Instability

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After a moment of resting, Danny and I rise from the ground and continue our "adventure." Hopefully it won't involve any more bears.

While Daniel's eyes stay glued to the compass, I try to enjoy the ever-present nature around us. I still can't believe that somewhere so beautiful exists in such a corrupt place like the ISA. The shadows and sunlight cast familiar patterns on the ground, reminding me of the forbidden woods back in Baltimore.

The strange air between Danny and I makes my stomach churn, and I decide to continue my 20 questions game.

"Question number two." My slightly-icy statement breaks the peaceful chirping of birds. I earn a surprised glance from him as I ask my question. "Why does such a rude person like you have to have such--"

Danny chuckles, easing the weird vibes in between us. "Because I do."

Of course. "Next question: what's your weapon-of-choice?"

"A gun."

"Really?" I say, innocently surprised. "You don't way to rethink that? There's an infinite amount of weapons out there."

"No. Guns kill the fastest and are the most efficient."

"Whatever. Bows are more fun to kill with."

"Next question," Danny interrupts. His sideways smirk sends heat up my spine. I wonder if he knows I'm not joking about killing being fun.

"Fine. What is the ISA going to be like once the Panel is taken down?"

"Wish I knew, but I don't."

A stupid question pops into my head. "What's a waffle?"

"Oh, my gosh, darling. How are you even human?" Danny says, snorting once, "A waffle is a food that you eat for breakfast. Do you know what food is?" That one hit me right in the gut. But I barely notice it because it feels better to have our banter back in full swing.

"Will you quit it with the nicknames already?" I hiss. "I have enough of them to last me a lifetime.

Danny looks up from his compass and raises his hands in the air out of mock-defeat. "Hey, don't hate the player. Hate the game."

I smirk, my laugh lost in victory. "Haha! It's about time. You finally admitted to being a player."

As always, Danny and I go back and forth for a while. I manage to ask him a few more questions, and after a couple more rests and a lot of calf-burning hikes, we successfully crossed miles of forests. When we're in the proximity of Fort Collins, we become quiet.

Through the trees, I gape at the backs of small, dirty houses and decaying backyards with dead grass and forgotten junk. Baltimore was bad, but not this bad.

The screendoor of one of the houses creaks open, and Danny and I dive to the ground. We crawl behind some bushes, dirtying our knife vests.

In between the branches, we watch a thin woman hang ratty clothes on a line. I thought Baltimore was below the poverty line, but maybe we had it easy compared to the rest of the country. Once the woman goes inside, Danny and I relax.

"It's about 6:45 right now," Danny says, the leaves of the bush crackling noisily around us. "We don't start the mission until midnight, so we've got to stay out of the sight of cameras until then."

My stomach growls in response. "We can hunt if you want," he adds.

I nod, only feeling about 5% bitter. "We have to use the arrows, though, to keep quiet."

Danny snatches an arrow from my sheath and stands up. I pull him back down to the ground. "There's people around. Don't give away our cover." We crawl away from the houses and deeper into the woods. Once we're out of any prying eyes' reach, we stand and load our bows.

"We can definitely find some meat around here," Danny says, beginning the hike towards the woods we came from just moments ago, "unless you're too scared to kill."

"Oh, I'm not afraid to kill."

"Alright, then, let's go," Danny announces, and I follow him into the woods, feeling powerful with my loaded bow and rising adrenaline.

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ooh, a hunting adventure is coming up! let's get this party going lol.

Question: who will shoot their target successfully: ashley or daniel?