They seem to avoid the clearing...

"Haruka" you whisper "why would they avoid the clearing and go around it?"

You are looking for anything to use to your advantage.

"Well, it could be-" you see her eyes go wide while a smile creeps across her face.

"THE NEROTOXIN, it could be deadly to th-" she almost yells out, you quickly cover her mouth.

"-Right" you look around, looking to see if any of the "grey apes" had noticed.

"Sorry," she whispers as you take her hand off of her mouth.

"While we were relatively fine, the toxin appears that it might affect them more" she whispers back.

You begin looking around, looking for somewhere for Haruka to hide. To the north you notice a fallen tree located near the village, laying far from a collection of huts.

"Haruka, you see that fallen tree over there" you whisper as you point it out.

"Yes," she says.

"You hide behind there, I'll fire into the village and lead them to the clearing" you explain.

"Aaron, no" she disagrees.

"I'm the only one who may outrun them, I have to," you tell her.

"Just grab Rachel and get to the river. If I'm not there within four hours, go on without me." You look deep into her eyes to emphasize the final point.

"Okay," she says, breaking away from your gaze and looking at the ground.

You use your finger to nudge her face back up, making her look back at you.

"Haruka, promise me you'll take care of Rachel if I don't make it."

She tries to look away, only to meet with your eyes again.

"I promise" she gloomily states.

"Aaron, I love you," she says.

"I love you too," you answer, pulling into a deep kiss.

You feel Haruka's warm face press up against yours, and as her soft lips press up against yours, you realize just how nervous you are. The last time you faced a horde of these creatures, you ended up with a broken arm, at that was because you were lucky.

You pull away, looking at Haruka again; she has a tear flowing down her face.

"Let's go" you order, steeling for what is to come.

Haruka forces herself to break away and slowly moves toward the fallen tree so your plan can begin.