As Aiden and the others moved toward the front entrance of the pharmacy, he noticed the people gathered there. The two who had saved them hadn't come alone. Three more had arrived with them, making five in total. Among the newcomers, two wore wolf-shaped badges on their combat uniforms, the kind only given to members of the Aurum Wolves.
Aiden's gaze was drawn to those badges just as he and the others reached the group that had been waiting for them. "Aurum Wolves?" he whispered, his expression filled with awe.
Aiden had always dreamed of joining the Aurum Wolves when he grew older. To him, becoming one meant being a true hero. But when Felix approached the two with badges, Aiden saw that he didn't have one. The boy's excitement quickly faded.
"What are you looking at, shrimp?" Felix asked, glaring down at him.
"Lame."
Felix got angry. "What was that?!"
"You're lame."
"Lame?! I saved your asses back there! You should be grateful, kid!"
Before the argument could go any further, the leader of the Aurum Wolves, Jordan Smith, stepped forward. His hair was cut very short, nearly down to his scalp. "Are you seriously arguing with a child?"
Felix turned toward him with contempt. "This brat needs to learn to respect his elders."
Jordan briefly glanced at Aiden, then shifted his attention back to Felix. "What do you think is worse? A child acting like a child, or an adult acting like a child?"
Felix clenched his jaw, but he didn't respond. He looked at Jordan with resentment before walking away, clearly irritated.
Jordan knelt in front of Aiden. "Try to behave, young one. We don't need another argument like that."
Jordan expected Aiden to argue with him, but instead, Aiden smiled respectfully, showing he was willing to listen.
"Sir, yes sir!" Aiden said with admiration.
Jordan let out a soft laugh as he rose to his feet. "Carry on, soldier."
Jordan's words meant a lot to Aiden. To him, Jordan was everything he hoped to become one day. Felix, overhearing their exchange, was visibly annoyed.
Oliver, a young man in his early twenties, moved closer to Felix. His short black hair hung just over his eyes, and he wore the standard green fatigues given out at the Aurum Wolves Headquarters. Speaking in his usual casual way, he tried to lighten Felix's mood. "Hey, bro, I know the boss is paying more attention to that kid, but there's no need to be jealous."
"Jealous? Did you say jealous?" Felix asked. "They both annoy the fuck out of me."
"Really? Then why did you want to join the Aurum Wolves? We're both trainees. Me and you both, my bro. That's what you're here for too, right?"
Felix answered with indifference. "Heh, why indeed…"
Before Oliver could continue the conversation, Felix walked away. Curious about Felix's behavior, Amanda made her way over to Oliver.
"What's his problem?"
Oliver shrugged. "I don't know. He's here as a trainee like me, and yet he doesn't like Jordan. Why would you want to join the Aurum Wolves if you don't like their leader?"
"Perhaps he wants to take Jordan's position," Amanda speculated.
Oliver closed his eyes and laughed quietly. "He's gonna need a massive amount of luck to pull that off. After all, Jordan is the founder of the Aurum Wolves."
After listening to Oliver, Amanda turned her attention to the kids. Aiden and Julie were comforting Lydia when Amanda approached them. "Try not to get separated. We have to make it back before nightfall, so no wandering off."
"Don't worry, Mom. We won't," Julie reassured.
"That goes for you two as well," Amanda said with a more serious tone.
"Yes, ma'am…" Aiden replied.
"We won't…" Lydia mumbled.
As Amanda moved away from the kids, Aiden's eyes drifted to Skyler Quinn, the other person besides Jordan with a wolf-shaped badge on her combat uniform. She was a woman in her late twenties, with bright green eyes and long black hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Julie noticed Aiden staring and gave him a quick nudge. "Why are you looking at her like that? She's way too old for you."
Aiden showed no reaction to Julie's joke. "That's Skyler Quinn!" he shouted with excitement. "She's Jordan's most trusted partner! They're usually always together, so that must mean she's his equal in the Aurum Wolves!"
The Aurum Wolves had thousands of members, but they were spread out. Most were stationed along the wall that protected the Golden City, while others were sent outside on different missions. Jordan and Skyler were known for taking on more of those missions than anyone else.
Skyler smiled at Aiden before starting the roll call. "Jordan. Amanda. Felix. Oliver… and these three must be the kids we were sent out to look for. Good, everyone's here. Let's move out."
Their group advanced cautiously through the street, keeping their rifles ready with suppressors attached. Jordan and Skyler led from the front, Amanda stayed close to the children in the center, and the two trainees, Felix and Oliver, kept watch behind the others. Julie and Lydia talked to each other as they walked.
"How are you feeling?" Julie asked Lydia.
Lydia sighed before answering. "A bit better now. That was scary."
"Yeah, it was. I thought we were going to get eaten." Julie paused, realizing how much worse that probably sounded. "Sorry. That probably didn't help."
Lydia nodded slowly. "Yeah… but at least we're safe now."
Julie paused again, this time thinking about her choice to bring Lydia along. The guilt was written all over her face. "Sorry for bringing you with us. I didn't think it would be so dangerous when it's not even night yet."
"Oh, it's okay," Lydia said gently. "I came on my own, thinking I could handle it."
Their conversation carried on, with Amanda beginning to reduce her pace, allowing the kids to get farther ahead so she could watch them more easily. It made sense. She was supposed to keep an eye on them, and being in the middle didn't help much.
Oliver saw that Amanda was now much closer to him and Felix. With only a short distance between them, he walked a little faster to catch up to her. "Hey, bro, they kind of talk like grown-ups, don't they?"
Amanda raised one of her eyebrows. "Bro? Do I look like a man to you?"
"Ah, my bad. Force of habit," Oliver explained, showing no signs of embarrassment. Unfazed, he continued, "They're like what? Five years old? Shouldn't they be talking about dolls and unicorns?"
"They're twelve, Oliver. And after what they've been through, I doubt toys and fairy tales are on their minds."
"Hey, just saying."
"Well, say less then."
Skyler glanced over her shoulder from her place beside Jordan at the front of the group. Her eyes settled on Felix, who now trailed behind Amanda and Oliver. A moment later, she looked forward again, but her distrust didn't go unnoticed.
"Still don't trust him?" Jordan asked.
The corner of Skyler's mouth curled upward. "Oh? You could tell?"
"Let's just say that it's a hunch."
"A hunch, you say?"
Jordan let out a soft chuckle. "The look you just gave him kind of told me that."
"Hmph, then your hunch was right. It's just that I'm having a hard time trusting him. He doesn't even seem like he wants to be here. I find it strange that he volunteered for this."
"You shouldn't be so judgmental. He might have a bad attitude but perhaps he's good at heart."
"He literally arrived at the Golden City yesterday. The day after his arrival, he decides he wants to join the Aurum Wolves and volunteers to go on the first assignment that we got since he showed up. A bit too fast, I'd say."
"Maybe he's just trying to be useful right from the start. Like you said, he only showed up yesterday. We can't judge him yet."
Skyler shook her head. "You're too trusting, Jordan. Sometimes, you have to be cautious. It's precisely because he just showed up yesterday that I don't trust him. Not yet, anyway. Not until he proves that he's trustworthy."
Jordan exhaled through his nose. "Fair enough."
Their journey eventually brought them to a street lined with abandoned businesses. Among them was an old ice cream shop with glass walls that once displayed what it had to offer. Through that glass, Amanda noticed a child inside.
"Guys, there's a little girl in there," Amanda told them, pointing at the ice cream shop.
Jordan turned his attention to where Amanda had pointed, then looked at Julie. "Hey, Julie, how many of you were there when you went to the pharmacy?"
"It was just us," Julie replied. "I don't know who she is."
Just as she finished saying that, Felix spoke up before anyone else could respond. "Oh goodie. Let's get going then."
Amanda didn't agree. "No. Even if she's not with us, she's still a child. We can't just leave her out here."
"Bitch, we don't even know if there are more people with her."
"It wouldn't hurt to make sure," Amanda insisted. "If she does happen to be part of a community, then we could just leave her be. But if she's all alone---"
"For fuck's sake!" Felix interrupted. "At this rate, we're going to be out here way past nightfall!"
Like the others, Jordan felt annoyed by Felix's outburst. Having heard enough of their argument, he decided to end it. "Amanda is right. It's precisely because the night is coming that we have to make sure she's going to be safe. With the amount of noise she's making, she'll be sure to attract a horde of Zeds."
Felix did not answer, but it was clear he didn't like where the conversation was going.
Skyler was also concerned about how much time they were wasting, but she was still suspicious of him. "If you don't like it, you could always go back on your own."
"If I knew the way back, I would've left you all behind already," Felix said bluntly.
Skyler rolled her eyes while Jordan tried to appeal to whatever sense of morality Felix had.
"We'll make this quick. You're right to worry about being caught out here by nightfall, but surely you wouldn't want that girl's death on your conscience, right?"
Felix sighed deeply. "Ugh, fine."
With no further objections, the group crossed the street. The girl inside the ice cream shop did not seem to notice them or the danger she was in. She was making noise while digging through drawers, as if she didn't realize that it could attract Zeds.
As they got closer, their movements grew even more cautious, every step taken with care to avoid making a sound. Jordan reached the door first and gently grabbed the handle, slowly easing it open.