Chapter5
994 Words
Raine was speechless. She had no intention of indulging the man’s tantrum.
So she simply turned her back to him, closed her eyes, and leaned against the tree trunk, tuning out his constant muttering.
The tattooed man was clearly on edge.
Then again, so was everyone.
The constant threat of death hanging over their heads had pushed every single person to the brink. Add the food and water shortage into the mix…
Even the calmest mind would crack eventually.
Raine’s gaze darkened at the thought. She pulled the sharp stone from her coat and began carving at the ground again, sketching and scraping as if drawing something out of thin air.
Midnight had fallen when the man suddenly dropped a verbal bomb:
“Give me your water. We need resource management. Fair distribution.”
Raine paused. There it was.
He was after their water.
Everyone knew he was out of water.
She and No. 2 still had half a bottle.
Share it, and poof—suddenly his supply magically grows.
How convenient.
And it wasn’t even guaranteed they’d get it back once they handed it over.
No. 2 looked uneasy. She and Raine exchanged a glance—both wary, both alert.
Raine said nothing, pressing her lips together.
No. 2 gave her bottle a squeeze and instinctively hid it behind her back, forcing a shaky smile.
“No need, man. I can manage mine just fine.”
The man’s face turned grim. He stared at her in silence, the tension in his jaw speaking louder than words.
Of course he wasn’t going to let it go. His supply was gone—he wouldn’t last long without water. That desperation had already darkened his eyes.
He had to get their water before they reached the main group.
“I said, hand it over.”
His tone softened, almost coaxing now, like bait on a hook. “It’s just centralized management.”
Clever phrasing—gave himself an excuse, left a back door open. If he got the water, he could still act like he was being reasonable.
But No. 2 wasn’t buying it. She gripped her bottle tighter, unmoving.
The standoff dragged on until the man finally lost his patience. He lunged forward and tried to yank the bottle from her hand.
No. 2 held on with everything she had—and when that failed, she bit down hard on his arm.
Her teeth sank deep, drawing blood, leaving a red, jagged imprint.
The man gasped in pain, then erupted in fury. “You b***h!”
He grabbed her by the hair and slammed her to the ground, grinding her face into the dirt in brutal retaliation.
The blow left No. 2 dazed, her grip loosening. The bottle slipped from her hand.
The man seized it immediately. Even then, he wasn’t satisfied—he spat in her face.
“You just had to push me, didn’t you? I tried to be reasonable!”
With that, he turned his back and set his sights on Raine.
Raine’s stomach sank. He was about to do the same to her.
Sure enough, he walked toward her with that twisted smile, like a predator who’d already picked out his next meal.
Just as he reached for her—
“You can have it,” Raine said calmly, tossing her bottle at his feet.
He blinked. That… wasn’t what he expected.
He picked up the bottle, suspicious, inspecting it closely. Still half full.
Relieved, he sneered at her. “Guess you’re not stupid after all.”
Raine lowered her eyes but said nothing. Shadows moved behind her lashes.
Of course she hadn’t drunk the water.
She was going to get it back.
Satisfied, the man gathered both bottles and moved away, settling behind a thick dead tree—far enough to keep the water out of reach.
Raine looked away and resumed grinding her stone.
No. 2 sat slumped on the ground, her eyes seething with hatred as she stared at him.
He had her water now. That meant he held her life in his hands. Of course she hated him.
But when she saw Raine calmly give up her bottle, something didn’t add up.
Why wasn’t this girl angry? Why so composed? Did she have another plan?
A strange thought took root in her mind.
Raine was smart. Maybe she had something up her sleeve.
The idea helped her regain a little calm. She decided to wait and see.
All night, No. 2 kept stealing glances at Raine.
But Raine just kept scribbling with that stupid rock. Nothing suspicious at all.
Had she imagined it?
Just as she started to doubt herself, Raine's voice cut through the silence.
“No. 2.”
Raine crept over and crouched beside her, whispering low: “Come with me. I need to pee.”
Her voice was soft but loud enough for the man to catch.
He immediately glanced over, suspicious.
But when he saw Raine had left her bag behind, his wariness faded. He snorted.
“Pathetic. Can’t even pee alone.”
Raine ignored him. She looked at No. 2 again. “Can you?”
No. 2’s eyes lit up. This was perfect—she had things to ask.
“Sure, sure. I’ll go with you.”
She got up and followed Raine into the woods.
Once out of earshot, she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“That bastard,” she hissed. “Stealing our water is no different than killing us slowly!”
She turned to Raine, voice tight with worry. “What do we do now?”
“Get it back.” The dim red light filtering through the trees cast shadows across Raine’s face, half-obscured, unreadable.
“Easy for you to say. He’s stronger than us. We can’t fight, can’t steal. What else is there?”
She scowled. “What, you want to kill him?”
Raine stared at her. Silent. Then said, flatly:
“Why not?”
- Writer
