The last hour must have been one of the most awkward Berto had ever experienced. He had tried walking beside Coletta, hoping a conversation would spontaneously start but no such luck. After the younger woman hit him with a look that plainly said "Let's get this over with" he found himself following her in a slightly slower pace. He continued to follow her, just five steps behind her, running every possible scenario and line he could try. Sadly he had decided that morning, that the mental stat he would have active for today was Intellect and not Charisma. He could definitely come up with every logical excuse and clever ways to apologize but people needed more than just a well calculated approach.
Maybe that's why Berto liked machines and gadgets so much. Even when they weren't working properly there was always a simple reason behind it. All one needed to do is find the problem, fix it and all was well. If only people were so simple. The young man caught up with her again slowly and looked at her, taking a mental note of her visible frustration. He sighed and took his shot. "Look.. I know you don't want me here but it means a lot for your father.. We could at least try to agree that we both want him to be happy, right?".
"Yes.. I also wanted him to be alive.." Coletta finally said after being silent the entirety trip, her words dripping with venomous anger. "I wanted padre to be well, happy and see many more things before he.. he.. well it doesn't matter now does it.."
"Yes it does!" Berto snapped back catching the girl off guard. He had been the target of her frustration for more than a week now but Berto had never answered in kind. "It does matter and it matters to me as well. You think I'm enjoying this? You know me since I first met him, five years ago! He's been my mentor and friend all this time, working side by side every day! You think you can hate me more than I hated myself after what happened? I couldn't stop it! I was weak, I was afraid.. But you know what? So was everyone else.. and so was he.."
The two young adults had stopped on the side of the long road, that went up a cliff, overseeing a beautiful beach. Berto lowered his voice and softened his demeanor the closer he got to the girl. "And yet when it came down to it I shoved the guy out of the way before he took Manuel's life.. at least now he can fight.. he can say goodbye.. Maybe that's not enough, I understand.." he continued tapping his chest while Coletta's eyes were now brimming with tears as the girl failed to keep a cold expression on her face. She understood exactly what Berto ment. He had lost his mother the same way, if anyone knew what she was going through it was him. "It would mean the world to him if you could forgive me, if we could be friends.. It would make him happy, we at least owe him that..". Berto finally finished.
Coletta dried her eyes but didn't speak. She checked the hill, awkwardly avoiding Berto's eyes and pointed at a house. "Um, it's just up ahead.. we should get going, it will be dark soon.." she said with a trembling voice and kept walking. "Shit.." Berto thought, "Was it too much? Great.. I managed to get her from angry to sad.." and followed her to the beautiful house. Coletta unlocked the door and let him in. "I'll just be a minute.." she said and hurried to the second floor. "Take your.....time.." the young man tried to say but the woman was already up the stairs. Berto sat on a high stool at the kitchen counter and rubbed his forehead with both hands, in an attempt to calm his thoughts.
"Man, I wish I could hit something... WOW where did that come from?" he thought to himself, surprised by his sudden longing for combat! He had not been a battle since the Jungle Rift and he was astonished to realise that he now had a craving for the thrill and challenge of combat! The blood drumming against his ears, the cold sweat on his neck and the twitching muscles ready to snap into action! However.. he still lacked a new supplier. He needed to find some sort of underground shop of sorts. A "fence" he could give all his loot to in exchange for money and equipment. The rumor was that places like this existed. But Berto was, until a few weeks ago, just a nerdy engineer, he didn't have any connections to places like such as those.
Berto inadvertently blew out a raspberry in a weird attempt to vent and hadn't noticed Coletta who was almost at the kitchen now. He almost choked when he saw the girl staring at his childish display and became red from sheer embarrassment. Coletta however, surprised him with a half smile and a small box. "This is papa's.. Its all his old notes. He told me to get it for you.. I also picked up a few extra clothes and food we had stored.." she said, placing a second, larger box on the counter.
Berto patted the lid of the box with appreciation. Even in his current condition, his mentor was still thinking of him and their work. He had no idea if he would or if he even could, bring all his ideas to life one day. Maybe with his "gift" now, he could make things right and they could find out together. "Thank you Coletta.. I'll keep this safe.."
"You better.." she replied with a fading smile. "Well, I got what I needed.. If things weren't this bad at night I'd offer you dinner but..".
"I know.. If we start heading back now, we should arrive at the shelter 30 minutes after nightfall. We're already cutting it close.. But hey, I have a few pieces of cup noodle soup I've been saving. They're not exactly a fine dining but they taste better than rations." offered Berto as he picked up the heavier of the two boxes. His arms strained under the weight and he tried not to show the beautiful woman he was struggling. If he only had his enhanced strength in this form, this wouldn't be an issue. Maybe if he kept working out he would slowly start seeing improvement in his normal body as well.
"Um.. ok, I'd like that. Oh, we could meet on the roof! I go their sometimes, it's nice.. You can see the city, the light of the moon reflect on the ocean.. well.. and the shooting and the panic from the Rifts.. nevermind it was stupid of me to suggest it.." replied the girl before being overwhelmed by shyness and the undesirable circumstances. She left the house and waited for Berto to follow so she could lock the door. The young man wanted to suggest something else but Coletta's disappointed look confused him. Would she be offended? Should he back off and give her space or press more? Berto sighed internally and just faked a smile to the girl as he nodded towards the road. At least now she was giving him a chance to get to know her.
He straightened his back and cursed his luck for having to carry such a load all the way back to the shelter. Neither of them could drive. Berto always avoiding taking the lessons as he found it unnecessary. What good was a driver's license if you couldn't afford a car. He made a mental note to get on that once the apocalypse was over. If the apocalypse was ever over..
• • •
On the outskirts of town, the pair were walking with a hurried pace. Night had come and they were still far from the shelter. Berto was worried but tried not to mention it to Coletta as to not frighten her. He was exhausted from his load but denied any offer the girl made to carry it, even for a while. His father had drilled these rules of being a gentleman in his head and he still followed them as an adult. They had not heard any gunfire, shouting or trouble in general. If they were lucky, this would be a quite night for the Rifts and no monster attacks would disturb their run.
Berto noticed a person, or rather the shape of one, standing on a roof of a small house nearby. The figure simply stepped back and vanished behind the structure. The young engineer stopped for a second to take a better look but the street light above him made that impossible. He decided he should Coletta to pick up the pace. Who knew what this whole situation had done to people. Stories about looters and thieves popping up more frequently were common and made sense the more he thought about it. He finally turned back to his charge but before he could even open his mouth, the light above them exploded with a violent electric surge!
With a *VrrrrrrPUUUF* they were bathed in tiny shards of glass, sparks and found themselves in darkness, as the next closest lamps were almost 25 meters away. Berto shook his head as he faced the ground in order to rid himself from the broken glass and raised his eyes to Coletta once he had finished. The girl yelped as a someone grabbed her from behind and dragged her away, while covering her mouth with a rag! The young man dropped the box he had been carrying out of panic and reached for her. "Colet.. Who.. What the hell are you doing!?" he shouted incomprehensibly at the attacker while fumbling closer. Suddenly a flash of purple blinded him as a force knocked his head to the side and Berto realized he was flying to the left, looking at the world sideways. By the time the pain caught up to his shock it had reached a crescendo as he crashed, face first, into the road.
The side of his head was bleeding from whatever force sent him flying. His entire skull felt as if it were ringing. His faced got scratched up to the extent his left eye wouldn't open and his body felt sore as he had been "ragdolled" in such a violent way. From the shadows, a figure appeared once more, their hands lit up with magic energy that emitted purple light, almost like an open flame. The light bounced of their body and clothing, horrifying Berto who looked up, through his one good eye. The man who had approached wore robes exactly like the mad wizard's! Τhis what it, Berto thought with horror. He had come to finish what he started! He had come for him! The only thing going through Berto's mind were ideas on how he could escape!
He forced himself to stand and back away a few steps when suddenly, three more pairs of hands lit up, revealing four dark hooded mages in total, surrounding the young man. The engineer despaired. "Coletta.." he thought as a blood filled tear ran down his cheek. How would he protect her? He couldn't even protect himself. How could he? Against this..
A barrage of small orb-like projectiles, made of purple magic energy, bombarded Berto from all sides. "Καταδίκη στον σφετεριστή! Δόξα στους ΑΘΆΝΑΤΟΥΣ!!" they chanted with religious zeal as they blasted Berto with their magics.
His body was flung back and forth after every shot connected, blasting his body with concussive force. He felt flesh bruising, bones cracking and limbs twisting awkwardly. In seconds he was lying on the ground once more, bloodied and breathing heavily. In the edge of his blurry vision he could make out an unconscious Coletta, placed up against a parked car. He was going to die and surely she would follow. This realization and all its implications, terrified Berto and yet.. they brought an unexpected sense of calm. He knew this feeling of helplessness, of weakness.. He had experienced it so many times during these past few weeks and had overcome it! He courted death more times than most people did their entire lives and had come on top. What was there to feat now? Men? He had hunted down monsters like they were sport!
With his emotions finally under control, the young man realized that the only thing holding him back was his fear. The robbed men inched closer as he took in a breath, inhaling some of his own blood in the process. "Από όλους τους Διάμεσους, πρέπει σίγουρα να είναι ο πιο αδύναμος.." said one of the men gesturing at the half-dead Berto.
"Άλλη μια απόδειξη πως η επιλογή της κοσμικής δύναμης είναι αναξιόπιστη.." replied the other robbed figure, revealing herself to be a woman. Berto gargled some words as he exhaled. One of the mages lowered their ear to him expectantly. "What was that boy?" he asked him in Spanish. "En.. Touto...Nika.." he managed to squeeze out of his bruised lungs.
"Huh? How do you know t.." was all the mage had time to say before he was pushed back and on his back by pulse of golden light!