joeislove's 100-word story for May 24, 2025

joeislove wrote the following micro-story on Hectalex on May 24, 2025. Each story on Hectalex is inspired by a daily visual prompt and must be exactly 100 words.

"How much farther?" "Just over the next rise." Björn glanced at his watch. Four hours. The trek should have taken three. Luckily, he had long perfected the kind of nonchalance that instilled confidence. "Didn't you just say that an hour ago?" Björn's mouth twitched down at the corner, the facade starting to crack slightly. He knew his voice would betray him, so he just trudged onward. He could see the compass, though. It was spinning around like crazy, useless. Sometimes a leader must just choose a path and move forward. After all, there was no going back now.

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