To Where the Sun Rises (Part 2 of 'A Tale of People and Apples' Trilogy)

Chapter 10: The Outpost

Markus angrily smashed at the empty box with his boot that was dragged ashore at first light, angrily picking up the shards that he left in his wake and throwing them back into the ocean.

"It was a decoy, sir," The Outlander that retrieved the box said sheepishly behind the rampaging Six.

Markus turned, and said, "You don't say?" He grabbed his father's pendant in his hand which was still in the now broken container.

That damn Orca had tricked them, and led them far from their enemy. And probably his father.

"Where did they take him?" Markus said to his soldiers.

"Our scouts in the east saw movement. It must be them, traveling east, sir."

"Earlier than expected," Markus said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve and looking east. "What are you still looking at me for? Let's move."

**

The people got in what sleep they could in the morning light within the Cove, but General Olayvia woke them up gently when they couldn't waste an extra hour.

They would get to the Eastern Outpost just past noon, and if they didn't run into Outlanders until then, would have a semblance of safety within the walls at last. Luka told all the people that approached him that they could sleep all they wanted when they finally got inside.

Tristan saw a great relief in Luka. Sleep deprived himself, he didn't have the bags under his eyes that the others had. Tristan knew the relief was because of their triumph over the Creatures the previous night, but even more so, was that they now had a Six on their side in Mikkael.

And something Luka would never say outright, was that he would be relieved of his relieve of his interim leadership role, Tristan could tell.

One giveaway of this was Luka's repositioning himself at the back of the people with Signey, him, and Laplan, leaving the council at the front of the people.

"Only twenty-nine dead of almost twenty thousand. You did it again, Wolf," Tristan said to him, patting him on the back.

Luka softly smiled back. Usually so hard on himself, even Luka realized surviving the night with so few casualties was a victory.

Had it not been for Mikkael discovering his new power, the number would have seemed greater than it was. It made Luka feel uneasy that far less people died from Lleyton's attack, but it seemed far more tragic. It was clear the death of their old leader, juxtaposed with the birth of a new one, tipped this emotional scale.

Laplan offered a different theory when he saw it weighing on Luka's mind. "Three nights ago the Orcas only knew peace. Now, they're in a war. When deaths are expected, it sure changes the outlook, doesn't it?"

Signey looked down at her bloodied hammer as Laplan's words sank in.

"Signey, how are you so spry, honestly? I saw you crush over a hundred of those bugs last night and you're as fresh as a daisy. Surely even Bears get tired at some point with no sleep," Tristan said with a yawn.

Signey flicked her blonde hair at the boys and said, "Don't you know what they say about girls who never sleep?"

Laplan, Tristan, and Luka looked at each other wide-eyed. They all saw Signey as their little sister by now, and it was difficult for them to respond to the words she said.

"...We're more productive. Minds out of the gutter, gentlemen," Signey smiled at them, with a wag of her finger.

They sighed in collective relief.

As their tired legs continued to shuffle through the hot tropical sands and lush bushes of the east, Luka thought of how he could tell his friends delicately that he would have to leave the Eastern Outpost when it was settled.