Chapter 62 #4
“I see you're back to being the same detestable person as before! I don't know if that's progress or regression.”
She rolled her eyes and kept walking. Then she stopped and moved to position herself behind me.
“You'd better go in front. We made a deal, so now you have to protect me and hunt for me. I'm tired of falling into traps.”
I raised an eyebrow in silent indignation, then looked her over, taking in how filthy she was and finally understanding where it came from.
A faint reddish glow appeared under the collar of her jacket, which made me frown, wondering if the vials would be able to pass through her digestive system normally.
“I'm not your babysitter, Adele,” I grumbled, resuming my walk while paying attention to the ground and keeping a fast, focused pace.
“Not babysitter—I'd use the term servant! We made a deal: I carry the vials and you protect me. So keeping me safe is your job.”
“Did you actually swallow the vials?” I thought about the glow coming from her skin.
“I swallowed them,” Adele admitted proudly, her voice a bit hoarse.
“Are you crazy?! They could have cut you open alive just to get the vials! That's insane.”
“Darling, I come from the psychiatric ward—what did you expect? And no, they wouldn't cut me open. First, they can't kill or they'd be disqualified from the test; second, I would've transferred the vial's points before it got to that point.”
Her plan was valid, but still very risky.
“We need to find one more vial to hit our point total. At dawn I saw some green ones in this direction.” I pointed forward, avoiding a fire thorn branch. I thought the thorns were obvious until I heard Adele scream and clutch her hand.
“Hell of a place!” she cursed as the poisonous thorn burned her skin. “I swear I hate this forest!”
“Give it to me.” I reached for her hand, but she refused to show it. So I grabbed it anyway and spit on her palm, rubbing to relieve the burning.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, horrified, staring at my saliva on her hand.
“You cut yourself on a fire thorn. The poison burns the skin, and saliva counteracts the effect.” She looked at her completely red hand, but now showed no sign of pain. “See? It stopped burning.”
“You're disgusting,” she grunted, wiping her burned hand on her pants.
“And you're unbearable,” I shot back, resuming my walk among the trees. She stayed quiet for an unfortunately short time.
“Where are we going?”
“We're going to keep heading north. I saw green vials glowing at dawn—they were near the center, in the last part of the test.”
“Which way is north?” she asked, looking up.
“What do you mean? When we met, which direction were you heading?”
“I was going,” she answered, shrugging.
“Going where?”
“I don't know, Kyller. I was looking for the vials, trying not to fall into traps, walking around, you know?” She laughed, tripping over a rock. “The plan was to find someone who knew where we were going.”
“What a brilliant plan!” I laughed mockingly. Little did she know how desperate I was for some points.
“What if the vials have already been taken?”
I sighed, wondering if I was just too irritated or if Adele was even more unbearable in the forest.
“If someone already took them, we'll look somewhere else.” I made my way down a steep embankment, careful not to slip.
“And if we don't find any?” She slid down the embankment on her butt.
“We'll have to bargain or steal from other students.”
“You mean you're going to steal from other students, right? I already did my part today.” She was holding a knife behind me, but she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings—the weapon was more dangerous to her than to anyone else.
“We will. I'm not doing anything alone.”
“I plan and you fight—that's how it works.” I didn't respond; I was tired of her chatter. “What if Naoki and Adrian catch up to us?”
“They won't. By the time they wake up, we'll be way ahead.”
“But what if they do catch up?” she asked again.
“Then you run,” I replied, looking around.
I was afraid of being surprised by other students. It was a good thing Adele had swallowed the vials—no one would see the glow if they came close, and at night, her body would dim the light.
“And where am I supposed to run to?”
“North!” I grunted, exasperated.
“And which way is north?”
“Figure it out yourself!” I shouted, losing my patience. “What are you even doing in this test if you don't know which direction to go?”
She shrugged, pretending not to care.
“Like I said before, I was waiting for someone wild like you.”
I glared at her for a few seconds, then turned and stomped off through the forest. Ahead of us lay a path of low grass, relatively even ground. I broke into a run, and soon she matched my pace.
I had a vial. I'd gotten water, food, and an ally—a terrible ally, I had to admit, but still someone who could help me face the obstacles ahead. I was halfway there, and only the Gods knew what still awaited us. I hoped the future would bring more vials and fewer challenges.
Adele was difficult enough as it was.