Chapter 79: A Truth And A Lie.
False.
Yesu was disoriented. Her eyes darted from side to side.
"False?" She muttered.
Her eyes focused on Olwen. "Why do you think that?"
Olwen faced the stream again, as if drawing answers from it.
"You see," he said. "During trials, Directives are usually handed down towards evening. When there’s not much time left before seventeen hundred."
Yesu’s eyes widened.
"My squad is yet to receive the day’s Directive as we speak." Olwen concluded.
Yesu unconsciously took a step back, a frown had clouded her face.
"That means..."
She stopped.
Olwen turned to her, contemplating.
"When did your class receive the Directive?" He asked.
"This morning."
"What time?"
Yesu forced her brain into action. "Around nine, I think."
Olwen didn’t think on it.
"And who gave the Directive?"
"Our Supervisor."
Olwen slowly nodded, taking in all the gathered information.
"That’s odd."
Yesu was a bit perplexed.
"So what you’re saying is... we’re being played?"
Olwen pondered briefly.
"I can’t say that for sure. Although If it was indeed your supervisor who issued the Directive, then it certainly calls for question."
Yesu gave her head a tilt.
"Is there any chance class pairs Directives are different from one another? Or maybe the timing?"
Olwen shook his head in reply. "Never heard of it."
Only the sound of the rushing stream and the surrounding forest could be heard for some minutes.
Then Yesu snapped out of her confusion.
"I have to get back." Her determination had returned. "Can you help?"
Despite just discovering something unusual, she still looked so earnest.
Olwen couldn’t help but smile.
"Junior year bases would most likely be located in the eastern side of the Zone."
"How do you know that?" Yesu asked, more quizzically than in disbelief.
Olwen met her gaze evenly.
"Random knowledge."
He was barely hiding a smile.
Yesu nodded thoughtfully.
"Makes sense, you really did seem studious back then." Then she tapped the side of her head. "Oh right. I still have your book. I’ll return it after trials are over."
Her eyes lingered on his jacket.
"How’s your back now? Did the flowers help?"
Olwen was partially taken by her remembrance. He studied her with a soft expression.
He didn’t reply immediately. And when he finally did, his voice was quiet. Almost like a whisper.
"It did."
Yesu was pleased.
"That’s good." She glanced around. "I’ll get going now. Bye."
Yesu turned before he could say anything in reply and began marching away, along the bank of the stream.
All of a sudden she stopped.
Then looked to her left.
Right.
Forward.
And left again.
She stood still for a few seconds, then let out a breath and walked back to Olwen.
"Which way is east?" She asked.
Olwen bit the insides of his cheek in an attempt to hold back a laugh.
He jerked his head to their left.
"That way."
"Thanks."
She was already sprinting.
"But..." Olwen said before he could stop himself.
Yesu turned immediately.
"But what?"
"But," he continued. "The probability of finding your desired location just by simply heading east is..." he sought for a nicer way to put it. "... minimal."
Yesu sighed. "Do you have a map?"
"I don’t." Olwen said. "And even if I did, I don’t think my squad would take it too kindly if I handed it over."
"You don’t need to. I can study it, put it to memory."
Olwen seemed impressed.
"In that case, I can request it." He faced the stream once again. "If only I am able to retrieve my walkie talkie."
Yesu followed his gaze.
"It’s in there?"
Olwen gave a nod. "Yes."
"So that’s what you were searching for." Yesu noted.
She looked into the flowing stream. The device could have already been washed away.
She snapped her head back to Olwen.
"I’ll find it."
She sounded so sure. Too sure.
Olwen stared as she moved to the spot he had been crouched upon.
She bent and dipped both hands into the stream. Searching.
She would find it. She had to.
Olwen watched her for a minute or two. Then checked his watch.
2:30 PM.
He strolled over and bent next to her.
Then dipped a finger into the fast moving water.
It froze.
Starting from his fingertips, ice spread over the stream before them, going far beyond.
Yesu had removed her hands immediately the freezing started.
She faced sideways.
Olwen was peering into the clear surface of the frozen stream.
"There." He muttered.
A few meters away, just by the bank, was the walkie talkie.
Yesu went over and raised a fist.
Olwen stood, alarmed.
"Don’t—"
Yesu punched through the ice.
Casually.
It broke.
She grabbed the device and brought it out of the water.
"I got it."
She waved it in the air. Like she had just dug through sand and found treasure.
Olwen was still.
Yesu’s knuckle was bleeding. There were traces of blood on the ice.
And yet...
She came back to him, stretching the device forward.
"Here. See if it still works."
Olwen took it from her without a word and removed the battery.
Yesu was puzzled. "What are you doing?"
Olwen kept his eyes downwards.
"Disconnecting the power source prevents further short-circuiting."
Yesu blinked.
At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to get back to her squad in time.
Could the day get any worse?
"Olwen..."
A soft voice rang through the quiet.
Yesu turned to see who it was.
Olwen didn’t need to.
Elsie stood in the trees above.
Her gaze flitted from Olwen to Yesu. Curiously.
She made her way down the slope.
"Hello." She greeted Yesu.
"Hi." Yesu said in reply.
Elsie regarded Olwen.
"I’ve been searching for you." She noticed the walkie talkie. "That explains the silence." She remarked.
Olwen kept both the device and battery in his pockets.
"That time?" He asked.
The warmth he had shared with Yesu had vanished without a trace.
Elsie nodded.
"Yes. The Directive for the day has been given. The squad is heading there now."
Yesu came to life.
"What’s the Directive?" She asked with keen eyes.
Elsie regarded her coolly, without a definite expression, like she was still figuring out where to place her.
"The Directive?" Olwen asked.
Elsie’s gaze lingered on Yesu more than they should have. On her blood stained knuckles.
Then she faced Olwen and her dove-like gentleness surfaced.
"Claiming a Vault."
