There was silence after the beast's statement. No one said anything, since the decision that was about to be made would affect our immediate future and might jeopardize the expedition.
Quinn, the leader, had a focused gaze as he shifted his attention from the beast to me. No words were spoken, but each one of us knew what it meant.
I moved towards Quinn, where he began to ask the most pressing question.
"What do you think about the monkey?" he asked as he secretly took a glance at the beast.
"Not trustworthy, but we could risk it," I said.
As I stared at the beast, I noticed from its earlier interaction with us, it didn't seem to have any particular interest in us except for being of use to it.
It seems we could at least place a measure of trust that it wouldn't attack until we get to the castle.
Quinn didn't reply. He was in deep thought, contemplating what to do. He could pick the safest way out or the dangerous way, each with its set of advantages and disadvantages. But the more risky the mission, the more rewarding it is.
"Yes, we would allow you," Quinn reluctantly said with a focused gaze.
The focused gaze was indicating something towards the beast: 'any wrong move, you are dead.' While the beast just shrugged its shoulders, unfazed by the gaze.
"So, do you guys have any food?" it asked as we continued moving.
Nobody batted an eye at the beast as he asked the question. Seeing that no one answered its question, it asked another, staring at me.
"What is wrong with him?" It pointed at the body I was carrying.
I glanced at my back, staring at Peter's peaceful face, and with a smile I answered.
"He's just unconscious. He needs some time to wake up."
"How sure are you?" it asked with a curious look.
"A hundred percent sure," I replied with an assured look.
Nothing might be going our way, but I was very sure Peter would wake up soon.
I stared at the visage of the castle looming at the horizon. It was getting bigger as we drew nearer. With our current pace, we could get there by the fourth day, if things go our way — which possibly might not.
After thousands of questions from the beast, the sun finally set, bringing out the moon and the vast, shiny stars.
We started the fire and began to plan out the journey for the next day while also reflecting on the problems we encountered. The most pressing problem was that of the resources theft.
No one knew how the person stole our resources and why, but if the person manages to steal our last set of resources... we are screwed.
Following countless contemplation, we all decided to sleep in shifts. One of us will watch and protect the resources while the rest of us rest.
Due to us being four in number, excluding the beast, we decided each person will watch for about three hours till the person's shift finished, waking the next person.
And with the moon shining faintly, the first person started his shift. The person was none other than the leader, Quinn.
With him guarding the resources, the rest of us were left with nothing to do other than to fall asleep and hope that the thief was caught or at least didn't manage to steal our resources.
Finally, I was woken up to start my shift. I felt like I should be given more time to sleep, but the matter was urgent and required utmost attention.
I kept my eyes peeled, staring in all directions and listening attentively to hear the sound of footsteps or the breath of anyone who might want to steal our stuff.
For almost an hour, my eyes were wide open, staring in a direction until I couldn't stop the inevitable — I fell asleep.
I was sure I fell asleep for more than an hour, only waking when I heard footsteps moving silently in a certain direction.
I couldn't believe the person was able to evade my senses even if I was asleep. There was nothing to think about. I raced towards the direction of the sound.
'Whoever this person is, I need to stop them now!'
With a sense of determination, I moved in a hurried step, closing the gap until I finally got there.
'Wait, what?'
I was filled with surprise and dread because the person who led me here wasn't here at all. I was fooled.
I couldn't believe it. In all sense, how could I be played?
I couldn't move, not because something was wrong with my leg, but due to sheer shock.
The implication meant this mysterious person had been keeping watch over us and might have known our plan from the beginning, only acting now since it could sense I was the weakest among them.
'Shit! We made a terrible mistake,' I cursed in my mind.
I hurried towards the camp only to find the whole camp swept clean. Not only were our resources stolen, all our clothes and equipment were also taken away.
This also indicated that the culprit was more than one and they were professionals.
'Damnation, how didn't I know?'
The mistake I made to follow the culprit was what led to this unfortunate end.
With nothing left to do, I woke the others and explained our situation.
"What? Why would you allow them to escape?" Edward burst out.
"Keep quiet, Edward. The result was already determined. Even if we were in her place, this same event would have happened, most likely especially for you, Edward. But all hope is not lost," Quinn said as he flashed a devilish smile.
He motioned to Mark to explain what he meant.
"Earlier when the person first struck, Mister Quinn told me to find a way to secretly install a device to track the location of the culprit."
"This here, my friends, is our tracker and we are going to find that person," Quinn clenched his fist as he talked.
Everyone understood the frustration he felt. Even I felt angered at my things being stolen right under my nose by some unknown people.
Quinn brought out the device which was specialized in tracking. With a smile he pointed in a direction.
"Let's catch those thieves."