Hands of Fate - Survivors of Flight AA214

Chapter 41

Sasha

Day 40 of First Landing

Population of Thornhill - 53

My crossbow was locked and ready, aimed at this annoying little hare nibbling at our leafy crop. Honestly, if I had to eat fish one more time, I was gonna lose it. Taking out this fuzzy little thief would take out two birds with one bolt.

I lined up the shot, fired... and, of course, the bolt went way off. The pale brown hare jumped back and dipped out like its tail was on fire. I groaned. Hitting something that far away wasn’t exactly a piece of cake, even for a pro. I could have moved in closer for an easier shot, but what’s the fun in that?

I grabbed the iron bolt and camped in the same spot at the edge of our field, knowing the hare couldn’t resist our crops for long. Sure enough, an hour later, there it was again. Same one—plump little rump with that white spot, clear as day. I lined up another shot, careful this time, squeezed the trigger… and missed. Again. That thing darted off so fast it was almost mocking me.

I’ll get you yet, you damn pesky wabbit.

As the hare disappeared, I heard the bells ring out twelve times. Noon. The bell tower used to be the signal tower the Captain built, but we repurposed it. Now it only chimes at nine for breakfast, twelve for lunch, and six for dinner. Keeps everyone on track. Breakfast doubles as an alarm for those who think hitting the snooze button is a lifestyle choice.

Ugh, looks like I’ll be stuck eating fish again today. Just my luck.

At the mess hall, not all of us showed up for the offered lunch. Some had started eating only once or twice a day, skipping lunch either to stay focused on their work or because they were too far from the village’s center to make the trip back. Instead, they’d eat whatever portable meals they could carry with them.

The number of people here meant rations were tight. Each of us got a portion of fish and a single potato, roasted and salted with little fanfare. The brick oven, which the town threw together right after we got that mill up and running, was working overtime, cranking out bread with our fresh flour. A baker had been assigned to it and was kneading some dough for tonight's dinner while the oven was being used by the cooks for potatoes. Gladys, with her long wooden peel, carefully pulled out the roasted potatoes, a bunch at a time.

I tried to pick out a bigger potato, but the size of these things was small compared to the baked potatoes I was used to. I knew Samar was working on selectively breeding bigger potatoes, so I couldn’t blame her. Alex strutted over with that cheeky grin plastered on his face and a plate in hand.

“Whatcha up to?” I asked.

“Oh, at the blacksmith. I wanted to try some smithing,” he said, poking at his potatoes with a bone fork.

“Try some smithing,” I said, laughing softly to myself, shaking my head.

It was wild how he took his class and Legendary Skill for granted. For him, picking up new tricks was as effortless as breathing. He could just decide to do something new on a whim, like it was nothing.

“What?” he said, mouth full of fish and potatoes.

Astrid joined us, handing each of us a hard-boiled egg. She had her own plate of fish and potatoes, but she’d jazzed up her meal with a drizzle of honey spiced with wild garlic. Next to her, Aja sat like the perfect little beggar, tail wagging and eyes shining. Alex tossed the dog a fish head, and she snatched it up in one gulp, not even bothering to savor.

“What’s this for, Astrid?” I asked, peeling away the light blue shell of my egg.

“Free of charge for my dungeon buddies. You need the protein after all. I’m finally getting an abundance of eggs so I can sell and eat some.” She plopped down next to Alex with a shy smile, and I couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of annoyance.

“Thanks,” I grumbled. Everyone around here was so freaking useful.

“Oh…” Astrid said, swallowing some of her meal. “That reminds me—Bianca told me that around four, we’ll be heading to the dungeon. Marek, Bianca, and I are going to try to train a bit, push to level 3 of our Paths, you know? Alex needs to come with us for protection.”

At that suggestion, Alex practically turned into a puppy, all perked up and wagging his metaphorical tail like he was headed to the park.

When Bianca only offered an invitation to Alex, I felt the sting. Like, seriously? She didn’t even bother to ask me. It was just a given that I’d tag along because of my relationship with Alex.

We weren’t even official. Just having a good time, nothing serious. I didn’t want to be that person who just… trailed behind Alex like some kind of sidekick.

But I had no class. Everyone knew that, so they didn’t think I would be useful in a fight. Or useful to this village.

When Astrid saw my downcast face, she said, “Oh, you can come too, Sasha. We’re planning to spend only two hours in it before dinner. Bianca wants Marek to gain more levels in combat, too. ‘Those with classes have a responsibility,’ our wise leader said.”

Those with classes, huh… So not me.

My pulse quickened, heat rising to my cheeks. My fists clenched tight around my fork. I quickly cleared my plate and tossed the fish head to Aja with a bit of a childish huff. All I wanted to do was bolt out of there and head straight for the farms.

Then I saw it—that FUCKING hare again, munching on our greens. I readied my crossbow and let loose, but of course, I missed wide right. The hare bounced off, mocking me in its furry little way. I slammed my crossbow down on the ground in frustration.

Why wasn’t I getting a class? Why was everyone but me getting a class? I fucking hated this so much.

Alex’s hand landed gently on my shoulder, his touch warm and steady. When I looked up, his smile wasn’t broad like usual, but soft, his eyes filled with an understanding that made the tension in my chest ease just a bit.

“Want me to take care of that rabbit for you?”

“No!” I yelped, shoving him away. “I’m not some helpless girl, okay? I can handle it myself!”

For a moment, Alex’s grin faltered, his eyes lowering and his shoulders slumping just enough to show the sting in my words.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled softly, looking genuinely regretful.

“It’s not your fault,” I sighed. “I’ve been practicing over and over and… even now, Bianca is a better shot than me. Astrid is already a kick-ass fighter. I don’t get why I’m being left behind like this! They’ve barely trained, but oh no, their fucking classes mean they can just zoom right past me without even trying.”

“You’ll get a class eventually. You just… need to figure out what class suits you. You can’t force it,” Alex said, trying to comfort me.

“What happens if I never get a class?” I cried.

Alex frowned and thought before answering, “You know… in anime and comics—”

Oh boy, here we go. Always with this nerd shit.

“…I always respected the ones who didn’t have any powers or special advantages. The ones who, despite not having superpowers, made the most of it. Like… Batman or Rock Lee.”

“Batman? He may not have powers, but he was a freaking billionaire, okay? Dude had, like, a whole company backing him up with super gadgets.” I sighed.

Always with his nerd analogies. If he wasn’t so hot, ugh.

“I’ll work hard, okay? I’ll get the best weapons and gear in the dungeon for you. I’ll work hard at blacksmithing, and then I’ll be your Lucius Fox.” Alex smiled and came closer to caress my cheek.

I couldn’t help it, so we kissed. That’s what I liked about Alex. He always made the best out of an unpleasant situation.

Later, after some alone time with Alex, we headed to the dungeon with Bianca, Marek, Astrid, and her dog.

It felt like Bianca was a lot more confident, as our party remained small. Bart and Cade were busy with other projects. Still, we would only spend a couple of hours in there, just exploring the first two levels. The first level was the usual bore. I honestly got so tired of running these floors and wished we would just use the waystone to go to floor 4.

We let the newbies take out the rats while we stood by, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. Anika, our herbalist, had prepared us tinctures, and Ethan had prepared us bandages should anything go awry. We were still taking this seriously, even though I felt like it was a borefest.

The second floor was always more interesting, but again, I couldn’t do much but wait as the newbies wanted the experience. What's the point in giving a classless loser like me experience? Bianca had my old bow and trained it at a trembling gremlin at a dead end. She activated the skill Snaring Shot; it flew from a great distance and dug right into the gremlin’s leg, hindering its movement. Marek came over and crushed the gremlin’s head with a smash of his mace.

It pissed me off that Bianca was already a better shot than I was and, to top it off, she had a skill with her bow.

We continued searching for loot and stragglers for the newbies to finish off.

“So Astrid…” I said, wanting to gossip and maybe stir some life into our party. “You and Ethan seem pretty close lately. You guys hooking up yet?”

“W-what? Where is this coming from?” Astrid flushed.

“I just see you hanging around a lot,” I grinned, patting Astrid on the shoulder.

“We’re friends, okay? We’re just getting to know each other,” Astrid continued to stammer, but she glanced away, clearly flustered.

As we made our way down wide stone steps to another room full of cells, I couldn’t help myself.

“What about you, Bianca? Got anyone?” I asked with a teasing grin.

Bianca sighed and replied, “I’ve been too busy to even think about that.”

“Oh, come on, what about Sophie? There’s gotta be a reason she got onto the council so quickly.” I leaned in, grinning knowingly. Bianca’s face turned bright red. Teasing these two was always a good time.

Marek, looking thoroughly disgusted by our conversation, seemed like he had wandered into a girls' washroom by mistake and desperately wanted out. Meanwhile, Alex’s ears perked up. I knew he had a thing for Bianca—along with half the other girls at camp—but he wasn’t the type to make a move, probably because of some dumb bro code.

“W-wait, what? I’m not a… Listen, anyone can join the council. We just keep it small and don’t want to waste everyone’s time with long discussions. It’s not a secret society or anything. We literally meet out in the open, Sasha. You’re welcome to join us anytime,” Bianca tried to explain, clearly flustered and desperate to change the subject.

“Nah, no thanks. I was never into that student council bullshit,” I said, stretching my neck with a nonchalant shrug.

Just as the conversation lulled, our brief lapse in awareness let several gremlins creep out from the shadows of the cells. Five in total. Their ten glowing yellow eyes glinted menacingly in the dim light.

Two of them rushed at Astrid, who was now confidently guarding the flanks. Her dog lunged at one, sinking its teeth into the gremlin’s neck, while Astrid cracked her whip across the face of the other, sending it stumbling backward. She followed up with more lashes, beating the downed gremlin like some kind of S&M freakazoid. It was... actually kinda hot. Err... Her... not the bloody gremlin.

I quickly aimed my crossbow at one and, together with Bianca, took it down. Meanwhile, Alex and Marek made quick work of the remaining two gremlins.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, five dead gremlins lay sprawled across the cold stone floor. I remembered when we first ventured into these dungeons; our party always panicked and fumbled through encounters, with Alex doing most of the heavy lifting. Now, though, every member pulled their weight effortlessly.

This was the power of the classes.

Feeling good about our progress and noticing the time, we decided to head back up to the surface and grab some dinner at the mess hall.

After dinner, Alex, Cade, and Aiden wanted to wind down with a poker game using bone tiles that looked like mahjong pieces. I passed, as I had something else to take care of.

I headed back to the fields, and, to no one's surprise, that damn hare was back, nibbling at our crops. I readied my crossbow and took a deep breath before pulling the trigger.

Bullseye.

The bolt landed squarely in the hare’s skull. Finally.

I sold the rabbit to Gladys, who had permission from Bianca to buy any dead animals for 1 copper each. It wasn’t much, but every bit helped.

Back at my shelter, I grabbed my leather bag, ready to stash the copper. I’d been saving up to have Molvin, the carpenter, make me a wooden drawer. Last I heard, he was charging 10 coppers for one. Total rip-off, but it beat piling my stuff in bags and clay pots in the corner of Shelter Three like I had been.

When I opened the leather coin bag to add my copper, I froze. It was empty. Completely empty.

My heart sank as I frantically searched through the rest of my belongings—my extra bolts, the socks I swiped from the pirates, my dice. Everything was there. Except for my coppers.

Someone had stolen my coppers.