How far were they? Had Eric escaped? Ren kept asking himself the same questions, running without a break.
Then Karma fell, and Rita followed. They were exhausted from the run. Ren thought about leaving them behind and running on alone, but decided it was safer to stay together, and he stopped. They had probably escaped the Scorpion anyway, right?
They took a break under the setting sun, the sand burning less and less as the light faded. For the first time, Ren noticed how unnaturally fast the shift from heat to cold was, as the cool air settled around them and cleared their minds.
Then the silence was overtaken by grief.
Eric was dead, wasn't he?
Ren had always been somewhat aware of the danger they were in, but the sudden loss of someone he had started to open up to was like a rude awakening. They really were risking their lives.
Karma sat in silence, looking up at the stars. He seemed both calm and panicked. Was he thinking the same thing as Ren? Probably.
Rita didn't seem as affected, despite being the closest to Eric of them all. Was she hiding her sorrow, or was it because of her sudden change in attitude?
'Is that really Rita?'
The question surfaced once more in Ren's mind. He studied her carefully. Despite how strangely she was acting, she still looked the same.
"So.. he's really gone?" Karma said, breaking the silence.
Ren and Rita both stared at him. It was a dumb question. They had seen Eric get skewered by that monster. Yet they understood why he'd asked. It was still hard to believe.
Ren, especially, had never really had anyone in his life, and the feeling of loss was still alien to him.
No one answered, but the silence said it all.
"We have to move. We can't just stay here and mourn," Ren said, standing up. "Those «Defiled» won't let us."
Karma was about to protest, but Rita agreed with Ren at once.
"He's right. We have to move." She struggled to her feet. "We can grieve later."
Karma, frustrated, followed quietly as Ren and Rita walked away.
The wind was not as violent as before, allowing them to make decent progress, but there was still no base in sight.
How far were they? Would there be other challenges like the last one? If so, Ren feared it might be the end of them. After just one, the strongest member of their team was gone, and the rest of them were injured. His whole body ached from the fight. He shouldn't even be able to move.
That's when it hit him. How was he moving? He should be paralyzed, or at least very slow, yet he was walking at a rather decent pace.
'Did I get a skill..?' Ren theorized.
He wanted to check right away, but decided it was best to wait until their next break.
That break came sooner than expected, because Rita suddenly collapsed.
Ren caught her before she hit the ground.
"What the-"
"What's going on?!" Karma asked worriedly.
————
Rita was wrapped in layers of clothes, and Karma was taking care of her.
"I-I'm fine. I just used too much energy during that fight.. I'll be fine after a break," Rita reassured him.
"Then rest! You keep saying that, but you keep moving and pushing yourself, you dumbass!"
Karma was caring for her the way a big brother would care for his little sister. When had they gotten so close? Ren was curious but didn't ask. He just watched. He wasn't sure whether he should check on her too, so he decided to let Karma handle it.
'I should check my tablet..'
He summoned his stone tablet and looked for any changes.
[Name: Ren Gray]
[Title:]
[Skill: Instinct Lv 3, Primitive Stab Lv 2, Awkward Lockpicking Lv 1, Gotta Move! (weak) Lv1]
[Level of growth: 0]
[Achievements: 2]
[Gotta Move! (weak): This skill allows the user to (slightly) ignore injuries that would usually reduce mobility.
Rarity: Uncommon]
'So I did get a new skill! A bit weaker than I expected, but still very useful.'
Ren dismissed the tablet and lay down, finally letting the fatigue catch up with him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
————
"Wake up!" Rita shouted, shaking Ren.
"Ow! OW! I get it, let go!" Ren pushed her away, his whole body still in pain. "Damn it…"
He looked around and noticed it was still night.
"What- the day hasn't even come, and you're waking me up?!"
Rita let out a tired sigh.
"It did. We slept through it."
Ren froze.
"We what?!" he shouted, scanning the area for any predator.
"I woke up during the day, but I didn't have the strength to stay awake, so I fell right back asleep," Rita explained.
"We could have died! Why didn't we, actually?!" Ren said, still shocked by their carelessness, as his gaze fell on the still-sleeping Karma. "Wake up, you idiot!" he yelled in Karma's ear, shaking him awake.
————
After the commotion, Rita explained everything, even though it was fairly obvious. After Ren had fallen asleep, Karma had quickly done the same, against Rita's better judgment. She had tried to stay awake but had given in to exhaustion.
Ren shook his head. He couldn't blame them, since he had fallen asleep too.
"It's fine. Let's just move… We'll have to keep watch next time, though. We won't always get lucky."
"Okay, can you just help me up? My legs are still kind of wobbly…" Rita asked.
"Sure.." Ren said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet.
Despite their aching bodies, the group forced themselves to move.
Ren was still frustrated by what had happened, but something else weighed on his mind: food. Eric had been carrying most of it. They still had a decent amount of water for the three of them, as long as they rationed it, but they had almost no food left. They could barely hold on for three days before having to go on without eating, and they didn't even know how long they needed to walk before finding the base, or whether another trial awaited them before that.
Was this really what would kill them? Starvation?
Ren couldn't accept that.