"What...? Where?"
I can't believe that's the first question to leave my lips. There's no need to ask what. It's obvious what he's asking of me, and why. But for some reason I blurt it anyway.
The man doesn't answer me, and his expression remains stony and flat. He looks back at me impassively. "...Please come. You must hurry." His tone brooks no argument.
But...
My stomach turns. "Where are you taking me?"
He stares at me silently, as though weighing something. His gaze flicks over me and then away.
"Come with me and you'll find out."
That.
Is so suspicious, and so scary.
What does he even mean by that?! And why is Eric just standing here, letting this guy take me off into the woods in the middle of the night?! Shouldn't I wake Mia up or something?
...If it wasn't for Eric standing there, I wouldn't trust this man at all.
But Eric is, and he's not acting like I'm about to be murdered.
He just watches the older man with a wary expression, like he wants to see what he's about before he says anything else.
And then the older man looks at him and frowns.
"We have little time. If she won't come with..." The man begins. "Then I must leave without either of you."
...Either of us?
Eric purses his lips, looking between the two of us, and sighs, finally. "Sarah, this isn't the time or place to explain. But I promise it's okay."
I blink and look up at him, my eyes widening. "...Okay?"
"Just come along." Eric urges.
...He's so calm. This is all so strange.
I don't understand.
But he's sure.
He trusts the older man. It's written in his face.
And...
...And he hasn't been wrong so far, has he?
He's not perfect. He makes mistakes sometimes. But...
...He doesn't want me to die or to be hurt, either. I trust him enough to follow his lead.
I'm not sure what it means to go with him and the other guy, or why I should. I'm not sure where we're even going.
But if it's what Eric says I should do, then I guess it's the right thing. At least for the moment.
So...
I swallow.
"But the watch..."
"It is safe. Come." The older man urges. He gestures for me to follow him and starts to move away, walking through the woods.
"Come on, Sarah. I'll explain everything once we get there. But right now, we gotta hurry up and get outta here."
Eric starts following, and he doesn't even hesitate or slow down to make sure that I'm keeping pace. He's just expecting me to follow, trusting that I'll keep up.
And I do. I jog to keep up, and then walk beside him. I glance at the old man, who leads the way, but doesn't seem to have a light, or a flashlight, or anything like that to guide him.
How is he so sure where he's going?
"Where's there?" I ask Eric quietly, voice barely above a whisper. "Are you going to explain?"
"...There are other people like us. Who haven't given up."
The older man shushes us. "We cannot talk about that here. We're not far from the others."
We follow the old man for what feels like an hour through the forest.
Eventually, the forest thins out and we come across a small clearing, where there's a campfire burning brightly in the middle of the clearing, casting long shadows on the ground all around us. There are about twenty other men and women gathered around it. Some are dressed in simple clothes that are tattered and dirty. Others are wearing what looks like a mix of military gear and alien tech, all looking well-used and battered. There's even someone in full body armor that's obviously seen better days. Most of the others look like they're between thirty and forty years old, but there are some that look much younger than that.
None who look much younger than me, though.
It seems like the only ones they recruited were teenagers or older. I wonder how old the youngest person here is.
"Is this the one, Ivan?"
The voice that calls out is deep and rumbling, coming from a large, burly man. His hair is shaved short and his face is clean-shaven, and he's got a scar running down his left cheek. He's wearing a t-shirt under a flak jacket that's torn up and dirty. I think he might be ex-military.
"Is this her?" The big man asks again when neither Eric nor I answer.
Eric clears his throat and steps forward, nodding. "Yes sir. My name's Eric. I'm from Florida." He introduces himself.
The man looks Eric up and down. He seems unimpressed. Then he looks over at me.
I gulp and shift uncomfortably, feeling my skin prickle beneath the scrutiny of his gaze. I've never been good under pressure. And I feel like this guy is gonna judge me just for existing. "My name is Sarah."
He nods at me and then back at Eric. "You're the one who made contact last week?"
Eric gives a short nod, hand on his hip. "...Yeah, that's me."
"Did someone tell you about us?" The man squints. He's suspicious, that much is obvious, even to me.
Eric shakes his head. "It was wishful thinking that got lucky." He explains, simply. "...I knew I couldn't be alone in hating them, wanting to do something, anything. I figured there might be more of me. And I was right, it turns out."
The man hums, stroking his chin. "And how many more are with you?"
Eric hesitates.
"There's four of us in total, I guess." He answers after a moment's thought.
I shift awkwardly, scanning the group.
Would Hestia be able to be any help and fit in here...?
Then again, would I? I'm the worst at anything out of our group. The most useless.
The man grunts and then nods at me. "Good enough." His attention shifts back to Eric. "Come sit. The aliens rest heavily during this part of the night, so we have time to speak."
I'm still not sure what's going on here.
But it doesn't seem like anyone's gonna tell me anything, either.
So I guess all I can do is sit and listen to them talk for now.
And try not to ask too many questions.