I slowly walked around the patio, taking the long way to get to the far lounger. I stopped by a lounge, next to Greg and Gracie.“Jessica, you’re t...e prettiest girl I’ve ever met. Would it be okay if I kissed you?”Giggle, “Sure, you’re nice too, thanks for asking first!”I kissed her gently, tentatively, parting my lips, just hoping for an encouraging response. She eagerly opened up and our kiss turned intense in seconds. She was dueling with my tongue and I backed off momentarily, causing her to. My heart races as she sings softly of a love lost to a gun on a bright night of future planning. As she does, a shot rings out and the man falls over. She kneels down and cries as she continues the song of pain and heart break. I want to scream out ‘stop’ before he dies, but I stay quiet, too stunned to speak. I watch as the girls dragged towards the house and as she sneaks out the body of the boy gone. I watch her climb into the tree and then drop into the river, her slippers left at the base. With my foe dispatched the Wolves cheered.Looking down the road, I was satisfied there was no imminent danger. We had slaughtered the Raider’s force. The blood-bathed road was covered with dead and dying men. Perhaps a dozen had escaped north, following their intended path rather than turning back towards the fishing village. That made no sense to me, but men full of fright don’t think; one man takes a route and the rest follow him.Scratch moved in front of me with a wide smile and a face. ’ Mark replied obediently. ‘Don’t be glib, Mark. It doesn’t suit your personality.’ With the conversation expired, Mark gazed at the passing landscape. Spika Five was a quite beautiful world. Greenery covered much of the land broken up by occasional wide meadows. Wildflowers were in bloom and a few pink clouds scampered across the sky. Mark listened with an ear towards the forest. A dangerous beast, reminiscent of an earth bear, was known to patrol remote areas such as this. Proper reaction.