Elliot
The quartet stared at the three people for a moment.
One girl looked at the three with a mix of pity and disdain; her hair was completely white, as was her skin, and her eyes an almost translucent red sent shivers through Elliot, in addition to elongated ears.
She was not human, yet she had such a unique beauty that the boy was hypnotized for a moment, until he realized he had been staring too long and made the girl look away.
"We should be the ones asking what you are doing here, or rather, who you are"
A girl as short as Cass was pointing a piece of wood at the three boys; she had slanted eyes, wore glasses, and had black hair that reached her shoulders.
Elliot found her accent strange the first time she spoke.
"Wait a minute, are you Japanese?"
"We asked first! You'd better identify yourselves, or things will get ugly for you"
She waved the piece of wood threateningly, which was more comical than menacing.
"My name is Cassius, cutie; that's Noah, and this gloomy kid here is Elliot"
The short girl looked at Cassius with contempt.
"Why is he shirtless? And why are all three covering their faces?"
Elliot got up from the floor, still a bit breathless; he removed his mask, and his friends followed his example.
"I used my shirt to make the masks, that's why I'm like this"
He looked a little embarrassed at his exposed skinny body.
"And we are wearing masks because the monsters outside release poisonous clouds"
"You are kind of idiots"
Cass and Elliot were stunned, Noah helped the smaller girl stand while the darkest of the three felt insulted and at the same time wanted to kick the short girl's wooden stick.
"You interrupted me"
"You should never give your real names to anyone; you must always use a nickname, I'm Pochi, that elf or whatever she is i nicknamed Pearl, and the strange boy I call C3pa"
Elliot finally looked at the last member of the group a boy who didn't seem older than twelve, with messy green hair, copper-looking bronzed skin, one blind eye and the other black.
When noticed, the boy stood up and stared at the trio.
"Boy?"
Elliot found the kid's tone strange, it sounded as if he were merely repeating words without understanding them.
"He and the elf don't speak our language"
Elliot nodded; Noah lay down on the floor.
"Can we rest here? We found two of those monsters"
Pochi agreed and Noah fell asleep immediately, Elliot always envied Noah's ability to sleep whenever he wanted.
"Why shouldn't we tell others our names?"
Pochi shrugged at Cass's question.
"No idea; I only know that when I tried to say my name to those two weirdos, they gestured for me to stop"
"That's enough for me. Elliot, I'll sleep too"
Cass patted the dark-haired boy on the shoulder, leaving him alone on watch in case that trio decided to do something strange.
The redhead cast a final look at Pochi before falling asleep as quickly as Noah.
"Lucky"
"Aren't you going to sleep with your friends?"
Elliot pointed to the dark circles under his eyes.
"No, I have insomnia problems; also, sorry, but I still don't trust you"
"Okay, I don't trust you either, so we're even"
Pochi approached Pearl and C3pa; Elliot decided to follow her.
The elf watched them approach while the green-haired boy looked at his own hand, despite it being odd, Elliot didn't mind much.
"So they don't speak our language?"
"No, but the strange boy seems to be learning; the elf doesn't even try, for some reason"
C3pa stopped looking at his hands and finally faced the approaching pair.
"Hello"
"Oh—hi, C3pa, I'm... Flush"
"Out of all names you picked that? What nonsense"
"What!? It's an excellent name, even if not everyone likes poker, especially in this world"
C3pa didn't seem to care about Elliot's introduction; he just stared expressionless.
"Looks like he didn't understand me"
"What did you expect? He's still learning"
"It would be very advantageous if they spoke our language; we desperately need information, like about that pile of salt that blocked the monster's passage"
"Oh, that? It's not salt, it's some strange powder that this boy took from his pockets when we were fleeing one of the monsters; he also drew some symbols, but they slowly vanished"
Elliot frowned at the girl.
"How much exactly do you know? The way you talk makes it seem like you know too much about this place"
"I only know what I've deduced by observing those two"
Pochi pointed to the pair, who seemed to be having a silent conversation with their hands, making many signs.
"That's what happens when you spend too long in an extremely dangerous place with two people who don't even speak your language, you learn stuff"
"Fair enough, and why do those two seem to communicate in sign language?"
Pochi shrugged.
"No idea; they only talk like that, maybe it's the normal language of where we are"
Elliot scratched his chin, he wanted to ask something directly to the two strangers, but a shirtless, bloodied boy was not a very trustworthy sight.
After thinking for a while, Elliot sighed.
"Damn, well, if anything happens we'll be here, at least for now, do you have any food or water?"
Elliot's throat was starting to feel dry; Pochi smiled maliciously.
"How would I know? Those two who take care of me, C3pa won't let me get close to the girl or her backpack"
"I see"
Abandoning any risky attempt to get food or water, Elliot went back to where his companions lay and took watch.
Hours passed quickly for Elliot; he had much to think about, and to form a plan he needed to gather everything he had learned so far.
He was probably talking to himself because he noticed several worried glances from Pochi in his direction.
With a plan still forming, Noah woke up; he looked around until he noticed the surroundings and Elliot.
"It wasn't a dream; we really are in this dangerous place?"
Elliot nodded; Noah merely sighed and began his stretches; Elliot decided to imitate him, he needed his body in the best condition possible for his plan.
"So, Elliot, what's the plan?"
"First of all, call me Flush, and whenever we're near other people we can't use our real names"
"Understood, then I'll be Pair"
Elliot didn't even need to explain why he was using another name, they both already understood the situation and were adapting as much as possible.
The boy cleared his throat; he hadn't expected Noah to follow his poker-inspired name idea, he hated gambling.
Elliot explained the simple yet clever plan he had devised.
"It's going to be risky, very risky, but it's better than staying here waiting for the end"
And what about those three?
Elliot shrugged.
"They can come if they want"
Noah immediately went to invite the strange trio; Elliot gaze returned to the strange elf. Something nonhuman lives here, could we be on another planet?
A wind on his right cheek disturbed the boy enough to break his concentration; when Elliot turned toward the strange breeze he noticed it was actually Cassius's breath.
After falling to the floor from the scare, Elliot looked at him irritated.
"Dude! What the hell!?"
"You like her, don't you?"
Noticing Elliot's confused expression, Cass felt forced to elaborate.
"The cosplayer—the white-haired elf with the odd personality!"
Even speaking quietly to the redhead, Elliot still looked nervously to the side; seeing that the trio was busy listening to Noah and not paying attention to what was happening beside Elliot, the boy let out a relieved sigh.
"What the hell are you talking about, man? We're in a dangerous place, risking death, and that's what your mind is thinking about? Whether I like someone or not?"
Cassius shrugged.
"You have to enjoy yourself while you're alive, especially if you don't know whether you'll survive to have your first kiss or not"
Elliot made an ugly face.
"I've kissed someone before!"
"Good for you"
Upon realizing whose voice it was, Elliot muttered curses in his mind; Pochi stood behind the boy accompanied by Pearl and C3pa.
Of course, behind them the tall figure of Noah was visible.
"Ahem, I imagine Pair has already explained my plan to you, Cass raised an eyebrow"
"Pair?"
Elliot stood and grabbed Cassius's arm.
"I'll explain on the way, but first, whose phone of ours are we going to sacrifice?"
Cass was still very confused.
Noah took his phone without hesitation and handed it to Elliot.
"If it's necessary for our survival, then it's a small price"
Elliot held the device for a while and breathed deeply; he should have already left the room to start the first phase of the plan, but how could he?
All his courage left him just remembering the creature he had killed; a hand touched his shoulder.
"Leave it to me, Elliot. Last time I was the one who fell into the creature's trap, it's only fair I take the risk this time"
Elliot bit his lip and handed the phone back to its owner.
Noah would be the bait.