May Peace Grace Us

Chapter 63: Outside concerns

The forest was eerily calm as they slowly walked their way out. With them were four big rabbits, three squirrels, and one non-venomous snake whom they disturbed in its brumation. They were the result of this trip’s hunt and the prizes of the newly baptized hunters.

Bella said that the snake was encountered through bad luck. When they were fighting the rabbit, they accidentally stumbled into a snake's nest. It was of an anaconda variant and was big enough for them to cut their trip short. Most of the work was done by Bella, but their companions got a rare opportunity when they helped out to capture this prey.

Aila was able to let go of her regrets leaving an outstanding specimen to their hyenas because of the harvest of another reptile. Although this one is not as beautiful as the one that she killed, it was enough to make up for her regrets.

“This skin is top grade if the world is still normal.” Bella said as she touched and examined the quality of the snake’s skin. “Imagine how much leather this will make from its size.”

“A few pairs of shoes and a bag or two,” Aila replied. “But if the world is still normal, animals of this size will not even exist, you know?”

“Exist or not, it does not change anything that is in front of us.” Bella only hummed. “Anyway, this will be a good addition for our defense when the time comes. Leather is a good material for protective equipment.”

“Did you guys do something like that?” Aila asked with a silent ‘after she died back then’.

“Yes we did.” Bella was solemn as she answered Aila’s question. Even if Aila is fine and okay in front of her, she is still uncomfortable revisiting that particular memory. “I wish we had done them earlier so that that tragedy had not happened.”

“What is done is done.” Aila sighs as she says this. “We can make up some regrets this time around.”

“I intended to do that in the first place,” Bella said as her eyes turned to Aila. “This time you’re not meeting that guy at all.”

When the base was in sight, their group could not help rejoicing. Although they had not stayed out for long, the comfort of home and a safe place was a luxury they all intimately understood. That the world outside their protective home is dangerous and cruel and only their little piece of heaven can shelter them and provide for them.

But as they were aware of how scary the world is outside, the pioneering trainees know that they cannot stop improving themselves. If they fall behind the times, everything they know of will fall apart and they will be in another creature’s stomach. So they had to make efforts and persuade others not to be content and be lazy due to the warmth given to them. Only by their own efforts will they get better and truly root in the changed world.

When the patrols saw them, some of them came down from the walls and escorted them in. They helped them with their games and they found out that no one was hurt beyond their ability to mend. Soon, they temporarily placed them in a temporary quarantine area to make sure they did not bring anything harmful to the base.

The idea came from Travis who was obsessed with the microorganisms he observed under the lenses of the examples given to him. He quoted some theories and some real life examples as to how sickness and death were common due to what was stuck in them unknowingly. So he strongly recommended a quarantine of a day to a maximum of three days to ‘clean’ those who went out, depending on their wounds and length of time they are out. For them, they had to be there for 24 hours as a precaution.

Travis said that they had to go through this process for a while before they could make a machine or something to test them. Better yet formulate a better system of quarantine as they are building their machines. But better be cautious than be sorry, they say. Those who went out were happy about it though, a free day to legitimately be lazy around.

The games they got were accepted by those patrol men to be sent to the labs, while they were given some hot food to heat themselves with. The area they were in was not big nor was it small, but it was enough to house them all temporarily. A cosy place to stay, as in comparison to the cold and dark place the forest was.

Felix came by to assign them to their rooms as well as inform them of the arrangement of their food and basic needs. Everything is currently under unification after the zombie incident. Everyone was wary of someone doing mischief and harming others. So they temporarily made some changes just this morning at the people’s behest.

After he explained all that, Felix called Bella and Aila to stay with him for a while. He had something to discuss with them before he left.

“What is wrong?” Bella asked first as they went to a corner where there was a slight privacy for them.

“There was something Alexa wanted to let us all see, but with you two here we have to wait until you're out of here.” Felix said. “She said about radio messages from the national government or something.”

“Those bastards are actually still around?” Bella said thoughtfully. “I thought they had doomed themselves after they idiotically hid things until they became uncontrollable.”

“We thought of that too.” Felix's eyes held complicated emotions as he said this. “But they actually mobilized the military to create safe bases for survivors. I assume my family is way too busy doing what they are commanded to.”

“Are you worried they’ll find us?” Aila poked out as she saw a familiar worry in Felix’s eyes.

“Considering our numbers are not really great and we are not the most powerful, I’m afraid they could easily take us on,” Felix admitted. “You know how controlling most of our relatives are. I was lucky enough that my brother has worked hard to not let us be absorbed into the family teachings and do what we wanted in life.”

“Well, if your family find you, it will not be far for others to find the rest of us,” Bella coldly said. “I don’t intend to be back in that nest of vermin. Worry not, we’ll work on it after we are done with our quarantine.”

“It’s assuring that you say so.” Felix smiled brightly at Bella’s proclamation. “I’ll relay the message to the others after this.”

Exchanging a few more words, Felix left to return to his current tasks on the walls. Briefly informed them of him going to the greenhouse to help out with the plants. Subtly he asked them if there was some fruit or vegetable they wanted to add to their menu. Implying that he could sneak them out fresh should they want some.

Bella and Aila only shook their heads at the unusually lively Felix. Maybe, because he is now free from the pressures of life, he is not as strict as he used to be. It was a little unnerving to see him interact with them with such cheerfulness as they were used to him being like a grumpy, caring father, but at some point, this is also good too.

Finally, he is letting things go now.

“What do you say about this happening?” Bella asked as she escorted Aila to her room. “We are naturally blind about matters of the government, as we are mainly independent from bases in our last life. But in this life you have established this safe haven. It is bound to attract kinds of attention that are both good and bad.”

“I am aware of all this risk.” Aila only answered. “I did not just randomly help and build people out of nothing during the time I was still in the city. I will count on them to repay me when the time comes.”

“This method of yours is not really good,” Bella said as she frowned hearing that. “Sometimes, no matter how good you are to others, it does not mean they will also be good to you when things come crashing.”

“But it was the only way I had. Besides, if things get uncontrollable, I might have to rely on my relatives to back us. There are also father’s friends to help out if we have no other way,”Aila said with uncertainty in her voice. She is not confident in her connections either, but she hopes that before they had to be reliant on these relationships, they were strong enough not to be swayed by others. Not to mention the situation for her relatives, it is still relatively unknown for her to bother them. “For other things we can only do our best.”

“I see. We could only hope for the best for now.” Bella sighs as she bids Aila good night.