DARK STRAIN

a trip

Tom and Maximus did not have a good relationship, as they did not like each other, and Maximus had always warned Shizuna not to trust Tom because in his eyes he was just a barbaric thief who would not hesitate to use his fist instead of his mind, but Shizuna tried to create compatibility between them despite that, but she I failed each time, and they ended up hating each other more and more, so I gave up trying because it was hopeless.

Shizuna sat down at the small table to take a piece of paper and a pen, and then began writing a letter that might be the last for her big brother.

On a trip like this, she is not sure of her ability to send and receive messages, especially since she will move a lot, and she will not settle in one place for a long time.

It was already her last day in the city where she had spent most of her childhood.

She put the letter aside and began examining the stack of papers bearing rough sketches of the wanted persons.

Beneath the picture was a simple description of who they were and the type of their crimes, as well as the reward offered for their capture, whether they were alive or not. dead!

There were a total of fifteen wanted persons in that pile, and while you were reading slowly and checking their photos, the door suddenly opened for Tom to enter without knocking or taking the permission of the owner of the room.

He spoke with a smile as he put the food he had bought for her on the table:

We are leaving this evening, so take a break after lunch because the road will be long.. It will take us about a week to reach the exact place...

Is that the place where most wanted people gather...?

Mostly yes.. So we mean immediately after collecting the wanted posters.. But we will stop two or three times to get more supplies...

Tom was silent for a while before opening his mouth again, saying inquiringly:

Does that braggart know your destination...? you mean mac..? No, I didn't tell him my exact destination.. But I said goodbye to him before I left...

It's strange that he didn't stick to you like glue and let you go quietly.. This is not in his nature...

And while he was mocking Maximus; Shizuna gave him a disapproving look, because Tom was also initially opposed to the idea of her going alone, so he suggested that she join him and his companions.

He smiled awkwardly, then quickly stood up and said goodbye to her before leaving the room, as if she had finally caught him, so he ran away before causing himself more embarrassment.

Evening cast a shadow over the city, and the sun began to set softly, marking the end of another autumnal day.

The cart piled with food and water at the city limits was being carefully searched by the guards, and Shizuna was riding the same horse with Tom while sitting in front of him and looking around with her hood covering half her face, to check on the other comrades who each rode their own horse except for her.

Because she doesn't want to lose money for something she can't even use.

The inspection ended, and the guards stepped aside, allowing them to pass, except that one of them stopped Tom's horse, and ordered him to get off him to check on the person riding with him in the front.

There was calm for a moment before Tom gave him angry looks with a scowling face, his aura was enough to subdue the reluctant guard into a feud with a bounty hunter who is good at dealing with the most dangerous criminals and fugitives.

The guard swallowed his saliva to wet his dry throat, then he mustered his courage and pointed his sword at Tom in defiance, as if trying to prove his authority over him. Shizuna cursed in a whisper, saying:

Damn.. I thought they would get tired of looking for me.. but they also recruited guards to arrest me...!

Tom grabbed the horse's belt well after his companions gathered around him in an attempt to solve the problem with the situation, to kick the horse's stomach hard and set off in a race with the wind.

It was turned into mush by the maneuvers of the professional driver, who fortunately didn't cause the car to roll over despite the number of turns he drove at great speed.

The cold air of the evening lifted her cheeks, and made the hood of her robe bounce back, allowing her rebellious locks of hair to fly as if she were dancing with the wind.

The stars overhead pass by quickly and you feel the horse's hooves being dug hard into the ground and uprooted again. Their next destination was about two days away from the march using horses.

Tom and his companions used to pass by this road, so there were no problems in the walk, until they stopped at dawn to rest.

Shizuna was already fast asleep, and Tom had quietly got her down from the horse with his cloak on the floor for her to sleep on, and after a while she awoke to find that most of the comrades had gone to sleep under the shade of the trees in this dense forest.

Shizuna didn't know when they left the dirt road and entered the forest, she didn't even know when to stop and light a fire to keep warm because it was very cold in the morning due to the approaching winter, and they had to reach their next destination before it rained because the road would be muddy and slippery.

As for the horses, this will slow them down a lot. She took a little stroll around their camp to pass the time, for she was no longer sleepy after she had awoke, while Tom was resting under a tree whose shade was beginning to spread as the sun came up.