The Defectors

Chapter 14

"What do you mean by that?"

"In every five days, there will be wild animals coming to stay on the jungle, some of it cannot be seen by the naked eye but some of them were too dangerous that if you get too bound with just one, you wished you can escape but running isn't an option. Death it is."

"Then why do you still stay in this place?"

"It is my only way to survive the nine months, and if I get out of this place, more dangers are coming."

"Who knows? You could still find a better home rather than staying here?"

"And then why you're here?" she said, turning the question.

"We're just staying for days, we don't have the intention to stay here in nine months," Al said, without looking at us.

"Yeah, we're just looking for supplies and then we're going off of this place... and as we're experiencing, it is not good to stay here any longer." I said, "and I think, you should come with us..."

"Dylan?!" Al yelled.

"What? I was just saying..." I said.

"So... that's your name," I look at her and give me gaze, "Dylan..."

"Yes..." I nodded.

"How do you even manage to speak your name to everyone when it supposed to be acknowledged in the Noble Land?" she said, "because, in this way of making everyone knows your name is a risk, not just for you but when you got to the Noble Land... you can end up like my sister."

I shook my head, "I just don't want people to identify me not just because they know to see what I'm doing, and not what's gonna be in the Noble Land. I know you understand that people will always look for someone who they can trust and it's not a mistake for me to share my name, because it is me, no one can steal it from me."

"Still, you don't suppose to do that."

"What's your name?"

She smirked, "you thought you'll get my name, I won't give."

"I did." Al stood up and walked toward us, "I tell him my name, but just a nickname... I am Al—short for the name they gave me."

"Let me guess, Alfred? Alexander? Aljon?"

"You didn't guess it," he said, "if you wanted us to help you, to trust you, tell us your name... just the nickname—if you're comfortable with it."

She still shook her head, "I still won't."

"It's your choice." Al shrugged off, "if you need our help, we need you to trusts us—and by that, we get something from each other. That's easy, but we won't force you and just let you leave, and find someone who had the will to help you... and you can go back on your penthouse."

"Al's right if you can't trust us, why would we trust you?"

She hissed, "call me, Cha." She said and rolled her eyes, looking away from us. "For you to trust me, here you are... I'm a Cha."

"So, let me ask this first," Al said. "Why there isn't any food at the convenience store?"

"Oh, about that," she started. "From the first day of dropped off, every person finds their supplies and take all the things they want and left all the stores empty, so when new people—like you are coming into Glass Jungle—don't expect you will get foods because this place, already runs out from it."

"Then why you still choose to stay here even though you will get nothing?" I asked.

"I'm in the point of thinking that and if I don't get any choices... it only goes into one option."