The forests were in sight, no more than a mile away from the edge of the city as the roads began to connect with the dirt tracks ahead. Even the smell of the lush evergreen trees and overgrown ivy could be smelled from the point they stood at, which was a relief to Gumi. She hated the stench of the cities, nothing but death and dust to overwhelm her senses. And not to mention they would be closer to the third Eve than before. She was going to meet them in a week at the next city, though it was quite a trek.

Yet, it appeared the weather had other plans as the heavens collapsed and the rain came pouring down like a waterfall. It wouldn't have bothered any of them if it weren't for the low PH of the rainwater. It was roughly a two on the PH scale, meaning that if it touched the skin, it would be highly corrosive and burn through like acid. Yet another effect of the bombs that had exploded and permanently scarred the atmosphere above them all.

However, they were prepared. Above their heads was a small shield again that acted as an umbrella of sorts. The rain just bounced of and couldn't corrode through the shield. How their technology had came across the shield, Gumi would never know. But it was doing a good job of protecting her and the others so she had no real complaints.

"Where to now, Gumi?" The first Eve's watcher asked. His name was Gakupo, but he'd made no attempts to communicate with her and she had reciprocated that kindness. Until now, at least.

"Straight on, it's basically a straight route for the next three days." Gumi replied, shaking her head as she stood on something that looked like a rock but turned out to be a skull.

The four of them had agreed previously to set up camp in another standing building that had been labelled as "non-hostile", meaning that there were no lurkers or creepers inside. A lucky escape for them all, since it meant they were all more likely to be warm that night and they got a little more privacy. Which was nice, sort of.

"How long until we reach the camp?" Luka asked, looking at the sky to see the sun was quickly making it's way over the horizon.

"Roughly an hour, no longer." Len replied before smiling at the pink haired beauty.

A pang of jealousy punched Gumi in the gut as she watched Len grin. He had never smiled at her like that and she felt half offended, half betrayed. Grimacing, she made a small hissing sound while touching the tracker on her wrist. A blue-tinted hologram rose from her watch-like tracker and she gingerly pressed the map.

There were no real dangers around them. A few creepers below round. No lurkers for a good mile in each direction and it seemed the solar energy and acid rain was half helping them, in a way. You see, solar energy had an incredibly harmful effect on both lurkers and creepers. It burnt their skin instantly, causing them to blister up and slowly, painfully, burn to death and visibly shrivel up. Same for the acid rain, but that was why they traveled in daylight. It made life a little easier.

Next, she checked how far they were from the next checkpoint where they would meet up with the third Eve. They were still seven days away but they hardly rested from their trekking, so they were a few hours ahead. Finally, she checked her "team" and their vitals. She looked perfectly fine, though her fluid levels were low. She would have to drink some water soon. Len, he was practically perfect and it was the same for the other watcher. However, Luka appeared fatigued due to poor sleep the previous night. Perhaps she was an insomniac of sorts, though Gumi could make no clear connections since she had hardly watched the girl sleep or questioned her on it.

Closing down the hologram, Gumi sighed and slowed slightly until she was beside Len. He simply looked at her at first, as though questioning why she had slowed down. Yet, she slowed down even more until she was out of earshot of the other two. Then, she said to Len,"What do you think of those two?"

"Uh, I guess they're both pretty nice. Gakupo is pretty cool and his sword skills are awesome. Luka's pretty sweet and I can hardly believe she carries weapons like that!" Len said, grinning as he stared ahead to admire the pistols on Luka's hips.

"Alright." Gumi responded, crossing her arms and walking ahead slightly, eager to spend the remainder of the day ignoring him.

"Hey." Len said, jogging to catch up with her. "Did I say something wrong?"

When don't you? In all the time Gumi had known Len, he had always seemed to know the right words to offend her or something. Sometimes it was clearly an accident and other times she just wondered if he had thought it all through in his mind. She supposed she had to give him some leeway since he was a male and in her opinion, most males were stupid and rather docile, but she wasn't about to forgive him. And forgive him for what? For offending her, though she didn't quite know how he'd managed to do such a thing.

"Gumi!" Len almost snapped as he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned to look at him suddenly, her face full of malice but her eyes shiny and wet with betrayal. She didn't know why she was like that around him, how her emotions snapped from one extreme to the next like a flurry of feelings had hit her like a brick wall or a blizzard. Still, she looked into his diamond blue eyes that were a clash between confusion and anger. "Why are you being like this? Have I done something?"

She sniffed and shrugged her shoulders before muttering, "Do you like her?"

"That's it?" Len asked, chuckling before pulling her in for a hug. "You're incredibly silly, Gumi."

The base they reached was a small house made from reinforced steel and concrete, meaning it was colder than expected, but warmer than the outside world. There were only a few rooms, so Luka and Gakupo took one while Gumi and Len took the other. Laying out her blankets on top of a few others before getting undressed and changing into a long white dress with puffy sleeves that tightened around her wrists. It was old fashioned but she felt more able to sleep if she wasn't in her normal clothes.

She could feel Len's stare as she removed her shirt and shorts, leaving her body in only the underwear she'd chosen earlier on that day. And when she turned around to glare at him when she had pulled the dress over her head, she noticed how he had a small blush on his cheeks as he had changed into a pair of baggy trousers and a grey shirt.

"I smell food." Len said blandly, busying himself with reloading his gun with new capsules.

"I'm not hungry." Gumi replied emptily, folding her clothes neatly before sitting cross-legged on the blankets.

Len shrugged and sighed, finishing up reloading the capsules and putting the gun on his bed. Shaking his head, he left the room. For a second, there was silence before he poked his head through the gap between the door and door-frame and said, "Nice panties, by the way."

Rolling her eyes, Gumi turned away and focused back on her tracker before checking everyone's vitals. Everyone seemed to be fine, even her though fatigue was really setting in for everyone. Then, she checked the weather. Since it fluctuated so often within the city where the atmosphere was the most damaged, the weather wasn't exactly dependable. However, it seemed likely that the next day would be warm and sunny, especially in the forest that was not even a ten minute walk away.

Sighing, she pulled up a keyboard in the interactive hologram and began to type.

It seems like the days and nights are both going to be our enemy soon enough. In the city, there is no life. It is as though even the animals are sensible enough as to not try to invade the once war zones and have instead retreated to their original home where they are safe from the radiation and mutations. Yet, the second our feet touch the dirt path we will have to watch for the mutations and the wildlife. They are both threats to our very existence in such a fragile world.
My appetite has faded but I know it is a side affect of my allergy treatment, so I am not so bothered by it. I know that I have no reason to worry but I worry about our whole team. Two Eve's and two watchers, so I know our importance is pretty high. But I can't help but feel like the others don't really care about this mission. We are trying to free people, and yet nobody seems to give a damn. Do they not understand the importance of this all? The fact that we have to kill off a corrupt government?
Though my personal feelings should not be involved, I can not help but miss my twin. He is not here when I need him to watch over me. He volunteered but never made his way passed all the trials because of the damage to his left ear. And yet, I wish he was here rather than Len. Len is the type of human who lives to frustrate me and yet, my heart swells and pumps faster when I think of him and see his brilliant diamond eyes... However, this is a mission and most definitely not a love scene in some book. Therefore, I shall not allow my feelings to invade this.

Sighing, she closed down the hologram and lay her head against the pillow to try and sleep. She was tired of her emotions running wild and the silent death threats from every direction. Sleep was a happy escape and her eyes quickly closed as her soul and body relaxed and slept.

Had she stayed awake a little longer, she would've seen Len pull the blankets over her and kiss her cheek goodnight...