Zone E -- Highlands

[Dust]

Dust remained passive to his surroundings as he stared at the tablet now, instead of the pit in front of him. He eyed the one in the zone nearest to him, but his gut was telling him that was a bad idea. He wanted to go in just to see what it was that twisted him in knots like this. But the one in the A-zone sounded tempting. He counted the spaces between him and it and wondered if he could make it in time. If he left now he could, he was sure of it.

Yet, something else was holding him back. His eyes came back over his shoulder as the sun caressed the edges it could. He saw the tent his companion was in, his partner. The same woman who threatened to skin him alive if he got in her way. He did not blame her, he couldn't. A job was a job, and that was evident in the shadow figures that still haunt his memories. He knew that more than anything. But he was starting to see patterns here.. The longer Takezo, Dawn, and he stayed together, the riskier it was. Twice they've met up with each other, and twice one of them has been taken from the group leaving them in teams of twos. He's been lucky, it would seem.

Splitting up however brought several different emotions through him. He feared for her safety despite knowing they would have to fight each other one of these days. He worried she'd see him as abandoning her, or else she might not care. He wondered now if they were friends, or if this was just a mutual kind of relationship. The kind where he gets something out of it and she gets something out of it, but it wasn't companionship. She has been very silent since the kiss. Maybe he'd been right to assume it ruined the bond the team had had. He didn't like the idea of walking away from an unconscious woman either, but the rules stated she'd be safe here.

When he thought of it as a step towards or away from survival, there was also a mixed answer there too. It was pleasant to have a girl around for his own means, not to mention someone of interest he could talk to and about with her. But if it painted a target on the two of them this was no good either. Even if going alone was just as risky, he could move faster by himself.

But there was no true way to know what the right answer was...

Dust pushed the damp tablet into the bag and hoisted it back on his shoulder. It felt heavier than normal but nothing he can't handle. He stopped at the tent he left Dawn in and wished he had a marker of some sort to leave her a message before he turned his back to it and headed northwest.

Dust moves, alone, from Safehouse E to E6