Chapter 36: CH 036: My fault
"Our attempt at clearing the beasts off the road hasn’t worked. It’s pointless to keep trying. We have to go back." Dave said.
The words hung in the air like a thick fog, and the man who had questioned him froze for a moment before eventually speaking. A sharp laugh, half in disbelief, half in anger escaped his lips.
"What?! Do you understand what you’re saying?" His voice rose, his face contorting with disbelief. "You’re telling us to go back? To go back to the direction we just came from? Are you out of your mind?"
Dave’s jaw tightened as the man’s voice sliced through the tension, the bitter taste of failure still lingering in his mouth. He was beyond tired of arguing, of being challenged at every turn. His patience was running thin, and with each passing second, the weight of their situation pressed down harder on his shoulders.
"Yes," Dave responded, his voice colder than before, "unless you’d rather be swallowed whole by one of those things. The road is blocked, and if you think you’ve got a better plan, feel free to leave. But the rest of us are going back. We don’t have the luxury of time or choice."
His words were sharp, cutting through the air as if they were the only thing holding him together. He wasn’t just frustrated with the situation; he was angry with himself, angry that he hadn’t completed his daily quest from yesterday, that this entire mess had been set in motion because of the system’s punishment.
If he’d done things differently, they wouldn’t be in this position. The weight of that failure gnawed at him, making his frustration seem endless. And yet, someone seems to be bothering and questioning his offer to help?
The group stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment. No one dared to speak, as if they they could feel the pressure mounting in the air. The man who had spoken up opened his mouth, but no words came out of it. He wanted to argue, to challenge Dave again, but the harshness in Dave’s voice had made him hesitate.
Finally, with a reluctant grunt, Dave turned and began to walk back. The others followed, some more willingly than others, their steps heavy as they retraced their path, moving towards the truck which was only but a few distance away from where they are.