Silence the Hunger

The morning sun arrived and with it the warmth of a new day, without a fire keeping them warm, it was a struggle to maintain adequate heat. Most shivered through the night. So the appearance of the sun’s warm rays was a welcome sight, despite their current predicament.

‘Survival is all about the big impact of small moments.’ Alphonse remembered the words Professor Alfred had told them before their mission. The minor victories were sometimes the most overlooked.

“Good morning everyone.” Dillan stretched, the wound on his arm already scabbing over thanks to his trait.

“Did anyone sleep at all?” Everyone collectively shook their heads. Large dark bags lay underneath their droopy eyes.

“Going by your damned snoring you must have slept plenty enough for all of us.” Ellena snapped at Dillan, jealous of how he slept.

“Well, it’s my talent.” Dillan scratched the back of his head as he chortled.

“Keep it down, will you? What if they hear us?” Jenson rebuked the loud-mouthed sasquatch as he warily looked around.

“Oh, look who’s gained a sense of emergency.” Ellena attacked back.

“Guys, let’s relax and figure out what we’re going to do from now on. The other classes should arrive soon, and if those orogs are still there, many won’t make it.” Alphonse spoke up, mediating for the group.

“Alphonse what the hell happened to you?!” Isabelle looked mortified as she looked at Alphonse’s blood soaked attire, dried blood remained at the side of his mouth.

“Ohh, I uhh… Went into the forest at night for something to eat.” Alphonse looked guilty. He tried rubbing away at the blood on his hands but it was futile.

“What… Are you freaking crazy?!” Isobelle almost shouted but managed to quickly mute her shout as it turned into a whisper.

“I had to, I’m sorry.” Alphonse looked at Isobelle, Ellena, and Dillan. As they looked at his eyes, they remembered his trait.

“Shit, well, you should have taken us with you. I swear if you go by yourself next time, I’ll tie you to a damned tree!” Ellena gripped his shoulder, not letting him move in the slightest.

“Alright, I promise.” Alphonse smiled. A rare warmth filled his icy heart.

“What did you eat?” Liam looked at the state of Alphonse, almost every inch of him was covered in dried up blood.

“I found a dead Orc.” He responded.

“You ate an Orc. What, raw?” Jenson questioned. He retched, just imagining it, and so did the other girls in the group.

“Wait, the Orc was already dead?” Ian thought of something as he interrupted.

“Yes, It could have been an inner dispute between them or… something else.” Alphonse knew what he was thinking, if something could harm the Orc to that extent. It meant there were more dangerous monsters lurking in this forest.

Ian took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. “Alright, for now, our key priority is that we’ve got to figure out how to reach out to the other classes. According to what we know, the gateway entrance has a range of entry. So, if they don’t appear where we appeared, they will hopefully be close by.”

“What about the mission?” Isabelle said, her fingers worriedly brushed through her hair, removing bits of leaves and twigs, at a feeble attempt to calm herself down.

“That isn’t our problem. Remember, it’s Class E’s duty to clean up an area and make camp. Scouting out the area, whereas the higher tiered classes focus on the mission. Besides, I wouldn’t even know where to start.” Ian spoke the truth. They hardly had enough strength to run away from the Orcs nevermind anything else. Even Isabelle's one and only spell might as well have been used as face wash.

“Guys, why do you think the Orcs let us leave?” Liam spoke out after looking like he was in deep thought. He continued. “I mean, they could have easily chased us into the forest, right?”

“You’re right, but instead of sitting here waiting for answers, I think it’s about time we made a move.” Alphonse cracked his neck from the poor mattress he was using last night. He picked up his mace and looked at everyone else. Waiting for their response.

The others were apprehensive. Their group had a bunch of people that were too scared to move or too weak. The group essentially comprised Alphonse, Ellena, Isabelle, Dillan, Liam, Jenson and Ian. The others couldn’t be relied upon.

“What about food and water? We are starving and thirsty.” One recruit from the ragtag group spoke up.

“Starving huh.” Alphonse mocked, you do not know what it’s like to starve, he thought.

“Then go out and find it yourselves, like Alphonse did.” Ellena lashed out at them. She was annoyed at the freeloaders. All they did was sit around and mope while they were the ones to make camp.

“We can look for food while searching for the other classes, but Alphonse is right. We should move now before something else happens.” Ian pacified the two as they all eventually agreed. They had to do something, despite their fear of the dangers.

Alphonse and the others left the ragtag group in camp, as they headed out towards the entrance of the forest. Everyone kept a lookout as they hiked through the thick foliage.

Alphonse tightly gripped his mace. Every little sound of a twig breaking or leaves being rustled made them almost jump in fright.

“How much longer?” Ellena whispered in an unsure voice.

“It should just be here…” Just as Ian stopped talking, a mass of light shone from in front. They had reached the end of the forest, as they quickly but carefully urged forwards.

The group peered their eyes from behind the trees as they looked at the grass plains in front. Bodies lay littered on the ground as birds flocked around, occasionally dipping down as they pecked away pieces of their decaying flesh.

“I hear something…” Liam nudged his head closer, as if he was trying to make something out in the distance.

“I hear it too. Is that fighting?” Alphonse agreed. It sounded like screaming. They rushed through the tree line, making sure their bodies were still masked by the grassy plains in front. They looked down the other side of the plains.

Alphonse was right, a large group of humans were fighting large green men. However, this time it was actual orcs and not Orog’s. He knew that for certain. Despite that, they were still incredibly tough opponents. They were quickly devastating the humans in brutal fashion.

“What do we do?” Alphonse looked at Ian. He wasn’t afraid to admit that he was smarter than he was. He wasn’t too keen on being a leader, either.

“There’s nothing we can do, right?” Ellena said. She knew exactly where they stood. Class E recruits that barely had just surpassed the human body limits, if that.

Just as she said that, a powerful ice blast formed from the humans as he sent it hurtling towards the Orcs. At the contact, it exploded in an icy blue mist. Once the mist had disappeared, the person had firmly rooted the Orcs in place. It was then a barrage of bright arrows pierced directly towards them. The arrows securely lodged themselves into the thick skin of the Orcs as they screamed at the humans in front of them.

“It’s Class A!” Isabelle’s eyes shone as she watched the firepower from the classes below.

They had decided as they readied their weapons for combat.