Forest
Aaron blinked several times.
Everything had happened so fast that his brain was still buffering.
He looked at Ashley.
Aaron: 😶 "...What was that for?"
Ashley suddenly gasped.
Her eyes widened.
Ashley: 😨 "Ahhhhhhh!"
She pointed at Aaron.
Ashley: "Aaron!!"
"Your chest is bleeding!!"
Aaron looked down.
A streak of blood stained his clothes.
He froze.
Then..
Aaron: 😱 "AHHHHHHH!!"
Elda didn't panic.
She simply walked over.
Elda: 😐 "Move."
She grabbed Erin's wrist and gently pulled her aside before stepping close to Aaron.
She leaned forward...
Very close.
Examining the blood.
Erin: watched silently.
(Why is she looking so closely...?)
(Is... is this some kind of medical examination...?)
A tiny seed of jealousy appeared.
Elda touched the blood with one finger.
Looked at it.
Then nodded.
Elda: 😐 "Ashley."
Ashley: 🤔 "Yeah?"
Elda: "It's Minister Adam's blood."
Ashley stared.
"..."
"..."
"Oh."
She scratched the back of her head.
Ashley: 😅 "I forgot."
"Sorry."
Aaron looked down again.
"...So I'm not dying?"
Elda: 😐 "No."
Aaron: 😮💨 "Thank goodness..."
Suddenly...
A groan echoed nearby.
Adam: 😵 "...Ugh..."
"I... I'm alive?"
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
Adam slowly opened his eyes.
Adam: 😶 "What happened?"
Everyone answered together.
Everyone: 😐 "Go back to sleep."
Adam blinked.
"...Okay."
He closed his eyes again.
One Hour Later
The group gathered around a rough map drawn in the dirt.
Elda crossed her arms.
Elda: 😐 "We searched the western route."
"Nothing."
Adam nodded.
Adam: "North is clear too."
Ashley sighed.
Ashley: "East as well."
Aaron rubbed his forehead.
Aaron: 😫 "Then where the hell did he take them?"
Everyone slowly looked toward him.
Aaron coughed.
"...South."
"...I checked south and it's clear ."
Silence.
Adam slowly sat on a nearby rock.
Adam: 😵 "My brain can't do this anymore."
"I'm officially tired."
Elda looked toward Erin.
The girl's face had become unusually pale.
She looked exhausted.
Elda frowned.
Elda: "I think..."
"We should rest."
Adam immediately raised his hand.
Adam: 🙋 "Agreed."
Aaron nodded.
Aaron: "Hmm."
Ashley smiled.
Ashley: 😊 "Don't worry."
"Noel is an Alpha."
"She can prot—"
Aaron interrupted.
Aaron: 😐 "She's not an Alpha."
Ashley blinked.
Ashley: "...Huh?"
"What do you mean?"
Aaron shrugged.
Aaron: "She told me herself."
"She isn't an Alpha."
"I know that much."
Ashley frowned.
Ashley: 🤔 "If she's not an Alpha..."
"...then what is she?"
Everyone looked toward Elda.
She had been quietly thinking.
Then..
She slowly spoke.
Elda: 😐 "Wait."
"According to everything I've studied..."
She pointed gently toward Erin's eyes.
Elda: "Blue eyes belong to Omegas."
"Purple eyes belong to Alphas."
"Green eyes belong to Betas."
She paused.
Everyone waited.
Aaron leaned closer.
Aaron: 🤔 "...And red eyes?"
Elda swallowed.
For the first time...
A trace of unease appeared on her face.
Elda: "...Enigma."
Silence.
The forest itself seemed to stop breathing.
Ashley blinked.
Ashley: 😶 "...What?"
Adam slowly lowered his water bottle.
Aaron frowned.
Aaron: "Enigma...?"
Elda nodded slowly.
Her voice became unusually serious.
Elda: "A secondary gender that shouldn't exist anymore."
"And if my guess is correct..."
She looked directly at Erin.
"...then our journey just became far more dangerous."
No one spoke another word.
Continue...