Chapter 6: Of Blood and Blushes
The fog parted.
Five figures stood at the edge of the woods, draped in cloaks and armor that shimmered under the rising sun. Their faces were sharp, confident, alert—like they'd been surviving in this world for days, not hours.
Andrew and Mario, on the other hand, were… a mess.
Their clothes were torn, boots soaked in sewage, and both of them were splattered with zombie goo and dried blood. Andrew's green flame still flickered faintly in his palm like a dying sparkler.
"Travelers," said the girl at the front, stepping forward. "We're looking for a town. There's supposed to be one past this road. Have you seen anything that's not dead?"
Her voice was calm, direct—just like it was in school debates. Just like it was in Andrew's dreams.
He blinked. "…Caroline?"
She tilted her head. "Do I know you?"
Mario stepped closer too, squinting at the girl next to her. "Emma?"
"Wait," one of the other girls whispered to the tall blonde beside her. "Are these guys… bleeding?"
Andrew glanced at Mario, smirking.
"Well, Mario… seems like your lucky day. Your girl's here."
Mario elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Shut up."
Andrew winced. "Ow—battle damage, man!"
The girls looked at each other, still unsure.
Then Caroline's eyes narrowed. "…Andrew?"
Andrew gave a lazy salute. "At your service."
The group went silent. Then chaos erupted.
Emma shrieked. "Oh my God, you two look horrible! Are you even alive?!"
One of the other girls muttered, "How did they survive this long?"
Another laughed. "Did they do all this? Are they covered in blood or barbecue sauce?"
Andrew just stood there, letting them freak out, though behind his calm smile… Mario could see it.
The twitch of his hand. The flush in his cheeks. The way he wouldn't look Caroline directly in the eyes.
He was completely head over heels. He had been since ninth grade, when she beat him in a math contest and told him he was "surprisingly decent."
But Andrew, unlike Mario, kept it hidden. Too many walls. Too much ego.
"Don't say anything," Andrew muttered as they started walking.
"I didn't say anything," Mario replied, grinning.
"You were thinking it."
They moved as a group, finally together again, down a winding dirt path that led toward distant towers peeking over the trees—signs of a real, living town.
But the road wasn't peaceful.
As they rounded a bend, three men in ragged armor stepped out of the woods. Their weapons were rusted, but sharp. One had a crossbow. Another had scars all over his face. The last just smiled with too many teeth.
"Well, well," the leader growled. "Looks like we've got travelers. Pretty ones, too."
"Okay," Mario said, rolling his eyes. "We're not doing this whole bandit cliché thing, right?"
Andrew sighed. "We don't have time for this."
"Hand over your gear," the second man barked. "And the girls."
Emma stepped back. Caroline's hand went to the hilt of a dagger.
Andrew didn't hesitate.
His green flame exploded into a lance of fire, blasting through the crossbowman's chest. Mario followed a heartbeat later, shield raised as he tackled the second one into a tree and drove his sword through the man's gut.
The third bandit didn't even get to scream. Andrew's sword flashed, and he crumpled.
The forest went silent.
The girls stared.
"…Okay," Caroline finally said. "That was hot."
Andrew blinked. "What, the fire or the killing?"
"Yes," she replied, smirking.
Emma turned to Mario. "You didn't even flinch."
He shrugged. "We've had a week. It's been a vibe."
As they neared the town gates, real buildings came into view—guards at posts, shop signs swinging in the breeze, people laughing in the distance. It was like stepping into a different world.
"Finally," Mario whispered. "Civilization."
"Beds," Andrew added.
"Food," Caroline said.
"Showers," Emma said, gagging at their smell.
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Excuse you, this is the scent of battle."
"It's the scent of rotting trash," Mario muttered.
They walked side-by-side, the ragtag band of warriors, scholars, romantics—and maybe, just maybe, the beginning of something bigger.
But as the town came into full view, none of them saw the cloaked figure watching them from the treeline, lips curling into a smile.