trompé

[TW: Blood/Gore]

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3

It almost seemed like a dazed dream when Lou and Shep brought back the bloodied girl. Or, should he say, old lady, since she was much older than most of them in the camp. Everyone in the camp crowded around the woman as the medical assistant went to her.

All Aidan could see was blood as he watched the young camp members turn away from the sight. Even he couldn't stomach seeing the gruesome sight for long, and he turned back to the metal tabletop he was working at.

It almost seemed like every day there was something new to be concerned about, yet Aidan wasn't one to worry about it. His only goal was to get out of this stupid maze, he had been there for longer than he wanted already.

He grabbed the handle of a blunt sword as he swung it and tossed it onto the table. It clashed against the metal sending a loud crack throughout the camp. He didn't even flinch as he grabbed a hammer, letting the weight of the head fall and rise as he spun it with his left hand. He sent the hammer down with force to the butt of the sword, sending another loud crash throughout the camp as he repeatedly bashed the sword with his hammer until the metal disconnected from the hilt of the sword.

"What did that sword ever do to you?" a voice called. Immediately Aidan recognized the voice and he sighed preemptively as he turned to face Shep, his roommate. He had a grin on his face even though he had just brought back a woman that was most likely deceased. Did anything bother this guy?

"It's broken, I was trying to get the metal off of the hilt to salvage the hilt since it's fine. Now, leave me alone, I'm trying to work." Aidan replied as he turned back around, taking the metal sword in his hand and throwing it to a pile along with some more metal.

"Well, I would expect I need my daggers sharpened. Can you help me?" Shep asked, a grin still on his face. Aidan glared at Shep, but silently took the daggers from his hand.

"I'll bring them back at lunch." Aidan monotoned. Shep frowned slightly as he turned away, putting the daggers down at the table as he picked up the hilt from the sword he just broke. Shep watched as Aidan started to grab molds to make a new sword.

"That's cool-" Shep stated as he walked closer to the mold. Aidan grabbed his shirt collar before he could take another step closer.

"Are you a moron? It gets hot and there are also shards of metal everywhere. Watch where you are going." Aidan spat and rolled his eyes. Shep shook his head and crossed his arms slightly. Aidan let go of his shirt and then focused his attention back on the wooden handle to the sword he was working on.

"I'll be fine, I wasn't going to touch anything!" he protested, but Aidan just shook his head and sighed.

Aidan continued to move around the smith, Shep watching closely. Aidan sighed, looking at Shep with another glare of annoyance as Shep just smiled right back at him. Aidan wondered if Shep was intentionally trying to irritate him every day or if Shep was just like this every day.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I'm done your daggers, are you?" Aidan asked, his voice sounding tired and irritated. Shep shook his head, confirming Aidan's suspicions. He groaned slightly.

"Aw come on, I'm not that horrible to hang around, am I?" Shep asked, leaning against the metal table.

"You're insufferable." Aidan huffed, grabbing the daggers from the metal table. He walked and grabbed a metal rod, flipping the dagger to face the rod as he struck down to sharpen the blade.

"Shep, what's up with that lady? She looks bad? Who even is she?" a boy's voice called. Aidan sighed, continuing to sharpen Shep's dagger as he looked over to see the young boy that Shep always hung out with. Aidan couldn't remember his name.

"I dunno, she is badly injured though… I don't know why Lou took her back, but I support her choice." Shep shrugged, taking his hand and messing up the kid's hair. Aidan was nervous about how close the kid was to the smith. He could get hurt, especially since the two of them liked to goof off and they were unpredictable.

"Hey Kid, get outta here it's dangerous," Aidan said, glaring over at the two of them. The kid gulped slightly, looking down at the ground. Aidan sighed and looked back at Shep's daggers, continuing to sharpen them.

"Hey don't be mean to Melvin, he wasn't doing anything," Shep called, crossing his arms. Aidan took a mental note of the kids' name, then he shrugged slightly. He finally finished the daggers Shep had asked for him to sharpen. Normally, Shep would go to the smith every day just to annoy Aidan. He couldn't say no to sharpening his daggers, since it was his job.

Aidan went back to his sword mold, sanding it down. He then took a match and lit a fire so he could melt down the metal used for the sword.

"Who's the sword for?" Shep asked, tilting his head.

"Griffin. He wants a new one." Aidan replied. He almost wished Shep would leave him alone, but it was impossible. He saw Shep every day since they were roommates. Some commotion brought Aidan's attention back to the woman, who was still being treated and watched.

"Oh no," Melvin murmured slightly, and Shep looked at Melvin.

"What's wrong?" Shep asked. Aidan already knew though. He could tell by the look from the Medic and Lou, along with the others who were surrounding the woman. She wasn't breathing anymore, and everyone around her had a mixture of dread, fear and grief in their face.

"She's dead." Melvin whispered, "Now we have no idea why she's even here."

Shep sighed, then he put his hand on Melvin's shoulder, "Come on Melvin, let's go get lunch." Shep said, trying to distract the kid from the sight. Shep looked at Aidan, and Aidan shook his head.

Shep sighed, then, finally, took the kid away from the Smith. Aidan continued working in silence, every once in a while looking up to see the camp digging a hole to bury the woman in. After a while, he got to a stopping point where he took off his gloves. He ran his fingers through his hair as he stepped down from the smith, walking to the dining hall, where Melvin and Shep were eating, along with some other kids.

He walked up to the chef, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her apron was covered in stains yet she didn't seem to care as she flashed a smile to Aidan.

"Afternoon Aidan." she said softly, "What do you want?" she asked. Aidan shrugged slightly.

"Whatever you made... Uh.. chef," he replied. The girl chuckled then shook her head.

"Beth. My name is Beth… you keep forgetting that." she shrugged as she started making a plate of vegetables and cooked potatoes. Aidan wasn't good with names, the only ones he could seem to remember were his roommates and his own.

"Right, Beth," he murmured as he was handed the plate. He took it, then walked over to a table where he sat alone. He ate his meal in silence.

For a few minutes, everything was quiet. Until he heard someone's plate on his table, followed by another plate. He looked up to see Melvin and Shep sitting across from him. He scowled, watching Shep, who just smiled.

Shep and Melvin continued to talk as if Aidan wasn't there. He watched Shep for a few seconds before looking back down at his plate. He sighed, shaking his head before continuing to eat. He tried to hide the smile growing on his face as he listened to the two boys laugh and joke around.

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Hey, a chapter! Wooooh! It's my brother's birthday, so I wanted to do something special and he does like reading my stories. This is for him, but also for everyone reading this!

The woman is dead, how will the camp find out what they are doing there now? Hm, I wonder.

Leave reviews if you are interested in doing so, and have a great day!