I Woke Up 120 Years After The Apocalypse-Chapter 39: Dawn

Dawn had finally reached the gates of Vulkania, most of the inhabitants still wrapped in the arms of sleep.

Akram and Yashyn, meanwhile, were heading toward the main gate after finishing their preparations and packing their bags.

Waiting for them at the entrance were Rubayd, Nezra, Elliot, Leyla, and Rissam.

Elliot was the first to speak, giving Akram a friendly pat on the back.

"Good luck, guys! Come back alive!"

Leyla did not really say anything. She looked at Akram with an awkward expression. He understood what was going through her mind without her having to say a word, and he did not push further.

Nezra and Rissam stepped forward together.

"You can count on me and Nezzie, Akram! We’ll take good care of Aphroa!"

Nezra draped an arm over Rissam’s shoulder, nodding in agreement, the two clearly close.

Rubayd finished with a much more serious encouragement.

"Come back alive."

The gates then closed behind the two men, leaving them alone facing the horizon, and whatever awaited them.

Yashyn started warming up, and Akram followed, stretching his limbs. As always, Yashyn enjoyed showing off his flexibility.

"Okaaay, Akram. We only stop to eat and to defend ourselves, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

The roles had shifted once again. Outside, cut off from everything else, it was no longer leader and contractor, but master and student — and it came naturally.

Yashyn took off first, sprinting at full speed. Akram followed closely, without slowing down.

For several hours, they ran without stopping, without holding back, without resting.

The brutal training Akram had gone through over the past six months had not been limited to strength or combat. If he had ever thought about giving up, it would not have been for something minor.

No — if he had almost quit, it was because of the cardio. Yashyn had pushed him relentlessly, turning his heart into a true machine.

Akram had run so much, thrown up so much, trained his breathing and endurance so intensely that running for hours, even at a sprint, had become entirely manageable.

At the end of the first day, the two men finally stopped to eat and rest, utterly exhausted after a full day of high-intensity running.

Akram prepared the campfire while Yashyn went hunting small animals, slipping through the dead woods.

Yashyn returned a few moments later, two slit-throat rabbits in hand.

"You caught them that fast? Wow."

"Yeah. You don’t lose me, lil’ bud’."

Akram began skinning the animals. Since the incident with the Iron Maw cub, he had gained experience and taken part in several hunts. He handled the task with ease.

While the rabbits cooked over the improvised fire, Akram and Yashyn talked about everything and nothing — small conversations, shared laughter. Then, in the middle of a pause, Akram asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Yashyn, I know you value your independence... and that you like your wandering lifestyle, but... why not stay with us, in Vulkania?"

Yashyn did not answer right away, as if hesitating.

"No. I can’t. I’m sorry."

"And why is that?"

"Like you said, it’s not the life I’m aiming for. And I still have a lot of things to settle."

Akram said nothing more. He accepted his master’s words with a small nod, tinged with disappointment. He then reached into his tunic and pulled out a small pouch.

"Here. Your five hundred scrips, as agreed for the training."

Yashyn extended his hand, a bit shyly, and took the money.

"You know, Akram..."

"Hm..?"

"I spent six truly great months by your side. I hadn’t felt that way in... a long time."

Akram listened silently, taking in every word. Yashyn rarely opened up.

"It’s not that I don’t want to become a Vulkan. It’s that I can’t. Not yet. I have important things to deal with."

"So it’s just a matter of time..?"

Yashyn did not answer out loud. He simply nodded, very slightly, almost imperceptibly. When Akram noticed, he smiled broadly.

Seeing his student grin like an idiot, Yashyn started mocking him.

"Mphmf... Anyway, I only did all this because I owed you."

"Owed me?"

"Yeah. You cut me loose and saved me in the cannibal den."

Akram burst out laughing, completely unable to hold it in. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Yeah right. Your clothes were clean, you were sleeping like a rock, and you still had your weapon on you... My guess is you went there on purpose to hunt cannibals, and when you got tied up, you realized it was too tight!"

Yashyn chuckled, admitting the truth.

"Yeah... I’ll admit it. When I saw I was stuck, I just went to sleep."

"Speaking of which, I’m gonna do that again now."

Akram tilted his head slightly, not sure what he meant.

"What?"

"Hey, Yashyn?"

He had already fallen asleep almost instantly, his narcolepsy taking over without warning.

Akram did not question it further. He finished his meal and joined the bounty hunter in sleep.

The next day, the two set off again. Same pace as before, no pauses, no stops. They were now halfway to their destination.

When they finally entered the territory of the Grand Canyon, the atmosphere changed drastically. Akram and Yashyn stayed on constant alert. They were no longer in controlled land, but in the continent’s dumping ground.

Several times, they crossed paths with small groups of cannibals, narrowly avoiding them or defeating them without too much trouble. Still, that constant feeling of danger never left Akram.

After several more hours of running, they finally reached the place where Akram had been found, near his cryopod. As he was about to enter without hesitation, Yashyn grabbed his arm.

"Wait. Something’s wrong, Akram."

Akram looked around, not immediately understanding. Yashyn lowered his voice.

"Someone followed us... There are several of them."

Then a distant voice tore through the oppressive silence of the canyon.

"OH FUCK IT, THEY FIGURED IT OUT!"

Akram instinctively turned toward the voice, just in time to see a small spiked ball falling straight toward them.

"What the hell is that...? Wait... NO!"

Akram lunged at Yashyn, tackling him to the ground.

The small sphere was in fact a metal chestnut, similar to the ones Akram himself had designed. There was no doubt about it.

The chestnut exploded, throwing both men several meters away as sand and dust filled the air, completely obscuring their condition.