"I-I worked on the map a bit more last night," Ewen broke the silence, pulling his bag around so he could reach inside as he walked. "Based on my calculations, this next sector should be the border of the grounds on the opposite side. I expect we'll run into the fence again."
Xaiden smiled and nodded, happy that Ewen was getting more comfortable speaking up. Ewen was the final addition to their crew after Xaiden stepped in to stop some childish name calling that seemed to have gone much further a time or two before. Xaiden took him under his wing from then on and he quickly became a valuable member of the team. "Great work, Ewen."
Eliana immediately settled into her little nook when they arrived at the base and pulled out the worn book from earlier. Early on, she'd claimed the hammock strung across two trees with a line run for netting to keep the bugs out, leaving the rest of them to the sleeping bags and camp chairs strewn about in the tent in the center if they wanted to nap or rest. The tarp above her provided shade and protection from afternoon storms, and she kept a surprisingly cute blanket that she curls up under as soon as she arrives. If it wasn't for the cover story she's got going on for us, she'd really be dead weight, Xaiden thought, shaking his head. This place is nothing but a personal library for her and a quiet place to read.
It's safe to say, Eliana was not a fan of Xaiden's web novel. She much preferred reading books from previous eras and seemed to put up with all the discomforts of the woods just so she could read the random books they found out here. Xaiden liked reading too, so they often clashed over who got to read the new discoveries first. She'd taken more interest in joining their explorations after they all agreed to "finders keepers" for the random junk they came across in the woods.
"You're not coming today, Eli?" Jax asked as he cleared some leaves off the table they'd been using to plan their routes.
She shook her head curtly and tapped her implant, probably turning on the classical piano playlist Jax had told her about yesterday.
Ewen had finished pulling the folded sheet of paper out of the jacket on the case for his favorite video game. Even though Ewen talked of little else outside of these woods, Xaiden still couldn't remember the name of the game, but it looked like a first person shooter zombie game from the cover. Ewen spread the paper out on the table and tapped the spot he'd added.
"Wow, we went further than I thought last time!" Jax exclaimed.