No Man's Town

Chapter 2: False Hope (Part 1)

"Tell us about the camp."

"Can I tell you my name first?" Aljar paused with the question. "My name is Yui. I'm not sure where my origin is. I've been traveling ever since I can remember. As I said earlier, I arrived here a few days ago."

"Aljar is my name, this is my sister Nori. Can you share your info now?"

"Impatient, I see," Yui said as she nods her head to herself. "Okay, so let me start with the camp's founder."

"I'm all ears," Aljar said as he sits up straight. His sister sits next to him after she gets a bowl of soup for herself. She joined her brother in listening to Yui's talk.

"The founder of this camp is Fujima, you definitely saw him already as he's the one who leads the newbies to II, the one who tattoos our Romans."

"This place used to be an empty soldier training camp. Until Fujima decided to turn this into a juvenile camp. I'm not sure about the whole details on how they come up with that idea. No one really knows. They started taking refugees. With their growing number, they started to implement some rules. There's a total of five golden rule here:

Number one, everyone in the camp must have a Roman number tattooed on their left arm. That symbolizes that the camp officially accepted you as a member.

Number two, everyone must participate in either farming, harvesting, hunting, or distributing our food provision.

Number three, no violence inside the camp.

Number four, one must not share their real name except the camp leader—Fujima. You may use your Roman number as your identification. No one has a duplicate Roman after all.

Number five, going out is strictly prohibited."

"What you just said are simply the rules here. I'm hoping for some useful information about the camp itself," Aljar said as he takes a sip from his bowl.

"I said those first, so you'll know. I'll share some information now."

"You're so impatient," Nori whispered to her brother, which he ignored.

"Okay..." Yui finishes her bowl first before continuing. "First, camp's protection is seriously weak. You those outside watchers and gate guards, right? That's all we have here. They're the best people in terms of fighting and they put all out there. If they fall, the whole camp will fall."

"How do you know they're the best in fighting?" Nori asked.

"They're Amazons. When the man-hunting creatures attacked their town, they had no choice but to move places. Until they ran into this place. They will be given a portion of free food, shelter—tents, and clothes. All in exchange for the security they can give in the people here."

"Give and take, I see," Nori commented.

"Wait," Aljar raises his left hand to catch Yui's attention. "They're all sss? Those outside watchers and gatekeepers?"

"Yes."

"That means they're all young women?"

Yui slightly tilts her head in this question, "Yes, of course."

Hearing this and finally realizing where the conversation is going, Nori stops eating her food. "They're supposed to be all young women?" she repeated in disbelief.

"Is something wrong?" their reactions started to confuse Yui.

"The outside watcher who led us until the gates was a lad," Aljar stated.

"A lad?" Yui's eyes widen. "That's impossible! How come..." she doesn't know what to say.

"Calm down. I can tell he's not an enemy, so I think we can rest assured for a while. Though, his story and real identity will remain a mystery."

"You're not that bothered with him?"

"Aren't the man-hunting creatures the most bothersome here."

"That's...true," Yui nods as she agrees on Nori's statement.

"Aside from those, any other information?" Aljar butted in.

Yui paused for a moment to think, "There's something that's been bothering me ever since I arrived here."

"And that is?"

"The fact at how they easily accept people. Don't get me wrong, I'm against it. I just find it too simple? I mean, when someone arrives, they just accept them without question. They give them everything: food, clothing, shelter. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I wonder about that as well. Did we just have a rough and tough life outside the camp? Or things are just plain too easy in here."

Their conversation was cut-off when someone announced that everyone should hurry up with their meal, set their tents up, as the sunset is near.

"You should put off the fire. Put this meal in any container you have. Before nighttime arrives, no light should be seen. It's to prevent attracting nocturnal man-hunting creatures."

"Yes, we understand."

"We know." Nori glared at her brother. The way he talks to Yui irritates her. Aljar doesn't seem to care.

"Where's your tent?" Nori changed the subject.

"Oh, I'm sharing the tent with XXI and XXII," Yui answered as she stands up.

"I thought you're alone?" Nori puts off the fire while still talking to her. Aljar is busy tidying up their things outside.

"Yes. That's why I'm sharing a tent. Each tent has a capacity of three-person, maximum. To save more space, I asked to share the tent with others. I'm scared to sleep alone, after all."

"I see. You should get going now," Nori stands up.

"Yes, I'll see you again tomorrow." She smiles at them before rushing towards where their tent is.

"Weird girl."

"What's so weird about her?" Nori retorted.

"Everything," Aljar said firmly. "Get inside already. It's best to position ourselves inside while they're still some light coming through."

Nori had no choice but to follow her brother. He's suspicious of everything but he can't hate this side of him, as this is one of the reasons while they're still alive.

Inside the tent, they both do the Indian sit. Their backs touching one another with Aljar facing the entrance of the tent. This is how they rest at night; they can't put their guard down wherever they are. Both of them are holding sharp objects, it's as if they're reading to attack anything that might jump on them.

"Nori."

"Hm?"

"Let's stay here for about five days. Then, let's escape."

"Five days?"

"One provision can last an entire day for both of us. If we stayed here for five days, we could get thirty days' worth of food."

"Won't they notice it though? That we aren't using the provision they're giving."

"That's why I reserve the first provisions that we got. I barely cook anything earlier. We can use those two sacks for the next five days. Just let me handle the cooking so I can do my trick."

"Sure. If that's what you think."

"Also..."

"What?"

"We should find that lad from earlier when we escape."

Nori slightly moves her head sideward, "What? Why?"

"He might just be useful."

"You really like using people for your own benefit."

"It's for us to survive."

The siblings went into complete silence after all the planning that they had. It was Aljar who broke that silence.

"Sleep first, I'll wake you up after two hours."

"Okay."

This is how they sleep, taking turns. They can't both fall asleep at the same time. They really can't let their guard down, not even for a minute. Slowly, the inside of the tent started to darken. The small light that's coming through from the outside is starting to fade. Nighttime is drawing closer.

Silence. Complete darkness. Amidst all this, a startling sound and shaking of ground wake everyone. An attack is happening.

"Nori!"

"I'm awake." They both carry their belongings and holds their weapons tightly.

Aljar leads their movement. He slowly peeks outside the tent. He halts, stretches his left arm so Nori will stop as well. An average man-hunting creature is right outside their tent. They both hold their breath. Minimizing any possible sound that can be heard.

A loud scream from the outside caught its attention, while it's distracted, they sneakily escape from the tent. With light footstep, they went into hiding behind a big tree near their tent.

"What should we do?" Nori asks quietly.

"Observe. Watch my back, I'll have yours." Aljars answered back as quietly as he can as well.

Nori clenches her teeth as numerous screaming can be heard coming from different directions. She should bear it; she can risk her life for others. She swallowed, no matter how many times it happens, it's still difficult at times like this.

While Nori being alert and guarding the rear, she notices something. It's vague but she can tell that those are a group of people. She grabs her brother's clothes without looking at him.

"They're escaping."

"Who?"

"Fujima."