Chương 7: 7. Shade

Linda, Steve and Lukas are standing before the tree lined outskirts of the forest with grim expressions. Lukas ear twitches as he hears some kind of ruckus coming from the town.

"I can hear them" he tells them in all seriousness. "They're coming".

Steve looks down on the boy, smiles while appreciating the gesture. Linda gives him a side eye, then sighs. "Fine, you guys, I am leaving. Leaving all this masculine, hard tasks up to you all."

Crunching leaves can be heard as a woman with red hair steps into view from behind a house. "Masculine, you say? These idiots couldn't hunt a deer if it was right in front of them".

"Grace..." Linda mutters.

A large, burly man comes into view from behind her.

"Absolutely, calling a child masculine... don't make me laugh, I am not in the mood" He rumbles.

Steve turns to greet the newcomers with a smile on his face "Harold, Grace, always a pleasure".

Ignoring him, Harold unabashedly continues "You're bringing a kid? Really? This isn't a picnic, Steve"

Steve frowns in response. "He was there, Harold. He, more than anyone, deserves to be here" As if remembering something, Steve massages his eyes. "Am sorry, Harold, I didn't..."

He is sharply cut off before he manages to continue "Save it, the only one who needs babying is that kid" Grace side-eyes the man for a moment, then shrugs and steps back. The gaze of the two men meets, and sparks seem to fly from the intensity.

"Lukas has promised to listen to me, if I say run, he runs. Right, Lukas?" Lukas nods and Linda takes this as her cue to leave, hunching down in front of the kid. "Alright, I have to leave now, you better take care of yourself! Alright?" Lukas nods once again, blushing profusely when she plants a kiss on his forehead. Seeing that, she smiles and walks away. Grace's voice travels to her ear as she walks past her. "You're really going to let the kid go? Are you crazy?" She keeps walking without responding, in no time she's already gone.

Close to the town center a group of burly, bearded men with pitchforks, swords and bows seem to be walking in a certain direction. Too preoccupied with their own banter, none of them notice a woman with tears in her eyes walking by. They soon reach the forest line and see the Mexican standoff between Steve and Harold. A tall man with deep seated black eyes and a scary smile, laughs and shouts loudly. "Hahaha, I'd never thought I'd see the day where Steve gets into a fight with someone" He seems to take humor in the situation, causing Steve to scratch his head and Harold to cross his arms. A glint seems to travel through his eyes "But, this isn't a normal day, is it?" Both men nod and compose themselves, deciding to focus on the matter at hand. A certain air of intensity seems to fall upon the group of men, making Lukas sweat from the sheer pressure.

"Steve, you were there first. Tell us, what exactly happened?" The man demands. Steve takes a look at Lukas and sighs. The number of times this topic has been repeated is already starting to wear at him, he can only imagine how the kid feels. Shaking his head, he puts on a practiced easy going smile and steps forward. "Well, it goes something like this..."