BXBX NOVEL Chapter 40 - 40 – The Raiders’ Story
My colonists gathered at their new shelter. I hadn\'t come up with a method of making a fireplace or the like that could be used indoors, so one side of the building still wasn\'t covered with wooden walls. So, the heat from the bonfire could still get in without the risk of setting the building on fire. Also, smoke will not fill the inside of the shelter.
"I\'m sorry, Pif." Manu says quietly as the skinny man treats his wound.
"Don\'t think about it." Pif gave a fleeting smile as he covered the wounds on Manu\'s face with a folded bandage. "But, I\'d prefer it if you didn\'t strangle me like you did earlier."
"Again, I am sorry." Manu sighs.
"Looks like it\'s over." Pif wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, then looked at Leva, who was lying on the dried banana leaves. The woman seemed to have fallen asleep.
"I hope she\'s okay." Manu also looked at the red-haired woman. "I\'m not too worried about the bruises on her face. She certainly could withstand the pain. But, the smack from the guy named Egan was quite nasty. The back of Leva\'s head hit the ground hard. I hope someone like that won\'t show up at our place again."
Pif was silent for a moment, then said in a slightly trembling voice. "Actually, what you said earlier was true. If I wasn\'t around, then they wouldn\'t have attacked us."
"Hey, before you live here, they already sent people to attack us." Manu patted the skinny man\'s shoulder, then smiled faintly. "So don\'t blame yourself."
Pif took a deep breath. "You should rest first. I want to check on our captive."
"Okay." Manu nodded. "You should also rest after this."
After nodding, Pif got up from the spot and went towards the one-and-a-half-meter-high wooden cage. The 2x2 square meter building is located not far from the bonfire.
"He won\'t talk to me, Pif." Seb, who was sitting in front of the cage containing the curly-haired man, said.
"Maybe he just wants to talk to you. He\'s your friend, right?" I gave orders to Pif.
The skinny young man then crouched down in front of the prisoner, who just sat looking down in silence. The wounds on his body were bandaged. I did have Seb treat him with Kat watching. The girl would shoot her arrows if Theo attacked.
I double-checked Theo\'s stats.
[Theo, 21 years old (Tribe member, Raider)]
STATS:
Ranged attack: 1/100
Melee attack: 29/100
Construction: 47/100
Crafting: 9/100
Cook: 18/100
Plants: 22/100
Mining: 6/100
Animals: 15/100
Medic: 7/100
TRAITS:
-
INCAPABLE OF:
-
HEALTH ISSUES:
Bite scars to the left thigh and right shoulder. Stab scars on the right wrist and left hand. (working speed -36%, walking speed -39%).
His construction stat is the highest. Even if he has a lot of scars, he will be a valuable addition to my colony. Manu can focus on crafting.
And as usual, without speaking at all, Kat left from there to Rox. The dog was tied to one of the large wooden stakes nearby. The pet immediately barked with joy at the arrival of its master.
"Your new tribe has hot, sexy-dressed girls." Theo laughed bitterly, still looking down. "I envy you. In our place there is nothing like them."
"Ah, he finally wants to talk." Seb stood up and patted Pif on the shoulder. "I\'m going to pee first."
After Seb was some distance away, Pif spoke. "So join me, Theo. You can see them every day. If you\'re lucky, you can get a bonus from them."
Bonuses, huh? Like when Leva teased you and put her arm around you? Or when Kat buried your face in her chest until you got a nosebleed and passed out?
Theo shook his head. "That\'s impossible, right? You should know that. If I join you and get caught by my tribe again, they\'ll torture me to death."
"I understand that ...."
"No. You don\'t understand." Theo lifted his face, revealing a desperate expression. "The punishment and training you received was not as severe as ours. For example, when you were chased by a dog. The dog didn\'t really chase you. Meanwhile, I was bitten and seriously injured. Twice."
Theo showed a large bite scar on his left leg.
"You are the son of the leader of the Tribe, Pif." Theo continued his speech. "You\'re not really threatened. You know what? Our leader really doesn\'t want to send you on a raid. Even though the people in our tribe think it can train you mentally. Once forced by other higher-ups, your father finally had to agree. Even then, at first he would send many tribesmen to escort you...."
"Enough." Pif cut off the conversation. "I don\'t want you to talk about it."
Holy shit. Turns out you have a deep story, Pif. You\'re not just a weakling bullied in your tribe. Actually, the primary source of your insecurity is because you can\'t live up to your father\'s expectations, right?
"So, you better come with me to return to our tribe, Pif." Theo said again. "Do you know how desperate I was to take you? Well, I\'m willing to forgive you even though you\'ve already killed Ella, our close friend."
Pif choked. His mouth opened, but not a single word came out.
Damn. I want Pif to convince Theo. However, it was Pif who was being persuaded instead.
"You\'d better get out of here, Pif." I asked the skinny man.
Pif gulped, then rose to his feet. Instead of entering the shelter again, Pif took a piece of wood from the bonfire and walked away.
"Hey, where are you going, Pif!?" Theo called out to the skinny man. "I still need to talk to you! You must return to our tribe!"
Pif didn\'t care and kept walking. Even when he passed Seb, he didn\'t stop at all.
"Where are you going, Pif?" Seb asked.
"I just want to be alone." Pif\'s voice was starting to get a little hoarse.
I followed the young man. He walked quite a distance until he finally came to a large rock.
The young man\'s tears began to fall. He then sat down, stuck the fiery wood in his hand, then curled up there.
He sobbed alone, accompanied by quietness.