Banished Pt. 04

"Hm. Alright. How soon can we leave?"

"We have some preparations to make. Ein Wagen, for moving weapons, and tools."

I nodded.

"Let me know when everything is ready," I said.

I headed over to Jeannie, and quickly relayed our plan to her.

"Two hundred days?" she said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Yeah... I know it seems like a lot, but a safe, secure location is well worth it."

"Wouldn't it be better to just set up a temporary shelter, and try to make up the credits to go home?" she countered, and I sighed.

"I'm opposed to that for two reasons, only one of which I can verify; the first is that I'm not entirely convinced that we can believe everything we heard from this company. I mean, no one can remember hearing about their 'project Kepler' despite everyone having clear memories of things right up to a similar date on earth, so in my opinion, going home might very well be a fairy tale."

"Is that the verifiable reason?" Jeannie asked, and I shook my head.

"The verifiable reason is this," I said, pulling out the core I'd harvested from the bear-creature.

"Wow. That's a core?" Jeannie asked, and I nodded, handing the object to her.

"I appraised it at the guild hall, and it would go for a grand total of four credits," I explained, and she gasped, as she inspected the item.

"How big was the monster?"

"Like a huge bear."

"Getting enough for even one person would take forever," she noted, and I nodded as she returned the core to me.

She sighed, blowing into her hands.

"So, you think we should settle down? Accept this world?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Whether you accept it or not is your personal call, but no matter what, there's no easy way out of this. Finding a way to survive in the long term seems, to me, to be the only way forward, no matter what goal you choose."

Jeannie nodded.

"That's not an easy thing to accept," she said, glancing back at her group.

"It definitely isn't," I agreed. "Tell you what, even if you don't want to make the long journey, we're headed right now to a place not far from here, to rest for a few days and gather provisions. Casey has some info to share with everyone when we get there; about otherworlders, and what it's like out there. You can come with us, hear her out, and then decide if you want to stick with us, or not."

"We can do that," she said, nodding.

She headed over to talk to the rest of her group, and as everyone continued to make preparations, I decided to pay a visit to our captives.

After the fight back at Vanessa's camp, everyone but two of Vanessa's team decided to join up with us; Candace, the tall, lanky blonde who Vanessa had sent after me, and pretty girl with black hair, who hid her face most of the time behind her bangs.

Although Jeannie seemed certain that those two were the only ones who were truly loyal to Vanessa, we still had the entire team blindfolded as we made our way to the tunnel that took us into the forest.

After walking some way in, we removed the blindfolds, but those three, plus the otherworlder who attacked us, remained bound at the hands.

"Well, look who remembers we exist. I'm thirsty, by the way," Vanessa said, as I walked over.

I pulled my waterskin out, and offered her a few sips, which she took grudgingly.

I offered the drink to the other two girls, but both refused, seemingly in an act of defiance.

"You have decisions to make. We're travelling across this forest, to set up a home somewhere more secure. Do you want to come with us, or should we just drop you off at the nearest guild hall?"

Vanessa studied me, a glum expression on her face.

"Some help that'll be when you've stolen my entire team."

"He didn't take us," Jeannie interjected, coming over to join me. "We made up our own minds; and we choose to follow him."

"Oh? And you speak for all of the girls now?" Vanessa asked, mockingly, and Jeannie nodded.

"Yeah. I do, actually."

Vanessa spat at Jeannie's feet.

"You're a dumb bitch, Jeannie. I hope they hang you out to dry like they did to me."

Jeannie shrugged.

"They all seem to think that anything'll be better than having you whore us to a bunch of men for protection."

"Oh, poor little thing... just because he isn't telling you that that's what he's doing, doesn't mean that's not where you're headed, sweetie. Since you're their leader now, you'll probably taste it first. I should probably let you know; he likes it rough. Trust me... I tasted it myself," she finished, winking at the girl.

Jeannie waved a hand at her, dismissively, but as she began to walk away, she paused.

"Execute them, banish them. Do whatever you like. The group doesn't care what happens to them," she said to me, and I nodded, as she headed back to the group.

"Like I said. Decision time. I can broker peace with them and allow you to stay; you'll just be tied up until we come to a better level of understanding. Talk it over. You have... an hour, maybe? before we leave."

I left the girls behind, then headed over to our other prisoner, where Francesca awaited me.

"You get a name?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Not even a word."

I nodded, as we headed over to the man.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my buddy, 'walking corpse'. Or is there something else you want to go by?"

"'Walking Corpse' is fine," he answered, and I smirked, as he continued: "Can we have this chat privately?"

I shot Francesca a look, and she nodded, wandering off, though she kept an eye on us.

As soon as she was out of earshot, he began to talk.

"Free me, and you can get a ticket off this place. Today."

"Really? How so?" I asked.

"I have thirty-five hundred credits," he said, tapping his wrist. "That girl is worth two thousand. That's fifty-five hundred right there. You're free."

"We left her hand behind though," I countered.

"Doesn't matter. We can track it. If someone was dumb enough to keep it, we take it off their corpse. It's not redeemable until her heart stops, but we can keep her alive until then."

Snickered, eyeing him as if my curiosity was piqued.

"What if there's someone I need freed with me?" I asked, and he sighed.

"Then take them with us. I can teach you everything you need to get off of this planet in under a year," he said. "Just ditch these losers first chance you get."

I rubbed my chin, seemingly pondering his offer.

"Under a year? That seems unlikely. I killed a monster and its core was worth-"

"Garbage. Even the really big ones won't get you more than fifteen, twenty credits. But new recruits come in every one to two weeks; they're fifty credits each if you can get them before they spend everything. Couple that with bounties, and you can get out of here in under a year..."

"So, that's how you made your credits, huh. Murder..."

He shrugged.

"Most of these scrubs just die anyway. Suffer a lot, first, too. Just think of it as putting them out of their misery," he reasoned, and I sighed.

As we spoke, Casey came over, and he shot me a quick look.

"Raul, right?" she said, as she came over, cradling the stump of her left arm.

I studied him, and his face twitched subtly at the mention of his name.

"Never saw a picture, but boy are you well known," she continued. "You don't have a nickname like the legends do, but man, your kill count. You know, no one alive has murdered more Earthlings than you have."

"I never asked to be fucking sent here," he spat, and she laughed.

"I didn't either, but I didn't go on a murder spree because of it."

He dove towards Casey, snapping at her neck with his teeth, and as she stumbled backwards, I summoned his image into my mind and he stopped in his tracks and cried out, rolling on the ground in agony.

"Forgive him... he's just a little crabby because apparently you were all he needed to make up enough credits to go home," I explained, and Casey laughed again.

"Home? Christ, you shmucks are all so gullible... no one has ever 'returned home', moron. It's impossible."

He glared at Casey, studying her intently.

"You couldn't possibly know that for certain."

"Oh... but I do. Why did you think there's a massive bounty on my head? I worked for them," she explained, and he shook his head, slowly, disbelievingly.

"No. It can't. It- it's a lie!"

His eyes teared up, and he blinked several times, trying to process what she was saying.

"How far do you think we are from earth right now?" she asked, as the man studied her. "Three hundred and fifty light years... in case you don't know what that means, if you travelled at the speed of light, which is impossible, by the way, it'd take you three hundred and fifty years to get to earth..."

"Then how did we get here?" he asked, biting his lip angrily. "How did we fucking get here?"

"The technology that brought us here... is not ours. It's something they found, that they barely understand; and it only works one way."

"So, I'll never see her again...?" he asked, tears falling, and the man slumped back down onto the ground, a defeated look in his eyes, as Casey nodded.

I pondered Casey's words.

"How much of that is true?" I asked, pulling Casey aside.

"Everything," she said.

"So, the guards back at the hall... they're stuck here for life?"

"They're cyborgs," she explained, and as I sighed, she studied me. "Was there someone you wanted to return to?"

I nodded, and she bit her lip.

"Look, Nate... most people who get sent here are loners that no-one would miss, but if you had family? Chances are, they're the ones who sold you to the company."

As Casey walked away, I pondered her words...

Was that true?

Then maybe dad... or her.

I shook the thought from my mind, then returned to our captive.

"Raul, was it? Do you mind?"

He shook his head, and I stooped down, in front of him.

"Look, I'm not that interested in anything except surviving right now," I explained, and he scoffed.

"Yet here you are, with this gigantic group."

"What's wrong with a group?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Apart from being absolutely moronic?" he asked, and I studied him, then pressed forward with my questions.

"What are the chances of running into another otherworlder in this forest?" I asked, and he scoffed.

"Zero. We avoid places like this... there's just no profit to be made. If a place is more than a day's trip from the nearest town, it might as well not exist."

"A day's trip? Isn't that limiting?"

"You wanna sleep out in the wilderness with monsters, bandits, and potential threats? Be my guest."

He scoffed again, and I tilted my head.

"To me, it seems that travelling in a group is the obvious solution to that," I said, and he looked at me, incredulously.

"Are you stupid? With the weapons they give us, any incompetent fool with a knife can slit your throat while you sleep. As easy as carving through butter. Alone is the only way to go."

"If I decide to distrust everyone all the time, then sure... so we're relatively safe from our kind in here?" I asked, and he nodded, eyeing me.

"You seriously trust all these people?" he asked, and I shrugged.

"I mean, not completely, but in my experience, people are only as distrusting as you treat them."

He smirked, disbelievingly.

"Really? How about cutting these bonds then?" he asked, and I laughed.

"Well now... you are a murderer. Let's see if there's still some, what do they say, humanity? inside of you. Then we'll see about the bonds."

He studied me, incredulously.

"You'd cut me lose one day? If I, what, behave well?"

"You'll find that I'm difficult to trick," I said, shrugging. "But I'm a practical man. If I find that you are a threat, I'll kill you myself... but for now, I think you can be useful. That's all."

Raul's eyes followed me as I walked away, and Gisela came to me now.

"Herr Auslander. Our preparations are ready."

I nodded, then headed over to Vanessa.

"So? What have you decided?" I asked, and she smirked.

"Leave me here," she said, and I sighed.

"Can't. You might be a threat to these people."

"People? They're green skinned savages, Nate."

I sighed again.

"Fine. If you transfer what credits you have, I'll leave you here. But no weapons, no gear."

"Well then, why not just kill me?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Honestly, whether I took you back to the town, or left you here; the outcome would probably be the same. You could stay with us for long enough to learn how to survive," I offered, and she sighed.

"Rather die alone than depend on you," she said, but at this, the girls with her stood up.

"We'll come," the black-haired girl declared, and Vanessa glared at her comrades as Candace also nodded her agreement.

"I stand by my statement," she said, and I nodded, as I cut all of their bonds.

"As you wish, then," I said, and she stalked off, with a grumble.

As Candace and the other girl headed over to the group, Jeannie quickly walked over to my side.

"Just know that I don't trust them," she said, and I nodded.

"I don't either, but I'm giving them a chance," I said. "Who knows, they might come around... but until then, keep an eye on them."

As everyone prepared to get moving, I quickly gathered the princess' council together.

"There's one more thing we should decide. Between the armor we've collected from Caleb, Raul, and the others, we now have three full suits and one partial one. We should allocate them," I said.

The princess spoke, and Gisela quickly translated.

"The princess wishes you wear the suit she bestowed. The others, are your discretion."

I nodded, as the two headed off to arrange things with the rest of the Kobalt, and turned to Casey and Cameron.

"I think Francesca should wear one," I began, and Cameron rolled her eyes, but Casey nodded.

"She has a good fighting sense," Casey said, and Cameron's eyes moved questioningly between us.

"Francesca fought?" she asked, and I nodded, remembering that she had not yet heard of everything that happened on my trip.

I quickly gave her a rundown of the events, omitting of course, the manner in which I won Casey over to our side, and she nodded.

"So, Jordan then?" Cameron asked, but she pondered the matter a bit more. "If I think about it though, I would have thought Nolan would be the quicker to fight."

"To be honest, I trust Jordan more with armor right now," I said, lowering my voice, as I continued, "Nolan doesn't really seem to appreciate our new bond."

Cameron shot me a questioning look.

"Are you kidding? He's gay, numb nuts."

"Maybe he's not as gay as you think," I said, suddenly noticing the incredibly uncomfortable expression on Casey's face.

"Look, I can tell that this ain't any of my business, but for what it's worth, Nate's instincts are rarely off the mark," she said to Cameron, before turning to leave.

Cameron bit her lip, shaking her head a little, as Casey walked off, away from us.

"Look, maybe he's just protective of you, or something," I said. "But just in case; let's be careful about how we interact when we're around people. Okay?"

Cameron sighed, suddenly taking my hand and pulling me with her.

We ducked behind a nearby tree, and as soon as we were out of sight, she wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me in for a kiss.

"Kind of a difficult ask when this is all I've been thinking about since you got back," she said, blushing a little at the admission.

As she pulled away and turned to head back, I reached out, and took her hand, reeling her back into me, kissing her again, this time, a bit more deeply, and our lips met several times before we finally broke off.

"If the kindly matron's instincts can be trusted, Nolan's gonna have to adjust to things really quickly," I said, as my fingers reached out, trailing back and forth over Cameron's stomach, and she blushed.

As we rejoined the group, however, I caught Francesca's eyes on us, and Cameron rubbed the back of her head, a little embarrassed, as we went our separate ways.

I mean, I figured from early on that Nolan might be a problem, but would Francesca be too?

The early signals were fairly mixed, so I resolved to pay closer attention as I walked over to join her.

"How do you fancy being part of the king's guard?" I asked, and she smirked.

"About time you found something cool for me," she said, smiling, but the smile quickly faded as she looked away.

"These people already look up to you," she said, a little wistfully.

"Well, I am sort of married to their princess."

She shook her head.

"No. It's not just that... even the new girls are looking at you constantly," she said, and I smiled.

"Jealous?" I teased, and she pouted a little.

"Kind of. I noticed your leadership qualities first, you know," she complained, and I put an arm around her shoulder.

"You did," I admitted, and she smiled proudly. "You know, I still trust you above almost everyone here."

She sighed.

"Not sure if I believe that," she said, a little skeptically, and I shrugged.

"Well... can I count on you to fight for me?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I'm not sure if it was just a battle high, but I really felt like if I was in my skin for the first time with that spear in my hand," she said, and I smirked.

"Natural born warrior princess?" I teased, and she put her hands on her hips, and struck an amazon pose.

"So, can I count on you to wear armor?" I asked, and she nodded, so we headed over to where Casey kept an eye on the sack that contained all of the miscellaneous gear we'd acquired.

I withdrew the chest piece first, and Francesca took the piece up, inspecting it.

"The padding on the inside is soft... comfortable," she noted, shooting me a strange look.

"I guess," I said, eyeing her questioningly.

"When I wore the armor before, over my clothes, it felt pretty stuffy... do you think I could wear it commando?" she asked, and I gulped.

"I guess... do you want me to get Cameron, or one of the other girls to help you get it on?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No, but where can we get a little privacy?"

We took a look around, then settled on some bushes a little way off from the gathering, and Francesca gulped as she held the chest pieces up for inspection.

As I took the pieces into my hand, she took a quick look around, before quickly stripping off her cotton shirt.

I quickly raised the front side of the breastplate up to her chest, allowing her to cover up, and she frowned.

"Jeez, slow down, will ya?"

You're the one who stripped like you were ripping off a band-aid, I thought, but as I moved the armor away from her, a panicked look crossed her face, and she quickly covered her breasts with her hands.

I smirked, and she shot me a glum look.

"I saw this going differently in my head," she said, a little dejectedly, and I chuckled as she turned her back to me.

I took a step towards her, and she jumped a little as I placed a hand gently on her back, but as I let my fingertips trail down to her shoulder blade, I traced the outline of the bone along her back, suddenly noticing the firmness, and toned nature of the muscles around it.

"You don't need to force yourself to act like... whatever that is," I said, and she sighed.

"You say that, but I'm falling behind the competition, you know? I let you go off with Cameron that one time, and..." her words trailed off, as her shoulders slumped.

"I guess there is no use in hiding this... since you'll find out sooner or later."

"You like her," she stated plainly, and as I laughed in response, she turned her head a little, to study me.