The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 32: Forbidden Land (2)

The journey was not too bad after that incident. Although Jason had to continuously remind Dani not to run off whenever she spotted something that interested her. Dani even forced them to check out a few apartment buildings so that she could use a toilet in peace without having to resort to the bushes. This slowed their progress, but they still made it to where they would camp for the next two nights, not long after darkness descended over the world.

"So! What's for dinner? I'm starving!" Dani stretched her arms overhead after relieving herself of her backpack.

Harry and Jason shared a look before they both started to laugh. Although, both of them did try to stifle the noise they were making with their hands.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Dani shot a sharp glare at the pair.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Jason asked with a slight smirk on his face. "We won't be eating anything!"

Dani stood there with a dumbfounded expression on her face as she stared at the two. "What do you mean we won't eat! I haven't had anything since breakfast!"

"Yo, chill. It's more like we can't afford to eat out here." Jason sighed as Dani continued to whine about her stomach. "If we cook anything, the smell will just attract any predators in the area. The same goes for cold food, even though its scent wouldn't be as strong. It's just a risk we can't afford to take right now."

"Look, Dani. I know you're not used to this, so how about this. After we do a little scouting in the morning, we'll have a better idea of what beasts are in the area. Once we know that, we should be able to find somewhere safe to eat. Just try to cope with it for now, yeah?" Harry said in a gentle tone, making Jason curse.

'That's the closest I've ever heard him sound like a caring old man! Geez, thanks, Gramps. Where was that when I was growing up?' Jason frowned as he watched the pairs' interaction. 'Well, whatever. It's not like the past can be changed.'

"Ok, but Where are we going to sleep?" Dani replied with a hesitant tone to Harry's coddling.

Harry facepalmed himself when he heard this. He had completely forgotten that what was common sense for a scavenger would not be true for someone who had never left the safety of Highrise. Harry rubbed his chin as he glanced towards Jason, hoping that he would take it from here. After all, Harry was feeling tired, and he did not have the energy to deal with the girl's questions all night.

Jason deliberately refused to acknowledge the look that Harry was giving him. 'Fuck you, old man! You deal with it!' Jason smirked as he started to look for a decent piece of ground to use as his bed for the night.

Harry cursed under his breath when he saw Jason's actions. At this rate, it would mean that he would have to be the one to take the first watch! Jason was deliberately taking advantage of Harry explaining things to Dani to get out of having to take that role!

"You'll find a blanket in your backpack. Just pick a spot and sleep." Harry shrugged his shoulders. He was eager to get it over with as soon as possible, so he kept his explanation brief.

Dani listened attentively as Harry explained everything to her. Harry mostly covered things like no wandering away from camp. Taking turns on watch. No lighting any fires and so on. By the time he was finished, Jason was already snoring soundly curled up next to a fallen tree. Harry wanted nothing more than to give his grandson a beating for abandoning him in his time of need, but he had to admit. He would have done the same in his shoes.

"So I'm just meant to sleep in the dirt?" Dani scrunched up her face as she began scanning the nearby trees. Truth be told, she was not too keen on that idea.

"That's what I said, isn't it? Now you better hurry up and get some sleep. Otherwise, it'll be your turn to keep watch before you know it!" Harry grumbled as he marched off to find the most comfortable spot that he could.

As he took a seat, he picked up a stick and began to doodle in the dirt to pass the time. It was needless to say that Harry was not precisely in the best of moods right now. However, he found it curious that Dani was still standing where he left her, staring up into the trees. He followed her gaze, wondering if she had spotted something, but there was nothing there. 'What the hell is she up to?'

Suddenly there was a popping noise as Dani disappeared with her backpack. Harry quickly got over the shock of her sudden action and scanned the surroundings for her presence. Eventually, he found her. Perched on a thick branch high up off the ground. Harry watched on with a curious expression as she removed the long blanket from her backpack.

After a few moments, another popping noise occurred as Dani reappeared on another branch that was close by. Harry's eyes went wide when he finally saw what her idea was. Harry snickered with glee as he glanced at Jason, who was snoring away quite happily. 'I like your style, kid.' Harry thought as he glanced back towards Dani.

A few hours passed before Harry gave Jason a light kick to wake him up. Jason groaned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. "Is it my turn already?"

"Your damn right it is!' Harry harrumphed as he grabbed his backpack. "Remember to wake up Dani when it's her turn. I'm going to get some sleep."

"Wait! Where is she?" Jason panicked when he realised he could not see her sleeping anywhere.

However, when he turned to face Harry, he spotted his Gramps quickly climbing a nearby tree using his tail to make his ascension easier. Jason stared in disbelief as Harry finally reached a thick branch that could hold his weight easily, relatively high up off the ground.

Jason was startled when he noticed that there seemed to be a blanket tied between two branches to form a cocoon in another spot nearby. Jason could vaguely make out the shape of a person sleeping comfortably inside of it. 'Fuck me! Is that Dani?'

Jason soon realised that he had drawn the short straw when his suspicions were confirmed. He could only watch as Harry went about creating a simple hammock, just like Dani had done. When he lay down inside of it, Harry was pleasantly surprised that he found it more comfortable than his mattress back home.

"Good night, kid. See you in the morning." Harry waved from up high before grabbing an edge of his hammock and wrapping it over him. His figure disappeared as the blanket fully enclosed him in a way that he did not have to worry about falling out of it.

Jason cursed and wanted to scream in frustration as he heard the light sounds of Harry laughing at the predicament that Jason had now found himself in. 'Those bastards! How the fuck am I meant to get up there to wake either of them up?' Jason kicked the tree next to him to vent his anger.

The trees that Harry and Dani had chosen to create their beds for the night were thick with few handholds. Harry only managed it because he could rely on the length and strength of his tail. Whereas Dani just had to teleport! It was clear to Jason that they had chosen these particular trees to make sure that he could not disturb them!

Jason could not even shout to wake them up in fear of drawing any predators in the area towards him. So now, he was stuck keeping watch for the rest of the night just to keep himself safe! 'I'm definitely inventing something to help me climb. Like fuck will I get stuck in this situation again!'

"You have to admit it's quite clever." Syssie chuckled as she stared at the two cocoons. "Seems like you're still aways off from beating your Gramps when it comes to craftiness."

"Shut up, Syssie. I'm not in the mood." Jason glowered at her as he ran a hand through his hair. A dark expression crossed his face as he tried to figure out if there was anything he could do to escape the situation.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. Would you really interrupt a girl's beauty sleep? Remember, this is all new to her. You need to take it easier on the girl."

"I guess you're right, in a sense." Jason sighed as he glanced at the two sleeping figures in envy. "That would be fine if we were somewhere safer. But she has to get used to this quickly. I can't do this two nights in a row"