Post Apocalypse: Tyranny & Chimpanzees

3. OTHER SIDE

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "Er, what's that?"

"A crossbow."

"But how do you use it? You need a lot of strength to pull back the string and you..." -look like a loli. "...'re a girl." I finally completed.

And by that time she'd already reloaded another bolt, slowly enough for me to follow.

"As you can see, the butt of the crossbow, when bent upwards moves a hook forward, which draws the string back when straightened."

"That's cool," I didn't even see any feature like that in that book. "Where'd you get it from?"

This is also the first crossbow I'm seeing in real life.

"My dad made it."

"Oh. you th-" Shut up fool, he's definitely dead. Don't trigger sad memories for a girl you just met!

"Hm?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Anyway," she digressed. "Does he have a thing for fighting people he just met, or what?"

Boro realized he was still gripping his spear and dagger. "Ah, my bad," he apologized. "Didn't realize what I was still doing."

He put away the blade and held the spear upright.

"Thanks for the help. We really needed it," He helped me to my feet. "How's your arm, bro?"

Oddly enough, it didn't hurt so much anymore. I flexed the arm just to make sure. "My elbow hurts a bit."

"I'm Boro," Boro started. "And he's Servile. What's your name?"

"Neon. There's not much time left, are there any more of you?"

"Yes, there are, why the rush?" I inquired inquisitively.

And why won't you take your hood off?

"Also," Boro chided. "The..." He decided to be unspecific about our number for some reason. "Those of us are the only ones on this side of the island. We've made sure. You're from the other side, aren't you?"

Not like we'd seen it first hand, or had any vivid memories of being told, but we had the impression that the inhabitants of the other side of this island, separated from us by a salt water passage about 1 kilometer across, were hostile to our side.

And now, one of them has crossed to this side, armed with a crossbow, and whatever else was in that pouch. And she's probably just a scout, with many others behind.

Boro still held his spear pointing to the heavens, but with this tension, he could throw it in the blink of an eye.

The only problem is, he's up against a crossbow. Our only advantage, while she's still alone, is our numbers.

She sighed, spread her arms and slowly lowered the crossbow to the floor, then dispossessed her pouch in the same manner.

"Yes, I am. I'm also the last of them."

"The last?" Boro inquired with a puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"They're all dead," she simply replied. "An endemic. I understand your suspicions on this, but our-"

Boro grabbed his spear with both hands, aiming the shaft at her chest. "How is it that you're alive, then?"

"Boro," I patted his arm. "Let's hear what she has to say." And then whispered, "if there's others, we'll hold her hostage."

Boro contemplated the idea for a second. "Get the crossbow, then. And you, start talking. And no funny movements."

"Can I sit at least? My arms are starting to hurt," for her arms were still suspended

"Sure," I returned to Boro's side with the confiscated crossbow and pouch.

Neon helped herself to the floor, seating down with a tired shade starting to appear on her face.

I sat as well, letting the crossbow rest on the grass, facing the side.

"Now," I started gently. "What is the urgent thing you need to tell us?"

"-Before that, how did you get here?"

"Boro. Let her speak."

Neon let out a little sigh, obliging to Boro's incessant query first. "I got here on a raft I assembled over the past two months, on my own."

"Why did you build it on your-"

"That would have been obvious by now, if you'd let me answer this reasonable guy's question," she interjected, gesturing to me. She was evidently getting pekish.

"Boro, please," I appealed once more. "Let her say what's bugging her."

Neon's eyes shifted to Boro, and with his acquiescing, began to speak once more.

"Thank you," she breathed with a note of sarcasm. "An epidemic wiped everyone on the other side of the island, leaving me as the sole survivor. I don't know why, but I've never fallen ill before."

She paused for a second.

"Now, with that explained," she resumed. "I will move on to the main issue at hand; we're all about to die. There's a volcano on the other side of the island that's going to erupt at anytime within the next six months, and it will be massive."

Having heard that, we simultaneously asked the thing we were now most curious about in this very moment.

"What is a 'volcano?'"