Leave The Monster Alone

Rika had been absorbed in work as soon as she had agreed. Her body protested when she moved too much and her stomach protested a lot as well. These days were not the most comfortable for her and her back protested her every move.

Still, she complied with every request that was made of her because she wanted to help. She might be useless in combat but there were things that she could help with. That one conversation between bases made her realise just how important these side roles were.

But even saying that she was not really enjoying these long and tiring hours she had to put up in this base. She missed her original base which at least gave her time to rest. How did the professor manage all this alone?

The good news was that more people joined their effort every few hours and they could get things done. The people that were sent to them were not skilled but they were at least determined to learn.

"How long do you need to finish up this work? I will plan our escape accordingly" Mark's words were a soothing balm to her. Alan also looked a little tense at Mark's side, his hands carrying heavy boxes.

In fact, in recent days Rika had not been the only one who had been put to work. While she was busy putting in mental effort, the other part of the team had been tasked with physical labour.

Since there was a limited number of capable physical labour available in this base, Mark and Alan's workload was actually more than they could handle comfortably. Even their trained arms were starting to complain about the workload.

"I don't care about finishing this work at all. I just care about getting out of here. We leave today at any cost" Alan complaints summarized what they had been feeling all along - the bone-chilling tiredness and overworking conditions.

The only one who was having a comfortable time was Kuro who was ordered not to show herself in front of too many people. It was likely that her presence would scare people away and it would become a problem like the first time.

"I don't mind too much but we can't leave in the middle of Rika's work as well. Our departure depends on her speed" Rika frowned at the blame being placed on her shoulder. What had she done to deserve this exactly?

"I'm actually done. The rest of the work can be handled by other people. Let's leave today" the female jumped at the opportunity to leave this place. She was tired of all the work that was being piled on her shoulder.

These people needed to learn how to do things on their own.

"I'll leave the boss a message. I have the location of the next base we need to visit on my map" the other two breathed out a sigh of relief at the decision.

Mark just sent the base captain a small message informing of their departure and headed to the professor. If anyone needed to know that they were going then it was the professor. He had been nothing but accommodating to their needs even when other people had not been.

"Professor, I have some bad news for you" the jesting tone was presented to lighten the situation. The news he had was not going to be liked by the others at all.

"Is it finally time? Are you leaving right now?" the professor asked, his tone borderline sad. It would be impossible for a normal person to tell that the other was affected by this news but Mark had struck a tentative friendship with the other.

He could hear the undertone of sadness that prevailed forward.

"Not right now but today preferably. Otherwise, we will be behind schedule by a lot" there was no schedule but the other did not need to know that. But from the looks he got, Mark was sure the others already knew why they wanted to leave in a hurry.

They were caught after all.

"It's alright with me if you need to go. The people here would be able to carry over for you" the professor reassured Mark, just in case the other started to feel guilty over everything that was happening. 

The professor was grateful for their help since they had taken a heavy load off of his shoulder by helping. Now he even had people under him who made things even easier.

"We'll be leaving in a few hours then. Make sure you come to see us off" the professor pretended not to hear the other, showing himself as too busy in his work to care.

But he was aware of those words and the sense of loss he felt was real enough. 

Mark finished his unloading, then helped Alan with his own till they were finally done. Rika took her time finishing her last segment and then they hurried off to the exit.

Professor stood in front of the door, looking almost lost the whole time he was there. It was nice of the other to come and bid them farewell.

"Is everything alright?" Mark could not help but ask at that lost expression of the other. The professor looked downright uncomfortable being here and it was a funny image to see such a calm person show such a face.

"Yeah. Everything is completely fine, completely fine or not. I'm just not used to being out in the open here I guess. Open spaces now make me uncomfortable" Mark wondered if that trait was a pre-programmed one or a habit the other had developed now as a result of the virus.

"You will have to come out and face reality one day. Might as well practise right now by taking a small walk outside" as soon as the teen suggested it, the professor broke out into cold sweat. It was obvious that those words more than bothered him.

"No, that will be alright. I need to leave now and hopefully, I'll see you again?" the other left, almost fumbling his words over each other. Maybe he was afraid that Alan would actually work on his threat of dragging him outside. 

"I hope he knew that Alan was making a joke" Rika's comment came from outside. She had already crossed the threshold to the other side of the door. They had to walk a while since their HMMWV was still parked on the other side of the river.

It had been unscratched the last time Mark had seen it and it had been in a working condition. Mark would have liked to bring it across as well but there was no physical way to right now.

If only his system allowed him to store HMMWV like the boat. Then such problems would be solved easily.

But till then they were forced to make do.

"We'll need to go back to the other side. Rika, would you like to drive the boat again?" After the last fiasco, Mark had lost all the confidence in his driving and Alan was too young to be allowed to drive.

That left Rika as the only candidate.

"Are you sure you want me to drive?" the female asked in a disbelieving voice and even Alan looked betrayed at him. Kuro looked green in the face as soon as she saw the boat and tried to run away before she was caught.

"I don't think I trust myself to operate this boat and neither does Kuro" Kuro let out a pitiful sound to be let down but Mark ignored her. As soon as she would get the chance, she would bolt away.

The audacity of this cat to behave as if Mark was not observing her behaviour was getting out of hand. He did have an idea where she wanted to go and lead them but he was not doing that again.

One time was enough for him.

"Kuro behaves. We are not taking that route again. Sit tight" Mark's voice had been harsher than he had intended it to be. Even Alan had jumped at that voice, his eyes wide when he saw him. 

Rika gave them a worried glare and instantly Mark felt guilty. The boat ride last time had given Kuro trauma as well so he should understand her position.

But every time he thought back to that bridge, fear filled him to the brim and he could not help but freeze. 

"How about I hold you? Will you behave then?" The dropped ears on the feline's head raised slowly in interest. Finally, she seemed to come back to her cheerful self.

"Are you going to waste any more time? We should get going before those creatures in the water know that we are here" Rika was right. The calm surface of the river could change at any time.

What they needed to do was to preserve the time they had and cross it in a swift manner.

The ride this time was no better than the last time Rika had driven but Kuro did not complain and neither did Mark. This was far better than Mark had done anyway.