AJ laid down on his bed, seething with jealousy after witnessing Nick and Emma kissing, however briefly it had been. He wanted to be the man to kiss her soft lips. He imagined Emma in his arms, whispering words of love to one another as they kissed passionately. He pictured her looking at him adoringly, and he would make her feel like she was the only girl in the world. She was the one girl he felt could really be ‘the one’ for him and she only had eyes for Nick. Typical. AJ had never been lucky in love, hence the reason at the age of thirty he was still single.

“AJ, you awake?” Nick whispered as he crept into the room they were sharing in Kevin’s home. He wanted to talk to his friend, to tell him of Emma’s thoughts on Endwise. When AJ didn’t reply, Nick assumed he was already asleep, so he stripped down to his underwear as quietly as possible so as not to disturb his friend, and climbed into bed. It had been a long and tiring day, especially when he thought Emma was actually going to leave them and return to Endwise. He was relieved when she’d been persuaded to stay. Returning there alone was a suicide mission and he would’ve done whatever it took to keep her from doing something so foolish. Luckily, all it took was a kiss. He smiled at the memory of her lips against his and hoped there would be more of that to come. He closed his eyes and let sleep consume him, images of Emma flitting through his mind as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

AJ couldn’t sleep though. He was too pissed off to relax enough for sleeping. When he was sure that Nick was asleep, he sat up a little, propping himself up against his pillow as he watched Nick sleep. How he wished he could knock that serene look off his face! They may have been friends for as long as he could remember, but AJ couldn’t help the way he felt where Emma was concerned. He wanted her so much.

After brooding about the two of them for half the night, AJ eventually drifted off to sleep.

The following morning AJ woke in a much better mood. He wasn’t sure why he’d been so mad at his friend the night before. It wasn’t as if Nick knew how he felt about Emma, and it wasn’t as if the pair of them were anything more than friends. So they’d brushed lips, big deal!

“Morning”Kevin greeted the pair of them as they joined him, Kristen and Emma for breakfast. “Dig in and eat well, for today we are going hunting!” Kevin grinned enthusiastically. He loved hunting and the challenges it brought with it. You never knew what you were going to come up against once you were out there.

“Cool”AJ said between mouthfuls of breakfast.

“Really?”Nick replied excitedly. He’d never been hunting, but had read books about adventurers who’d travelled far and wide; he figured it would be the same kind of thing.

“Awesome”said Emma, keen to do something useful for the village which had taken them in. She didn’t like the idea of living off of others and knew that Nick and AJ would feel the same. Where they were from you were expected to work from a young age to contribute to society, even the older children did their bit after their school day.

They finished breakfast, which consisted of more than just oatmeal, and readied themselves for a hunting trip. Kevin made sure that bottles of water and packages of food were packed into their bags before setting off. Hunting was likely to be an all day event and they would need to keep their strength up and not get dehydrated.

“Stay safe” Kristen warned as she kissed her husband goodbye.

“As always” Kevin kissed her back and slung his bag over his back. “Let’s go!”

“What about weapons?” Emma asked, realizing that they were not very well equipped for hunting.

“We’re going to get them over here” Kevin replied, pointing towards another building. “We keep a huge stock of weapons here rather than have them in our homes. It makes more sense to have a central supply and just keep the basics at home, like this” he pulled out a jagged edged dagger which he kept sheathed in a holder on his thigh.

“Impressive”Nick admired the weapon as it glinted in the sunlight.

“Made it myself too!” Kevin grinned.

“I thought you were a hunter?” AJ asked. From what he understood of the village, every person had their own jobs to do.

“I am, but it doesn’t hurt to learn another trade or two…we’re not that strict here. If there is something you’d like to learn, then you are more than welcome to learn it. We’re nothing like Endwise my friends!” Kevin reassured them. He shuddered at the thought of Endwise. He hadn’t given that place a second thought when he’d found his new home, not wanted to remember those days where freedom was a dirty word.

The stone building where the tools and weapons were kept was run by a short, round sort of man by the name of Ian. He greeted Kevin warmly and they exchanged a few words before the newcomers were properly introduced.

“I understand Kevin’s taking you hunting” he stated as he watched them select their weapons. “Watch out for those bears!”

“Bears?”Nick questioned. He’d heard of them of course, but had never seen one, nor would he really know what one looked like.

“Don’t worry Nick, there aren’t any bears around here” Kevin placed his hand on Nick’s shoulder for reassurance, thinking Nick was worried at the prospect of coming face to face with a big grizzly. Kevin had never seen one in all the time he’d been there, but he’d heard the stories which had been told. He knew that in the past bears had roamed not too far away.

“He wasn’t worried; he didn’t know what one was!” AJ laughed.

“I did”Nick defended himself, but he was laughing too.

They selected their weapons carefully. Nick chose a crossbow and a dagger which he fastened to his thigh in the same way Kevin’s was.

“You know how to use that?” Ian asked as he watched Nick fumble with the weapon.

“How hard can it be!” Nick stated.

“Hmm, I think you might be better off with a spear for now…unless Kevin here is going to train you first?” Ian looked to Kevin.

“We’ll be alright with the crossbow” Kevin told him. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t shoot himself in the foot or anything like that”.

AJ picked out an axe and a smaller knife, whilst Emma decided on the spear and a sling shot.

“Good choice” Kevin smiled at her and grabbed his own spear. “We’ve just got to wait for the others and we can go”.

~*~

“Sir, we’ve drawn a blank in all directions, they’re either long gone by now or lying dead somewhere. It’s my opinion that we should turn back to Endwise and not waste any more time out here” one of the more senior guards explained to the Luminary boldly. The men were getting fed up of living on measly ration bars and were keen to get back to their opulent way of life in the city.

“Yes, I’m inclined to agree with you” the Luminary nodded his head as he paced up and down. But he had a nagging feeling that they were missing something, that they were close to finding the fugitives. But with all possible avenues explored, what else could they do?

“Shall I tell the men to prepare to go home?”

“Yes, you do that” the Luminary told him and stopped pacing.

When he was left alone once more, the Luminary began thinking once more. Then it hit him. What if they’d found Kevin? He couldn’t let that happen.

“On second thoughts, forget going home” he commanded. “We’re going to find Kevin”.