Chapter 20: Chapter 20: eting is Inevitable
She was relieved beyond belief to hear his voice again. Unconsciously, she found herself associating his presence with safety more than she ever did with Derrick. It wasn't hard to imagine why; Noah was selfish and strong, unlikely to put himself in harm's way for soone else or make rash decisions based on others' opinions.
The relief of being safe instantly vanished after discerning what he said. It made her not only relive the traumatic experience again, but it also made her realize sothing more important.
"You... you could've... saved... Derrick..."
Her voice ca out hoarse and strained, making it a struggle to form her words against the dryness of her throat. Noah found it slightly annoying since now it was taking her longer just to speak, and even more so because he could barely understand what she was trying to say.
He considered advising her to stop talking and was about to retrieve one of the bottles of water from his bag for her, lest he goes insane from her annoyingly hoarse voice. However, he realized that she had fallen asleep; the constant fear and trauma she experienced had drained her too much. Now that she was safe again, her body had to shut down to recuperate from the emotional and ntal stress.
"Well, I guess that works too...you plan on sleeping as well or should w-"
His words trailed off as he turned towards his spider companion, only to find it no longer moving. Originally, he was concerned that maybe he pushed it too far. No one but the spider knew how much effort was put into jumping such a large distance and pulling itself back with its own web. It now 'sat' near the trunk of the tree,its legs tight tucked in underneath itself. With spiders lacking eyelids, it made for an awkward sight as its eyes remained open even as it slept. The lack of pupils made the atmosphere even more uncomfortable, its eyes always appeared as if it was watching you.
Noah's initial instinct was to rush over and check on it, since if he didn't know any better, he would assu it to be dead or at the very least, dying. Thankfully, the bond was there to help him make out sowhat that the spider was only resting.
"Phew! Maybe that's how everyone else feels when soone close to them dies; man, that's a little bit too uncomfortable for my taste. I guess I'll have to keep watch then...hopefully, that bird goes away soti soon."
He was unsure how long they would remain trapped under the trees, but for now, he didn't mind waiting. Having the bird circle them continuously kind of benefited as a temporary guardian. Its presence alone should be able to ward off most animals, even those who had evolved greatly like his spider and the bird alike. Although he doubts any of the mindless zombies would care about the figure in the sky as long as they could eat it then they would gladly 'die' trying.
...
As ti passed, Noah and his small group were able to get a short ti of peace. In the anti, the first hostile group he encountered, led by Mark, was able to achieve their goal. Unlike Noah who was a loner, Mark held a 'hero's' persona, leading him to choose the route of saving as many people as possible along the way.
From a small group of four, it grew to fifteen by the ti he reached the dormitory. Mark was already strong in his own right, especially given the power of his first achievent. However, even though he now had a much larger group, there was a clear divide between the useful mbers and the leeches who didn't contribute and made it evident that they followed only for his protection. Yet the few who did contribute lightened the load on him imnsely. Surprisingly, the 'leeches' still proved to be useful in their own way, they proved to be effective distractions.
Currently, Mark and his original group sat in the common area of the girls' dormitory, joined by another fairly large party led by a female. An uncomfortable silence filled the room. Despite the ongoing chaos that sounded outside it barely had any effect on the mood among the students inside.
Minutes passed without a change while the two groups seed to be awaiting for soone to break the silence. The heavy atmosphere was soon broken by the sound of tal constantly tapping against the floor, the rate at which it was being tapped increased, reflecting the frustration of the one responsible for the noise.
"Why do we have to hide? We've been given these powers for a reason! We should be getting stronger and then we can save even more! Jas...I just can't agree with it..."
The repeated clunking sound stopped after the source of that sound finally spoke.
Mark had finally found his sister and unsurprisingly to him, he found her in one piece and she seed to be adjusting to the situation just as well as he did.
But unlike Mark, she didn't beco overly prideful due to the powers they were giving. She's always had to be the responsible child and grew up to be the responsible adult, shouldering both hers and her little brothers burdens over the years. She felt that it was justified that Mark wanted to help others, but she also believed he wasn't ready to take on the responsibility. He was ready to bask in the glory of his deeds but he would also have to accept the responsibility for the bad that cos with being a leader. This is why she felt that they should secure an area and wait out for help.
Although her reasoning was sound, she couldn't say that to him directly, she knew that would question his pride and would only prove to make matters worse. Worst case scenario, he would try to prove her wrong and do everything by himself and worry her even more which is why they are in the position they are in now.
Mark impatiently looked onwards to his older sister, a frown mixed with a complicated gaze of deep thought.
His sister, Jas, short for Jasmine, also had similar jet black hair and brown eyes as he did. Unlike her brother, she hadn't gained entry to the school through sports; instead, she was known for her intellectual prowess. Standing tall at 5ft10
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