Leanna-Chapter 250: [LEANNA] 1.3

I held my head high, staring into his eyes without blinking as I ready myself.

". . ."

". . ."

After a long silence, he huffed a laugh. "Heh, if I wanted to kill you, I could have done it in your sleep."

And the strangest thing happened when he withdrew his gun and rested his back against the dirty walls of the cave, completely at rest, but maintaining a vigilant eye on me.

I frowned and shot him a glare before I snatched a jar of preserved fruits and chomped on it. Then I offered the jar to him.

"There’s no poison. I just ate it."

". . ."

". . ."

His brows twitched, eyes alternating between me and the jar before he accepted it.

He inspected the jar for the longest time that made me lost count on how many times I rolled my eyes. He sniffed its contents, and a frown formed on his handsome face. He closed his eyes, and with hesitant fingers, picked a fruit and ate it.

I held my laughter when he suppressed the contortion of his face like he just ate something sour.

I created a small fire and grabbed another jar containing preserved rabbit meat and heat it over the fire. When the meat was cooked, I handed it to him.

"Here."

Again, he just watched me, confused.

"I did save you, might as well go all the way," I said without a care. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The scowl on his face deepened. "I don’t understand. Why save me if you know I’ll just slaughter your people once I’m completely healed?"

His frankness rendered me speechless.

I breathed a mouthful of air to calm my nerves.

"What do you want me to do? Leave you here to die?"

"Yes. That’s exactly what you should have done in the first place."

My head hurts from the knitting of my brows. "Well, unfortunately for you, I’m a naïve, uneducated, uncivilized, savage who can’t stomach and sleep because I left somebody to their deaths knowing that I could have saved them."

I didn’t let him retort and rose to my feet. Any more conversation with him, and I was afraid he would convince me to kill him.

"If you need more food, you can have some," I said, giving him the side-eye. "But I’m warning you . . . don’t finish it all for it’s your only rations until you can move and hunt for your own food."

I grabbed my leather bag full of water and left him there without another word. I took the opportunity that he couldn’t walk and moved much and scurried away from him.

I surveyed my surroundings. When the coast was clear, I climbed into the mountain in a hurry while staying vigilant of my environment since it was already afternoon –– and keeping an eye out for another cave to be my secret retreat since my last one was compromised. I wasn’t planning on going back there again. It was too risky.

I already saved his life. It’s up to him from here on out.

My only concern was whether he’d report this incident to his superiors, or he’d search this entire mountain for any survivors. Either of the two was catastrophic!

Though the hut we lived in was secluded in a hidden cave, but if an entire group of soldiers would search, it was likely possible to find it.

I have to warn the others!

I felt guilty that I compromised our shack, and if my companions were going to kill me because of it, I know I wouldn’t defend myself.

----

"What’s going on?"

I asked while panting when I returned and found the three girls still embracing each other while the little guy stayed silent on the side, trembling.

"Where’s old man, Totoy?" I questioned when I noticed there was no sign of the old man.

"He hasn’t returned," the middle sister answered.

My forehead wrinkled.

I have a bad feeling about this. The old man never left for a day. This was the first time it happened.

"Did you get water?" the older sister asked.

The people inside this hut never once questioned me even if I was away for a day. They thought I was getting water and picking fruits and herbs and hunting animals for an entire day. Only the old man reprimanded me not to climb down the forest so often.

Throughout the day, my mind was occupied by the old man that I totally forgot to tell them about the invader.

Two days past by since I helped that stranger, and since then, I didn’t have the chance to talk about him to my companions. I was too busy searching the upper parts of the mountain for the old man, at the same time, picking some herbs, fruits, and catching animals or any insects to eat. Since the lower stream was compromised at the moment, I hadn’t gone down the mountain nor fetch water, and our supply was running dry. Whether I like it or not, someone had to fetch water downstream.

After another two days, we ruled that the old man was dead, and since I hadn’t found his body in the upper and mid-mountain, chances were, the old man must have gone in the foot of the mountain, or he’d gone in a village and was caught and killed.

Unfortunately for me, I took his role.

I was the one who gathered food and other necessities for us to live by with the occasional help from my companions. I never went down the mountain since then, afraid that man was still there, and of course, my companions too never dared. They would rather die from hunger than ventured out from the safety of the upper mountains.

But I came to the point that someone had to go down since our water supply had all been dried out. And of course, that responsibility fell on my shoulders –– again.

It was around two in the morning when I decided to fetch some water. It was a good time to go down since it was neither bright nor dark. The perfect setting to run and hide just in case their were enemies lurking nearby the stream. Before I fetch some water, I made a detour to my old hideout. I didn’t know why I did that.

Maybe out of curiosity.

Maybe because I wanted to check for that man even though I knew it was dangerous.

Maybe because I wanted to glance at his handsome face again.

Or maybe all of it.

But whatever it was, it was already too late to go back since I was now standing inside my old lair completely –– alone.

Where is he?!

Why isn’t he here?

I didn’t know why I panicked and saddened at the same time when I didn’t saw him. My head shifted left and right, checking the surroundings, checking for any signs that the cave was inhabited.

. . .

. . .

None.

Just the half-empty jars of preserved food. My usual tattered spare clothes and a blanket. The lamp and the cogon bed.

. . .

. . .

The cogon bed!