We Got A Map

Perseus POV

I arrived back in the camp and can see that one of the navy officers was the only one up, they still don't necessarily trust the fairies, which was pretty fair. This is used to only keep pets in case they have one, but these guys don't know that, since this cave being able to house us all temporarily is pretty suspicious.

In the morning, Shawn and I got up at our usual time, which was the early morning and just did some runs and clean ourselves using the water from the nearby water source, we just used this bucket and scooped the water up and pour it over ourselves since we can't bathe and dirty our water.

I got back to see that the officer from last night, Robert was his name, finally sleeping while the other, Monty, starts a fire and boiled our water for us. I can't see Minerva anywhere, so I asked the captain.

"She's taking an early morning walk that way." he answered, "If I were you, I would check on that girl, she's hiding it, but she isn't in the best of moods right now."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I planned to go talk with her a bit. Just hold her Dad back if he tries to kill me please."

*****

"Hey, what are you up to?"

Minerva was sitting by a tree in a small clearing in the forest, I made my way to her and sat right next to her, her head then laid against my shoulder and we stayed like that in silence for quite a long while before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Are you not gonna ask?" she asked

"Nah, you'll tell me when you're ready, I don't want to pry too much, like you were there for me, I'm here for you."

"Well, I'm not sure whether you're the blessed one or whether it's me." she chuckled, "First, my life was saved thanks to you and now we're...I think that you already know why I'm sad."

"Of course, the death of a loved one, whether they're family or just a simple acquaintance, I understand that kind of sadness, they are probably watching down at you right now and thanking you profusely for being their friend."

"I thought that you'd say that you wouldn't pry, how'd you know?"

"I'm your boyfriend, I know when you're sad or happy, sort of a requirement for my job. Besides, even Julie...you both looked sad, but I came to you, losing friends like that...even though it's something that people on our path will experience, it doesn't make it better the more you see it.

"You're thinking and cursing yourself out from the inside for not being able to help? You're a genius, people told you that you were fated to be strong, but you are cursing yourself for not being strong enough faster, should have worked harder instead of lazing off and relying on your talent to make up for the rest.

"Watching it happen...that must have hurt you, and now...there's not even a body to bury, even if we make it back, you're questioning yourself on how to apologize to their parents for being weak. I get it, but even so, the blame rest on no one.

"We came today not expecting to be attacked, and yet not only we were, we are now stranded in one of the most dangerous zones for humans to enter. We are stranded with little to no hope of going home, it's a lot for you to take in...and you're scared of what will happen to your mother and sister if that happens."

"I think that our roles reversed this time around." she giggled weakly, "My friends...they wouldn't have joined this program if the whole group wasn't invited because of me, so is it unreasonable for me to think that it's my fault? Even if they came here voluntarily...If I had not come...

"Their parents would have and could have lived a much happier life." she then started tearing up, "When my dad told them through the call when I saw their cries...I couldn't get it out of my head and it replays itself frequently, the sound of their sorrows...

"It's hard for me to even sleep properly, and now, I can't even go back home, talk with my mother and play with my little sister. I don't know what to do."

"Well, I'm here, I can share some of your burdens. Besides, we're gonna go home, I'll make sure we do, and when the school break comes around...we can meet up again like how we usually do, and we can go on a date again, we'll get that ice cream cake that you love so much.

"We're a team, and that means we face life's challenges together. I understand that sometimes you need a shoulder to lean on, and I want to be that shoulder for you. If these thoughts come up again, you can tell me, and we'll go about it until you feel better."

*****

Shawn POV

For the morning, the captain and I walked in one direction of the forest, we were just told to be careful with the rest of our group and we headed a bit more to the north and have only a compass to guide us back.

We're trying to find any nearby old abandoned human-built infrastructure to scavenge for some machinery and tools, it'll be quite old by the time we get our hands on it, but it's better than nothing.

And we have to be more than extra careful, if an angel sees us, we might as well be as good as dead.

After over an hour of walking through the forest, we found this small stone hut that was a big mess inside, but once we searched through everything, we did find some wrenches and nails along with an old map.

"Well, this will be useful." the captain commented.

"Yeah, we have really no clue where we are, and we can also use it to narrow down where the fairies are roughly located and check possible routes for escape in case of emergencies."

"Good, you didn't lose your touch yet."