”
“And things are a little better. We do have some more proper food now,” Lee said, holding up one of the leather pouches that he had taken from the saddle of one of the slain horses. “That’s some good news, at least.”
Erin stared at the large pouch, and then looked back to Lee. After a tense delay, she finally nodded, which was about as good as Lee believed that he could hope for.
Lee, Ryan, and Lynn then proceeded to occupy their time with dividing up the rest of the items. They continued until everyone had some type of pouch to carry things in, along with food rations and weapons.
Not all of the food rations were designated for storage.
The salty, tough dried meat could well have been the most succulent of roasts to Lee’s starved palate.
All four of them wolfed down some chunks of the hard bread, not complaining for a moment regarding its texture, and thorough plainness. Lee improvised, using some of the water from the skins that he had found to soften up his own piece. It was a tactic emulated rather quickly by the others.
Even Erin’s spirits lifted somewhat as they consumed some of the food together. The peaceful sounds of an undisturbed forest returned to reign all around them. The evening air cascaded down with an increasing coolness, seeming to accompany the gradual relaxation of Lee’s own emotions.
The gentle ambience, caressing winds passing through the leaves, chirping insects delivering their timeless forest song, and the soft blanket of evening serenity were healing salves to Lee’s body, mind, and spirit. They were most welcome conditions, especially after the furious, desperate sounds and sights of battle, and the investigation of the bloodied field in the fighting’s aftermath.
“Never thought I would be that enamored about the noises of insects,” Lynn remarked, echoing Lee’s own thoughts as she chewed on her last morsel of bread. Reaching down, she tenderly massaged the area around her knees, slowly kneading her skin and muscles with her fingers.
Lee, seated a few feet to her right, leaned back against a tree trunk and stretched his legs outward. He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he lowered his hands to rest in his lap.
“It feels good just to relax for few a moments, without a hungry stomach,” Lee replied after a few moments. “I just wish we could call it a day right now.”
“But we can’t… I bet you were about to say that, weren’t you?” Ryan queried dourly.
“At least we can take a break for little while, can’t we?” Erin interjected with a plaintive tone. “Days and nights seem so long in this place anyway.”
“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Lee responded. He then shook his head regretfully, and his voice took on an equally melancholy timbre, “But there is a little more to the situation right now. There’s something I just realized.”
Lee could not believe that until that very moment he had completely overlooked the thought that was now foremost in his mind.
“So what more can there be right now?” Erin spat out, her ire rising once again. “I want to rest!”
“Rest for a few more minutes,” Lee replied rather gently, in response to her vitriolic tone. He greatly desired rest himself, and his sympathy outweighed his ongoing irritation with her attitude. “But I was just thinking that we don’t really want to stay at the site of recent battle. You never know what kind of attention it might bring. Wild… or intelligent.”
His logic and tone evidently caused Erin to choke back any further responses, as she held her tongue and stared off in sullen silence.
“Lee, you’re right. I didn’t think of that,” Lynn said, as a look of grave concern emerged swiftly within her eyes. She cast a nervous glance off in the direction of the grassy plains.
“And no argument here,” Ryan muttered.
“I still think we can risk taking a few moments, to settle ourselves and recoup our strength a little bit,” Lee said. “We just need to be out of here when daybreak comes.”
Taking the sustaining night sounds as a comforting sign, and letting his eyes close again, Lee implored the tightened muscles in his body to relax. He concentrated upon his sorely taxed, stiffened muscles one group at a time.
As the tightness in his physical body gradually eased, he thought about an interesting comment that Erin had made regarding the days and nights seeming long. The days within the new world did indeed seem to be lengthier, but whether that was because time was truly different, or instead a perception shaped by their unfamiliar circumstances, Lee could not yet tell for sure.
Whatever the case was, he did wish that they could afford to take a longer rest than was possible. Yet Lee knew that they needed to be vigilant, and vacate the premises well before dawn. Added to that was the need to locate another favorable area to settle down in.
Lee was not looking forward to setting up another makeshift shelter, beginning to dread the idea that it would soon become a regular practice. He let out another extended sigh, and reminded himself that very little in his life would be the same from that moment onward. At the very least, they now had some decent weapons and supplies in their possession.
He had almost fallen entirely asleep after his body had relaxed, but he was somehow able to hold onto the edge of his focus. After roughly an hour had passed, Lee judged that they had delayed long enough.
He got up and roused the rest of the drowsy group. Exhibiting varying degrees of reluctance at having to cease their rest, the others joined Lee in gathering up their newly procured items as they prepared to press onward.
The dual moons provided just enough light to see by, though Lee was not altogether pleased by the necessity of traveling through the forest at night. Keeping the grassy plains on their right, and the shadowy depths of the woodlands on their left, they marched in weary silence for several hours before finally halting. The moons had trekked across a fair span of the night sky overhead when they drew to a stop, and Lee was satisfied that they had put a considerable distance between themselves and the scene of the fighting.