A walk in the forest

14. A walk in the forest.

Melinda is gone. The kids look worried. Some of them at least. I should say something to help them calm down. It must be hard to rely on a vampire like me. What should I say to them?

Melinda wanted me to call her by her name. I wonder if it’s the same with the children. I guess I wouldn’t want to be called vampire in my daily life.

I should ask their names and if they don’t have them, I should come up with one.

Anna and Emma have names and I know them, so I don’t need to worry about the cat girls.

“Hey fox girl.”

She looks back at me with wariness while holding the sword closer to her.

“Don’t worry, I will let you hold on to the sword as long as you use it to protect others. I just wanted to know your name. Actually, I want to know everyone’s name here. We are going to be spending a lot of time together and working together so it would be better if I could call you by your name.”

“Susie.”

She says quickly in a quiet voice and looks away.

“My name is Anna.” 

Anna says from next to me as she grabs my hand.

“I know. I also know Emma’s name.” 

I tell her with a smile.

“Oh, I also know your name Sarah.” I say while turning my head to look at Sarah.

She glares at me again.

“I don’t know anyone else’s though. If you have a name tell me or I will give you a name.”

“I’m Max.”

The lizard boy speaks up quickly.

“M-my name is Isle”

Lizard girl says quietly with a small stutter. I nod.

“What about you lynx girl?”

She shakes her head while looking down.

“Alright, I will come up with a name for you. Hmm. How about Lillie?”

She nods as she keeps walking.

“Last one is the black kid. You don’t have a name, right?”

He nods.

“How does Bob sound?”

He shakes his head sideways.

“Tom?”

He shakes his head again.

“Tomas?”

Head shakes.

“Axe?”

He looks at me in a way that makes me think that it wasn’t a good suggestion.

Hmm this is tough. I could just tell him a name and not take a no for an answer, but I don’t want to force a name on someone. The person who saved me; his name was Charles. I wonder if that would work.

“Charles?”

 He thinks for a while and then nods.

“That’s good. Now I know all of your names and I will start calling you by your names.”

I need to memorize them all. It would be awkward if forgot their names now. Especially the ones I came up with.

Black kid is Charles, lizard kids are Max and Isle, lynx girl is Lillie and fox girl is Susie.

“We need to find a place in this forest where we are going to make our little village so look for a good place to settle down. If you find a place you think that might be good, then don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“What good would that do since they can’t leave the group to explore on their own?”

Sarah asks grumpily.

“They can still see a good place on the way that others might miss. The same goes for you too so keep an eye out for a place we could make a village.”

“Fine.”

No one is saying anything anymore. I don’t know what to say either. 

Everyone had a traumatic experience yesterday. It might be better to not talk too much right now. As long as they aren’t too afraid of me and have a hope for the future then I am sure they will get better in time.

We walk in silence past the countless trees. The kids are walking slowly but surprisingly they have enough endurance to keep walking until the sun starts going down.

“Alright let’s stop here and prepare for the night. I will go hunt something to eat again but I will need Susie to look after Sarah. Do not let her leave this place.”  

Susie nods and then looks intently at Sarah.

“You could always take me with you to hunt if you are so worried about me leaving.”

“I can’t let the kids be alone here without protection.”

“You are right. Sorry.”

 “It’s okay.”

I watch as the kids start doing their own things. Some lay down on the ground and breath heavily. Some start looking around for sticks and other things for the campfire. Susie is still looking at Sarah as Sarah is looking around the place. I assume she is trying to keep a look out for any dangerous animals that might hurt the kids.

I think I can safely leave them like this and go hunt. I should have asked Melinda to teach me how to identify edible berries and herbs. I could have taught it to the kids and then they could have looked for them too.

I guess we will be eating meat mostly from now on.

Chapter thirteen Chapter fifteen