"So what are you going to do now?"
...
Yeah, not off to a good start.
This first question of his immediately stumped me. As soon as I realised this, I cursed at myself for not having a single damn thing planned out in my head.
What did I have going for me?
My hockey stick, as great as it was, did not have the material nor age on its side to be able to deflect blood bullets. The handgun I'd gotten from four-eyes back in the bunker too wasn't exactly top-notch. At least when it came to utilising my blood bullets, it wasn't.
But then again, I had some more things to worry about than just those.
"How far off are we exactly from those sewers?" I asked. "I mean, to answer your first question -- Umm, I don't really have any clear ideas... I'm just-"
Yeah, looking kinda bleak right now, not gonna lie.
"That's fine," the boy replied, still showing complete indifference. "Not having a plan is sometimes the beginning of a plan, so that's not really that big of a deal. Besides, plans don't really do well most of the times so I commend you for talking big without even having a single thing thought of."
"Is that like supposed to be a compliment..?" I asked, unsure of how to approach this enigma of a boy. Surely, sarcasm was my forte, but this boy made it seem so real that I couldn't be sure.
"Take it as you will," he finally smiled before returning to the side of a small fire that he had been feeding.
As I watched him placed even more wood into the fire, I began to notice the place that we were in more and more. It was clearly some sort of unfinished building, but the fact that it had multiple stories told me that it had to be some sort of to-be skyscraper. I'd practically be able to see the whole city of Biouldeon underneath me if I was just on the other side.
"How did you carry me here?" I asked, curiousity having gotten the best out of me.
Maybe with this, I could see whether the guy was truly trustable or not. Then again, I also needed some time to formulate a plan of attack, so this could serve well in killing two birds with one stone.
Hey, even with all the things he'd done for me, I still had my common sense to remind me that nothing was as it seemed out here in the Outlands. For all I knew, the guy right in front of me here, smiling at the way the fire flickered, could just be another lunatic luring me into a false sense of security.
Hell, I hadn't even seen that one other guy who was inside the tank the whole time, so who was to say that this was not him!?
I mean, crazier things had happened. I couldn't really dismiss the idea that he might be a spy now, could I?
I knew this sounded absurd on paper. I mean, these were the same kind of people who'd shoot down anybody coming even an inch within their territory without batting an eye, so why the hell would I even expect them to have the patience to think of something as elaborate as this! Trust me, I knew. It was just that I'd seen so many things in the Outlands by now that I couldn't really vouch that there was no chance of it happening
"So?" I pressed on casually, realising that the guy hadn't shown a single sign of answering me... Which I hoped wasn't his response to my inability to do the same minutes ago.
Fuck me, now that I was out of the jaws of death, I was a fucking comedian--!
"Just carried you on my motorcycle," he finally said, nodding his head towards the parking lot which I assumed was below us.
I took a peek from the edge of the floor, and surely enough, there it was. An actual motorcycle! Who would have thought!
"You even got fuel in that thing!? How'd you manage to even find some?" I asked openly.
Clearly, having nobody to talk to, besides the Reaper, in the past two weeks had really done a number on me. I just didn't feel like closing my mouth anymore! Or maybe it might have been the fact that I was out of Death's clutches for the time being. Whatever it was, it certainly liked to make things clear about its wants.
"Oh, you'd be surprised," the boy answered shortly, as he finally got bored of playing with the fire.
"What do you mean?"
"The Outlands are much more organised than what you are led to believe, my friend. But nevertheless, it shouldn't be something you occupy yourself with at this point in time. You still got much to do, right?"
He gestured for me to follow him, and as I had nothing else better to do, I did what he told me to. I followed. Of course, while doing such a thing, I didn't forget to bring my hockey stick with me just as a precaution.
We both stepped in to the other side of the building and approached yet another vantage point. This time, the whole city of Biouldeon was the view.
Feeling rather awkward of the silence being shared, I decided to ask him for a name. After all, there would be a time where that might prove to be useful. Of course, I told him that it didn't need to be his real name. A pseudonym was fine so long as it served its function well.
"Kai," he finally told me as we reached the spot that we were headed for. "My name's Kai."
"Kai? Thanks for saving me, Kai."
"Oh, yeah, no problem."
"Well, name's Rain," I responded, deciding to give the guy my real name. No harm done, I thought. Besides, from his perspective, it had to have sounded like a fake name, so that was good... I guess.
"Rain? As in the weather rain?" He asked, to which I nodded gently. "That's a nice name. Who gave it to you?"
"You think that's my real name?" I asked back, surprised by this unexpected response.
"Yeah. Your eyes told me that you were being honest. Eyes never lie."
Huh.
The Sun was slowly setting down in the western horizon, as night was increasing its territory. It was a fascinating sight, this whole shift of day and night, and I could never stop admiring how beautiful nature could be. Makes you appreciate your life even more.
Hence, why I was so damn happy to still be alive.
"Well," I finally responded. "It was a name given to me a long time ago. Back when I was still a... How do I say this? A slave, yeah, I guess you could call it that-- Back when I was still a slave."
I looked at Kai for any form of response to this taboo word, but if it did spark within him any form of emotion, he showed no signs of it. Deciding that continuing on would be the best course of action, I continued.
"You see, I was basically born into this family of slaves, and so by the time that I had my umbilical cord cut off, I was no longer my own person but rather just another number among the many that lived there. It was over a decade ago, so I guess the thing had been fully shut down by now. But anyways the exact reason why I was dubbed Rain was because during my time there... That was literally the only thing you'd never see! You would have the occasional snow, and the Sun would be your best friend, but never did once a rain come our way. So I guess that name was given to me as some sort of hope for a better future, maybe... Out of reach, and yet there — somewhere."
Wait. Why was I telling him this?
"So how'd you escape?"
"Oh," I let out, being sucked in straight back into reality from my thoughts. "I ran. I was just in the right time and the right place, I guess."
"You left your whole family behind?" He asked further on, not a single tone of judgement found within his voice. He was just curious, that was all. Sadly, I still couldn't bring myself to fully trust him.
"Mhm," I responded, giving him half a lie. "That was what they'd always wanted for me anyways."
"Sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, it's fine. Anyways--" I decided to stir the topic away from me. "Could you show me the place where you saved me?"
"Sure, it's just right over there," he pointed out towards our left, around three to five miles away from where we were.
Surely enough, I could see the structure that resembled a mall not too far away from there as well. It was certainly quite the distance to walk, but I absolutely had no time to waste. Even if the Undeads were to start crawling as the Sun set, I could not let moustache-dictator have his way with my blood-bullets any longer.
Fortunately, last time I checked, he was practically begging to have a go at me. This should make things a lot easier, for now all I had to do was to make my presence be known to him.
"You sure about that?"
"Huh?" I asked, caught off-guard by Kai's question. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, chasing after those wild dogs with that body of yours."
"Body of m-? Oh. Oh yeah, my body... It'll hold up."
"Alrightey then, you're the boss."
"You're coming with me?" I asked, noticing the implication behind his tone.
"Mhm. Might as well use this chance to get rid myself of some pesky neighbors. Trust me, it's been long overdue."
"Fair enough."
"So would you like me to take you there?"
I gotta hand it to the guy, he was definitely a perceptive kid. Not sure if I liked that or not.
"Sure, if you don't mind," I managed, admitting that it would indeed be nearly impossible for me to make it back out there alone. "Tha--"
BOOM!
Looking out at the darkened horizon, my eyes were met with the sight of a fire ravaging; a glowing yellowy blaze eating its way through the city. Something had just exploded! And whatever it was, there was plenty more where it came from.
More and more spots around the city began bursting into flames, and with it the sound of the disturbed Undeads began to be heard.
No doubt about it, this was not something happening by random chance.
And judging by the sound of the heavy artillery that was echoing through the night, I was pretty sure I knew what was going on.
"What the hell is that madman doing!" I shouted out in utter disbelief.
"He's practically begging for you to come."
"With this!?"
"You'd be surprised. Might as well be courteous enough to accept his invite, and get it over with."
I gulped at the thought. I was planning on facing the man with only him and his "friends" to worry about, but now I was forced to bring the Undeads into the equation.
"I thought you were optimistic just now," Kai interrupted, noticing my sudden change in manner."
"I know, it's just..."
It's just what? I mean, screw the Undeads! All I needed to do was to snatch back my guns and voila, all's well that ends well!
Taking one last deep breath, I prepared myself for the final battle and put on my game face.
"Alright. I guess we're knocking right on the Devil's front door then."