Week 1, Day 7 – End of the First Week

The first seven days had passed. The camp looked completely different from the first day. Between the palisade and the river there were now solid paths. The orcs were still dumping gravel and sand. Larger stones lay between them, stabilizing the ground. At the main intersections, simple wooden signs hung with arrows.

Squad Seven had been given its own small area by the river. We built a fire pit with a ring of stones, set up three pole beds, and stretched a tarp that kept out the rain. Mirae added sliding hooks to the posts so we could hang bags and tools. Rafi marked two narrow paths to the river and to the palisade with small piles of stones, so nobody would walk the wrong way in the dark.

The Lumen-Moth idea worked. A few dwarves had made thin, light-colored strings. Scouts stretched them at a good height over the most important paths. In the evening, a chain of those creatures settled on them and formed an even line of light. The guards no longer needed open fire along the walkways. It wasn't beautiful in an artistic way. It was simply useful. You could see where you were walking.

To be honest, I already felt pretty integrated into this camp. I even got a small wooden hut assigned just to me, and from that point on I slept there. Next to it, on our request, huts for Cealith, Daisuke, Amina, Nikita, and Carmen were also being built. But those would still take a bit of time.

On the morning of the seventh day, I helped at the water station because Jonas and Rafi felt sick and we were too few to go hunting. Thank God I wasn't alone there. Amina had been helping with distributing water and food. She organized the times and order. Each group got fixed slots. In the mornings, the builders came first, then the hunters, then the scouts, and last the remaining teams. In the evenings, the order was reversed so the night shifts wouldn't eat too late. It was always clear which hour you had to be somewhere. Not strict military drill, but organized.

Two dwarves worked on the filter. A human passed the jars along. A group of orcs lifted clay buckets onto carts. Amina stood beside a board, speaking calmly and pointing to the times she had written down with charcoal.

A fight started when two men from a later group tried to push ahead. The older one already held a wooden cup. The younger one stood behind him, trying to grab a jar too.

"We're on duty soon," the younger one said loudly. "Give me the damn water already."

Amina stayed calm. "Hey, hey ,first tell me which unit you two are from."

"We need to get to east-side security," the younger one said. "I don't have time for this shit."

I stepped in. "Just tell us your unit number."

He ignored me. He shoved me out of the way and grabbed a jar of water. A few people waiting in line cheered. I even heard some giggling further back. He was probably popular here.

The guy had medium-length black curly hair. He was a head taller than me and pretty muscular. He wore wide black jeans and a tight black shirt that showed off every muscle. I guessed he was around twenty.

He was definitely a girl magnet, and the way he acted told me he'd been one his whole life. Someone who never knew what it felt like to be embarrassed or put down. Next to me, Amina was looking at him with those romantic eyes. By romantic, I mean she looked at his left eye, then his right, then his lips. One after another.

Hard to tell if it was on purpose or just her nature.

I would die to be looked at like that by a girl.
But the truth was: standing next to him, I looked weak ,like some nobody.
It reminded me of Brad.
No. I can't let myself get humbled like that again. Not like with Brad. This time I have to at least say something back. Aleks, don't be a pussy.

"It goes faster if everyone sticks to their schedule," I said. "If you take the food now, the next group ,who actually should get it ,will miss out. Just tell me which unit you're with."

An orc in the line stepped in. "They belong to Hunter Unit One. They need to be on the east side. They're late."

Amina nodded. "East section shouldn't start in ten more minutes. There are still two groups before you. But we could move you forward ,if the two groups would agree."

I turned to the group currently waiting. "You're the kitchen team. Can you handle eating five minutes later if we let these two go now?"

The woman from the kitchen looked at her list. "Alright."

I nodded to Amina to signal they could move ahead.
I heard a "Better be" from the younger guy of Hunter Unit One.

In the afternoon, I went to the lake where Squad Seven was now gathered. Daisuke joined us. I noticed he and Rafi had become good friends. Daisuke told me they had the same taste in women. He carried a notebook under his arm. He had joined the construction team and wanted to "show an idea," as he called it. Since he joined construction, he brought us "ideas" all the time. Now he told me not only about the attractive girls he "scouted" in the camp but also some of his ideas for future construction projects.

He knelt in the sand and drew lines and squares.

"I sketched a trench plan," Daisuke said. "Not deep, not wide, but as a first line. One meter deep, one meter wide in front of the palisade, with simple spikes facing forward. At the corners the trenches get wider so you can turn there. I know it's not good yet, but I wanted to bring something."

Rafi looked at the sketch calmly. "The idea is fine. One meter isn't enough everywhere. In wet soil they slide. We need at least half a meter more depth in the low spots. The spikes only work if they sit firm. We need hardwood. First we mark the route, then construction joins in."

Daisuke nodded quickly and wrote everything down. "Thanks. I'll take this to our foreman. I wanted your opinion first. Hey Rafi, Aleks, let us do something together ,like let's scout some girls from the shelter."

"I can't today," I said. I actually planned to train a bit at the shooting ranges. I couldn't handle firearms at all. And I'm not the type to walk up to girls. I'm too introverted. I'd just make things awkward.

"Oh come on," Daisuke said. "Since day one you haven't come with us even once."

He looked at Rafi, waiting for his answer.

"I'm in," Rafi said.

Daisuke lit up, stood up immediately, helped Rafi to his feet, and told me, "Swear you'll come with us tomorrow."

"I swear," I said.
If I keep rejecting him, I'll lose him as a friend. I should be grateful he even wants to hang out with me. But I don't want to feel weak and useless in six months if we get attacked.

On my way to the shooting range, I noticed a lot of people there ,mostly girls. Among them I also saw Rafi and Daisuke. He was talking to Carmen.
I walked toward them with a spear in my hand.
There's no way I'm going to train here in front of everyone. Especially not in front of Carmen. I'd embarrass myself completely. I should just go into the forest and practice where nobody sees me before they notice me here.

"Hey Aleks!" I heard someone call. Carmen was waving at me, Daisuke and Rafi beside her.
Shit. They saw me.
I walked over to them.

"You picked a bad time to train," Rafi said with a small smile.

"Yeah, I see that," I said. "Why are there so many people here?"

"Unit 1 of the hunting division is training here right now. Antoine is with them. A lot of girls gathered to watch him train. Girls here are completely obsessed with that guy," Rafi said.

"That motherfucker steals all the women from me," Daisuke said, his voice annoyed. "Aleks… When I saw so many beautiful girls with Rafi in one place, I thought for a second I was in heaven. And then I find out they're all drooling over one guy. And like ,he doesn't even look that good…"

I couldn't stop my mouth from tightening, and a small but awkward smile appeared on Rafi's face too. Carmen stood next to us, stunned by what Daisuke had just said.

Daisuke turned his head slightly, his eyes meeting Carmen's.
"Hey Carmen, angel, what are you even doing here?" His left eyebrow lifted. "Are you here because of this Antoine?"

"No," she said, her voice as gentle as always. She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Amina and some of her new friends dragged me here because Amina was fangirling over him."

"Wait what?" Amina saw him earlier already?" Daisuke cut her off.

"Due let her finish first, Daisuke," Rafi said.

Carmen nodded. "Um, yes, to answer you… Amina actually saw this Antoine earlier and completely fangirled over him. And when I came with her and her friends, they ran straight into the crowd. I lost them and ended up here by accident." Her eyes met mine. "But thank God I ran into you guys."

"Oh stop… you're making me all shy now," Daisuke said, waving his hand dramatically.

Rafi grinned briefly, then turned to me.
"Weren't you planning to train, Aleks? You said earlier you really needed to practice shooting today."

I didn't answer right away. My eyes drifted past the shooting range, across all the people. Everywhere stood groups of girls and guys, crowded together. Laughter, whispering, curious glances toward the front.

My stomach tightened.

Shit. That's way too many people. Absolutely not. Hell no.

"Hello? Get a grip, Aleks," Rafi said, nudging me with his elbow. "You're holding a spear and you look like someone walking to their execution."

"Yeah… I don't know," I muttered. "Maybe I'll go later, when fewer people are around."

"Later," Daisuke repeated dramatically. "Since we got here, you're later for everything. You wanted to practice hunting, you wanted to meet people with us. 'Later' is your second name."

I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off.

"Rafi, help me out," he said, and suddenly his hand landed on my shoulder. "The boy said by himself today that he wants to train. So he's gonna train now."

"No, seriously, I—"

Rafi was already holding my other shoulder. "You wanted this, Aleks," he said calmly. "We're just taking you where you planned to go anyway."

Before I could really react, they pushed me forward together. Ahead of us was a crowd of people, girls, hunters, a couple of orcs, and a few curious dwarves. Everyone stared toward the shooting range. Most of them didn't even notice that I'd been trying to slip away.

"People, make some room," Daisuke said with a grin. "New guy coming through. Let the boy pass, he wants to train."

A few turned around annoyed, others laughed, and some actually made a little gap. Rafi and Daisuke used every gap without mercy. I felt like a package being delivered to the front. Every time I tried to stop, a hand pushed me forward again.

"Just a little to the side," Rafi said. "We're not taking anything from anyone, he's just moving up."

More and more faces turned toward us. I heard random comments, none clear, because my heartbeat was pounding too loudly in my ears. My neck burned with heat. My fingers squeezed the spear so hard they hurt.

"Can't I just go later—" I tried again.

"Later is over," Daisuke said. "Trust me, once you've been in front once, it's easier next time."

Yeah. Or I'll embarrass myself in front of half the camp and never show my face here again.

Then suddenly, we were at the very front. The last row of people opened, and I stood right at the edge of the shooting range. Not even five meters away, the hunters of Unit One were firing. The bark targets were covered with arrows, many right in the center.