So many questions flew around my head. Who was Emory? Where was he from? How did he know me? Why was he so intent on helping me? And most importantly, why did my words affect him so much?

I had received no answers to any of my questions. I had badgered Emory with questions, none of which he answered. He just continued to limp next to me with a huge smirk splayed across his face. I guess he felt that he now had the upper hand in our newly minted relationship.

After what seemed like hours, he suddenly changed course and took us through what seemed like a mangrove. I had not even realised where the Forest sector ended and where the mangrove entanglement started. I kept forgetting that he obviously had a path to follow and so he was completely self assured.

I had never before heard of anyone allowing someone else to walk their path with them. It befuddled me to realise that I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on.

"Gi", he began.

"What did you call me?", I interjected.

"Sorry. I meant Giana. I got distracted", he replied almost instantly.

I raised an eyebrow. There was definitely something off about this Emory character. I just could not put my finger on what it was.

"There is a hideaway that we will reach in a couple minutes. It should be safe there. Nobody ventures out this far", he said assuredly.

"How do you know it is there? How do you know it is safe?", I asked curiously,

He laughed to himself before shaking his head. I thought that was impolite. I had asked a genuine and serious question and he did not even have the decency to answer it. I rolled my eyes. I hated that I was confined to be here with him. I hated the fact that he knew my name, that he possibly knew so much more about me and I had no idea who he was or where he came from. I hated that he had this hold over me. I could not leave until I found out what he knew about me and how much of a threat he posed to me.

"I know you must find it annoying to be in the dark. I promise that everything will make sense soon", he said quietly.

How did he know that? How did he know how I felt? These questions were only added to the ever-growing list in my head.

"Easy for you to say", I muttered.

He sighed heavily and limped ahead of me. I had probably pushed it too far this time but that was not the point. Emory was the last person that could get annoyed now. At least he knew what he was doing, where he was going. At least he had a Destiny. Whereas I merely had a map and a long treacherous  and unknown journey ahead of me. We kept walking a part form each other, Emory lost in his thoughts and I, in mine.

After a few minutes, Emory stopped and looked straight ahead. I stopped being him, keeping a fair distance away from him. 

"We are here", Emory called back to me.

I looked past him to find a cabin-like structure, heavily concealed by overgrown shrubbery and trees. If I had not been looking for it, I would have very likely walked right past it. I felt a sense of relief flood my body, at least I had a safe place to rest for now and regain some of my energy.

My stomach growled. I had not eaten anything today and it was almost dusk.

Emort chuckled ahead of me.

"You will have full plate in front of you in a minute", he said with a laugh.

I felt my face heat up. At least I knew nothing could be moer embarrassing than that. He had been walking st least a few steps ahead of me and had heard stomach grumble loudly.

"Maybe I would have remembered to eat if I had not been so busy looking after you", I snapped at him.

He turned around to face me. His eyes were softer and an expression of deep sadness was wiped across his face.

"Giana. Please just wait until we can talk", he pleaded.

My eyes widened. He seemed so sad and so desperate to have this conversation with me. I wondered what was going through his mind. We had spent majority of the walk in silence, both of us entirely consumed by our thoughts.

"Okay Emory", I whispered.

My response seemed to do the trick. He turned around and went to open the cabin door. It was hidden behind a large green shrub which proved to be quite tricky to manoeuvre around. It was starting to get colder and i had to rub my arms to keep myself warm. Emory just seemed to get more and more frustrated with the shrub as time went on.

"Really?", he screamed at it. "What do you plants have against me today?", he questioned the inanimate object.

I held back a laugh, remembering the incident earlier when he had yelled at a branch. As if he could hear me, Emory looked back at me and scowled.

"Oh, wipe that smug smile off your face", he muttered.

It was difficult not to laugh and eventually I could not hold it in anymore. Emory stopped and sighed heavily before turning to me with a stone cold expression on his face. I stopped laughing and pressed my lips into a thin line, forcing back the laughter that so desperately wanted to come out. Emory seemed to be having the same problem because his cold expression soon dissolved into laughter too.

Eventually, after a few minutes of shrub fighting and frustration from Emory's side. The door was finally opened and I was let in inside.

The cabin was everything I had imagined and more. For starters, it was warm ad that was what I needed most right now. It had beds, a fridge, a bathroom and even Unit Supply Kit which I had only ever seen at my House in the Housing Unit.

I sighed. This quest would have to wait. I needed to rest and I needed to eat. There were two beds in the room, both were pushed to either end of the cabin walls. In the centre of the room was a wooden table laden with a pure white table cloth and a bowl of fresh fruit.

I frowned. If this cabin was abandoned as it looked, then how was the fruit on the table fresh? Surely it would have been rotten by now? I added that to the list of things that did not make sense in my head.

Yawning, I decided that I would deal with the mountain of unknown things at a later stage. For now, I needed some food and a lot of sleep. I walked towards one of the beds, the thought of warmth and comfort luring me with every step closer.

I had almost reached the comfort and warmth of the beautifully presented my bed when my arm was yanked and I flew backwards. I braced myself for the impact of the cold wooden floor, but instead was met with a warm human body.

I looked up to my find a familiar pair of concerned blue eyes staring down at me. I was about to starting protesting but was silenced by a slender finger pressed to my lips.

"Giana. We need to talk", Emory said firmly.

With that he pushed me to my feet, pulled out a chair at the table and sighed heavily. I took a seat opposite him and stared at him silently.

"This will be a lot to take in", he began.

"I can handle it", I interjected.

He looked at me sadly and began to speak.