Sudden chill run dow his spine when Russell touches his toes, he could feel someone is watching over him.
Something reside within him that he is quite familiar with also, grumbling in excitement.
He smirked,
"the manequin in the box what's it for? don't tell me you are lying to me right now? You're not the murderers right?" Annie had a doubt. His eyes rolled everywhere to see weird actions.
Russell explained, those manequin were created harshly to sway the murderers into thingking that they are cannibals, since those clans are terrorizing this time.
It worked, those murderer stop what they are doing, even so leave a certain plague every death,
"It worked huh, but why do I think it's riddiculuous? I bet they know the differences between a corpse. And a freaking wooden piece" Russell and his villagers are too stunned to speak. They looked at each other and wondered as well.
Annie smiled when he sees doubts between their eyes, doubtment that leads to betraying episodes, is the thing that still create a great suffering.
"I don't remember whose idea was it, we just do it since we're run out of idea, when It worked and things went well, we just let it be" Katara defend her father, because the villagers are eyeing on him.
"Do you know about the village above the hill? where you found me, I was there before, did something happened too?" he took the chance to ask everything he curious about.
it will be quicker rather than searching answers himself.
"I don't know what brings you there but, they died. Due to the plague" Answered Katara.
Annie sighed. "are you sure about that? all of them died? none survivors" Katara didn't answer.
Adam came to his mind. So the child might infected before he came to the capital. Thank god a high civilization people have better immune system compare to a lower ground people.
Or maybe not, I'll see for myself I've been infected as well. Annie checked his arm, there's a few rashes, but it's not itchy.
"There's a child said he came from the village of the hill, he went to the capital maybe looking for someone, I feared that he is infected. Can you guess what will happen if a whole country is infected?" So far, Adam didn't suffer any symptoms such as Katara and others, pale skin, wobbling knees and scrawny body figure. Maybe the differences between the length of infections had something to do with what they eat.
"are you short on foods Russell? or did the groups did something to your crops? I see this place is good for plantation, is that explain why there's unopened boxes of live stocks in the river?" The river was pretty chill for a mere river, just like a frozen lake imitating a freezer. Good thinking for uncivilized people.
"not until this murders take place, we usde to have a proper meals" He nodded.
"I see," That night, Annie made them to clear whatever in the river, he told Russell that the murders might have bad intentions by letting them off the hook for imitating a killing style. In stuffing a corpse into a box, among foodstock? they already know the villagers aren't human eaters,
"You've sent multiple words to the queen and also to nobles, don't you think other villages would do the same? Rich people don't even care about how you are living, or the names on the letter they picked, what will you do if you are pointed to be the ones who spread this plague? The murders? I can see your people carries a great immune system to why you are still alive, yet Why do I think you will be a space goat and will be executed for killing innocent people through unknown virus?"
"None sense! This wouldn't happen if your people take this thing seriously!! It's your falut for taking things too lightly! we're the one who grew the crops and those tender meats you eat everyday, and you just toss us away because we no longer had purpose? why do I think your people are the one who spreaded this sickness to kill us so that you can create a new civilization here?!" Katara leave her father to stood in front of Annie and screamed.
The boy was speechless, he smiled, then grasp Katara's head and hush, "you don't have to scream I can hear you pretty well girl" She pushed his fingers away.
"what!?" Katara pushed Annie when he suddenly grip her shoulder. As you can see, Katara had a zero tolerance towarda those who looked down on people, especially those who picked up on girls with a judgement they're a fragile.
Annie apologize for his behaviour, he raised his hand from her shoulder and asked to be excluded.
"are you allright?" Katara had a strange feeling so she pulled Annie back into her arms just to see his face.
"sir? what's wrong?" Annie had a nosebleed and he turned pale. Katara told him to sit down.
"Don't tell me I'm infected too?" He laughed.
They panicked when Annie crash to the ground.
"he's dead!" they gasped at the same time and running into their houses.
"I don't want to die!!" the screamed panickedly. Annie opened his eyes and sighed. The reason why they behaved such way is that, a commoner will spank to death if he is proven to have killed a high rank individual. And the way they die is based on the family's resolution.
Forgiveness from family did happen, because sometimes they believed. Killimg is unrational things to do, those who are dead aren't coming back. Killing a murderer or his partner is only making them into a killers.
And those killer's family will hated them for that cause,
This tend to happened among low rank as the believed, nobles are doing the execution on purpose. Because they know, they wouldn't win in court, evidences are created with money.
Assaulters are often from nobles themselves, but get away with it by looking for a spacegoat.
"I'm not dead. This ground is bumpy" Annie fixes his position. Added to unwanted weight he isn't familiar yet is difficult. Even so, he had no idea how to get rid of it.
Katara cannot hear him properly so she got a bit closer. Annie flinched to her touch.
"you are different" he let out his thought.
"Tell me I'm not dead," He rise from the ground with his palm on his right eye.
"it's been a long time I came out" He chuckles.
"what do you mean sir?" Annie stared at Katara when the girl acted like she cares for him, though he can she her trembling.
'bet she's scares as hell'
"fuck off woman" He looked pissed.
"sir! where are you going?" The villagers that ran away peeked through the windows and a hole within their houses.
"Going home" he answered while humming happily.
"but you promised to help us" katara pulled his wrist.
"help you with what? and why are you keep calling me sir? are you blind not to notice how beautiful I am?" Annie stares at Katara left to right, up to down thinking where could he see her before.
"what?" Katara let go of her hand.