The forest was not particularly dense or thick, but the general absence of any trails or trodden paths still made the two's passage rough. They were in the middle of a national forest after all, nature was left largely undisturbed here. Jake briefly wondered what kind of potentially valuable plants and vegetation were they stamping on as they made their way through the lavish landscape. This was the absolute least of their concerns of course, they were still running as quick as they could to get to a safe distance away from the clearing infested with other survivors and to shake off any ambitious pursuers.

They could not keep up this pace for long and soon they had to stop to catch their breaths. Both of them felt exhausted and the weight of the weapon bag was starting to have its toll on Elmina. She wanted to keep the hydration capsules for greater emergencies and also for other members of the group. If they were still alive, that is. Her pod was not far from the clearing, only about a quarter mile - a 5-minute walk normally. In these conditions and circumstances however, that meant nothing. Many were injured still and she was especially curious about how the two men she helped on were holding up - although she would not show it, as a long-time medic it was part of her nature to care for others like that. She was hoping they will find everyone all right. Everyone except the tattooed man. She would not mind him being dead [i]too[/i] much.

Their rest once again did not take longer than a couple seconds before they set off again, walking with a steady speed this time. Jake's dark brown eyes scoured the environment constantly, he really wanted to avoid any further surprises and keep this - hopefully short - remainder of the journey peaceful. Even if that meant having to deal with his own, increasingly worse wounds. Walking through the middle of a forest was about the worst thing he could have done in his state: the numerous branches sticking out here and there reminded him of the loosened steel pieces at the Apox.
[b]"Even nature wants us dead..."[/b] he murmured as he put away another bark, trying to keep them away from his knee. He was slightly ahead of Elmina who was weighed down considerably by the bag that held their 'loot' from the former prison. He knew it would be chivalrous to take it from her for a while, but he himself was weak and weary. That was why he tried to at least clear the path ahead of them to make both of their walks easier.

About three minutes passed since they escaped the centre and rushed into this forest. There was no pod in sight just yet, though Elmina would sometimes hint they were getting close. Besides this and the occasional muttered words and sighs there was not much conversation between the two. Jake had plenty to tell and Elmina had plenty to ask, but both preferred to stay silent and focus on their path for now.
Eventually, curiosity have overtaken the former and he asked his partner: "So uh...what are we planning to do when we reach the others?"
[color=f49ac2]"Well..."[/color] Elmina began. [color=f49ac2]"We need to get everyone on the same page first. We have the weapons, now we just need to make sure no one uses them on the other. Not right away, at least."[/color]
[b]"It's gonna take some convincing to get them to walk like forty miles with just a promise..."[/b]
[color=f49ac2]"Do they have a choice? Do [i]we[/i] have a choice? This area is dangerous as it is and I don't think any of us could survive for any more than one day on these extremely limited supplies..."[/color] She tried not to make the situation look too hopeless, but the odds were not in their favour at all. [color=f49ac2]"At least we have a direction now. And I have to thank you for that."[/color]
Jake was probably more surprised than he should have been by those last words.
[b]"Oh, heh, don't mention it. I could make myself useful at last, even if I couldn't uncover much... Working in such high pressure situations was never my thing, you know."[/b]
[color=f49ac2]"Well, you better get used to it now. I feel like we'll be needing your help many times in the future."[/color]
[b]"Let's get to that future first, shall we?"[/b]

And with that, they quickened their steps and soon they finally spotted Elmina's downed pod. Walking closer, they also saw people there, which meant the group made their way there successfully. The red-haired woman - [color=f26522]Christine DeWinter[/color], as Jake found out from the database - was standing at the front, taking the lead of the ragtag bunch while the two were away.
Before they moved out of the denser vegetation however, Elmina pulled Jake back for a few moments.
[color=f49ac2]"Try to look unflinched, all right? It is the two of us who have the serious firepower for now, we need to use this leverage to get everyone to work together and get ready for the next expedition. I trust you, and if we do this well, we'll all be able to trust each other. Ready?"[/color]
[b]"I'll try..."[/b]

Jake made sure that his shotgun was ready to fire before they both stepped out into the open, facing the group.