“Not funny,” I said.
We got started, heading south through the balmy forest. Samuel took the lead, using nothing more than a compass to strike a course south. Hopefully, no one saw or heard our entrance last night. It was possible that the storm had completely masked our entry.
We entered the first line of trees. At points, the undergrowth grew so thick that Anna had to use her beloved katana to cut it down. She was strong and fit, but even she could not keep that up forever. After an hour, we had only gone about a mile.
At midday, we paused for a quick lunch of chicken sandwiches before moving on again. The day that had begun warm was now sweltering. It must have been in the nineties. It was hard to believe it was wintertime. In California, it was probably well below freezing. Even if Mexico was farther south, something just didn’t feel right about this heat.
At last, the jungle broke, revealing a stream that ran quick and silvery over smooth stones. Green moss grew on its banks, soft under our feet. The stream veered south. Since that was the direction we were headed, we decided to splash through the water and follow its course. Our speed easily increased by a factor of two.
The thick canopy of green cast verdant shadows on the forest floor, lighting meadows and trees with an emerald hue. Bugs flew in giant clouds. Mosquitoes bit as we passed a bog. It was my first time to be bitten by one, and it was a shame Ragnarok couldn’t have taken care of them, too. My sweat clung to my shirt, and still, we pressed on. As the stream deepened, we were forced to the side. Thin rivulets fed the water’s flow, broadening it. We had to head back into the thick forest again, and we were back to the same slow crawl we were at before.
Mercifully, around late afternoon, the trees broke, and we saw our first sign of civilization.
A huge tract of land, growing corn, filled my entire vision. The corn rose in green stalks, and here and there I could see workers, stooped down and working the fields. No, not workers. Slaves. Walking between the hunched bodies were their drivers, men in wide-brimmed hats with whips tethered to their belts. Across the fields was a low, circular wall, and within were buildings and lines of smoke rising into the blue sky. Several blood red flags whipped in the breeze.
We ducked back into the forest, before anyone could see us.
“Welcome to the Empire,” Makara said.
“What now?” I asked.
Samuel paused a moment. “We can’t just come out of the woods like this. It’ll look suspicious.”
“Maybe just a couple of us could go in,” Anna said. “Pose as traders from the Wasteland, or something. Could be a way to get some info.”
“Sounds risky,” Samuel said. “We are technically at war with the Empire. It might be best to try and make it all the way to Nova Roma without being seen at all. When we get to the capital there will be so many people that we’ll escape notice.”
“Do we have enough food for that?” I asked.
“We can travel at night,” Samuel said. “Less people around. If we need food, we can steal it.”
“Won’t all that look suspicious, though?” Makara asked. “We’ll be mistaken for escaped slaves.”
“Our goal is to make it Nova Roma,” Samuel said. “We’re not trying to make friends here. If we have to steal, or even kill, to get there, we all will do so…without hesitation.”
None of us said anything as his words sunk in. Through the trees, I could still see the wooden wall of the settlement, distant.
“Now would be a good time to find a spot to camp,” Samuel said. “We can catch some sleep and continue on through the night.”
We trekked further upriver, toward a clearing we had passed on the journey down. There, we set up camp, making some lean-tos out of some rope and tarps we had packed. We had a cold dinner — sandwiches again, before settling down to sleep with just an hour of sunlight left.
When night came, I was still wide awake. I wasn’t sure how long Samuel planned on having us sleep, but I didn’t feel tired at all. It was absolutely miserable with the humidity, the heat, and the bugs. I was already not liking this Empire place, and longed for my bed back at Skyhome.
As the sky darkened, stars began to appear. Ashton had been right; the meteor fallout from Ragnarok did not affect this area as much. It felt strange to sleep under a sky that was not much different from what my grandparents would have seen.
The clearness of the night caused it to cool off quickly. Soon, it was not so unbearable, and even the bugs mostly went away. The stars twinkled by the thousands.
Everyone else around me was sound asleep. Yet still, something just wouldn’t let me relax. I didn’t know what it was. As time passed, my feeling of unease grew worse, until I felt ready to wake everyone else up.
I touched Samuel’s shoulder, next to me. His eyes opened in an instant.
“What is it?” he asked.
Everything was still. The insects had gone away — because the night was cooling off, or for some other reason?
The answer came soon enough when people ran out of the forest, right for us.
We didn’t have time to react before I was trapped in a tangle of net. I tried clawing myself out, but to no avail. We were surrounded on all sides. Makara or Anna screamed, I wasn’t sure which in the darkness.
I rolled on the ground, only ensnaring myself further in the net. Gunshots went off, lighting the forest like bursts like lightning.
I reached for my Beretta, but was so ensnared that I couldn’t reach it. Then, I remembered my knife. Madly, I reached for it, and began slashing at the rope entangling me. I hacked, again and again, fighting my way out of the snare. Finally, I punched free, crawling forward into the darkness.
I was the only one free - the others around me were locked into place. The men did not have flashlights, and did not at first notice that I was free. I used this to my advantage, crouching low and heading for Samuel first, since he was closest. His eyes widened upon seeing me crawl next to him. I began cutting through his binds.
A large hand grabbed me by the shoulder, pulling me back with a snarl. I tried to wrench myself free of the man’s grip, but another pair of hands grabbed me and threw me on the ground.
But by this time, Samuel had slinked out of the net. He fired two times, and the man gripping me screamed. I felt his hand loosen, and I ran forward, out of his grasp. I reached for my Beretta, still holstered on my belt.
I drew it, pointing it into the darkness. Samuel and I were alone. From the forest ahead, I heard both Makara and Anna screaming, and the shouts of our attackers. Accompanying the screams was a rustling, dragging sound, leading away from our position. They were fleeing.
That was when I noticed two large men barring our path. They had stayed behind to make sure we didn’t follow. I could see each was holding a knife that glinted in the darkness.
Quickly, I brought up my gun, but not fast enough. One of the men charged forward, swiping it aside. It landed on the ground a few feet away and was obscured by darkness. As Samuel grappled with the other attacker, my own adversary advanced, stabbing toward me. I dodged. One of the girls screamed again, more distant. We had to take care of these guys, fast. And I had no way to reach my gun without leaving myself open.
The man took another jab at me. I jumped backward, my back slamming against a tree. Wincing, I dodged once more when the man came at me again. His knife plunged into the tree’s bark. Cursing in Spanish, he struggled to wrest it free.
I didn’t waste another moment. I took my own knife, slashing wildly toward him. My blade connected to his arm. He screamed, and I felt his warm blood splatter on my hand. He staggered away, meaning to run. His back turned to me, the rest was easy. I jumped him, sending him crashing to the earth. With gritted teeth, I pinned him and gave him a deep gash in his throat. Blood spewed out, his scream silenced by my blade. His body grew still under me as what was left of his life ebbed away.
Right next to his body was my gun. I grabbed it, and turned to help Samuel, who was still going hand-to- hand with his adversary. I ended the fight quickly by placing my gun on the back of the man’s head. He paused in shock right before I shot. His body fell forward, sprawling on the ground.
Samuel looked at me with wide eyes. He picked up his own handgun from the ground, and charged away in
