-Tavyra's POV-

We were up before the sun was. The crowd that gathered counted up to about 47 total. Mostly men, but there wee a good handful of women around. Zannic was busy taking names near the exit of the neighborhood. I wandered around, getting a couple glances now and again, but it wasn't bothered by them. I scanned the crowd and saw Tyson standing by himself, isolated from the growing malitia. He seemed very deep in his thoughts, his hands in his pockets, the unbreakable stare across the still sleeping homes and the growing dew on the lawns. Maybe I shouldn't bother him. But on the other hand...

"G'morning, Tyson."

I caught his eye and he a forced smirk. He mumbled a good morning to me. I guess he wasn't a big morning person. 

"You ready for the mission?" I asked him. Tyson simply nodded in place of a response. I eyed him closely. He looked a little bit more upset than usual. I put a hand on his shoulder and he finally looked over at me. The look in his eye reminded me of Zannic. My heart went out of him. "You alright?" I asked him. 

He simply sighed and walked away from me. He went towards the crowd of growing militia, fading away from my sight. I didn't follow after him, I guess he needed some time by himself. I mean, what could I do? 

Zannic's voice yelled across the group. I couldn't quite see him, but I could hear him. "Ladies and gentleman, gather your things, we'll be departing on the first sight of sun." Mummers and light noise roused the mostly quiet group. Most people putting on backpacks of supplies. Most of the volunteers had a military background so knew the importance of packing light, yet having everything needed to survive. I had to admit, we looked like a bunch of campers, but this was a much more dangerous adventure. 

I made my way to the front where Zannic was putting on his backpack. His backpack was a little bit heavier than everyone else's as he insisted that he carry both of our equipment. We locked eyes and a smile grew from his tired-stained face. I walked up to him and he gave me a side hug, the backpack getting in the way of a proper hug. "In the first leg of the journey, I want you in the front near me. Tyson will be near the back, watching any stragglers, ya know." He filled me in. 

I agreed with him. I already knew he wanted to walk at least 15 hours today. He wanted to walk with the sun so there wasn't a need for flashlights. He was scared it would blow our cover. I wouldn't argue with him, this was a suicide mission already and he wanted be as safe as possible. As much as he thought about how to make everything as safe as he can, he never really talked like he was gonna come back alive. Maybe he didn't want to think about it. 

As we waited, Zannic simply looked at me. I wasn't sure if he was thinking or if he was just looking at me to look. "Is everything set and ready to go?" I asked him. 

He nodded, "Yup. I got everything in the bag and the map." He held up a rolled up paper in his left hand. "And I got my girl right here." I blushed. The fact of us embarking on a mission that was almost guarantees death sounded better than being apart from him. It dazzled me. I was more scared of being alone than death. 

"Fear is a powerful thing." He said under his breath. I looked over at him. Maybe he was just thinking the same thing I was. It would be crazy if he could actually read my mind. 

I scoffed and that's when someone gave us the announcement we were waiting for, "First sign of sun!" 

Zannic turned around and addressed the crowd behind us, "Let's start moving!" And he began to walk. I followed him. And everybody started to follow me. Follow us. 

~~~~~

I wasn't sure how much time had past. It could've been anywhere between 4-6 hours of straight walking. My legs were starting to ache but I didn't really feel them. Zan and I were making small talk and making stupid jokes every once in a while. We even started to play ISpy. Somehow we were in round six, "I spy something....green." I said. 

Zan chuckled, "It isn't the tree is it?" 

I laughed myself and shook my head, "Nah." There wasn't much to pick by. We walked in the middle of a forest. There were barren trees all around us. The sun barreled down on us and making the reds and oranges of the leaves on the ground shine bright. Surprisingly, the sun didn't make it hotter, it was actually rather cool this time of day. It wasn't too hot, not too cold, and there was no breeze, it was just perfect. 

Zannic thought for a second, taking another guess at it, "The moss on that tree?" 

There was a tree farther up that was growing moss. I hadn't even noticed it before he pointed it out, I couldn't help but laugh. "Nope." He rolled his eyes playfully, "Be careful, you've got one chance left." 

"Tavyra, it's well into autumn, what else green is there out here?" I laughed. I'd got him on this one. I might just win. Zan looked down still thinking and then he had an epiphany, "My shoes!" He said excitedly. His shoes had a line of lime green in them to complete the look.

I chuckled and gently rubbed his hair in comfort, "So close!" I told him. I was really hoping he would've got this one. "How about, your backpack?" I told him. 

He turned around, trying to get a look at the backpack, it was more of a dirty green. He looked at me with an evilly playful look, "You're a cheating little wolf, ya know that." 

We both laughed. "Don't hate me, hate the game. Not my fault you're bad at this game."

Zannic playfully pushed me with his shoulder. I pushed him back, both of us laughing and chuckling. The backpack on him made it much easier to tip him off his balance. Usually, he wouldn't even budge. He had to catch his own balance before he bumped into somebody behind him. He quickly apologized and gave me a playful sneer. I simply smirked back at him. After walking for hours on end, it wasn't so bad. 

Tyson briskly walked to the front and stayed on the other side of Zannic. He seemed a little out of breath, trying to catch up with us. "Alpha, we need to rest." 

Zannic unrolled the map in his hands and looked. Tyson looked at the map over Zan's shoulder. After some examination, he replied, "We have made some distance." It sounded like Zan wasn't ready to stop just yet. I looked back towards the group, everybody seemed to be holding up pretty well, but there were some in the back who were sweating and breathing rather hard. 

Tyson tried to convince Zan, "We've walked about 15 miles and there's only one rest stop about a mile ahead over here-" Tyson pointed to a spot on the map that said "rest stop", it wasn't too far of where we were, "After that, there's not one for another 30 miles." He pointed to a farther stop that looked far even on the map. 

Zannic was silent for a few moment, thinking. I knew enough that Zannic was stubborn enough and wanted to get through his 15 hours. A stop would have made things even harder. I helped out Tyson by trying to put logic through his head, "People are going to have to pee soon and that's gonna stop us anyway." 

Zannic looked over at me and was silent. Then he nodded, "Very well. A break wouldn't kill." I smiled and rubbed his back. Tyson nodded in relief, I think he was just as tired as anyone else, but he did have to run up here. I'd be tired too I guess. 

~~~~~~~~

The rest stop was small and dainty but able to hold all of us. It had four sets of picnic tables with a small restroom in between the two tables. They even had a small grill to the side. The place was covered in fallen leaves everywhere. On the seats, on top of the roof of the outhouse and even on the grill. If someone told me these leaves were here since last season, I'd have to believe them.

The crowd was a collective uplifting sound of relief and cheeriness, the tiredness finally becoming apparent throughout the others. Zannic finally stopped and turned to the crowd, his voice carrying to Tyson in the back, "Alright, we've made some pretty good time. Take some time, relax, stretch, use the restroom, just use your time wisely. We continue in one hour." 

Even before Zannic could finish his sentence, the forest was filled with the sounds of backpacks falling to the ground.