Into The Unknown

Chapter 10

When Xavier announced that we found a hideout with a stupid victorious smile plastered on his face, I didn’t assume that it would be something like a little hole under the tree. 

Now looking at our hideout, I wonder if that long, frightening walk of almost 2 hours was worth it. I was against the idea of following that woman because she informed us that there were at least sixteen people including them in this hideout and they all are foodless. From the long time of almost three days that I’ve spent with Xavier, I can bet on all my liquor that he will share our food with those nine others. This sharing of his will help us clear out our food storage in a day so I was against the idea and still, I ended up staring at this hole.

Surviving in a group means democracy. Xavier and Zain voted for us to follow this woman and I’d no other option but to follow. I even thought of going solo but Zain announced that he will tag along with me and Xavier had all the food. If I would have gone solo, I would have survived on my liquor but Zain couldn’t so I had to follow.

“So, are we supposed to dig it?”, I ask the woman whose name I forgot or maybe I never paid enough attention to her introduction. I heard till the part where she clarified that the sleeping man was her husband.

I also heard her saying through her unstoppable tears that her husband went to fetch water for their kid and he was supposed to return after a maximum of five hours but he didn’t so she followed the trail of the waterfall.

I conclude that the man is a brave I’ll protect my family kind of man and woman is stupid I’ll leave my kid alone and walk in death with my husband type of woman.

“No, it’s wide enough”, the woman argues to Zain hitting the rocks with his feet.

The woman bent down and tapped on the tree thrice. “They will move out the rocks”, she informs.

Soon the rocks beneath the trees started moving aside. If I'd have chanted the spell Wingardium Leviosa then it would have been cool. Wait, Wingardium Leviosa made objects fly. Never mind, still, I would have been a wizard briefly. I’m a woman which makes me a witch, not a wizard. Nah, I’ll be a wizard, no gender discrimination.

“Follow me”, she asks.

She started crawling inside the hole which expanded due to my spell. Xavier helped the sleeping man crawl inside the hole and there were other cotton-clothed humans beneath us in the hole, under the tree that helped the sleeping man crawl easily.

Xavier is too good to be true. He did carry the sleeping man for this long walk of almost two hours to our hideout. I can tag him as a good person but that will make him stupid. He needs to think of his survival before others.

“Guys, we might run out of food if we were to share”, I whisper remind them.

“We can’t leave them to die”, Xavier whisper teaches me a lesson on humanity.

“Make sure that your own mask is on first before helping others”, I whisper remind him of the safety announcement from the plane.

Xavier sighed a huge and loud sigh and without arguing to my practical answer, he crouched down and started crawling.

Before Zain could argue and take Xavier’s side on this matter, I hold out my hand in front of his face and he swallowed his words. I’ve starved before and I don’t want to do that again.

I crouched and glanced at the silhouette of Xavier, decent people vanish prematurely during survival.

The lights hitting inside of the timber served as lighter background for me to catch a glimpse of the shadows of some people gathering around, enjoying the return of the vanished man or maybe deceiving the man so that their expectations of quenching their thirst is fulfilled. Only if he had water!