Mysterious Girl part 1

Jonas couldn't help but notice that Kim had been avoiding the rest of the group. He thought it was likely that she was doing her best to keep attention from being drawn to her, given the state of her clothing, but he couldn't be absolutely sure without asking.

Which he wasn't going to do because he didn't have a death wish.

He didn't really care about her reasons, but he would have at least liked to know. His curiosity was currently killing him. He hadn't felt like this since he'd been in high school and had to leave his family in order to protect them.

Which wasn't a story he ever planned on telling anyone. Though, he couldn't say why it was coming to mind at this time to begin with. Especially since it'd been years since he'd actually thought about it. In fact, he'd pretty much forgotten about it up until this moment.

He just hoped that Owen wasn't listening to his thoughts at the moment. Since Owen had that ability, he'd gone with the assumption that he needed to keep from thinking about things that he didn't want Owen to hear, but at the same time, sometimes thoughts came to mind without him trying and it wasn't very easy to get rid of those thoughts.

Even as he world around them faded as Blinky moved them to another location, Jonas couldn't help but feel a cold sweat start to form on his body. He couldn't say if it was from his worries about Owen seeing those memories or if it was something else. He was only certain of that he wouldn't like what it was. Assuming he could learn what it was to begin with.

Though, as the world materialized around them after a few minutes, Jonas couldn't help but feel like the danger had passed. The cold sweat went away and everything seemed to have returned to normal. He wasn't sure if that really was the case, but at the same time he really didn't care.

What did matter was the young woman sitting around their camp, cooking something over a fire that was lit where they had normally had a fire before. That something looked like a small animal, though at this point Jonas couldn't easily identify what it had once been.

The young woman had hair like it was taken from the fire before her and eyes like perfectly cut emeralds. She wore a blue dress that was made from what looked like a light material.

It was clear that she hadn't expected them as she wore an expression of surprise mixed with shock. Jonas wasn't sure if she had merely stumbled on the campsite and decided to cook something she'd found, but from the look in her eyes, she was already getting ready to split.

Regardless of what she did, Jonas couldn't care less. Instead, he merely turned and walked over to where he remembered having stored his pack. The sun wasn't going down just yet, so he'd rather start making their way back to where they'd left Elin, Heather, and Sonya. The fact that Elmo and Bart were sent to wait there also made it simpler. As they wouldn't need to search for those two after they collected the three girls.

"Who's the chick?" Frank asked as Jonas picked his pack up.

"Not sure," Owen replied. "She's been following us for a while, though this is the first time I've seen her."

"Think she'd just lonely and needs some company tonight?" Stanley asked, a little too suggestively for Jonas' taste.

"You could try," Patricia asked, stepping between the girl and Stanley. "That is if you'd like to know what it's like to be a human popsicle."

"You could try that," Stanley remarked as if he wasn't concerned, and Jonas had a feeling that he had reason to be unconcerned. "But then who knows when you'd be able to get any yourself."

Jonas wasn't sure what kid of threat that was, but he figured the best thing to do would be to ensure that the girl, whoever she was, wasn't around for Stanley to try anything. Although, he did have a suspicion that the girl would be just as likely to run from Patricia as she would be from Stanley.

"You make it sound like she'd be interested in you in the first place," Jonas called out in his best mocking tone. "I mean, if you have to force her, that must mean you're really desperate because then you'd be showing no one would be willing to be with you like that unless you have to force them. If that's the case, then I'd have to feel sorry for you."

Stanley turned on Jonas, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "You…!" he said, but then stopped. Jonas wasn't sure if he just couldn't think of anything or if his brain merely stopped working. Either way, he got the result he was looking for.

"What do you know?" Frank said after a minute. "When's the last time you got any?"

Jonas merely smirked. He saw where Frank was going with that, though he didn't really understand what connection Frank was drawing between the two. After all, regardless of when Jonas last 'got some' wasn't relevant as to the subject at hand.

Plus, he saw the girl still by the fire and he couldn't figure out if she was frozen on the spot because she wasn't sure how to react, if she wasn't as scared as she let on, or if she was waiting for something that she felt warranted the risk of just waiting there.

The only thing that Jonas could think of was the critter she was cooking at the moment. Though, he couldn't be absolutely certain right then.

"When I last 'got some' isn't the issue here," Jonas merely replied calmly after a minute. "The issue is just how much of a man Stanley really is. If he doesn't need to force someone into his bed, then he shouldn't need to here, but if he's unable to get anyone in his bed otherwise, then that speaks for itself."

"And what does that have to do with what I said?" Stanley asked, making Jonas wonder if this wouldn't be a good time to give him a beating.

Though, he had to admit that it would be easier to do if they had the rest of their combined group together and if it was just Stanley without anyone from his group. Besides which, he also could remember how loyal Harold was, and given the fact that he was present at this moment, in addition to the fact that he was able to do so much damage to the bear before it had died, starting something here would likely be a mistake. One he likely couldn't afford to make.

"If you're worried about Stanley having wandering hands, don't worry about it, I'll keep the girl safe," Patrick commented, pulling the attention to him.

Jonas wasn't sure when he'd gotten so close to the girl, but it was clear she hadn't noticed either. However, she also seemed fascinated by the flames coming out of his hands as he helped roast the girl's critter.

"Are you dumping me for her?" Patricia asked, though with how lighthearted her tone was, Jonas couldn't help but wonder if she was joking or if their relationship hadn't been that serious to begin with and was merely more from convenience than anything else.

"Are you kidding?" Patrick asked. "You know I can't help it if it looks like someone needs help."

Jonas merely shook his head and looked around to pick up Elmo's pack. He was quickly losing interest in what was being discussed. He was pretty sure that Stanley wasn't going to try anything on the girl, or at least right then he wasn't. Which meant that they'd be able to part without any serious trouble. At least this time. Though, Jonas wasn't sure if they wouldn't have a less than friendly encounter if they crossed paths with Stanley's group again.

He just hoped that it wouldn't come with other complications. Things were always better when they were more straightforward and not encumbered by complications that just made it more difficult to deal with, as well as determine which choice was the correct one.

"How long should we stay here?" Kim asked suddenly, startling Jonas.

He looked at her, taking note that she'd already changed into her spare set of clothing, before looking at the others. He had originally thought that they should head out right away, but given how Patrick had essentially become the bodyguard for the strange girl, in addition to how he couldn't trust Stanley right then around the girl, he knew they'd likely need to remain there until Stanley and his group left.

Which could easily be until the next morning.

"As long as we need to," Jonas merely sighed quietly. "I'm sure you wouldn't want us to abandon that girl to whatever Stanley wants to do to her."

"If he does try whatever he's thinking, I'll make sure he won't be able to get it up ever again," Kim promised.

"Let's just try to keep from doing that," Jonas suggested, nervous about how Kim had jumped straight to that point. "Whatever else, I'm sure Stanley will behave himself as long as we're around."

Kim glanced at Jonas for a moment before looking away, as if she didn't find what she was looking for. Not that Jonas cared. He was just hoping that things wouldn't heat up without anything more than words being said. Though, he wouldn't say that he would be surprised if Kim did something in response to what Stanley has said or might say later on.

If it did come to that, he just hoped that Stanley would have already shot himself in the foot by sending Harold away. Jonas was pretty sure that Harold's system was stronger than they'd initially assumed.