The bonfire gatherings brought mixed feelings to Asan. The smiles of the people surrounding him warmed his heart, but at the same time, his head felt cold. He had never felt like a good fit for such campaigns. Everyone had something to talk about, to share from their past, while he... He was empty. In life, almost nothing interested him except money and the desire to escape Janschwalde-Island. Every day he worked on himself to fulfill one single task – to find himself in this life.
Sitting by these flickering flames, each person felt differently, each fire hidden in the reflection of their eyes was their own, telling much about them. Laszlo had a bright, blazing fire of hope and strength. He may have been childish, but he was real. Just as he was, without hiding anything.
Maybe that's why many people liked him, for being a simple guy who could be irritated or offended by almost nothing.
"I was a programmer. I was born in Janschwalde and came to visit my family on vacation, but then System struck" said Paul with a dark look. His voice trembled slightly, indicating that he wasn't a robot and had feelings.
Laszlo started encouraging him and expressing sympathy for what had happened. Alice stroked Paul's head, while Crane assured him that everything would be okay. Only Asan sat silently, not knowing what to say. He didn't understand what Paul felt after losing his family. Did he feel pain? Disappointment? Sadness?
Human emotions were often incomprehensible to Asan, especially when it came to family. What does one feel towards their family? Could he call the people sitting next to him... Family?
He has been with them all day, talking about various topics, getting to know each other better, so can he call them a family?
"What does family mean to you?" — He suddenly decided to ask such a question Asan.
Everyone looked at him in surprise, clearly not expecting such a question. Crane was the first to answer.
"For me, family is my closest people, whom I can open up to and expect support" — he replied without hesitation, with a slight smile.
"For me, family… is a headache. I don't know how it is for others, but my family never supported me and constantly criticized my hobbies. My real family became my gaming clan, with whom I spent days on end playing games" — Alice grumbled, but a smile also appeared on her face by the end.
"Family is what I want to protect, be with, communicate with, and enjoy knowing that they are all right" replied Paul, folding his arms across his chest.
Laszlo naturally remained silent, giving an answer along the lines of "Are you an idiot?"
Asan thought about it. For each of them, family means something different, but if one thinks about it, they all feel the same thing. Alice's family became a group of people in her gaming clan who, unlike her real family, supported her and constantly communicated with her. Even though it was solely due to shared gaming interests, she still considered them her family.
Although their words were somewhat different, the meaning was the same. Trust, love, value, support. These were feelings that Asan had not yet known; he was too inexperienced in such matters, but he still felt something.
Despite not entirely because of his character, he trusted Laszlo. Could he then consider him family? A brother not by blood?
"I understand, thanks" Asan replied, a light, almost imperceptible smile appearing on his face for the first time in a long while.
"Look at that! Our Squidward smiled!" Alice pointed at Asan, laughing.
"Who?" Laszlo tilted his head slightly, asking.
"There was a cartoon like this before. My dad told me about it, and Squidward seemed to always be unhappy about something, even though everything was fine with him" Paul answered with a slight smile.
"My name is actually Asan" the boy responded unhappily, dramatically crossing his arms over his chest.
This brought a warm smile to everyone sitting around the fire. The gentle crackling sound of the fire pleasantly caressed their ears. Soon many went to sleep, but Asan couldn't take his eyes off it; it captivated him.
"Can I call them my family?" The boy whispered to himself quietly, looking at the campfire.
"It all depends on you, Asan" Crane said to him. Unlike the others who had gone to sleep, Crane stayed awake and sat by the fire next to Asan.
"What do you mean?" Asan asked, raising an eyebrow. How could it depend on him?
"A family is something special to you. If you consider us special enough, then we will become your family. Even though our blood isn't related, we are ready to protect each other, and that makes us not strangers to one another. To be honest, I am also somewhat an orphan, but unlike you and Laszlo, I got to live with my family for a while. When I was 16, my father died in an accident, and my mother soon followed him. I was left alone in the world. It was very hard for me, and I found solace in playing the guitar."
"Expressing all my feelings through music, I managed to become fairly well-known in the area and start making some money. My family, however, was my band, since they were the ones with whom I spent all my time. So, Asan, family isn't your dad and mom who gave you life, but people who, if they disappear, will make you sad" Crane said in a long monologue, revealing himself as a person to Asan.
The boy listened to everything, as if enchanted. Every word was absorbed by his mind, and he couldn't help but admire the biker's words. Although his appearance was intimidating, inside he was quite a soft person who could talk about heartfelt topics. Could he be... a friend?
"Thanks Crane, you've helped me" Asan replied and got up. Today, he had the luck to sleep in a tent, so he headed towards it.
Sleeping today was difficult.
A lot of thoughts and strange sensations kept coming to mind. The warmth in his chest when they sat around the fire and just talked was something Asan had never experienced before. He wanted to understand and feel this sensation again. Could it be that he enjoyed being in such company? It was all so unusual and strange, yet at the same time.
Interesting.
He fell asleep feeling this strange warmth that warmed him through the dark night.
***
The morning was good. Many people had rested well and were ready to move on. After a short breakfast, the camp resumed its journey.
Thanks to a good night's sleep, people had forgotten about yesterday's incident with the corpses and set out in high spirits. A fairly strong wind had picked up outside, and for some reason, the sky was still covered by a dark veil even in the morning.
People continued walking at a slow pace, Asan could feel that everyone was starting to smell a bit, since there were no ways to wash up, unfortunately. Looking at Laszlo's head, he saw that his previously good hair had turned into a light broom.
As they walked, many didn't notice how the temperature began to drop—except for the Geographer. He seemed to be deeply lost in thought about something, and Asan became curious about what exactly was troubling this person. Approaching him, he lightly touched his shoulder, causing him to slightly jump, then look at him with a cold, empty gaze.
"Sorry to bother you. You look irritated, is something wrong?" Asan asked, feeling a slight awkwardness.
However, Geographer was apparently his superior, and it felt strange to communicate so informally.
But since Laszlo and the other members of the strike team had already done this, Asan thought it best not to speak so formally.
"Ah, yes… I… was lost in thought. The air is cold and there are clouds in the sky, maybe it will rain soon" said Geographer, directing his gaze towards the sky.
Asan repeated this as well and noticed something glimmering in the distance. Was it a storm? If their group got caught in the rain, it could end badly. If anyone were to fall ill, it would slow down the group significantly, though they were already moving at a slow pace. According to the Geographer's calculations, they should have reached the Alps in about two to three weeks, traveling twenty kilometers a day, perhaps a bit more. But reality turned out to be worse.
Their group covered only ten kilometers yesterday, while they needed seven hundred, if not more, to reach the Alps. This is how they proceeded, waiting for something.
The sky loomed threateningly over everyone. Through the clouds, the area was quite dark, as if one were walking at night. This scene reminded Asan of the pre-system era when everything was plunged into darkness. But what did Earth look like from a distance when this happened?
It seemed that on some channel, Asan had seen that a space exploration company created a large station in 2037, thanks to which they were able to study stars in great detail, much better than before.
"Apparently, even in 2050, the first human landing on Mars was planned, if I'm not mistaken" Asan voiced his thoughts aloud, catching the Geographer's attention.
"Hm? What are you talking about?" the Geographer asked in surprise, looking at the young man.
"Oh, excuse me, I was speaking my thoughts out loud" Asan replied very embarrassed and walked away.
The path ahead was long, as Geographer said; they would encounter warehouses that had been built very recently.
God only knows what will be there. Their group could use some equipment right now, maybe even weapons. But usually such stores have either wood or food. Of course, there might be tools, like hammers, chainsaws, and other stuff. Asan even found this amusing; he imagined himself running around with a chainsaw, all he needed was a mask made of human skin and he could already be filming a horror movie.
The weather, meanwhile, was getting worse.