Camping on Barren Rock

Jonas could tell that there was something off about Elin when he found her, but he thought it might have just been her dealing with the effects of walking through this barren area of the mountains.

Even though this area felt weird to him as well.

However, when she asked him what his name was, he knew that things were worse than he'd expected. As he'd first thought that the memory issues with the others had just been limited to them. Yet as he spoke to Elin, he had a suspicion that whatever had happened to the others had essentially erased everything about Elin from her mind.

Or at least everything that pertained to Elin's memories about herself.

"Don't worry about my name," Jonas replied, wondering if giving Elin his actual name would create a bridge of whatever had happened to her to spread to him. "If you need to call me something, just go with 'J,' alright?"

Elin looked at him for a minute before nodding slowly. He had a feeling she didn't really understand what he was getting at, but he couldn't see how it could be helped given the circumstances. Including with what he knew that he was certain she didn't.

"Okay," she murmured, looking around them. "Um, where are we going from here?"

Jonas wondered if it was her lack of memory that she was essentially asking him to take the lead, or if it was because he was one of two in their group that typically took the lead. While she didn't have her memories, Jonas suspected that Elin still at least had her habits and basic personality that she would still fall into when she had the opportunity.

"Well, I was thinking we could take a look at that wagon," he replied, wondering again what that wagon was doing there in the first place. Especially with how it didn't even look like the wagon had anything to have pulled it to this location in the first place.

"Uh, the bird told me that I needed to leave the wagon and if I didn't that He would show up eventually and that I didn't want to be there when that happened," Elin said, sounding more frightened than Jonas could remember hearing her sound.

He didn't really understand what frightened her so much, but he didn't see how that mattered so much at the moment. What did catch his attention, though, was the fact that he'd found her heading straight for the wagon as well.

"Then why were you heading for the wagon? Why not walk away from it?"

Elin looked rather troubled and Jonas wondered a little if she didn't know either. With everything going on, he figured it would at least be par for the course.

"I did," she mumbled quietly. "I walked away and the sun was always in my eyes. So I know I didn't turn away from leaving it."

Jonas wanted to reply, but nothing came to mind. He wasn't sure if he fully understood why that had happened, but he was at least willing to trust that Elin wasn't making that up. That she indeed had walked away from the wagon, but somehow had been walking towards it as well.

At that moment, the sun went down behind the mountains and Jonas wondered if camping near the wagon would be advisable. It wasn't like they had anywhere else they could be, but he was also worried that whoever Elin had been warned about with the wagon might come by and find them in the area, but not by the wagon, which he was suspecting to be a kind of trap at this point.

"Let's find a cave to hide in for the night," Jonas said, hoping that was possible. Though, he had a feeling that they should be able to find a place that would work well enough, regardless of what else occurred.

Besides, if nothing else, he knew he had his waterskin with him as well as some of the dried bear meat. It probably wouldn't be the best meal to have, but it would at least be better than nothing. Especially considering the fact that it didn't look like there would be much in the way of foraging or hunting anything.

Since he'd started walking along this rocky area, he couldn't say that he'd seen anything that could be used to survive here. Not even any water that they could drink, even if they boiled it first to make it safe to consume.

Jonas started walking towards the nearest rise. He had a feeling that finding a place to sleep with the wagon out of sight might be the better alternative right then. If nothing else, it would be good to not have the wagon on their minds if they woke up and could see it. He wasn't sure if the one that Elin had been warned about would be able to find them anyway if he showed up, but he had a feeling that it would at least make it less likely, if nothing else.

As they started walking, Jonas let Elin lean against him, with his arm around her shoulders, allowing himself to carry more than half her weight. He had a feeling that she was more tired than she realized.

When they crested the rise, Jonas couldn't help but feel rather uneasy as the view before him. He could have sworn that he hadn't traveled very far, but he couldn't see much else other than barren rock. Almost like they had somehow entered a barren mountainous desert rather than where he knew he had been a mere few hours before.

However, he knew that focusing solely on that wouldn't help them out. Not when there were other, more pressing matters to deal with first. Such as getting a place that they could rest. That way, regardless of what else occurs, they would have a better chance at dealing with it.

While the sun had set, it was still light enough to see for a little longer. He wasn't sure if he'd find a place for them to camp that he'd be fully comfortable with, and was actually doubtful they'd find a place with everything he wanted. Especially since he was getting suspicious about their surroundings.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he hadn't walked all that far to get here, yet he couldn't see any sign of the trees on the mountains that should have been where he'd come from. It just felt strange.

"Would that be a good place to sleep?" Elin asked, pulling Jonas out of his thoughts.

Jonas looked and while Elin hadn't found a cave she'd at least found a place that provided at least some cover In the even any rain might fall. It was an overhang of rock that would at least give them enough room to lay down under it. The only draw back was the fact that it would be completely visible if anyone came this way from the wagon.

Although, Jonas could only hope that if whoever Elin had been warned about showed up to the wagon, that he wouldn't have a reason to come this way. He had no idea why whoever was behind this was after Elin, but with the way things had gone in the competition so far, he wasn't willing to consider that this was just something that happened by chance.

However, he didn't see a reason to let Elin know what he was thinking. He had briefly considered setting up a kind of alarm system to alert him if someone approached from the wagon, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Not only didn't he have the necessary materials, but he couldn't think of how to hide it while still making sure it would work. If anything, it would only be more likely to alert anyone of the presence of others rather than be an effective alarm system.

He would just have to rely on the shadows cast by the overhang to hide them. As long as they didn't move that much, it should keep them hidden well enough.

Jonas glanced at Elin and couldn't say that he was confident about how long she'd be able to keep watch in the night. Especially considering the fact that she hadn't always had the greatest stamina to begin with and he couldn't be sure how much rest she'd really gotten since she'd said that she'd been on that wagon. Especially as he noted the wounds on her face, which he assumed was from her escaping the wagon.

"Think you'd be able to take the first watch?" he asked, ready to accept her response if she wasn't. It would merely mean that he'd need to stay awake the entire night again.

If that happened, then maybe he'd be able to get some sleep in the morning when Elin woke up, but he wasn't willing to put his money on that happening. This competition really hadn't been that good to them in general.

"I- I can try," Elin replied.

Jonas merely nodded, not wanting to say anything more about it. "Just wake me up when you start getting tired or falling asleep, okay?"

Elin nodded, looking rather determined.

Jonas had an urge to take a picture so he could show it to Kim later. He was sure Kim would love to see how Elin looked right then. The only problem with that idea was that cameras didn't exist in this world.