Chapter 132
The wolves moved forward and formed a barrier between the two groups as the men approached. The men's farming tools came up to a defensive posture, but after a few seconds they visibly relaxed when the large canines made no further moves towards them. Still, the men made no further attempts to get close to the group, which Natalie was immensely thankful for. Shannon's hands were squeezing her own quite fiercely, showing how much fear she had for the approaching men. Was her whole issue mentally just with unknown men? Or would it extend to any stranger they came across. Sure, the wounds may have closed for her, allowing her to be close with Natalie, but some scars ran deep, and would likely never disappear. Though no matter which one it was, Shannon had a partner that would help her continue living. In an effort to keep her hands from being permanently deformed, she tried to move the situation along. "We are just passing through, heading north to meet up with family."
"Ah, of course. Nothing is more important than family after all." The same man states, lowering his farming tool completely. The other two looked at him skeptically, but followed suit shortly after. In response, some of the wolves sat where they were, not giving up the barrier they formed but relaxing themselves. After all, it was the polite thing to do since the other party lowered their own weapons. "Well, it is just around lunch time, would you two want to join us for some food before continuing on your journey? I know that today is going to be some chili and homemade buns, and let me tell you, my wife makes some amazing buns."
"We would love to, except we need to get moving. After all, this world has gone crazy, and we are worried about our families." Natalie replies, trying to verbally back away. She tries to keep her voice and face even and neutral, but it was hard given the past that they have had in the past month. Her efforts at hiding her emotions did not go so well though, as the expression on the man's face changes. Not to something dark or angry, but one filled with sorrow and pity, as if he could tell exactly what the two had been through. Nat could almost swear she saw a tear crop up in the corner of his eye.
"I see, that confirmed my fears about the greater world. The end of everything they know will bring out a person's true nature, and there are a lot of temptations to do the wrong thing. You both must have had some hard times on the road so far. If you are ever in the area again, swing by and ask for Joseph. At that point we could have a great feast with laughter and joy to make up for all of the terrible times! I hope the best on your travels and hope that you are able to find your families unharmed and well." Joseph states with a wide smile on his face. As he does, he directs his people back to the buildings. There, they can see some of the women bringing out food and settings for the many picnic tables. The kids gather around, and as the two of them walk down the road, they see everyone start to dig in with smiles on their faces.
Both Nat and Shannon are surprised at the old man, both his actions and his words. The old man was kind, caring, and unlike many of the other groups, neither of them felt any falsehoods. They could be wrong, but they felt like he was completely honest about just wanting to feed them before they continued travelling. As they walked, they noticed that while the farmland was barely being used, there was still a sizable number of crops being grown. Without any tractors or machines to assist them, the amount that they were working with was still impressive. Remembering the smiles everyone had when they left, all of this was probably due to the strong sense of community that they had probably always had. With the event, the only thing that probably changed for them was the inability to use technology, but the use of farmland, the large amount of livestock, and cooperation of everyone led them to come through with almost no changes to their day to day life. The kids both pitching in and playing around showed that quite clearly.
While there was a temptation to go back and join in the food, Natalie had already made her decision. That, and Shannon's grip eased up as they were walking away, showing that she was definitively not comfortable there. Maybe if they kept having encounters that pleasant, the scars would minimalize, but Nat knew they would never truly go away. If dogs could be forever changed by one bad owner, then people had a very rough time of returning to the way that anything used to be after trauma. Thankfully, the rest of the day was peaceful, with empty roads and plenty of sunshine to go around. There were no more people that were found lodging or encamped nearby, and no tracks or signs of any kind that any monsters were in the area.
Eventually, just before the road had a small westward cut, they decided to call it a day and set up camp for the night. Half a kilometer east off of the highway was a sizable copse of trees, their green leaves just starting to come in and dot the branches. It was just enough for them to be well covered from anyone travelling the road at night, but allowed them fairly easy view of it. The shadows that would inevitably cast by the moon should help them as well, giving them vision while offering possible enemies none. Regardless, brooms and branches were brought out of the Soulscapes and used to obscure any sign of the group moving in for the night. After all, they had already been followed before, and there was no guarantee that they would not be followed once more.
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