Eleanor stuck with Travis the entire day leading up to the feast. It was the first day in a while that he hadn't been dragged off with Lottie and Akilah. He was a different person when he was out there with them, crazy.
"Do you think you'll speak to anyone here when you go home?" She asked spontaneously, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. He drew his eyes away from the game of tic-tac-toe they were playing. "Maybe Nat— that's if she ever wants to talk to me again," he replied.
"Hm," she hummed in acknowledgement, drawing an 'x' in her spot. "I don't think we'll ever escape the wilderness. Mentally at least," she stated, glancing around his small hut. "I think we're stuck here for life," she sighed.
Travis glanced at her, She was a wise kid for her age. Sometimes her words hit deeper than she meant them to. " 's like grief. You can't escape it no matter how much you try."
-🐈-
That night, some people sat around the dinner table, giggling at the new leader's words obnoxiously while Nat, Eleanor, Travis, Lottie, Akilah, Misty, Tai and Van sat around the campfire. Eleanor sat beside Nat on the floor despite there being a free seat. The floor was just comfier.
She liked to pretend the meat on her plate was lamb or beef instead of the skin and meat of Coach Scott. It was the only way she could get it down without gagging.
Everyone stared at Natalie like she was some sort of monster. Eleanor understood both sides to a certain level, she understood why Natalie did what she did. The man was suffering, so she put him out of his misery the same way the vets had to when Eleanor's cat got too sick.
She also knew most of the people here were sick individuals. Ones who believed the trees and dirt were whispering to them and telling them to do things, giving them visions that could also just be hallucinations from malnourishment.
Mari came and sat beside the pair, "What you did for Ben— to Ben.. it was, like, really, really.." her voice trailed off, still unable to fully process the recent events. "I know," Nat muttered, her free hand running through Eleanor's brown locks.
"And you shouldn't have done it," the girl added.
Lottie let out a large scream abruptly, followed by creatures in the woods rattling and screeching, sending chills and goosebumps all over Eleanor's body.
The girl stood up and hummed to herself while everyone watched in confusion. The creatures continued to shriek between Lottie's hums. "Sing," she spoke in a hushed tone, gaining even more confused looks.
"Ahhh", she exclaimed in a singing tone, creating even more commotion throughout the woods. "Sing," she repeated with a grin.
Eventually, everyone joined in, each yell becoming louder and louder like they were all letting out rage they'd built up within them for a while now.
Lottie jumped up and down with joy, soon being joined by the others dancing, skipping and singing around the campfire.
Eleanor couldn't help but notice Lottie stop and stare at something in the distance. Her eyes followed her glare, making her heart sink to her stomach.
"NO!" Lottie exclaimed, making everyone fall silent and look at what she was looking at. At the entrance to their camp, beside Coach Scott's severed head stood three strangers. The first strangers any of them had seen in months.
Eleanor shot daggers with her eyes at the unfamiliar people, she didn't know how to feel. If they were rescue, they were going home soon. Did she even want to go home? This was not how she planned things.
"Hello," one of the strangers said.
Natalie grasped onto the younger girl's hand tightly and protectively, almost like a wolf protecting its pup. The man's head slowly turned beside him, leaping back at the sight of Ben's head. "what the fuck?!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry—" the woman stammered, "we didn't mean to interrupt, we were just leaving." She slowly backed up.
"You know, he died of natural causes." Misty feigned her innocence, giving the strangers a pure smile.
"Wait, this is, uh.. You all are, um.. Oh, my god." The man with the glasses stared at them, like something had just clicked in his brain.
Eleanor thought maybe he recognised them from the news. But before the man could say anything else, life swiftly left his face, and his body dropped to the floor, an axe sat in the back of his head.
Everyone let out shrieks of terror. Behind him stood Lottie, a proud expression across her face. "Lottie what the fuck did you do." Eleanor stuttered, her eyes slightly widened.
"Holy, shit." Shauna grinned sinisterly.
"They don't belong," Lottie stated.
"what the fuck."
"It doesn't want them here," she added.
"Run," the third man told the woman before bolting through the woods. It was like something set off inside of Eleanor Blythe, it felt like the man was challenging the group's abilities and adaptations to the wilderness.
She tore off her cloak, snatching the knife from the wooden log beside her. "Don't hurt them. Just bring them back." Natalie ordered, watching everyone take off after them through the woods.
Eleanor ran beside the others, the long grass brushing against her bruised knees and her body shaking with adrenaline. Everyone let out howls as they chased the strangers through the woods; they weren't human-like anymore. They were like animals hunting their prey.
"hey, hey, hey.." Natalie called out in a hushed tone, making everyone fall silent once again. She took the lead, prowling slowly through the woods as if she were trying to sense them.
A branch snapped towards the left side of the wood, causing everyone to sprint off once again. Eleanor let out a low growl, her brows slightly furrowed while her eyes darted across the woods for any sign of the strangers.
Nat silently stopped them once again, splitting them up into small groups and sending them off in different directions. She pointed to the youngest, Misty, Akilah and Travis, then to the right side. The pair glanced at each other before taking off into the dark woods.
-🐈-
The four slowly made their way through the forest, and Travis took the lead as he had the gun. "Lottie must've had a good reason." Akilah blurted out quietly, making Eleanor roll her eyes in annoyance.
"Maybe she saw something.. like she knew he was a bad guy."
"Can you go five minutes without mentioning Lottie or your bullshit shroom visions?" The youngest snapped bitterly.
"wait you guys—" Misty caught up, "the shit ridge is that way." she pointed into the distance, "so— so if we drive him to it, then we can corner him." she grinned at her genius plan.
"We should split up," Akilah suggested.
"Akilah and I will go left, I— I'll take some shots and send him that way. Misty and Elle, you cut him off from behind." Travis explained.
"Are you serious?" Eleanor murmured, receiving an unimpressed glance from Travis. "No— I'm not going with her," she said adamantly.
"Fine, then go alone." Misty snarled.
" Great." She spun on the balls of her feet, heading off into the woods despite Travis's calls for her to come back.
The girl wandered through the wooded area, howling and whistling as she tried to gain the attention of the man. In the distance, the man stood still, his eyes darting around the woods as he tried to locate the gunshots Travis had let out.
"Hey, asshole!" she yelled. The man turned around to face her, aiming his crossbow at her. The girl tumbled to the floor, causing the arrow to hit the tree behind her. as she got to her feet, the man took off once again. "crap." she muttered under her breath.
-🐈-
When the sun rose again, Eleanor slowly made her way back to camp. Nobody had come looking for her, so she figured they'd still been chasing the strangers. But when she got back to camp, Natalie's group, including the woman and Misty, were back, but there was no sign of Travis or Akilah.
Nat's stern expression faltered slightly, letting out a small sigh of relief. "thank god, where are the others?" She glanced over her shoulder, her brows furrowed at the absence of the others from her group.
"probably still chasin' fuckface." Eleanor panted, "I went off alone— they wanted to send me with Misty." She tucked her hair behind her ears.
Natalie let out a sigh, bringing the youngest back to the others. "Hi, I'm Hannah." The stranger introduced herself after Shauna tied her to the chair.
"What day is it?"
"Where are we?"
"Can you get us out?"
Everyone bombarded her with questions. "Everyone shut up," Natalie exclaimed. "Let her answer." She turned her attention back to the woman. "Why are you here?"
"We're a.. we're a research team, studying a species of frogs out here. Uh— maybe you've heard their mating call." Hannah explained nervously.
"Well, that's underwhelming," Eleanor muttered, receiving an elbow to her side from Tai, silently telling her to shut up.
"What are people saying about us back home?" Shauna questioned. "Who are you?" The woman stared at her in confusion.
"We— are a soccer team, um, from Wiskayok, New Jersey. Not her, though—" Natalie pointed to the youngest girl, "she was just unfortunate enough to be the daughter of the pilot. Uh— our plane crashed and.."
"Oh, my god," the woman said softly, "I remember that. It was— it was all over the news."
"Is anyone still searching for us?" Shauna asked the question that had been lingering on everyone's minds for a good while now.
"I-I-I don't know. They searched for months, but.." her voice trailed off.
"What? W-What are you talking about?"
"You have to be kidding me."
"I'm sorry," Hannah muttered.
"Fuck. We've been out here a long time." Van huffed. "Wait, so you're saying that people just.. gave up? Our friends? our families?" Shauna's voice grew louder as frustration and anger bubbled up inside her.
"I really don't know." The woman shook her head.
"You can get us home, right? If you got here, then you can get us back."
"I don't even know where I am right now." Hannah stammered.
"Well, you don't seem to know a lot of things now, do you, Lady?" Eleanor spat, her eyes dull and full of lost hope.
"Eleanor." Shauna warned her, "I'm just sayin! I'm surprised she even knows her damn name." she raised her hands in surrender. "another word, i swear, i'll put you on house arrest." the brunette hissed.
"Are you like— the captain?" Hannah tilted her head at Shauna. "if i say yes will you start fucking remembering?"
"She's not the captain." Natalie blurted.
"Neither are you," Shauna argued.
"Yeah, cause she's fucking dead," Nat shouted.
"Guys!" Tai yelled, diverting the tension away from the pair for a moment. "Stop."
"S-So, y-you all built this yourselves?" Hannah glanced around at all the huts. "Yeah, who else do you think would have done it?" Shauna snarked. "You obviously all left us out here to die."
"It's impressive," the woman said.
"Can you get us out of here?" Natalie's tone carried hints of desperation. "Not by myself." The woman shook her head. "The other guy we were with, he was our—"
"Guys! I found them!" Misty interrupted them, out of breath from rushing back to camp. "I know where they are. Akilah and Travis and, uh— the other one."
"His name is Kodi. He was our guide." Hannah explained. "Come on, let's go," Britt called out.
"Watch her," Shauna ordered.
IRIS' NOTES
dundundunnnnn
realised today that hannah has a daughter around eleanor's age:(