Chapter 27: Areithous Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Areithous Chapter 27

"Hey, is that a dead deer!?" A group of five boys approach all having large eye bags and one of their bellies grumble. Hmmm even if our game is preserved correctly our combined catch probably weighs upwards of 90 pounds which is a lot of meat for the five of us.

"Yes, we are heading back to our creek to cool it down and try to preserve it. You are welcome to join us for the meat!" All the boys smile happily and follow us even taking over to carry it.

"Thank you so much, sirs! What are your names?" A blonde-haired one with blue eyes steps forward, perhaps being the leader of this depraved troop.

"I am Damon, the one with red hair is Georgios. The dark-haired one is Nero and the large one is Nikolaos."

"Ahhh the bomonike! And you were one of the finalists! Who is that one though?" He points to Litos who essentially is an indentured servant for what he did.

"That is Litos. He attacked our friend Nero and now we have him with us forced to make up for his crime." The blonde nods and the rest of the group offers no sympathies for Litos, two of them even spit at his feet.

"Well I'm Areithous and it's a true pleasure for us to join you all!" I nod and so does the rest of my group apart from Nikolaos. Nikolaos even stands beside me and taps on my shoulder.

"Are you sure we can trust these guys? What if they are dead weight?" Nikolaos whispers the lowest he has ever spoken to me and likely anyone else. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

"They won't be dead weight in the future Nikolaos. Our game is much too big to eat between the four of us before it spoils."

"Ahh, so you are just gaining easy respect due to our abundance of resources." I nod and he parts as we make it to our creek.

Our shelter appears much too puny, a bit of a gut punch on my ego. Perhaps if Nero and Litos never crossed paths we could've built a proper shelter fit for us.

"Everyone! To prepare for our meal we need to cool it off and cut the meat into pieces. Does everyone understand!? While I tend to the meat I need all of you to begin to build shelters. My 3 friends can teach you the steps if need be!" Everyone adheres to my words and starts building their own shelters.

I begin to cool the meat off by using the creek's water and as it cools I begin to build a deep hole into our shelter. I grab sticks and dried leaves that will be placed over the hole. Eventually, the meat is ready and I separate the meat used today and the extra. The extra being placed into the outside side of my cloak now makes me completely buck naked.

"No, not at all. In this area, we have the opportunity of fresh drinking water, hunting game, and now shelters to live in. You are all welcome to join us but of course, I want you all to listen to me." My group stands beside me showing their stance with my statement while theirs all look at Areithous.

"... It would be an honor to join all of you." Areithous enters his claimed shelter and the rest of his group follows. My own group enters our now pimped-up shelter.

"Do you reckon they could steal from us?" Nikolaos pokes me as I lay down with Nero shaking his head.

"They seem nice, why would they do such a thing?" Nero questions Nikolaos making his face red.

"It's just a question, Nero!" Nikolaos then turns towards me.

"No, they won't steal from us because they have shelters, food, and water. If things ever get bad it's a possibility but for right now we stand in benefit befriending these boys."

"Do you plan on accepting anymore?" I nod to Nikolaos's question since ideally, it would be good to gain a friendship with everyone in my class now. With Georgios's climbing and scavenging skills and Nikolaos's muscle, we could do anything now!

"Welp, goodnight everyone!" Nikolaos exclaims loudly making Georgios who was already in slumber jump but then head right back to sleep. Tonight is much more bearable compared to yesterday, with the insulation keeping us warmer. Perhaps in the coming weeks, this can progress into a proper log cabin.

"Damon, wake up! Everyone is wondering what to do. You don't want Nikolaos to decide that, do you?" Georgios nudges me as I begin to stand.

"Don't worry Georgios, I know what we need to get done..." I stand and walk out still nude to see nine boys all waiting for my orders.

"Everyone! This is not just the plan for today... No, this is the plan for this year! One, we are going to find and recruit every boy in our class to join us and we are all going to work together to create a proper community. Two we are going to find a consistent food source and perhaps even expand to farming. For now, we build spears, swords, and if possible Bows."

Everyone cheers before I can finish my speech. Nikolaos begins to hush everyone leaving silence in the ecstatic crowd.

"We will have pottery for our water, houses for our safety, and clothes for our comfort! I want everyone to now tell me what they are good at so I can delegate the jobs." All 9 clap and begin to form a line under my command.

My first step of leadership was forming close bonds with Nero, Nikolaos, and Georgios. Now it's time for the next step, launching my leadership of the whole class and gaining power.