Chapter 18- A Beautiful Archer (Part 1)
The next day, Asher stood in front of the tombstone of his deceased sister and said with a wavery tone.
"I'm leaving, Sali…"
Even after a few days, he still can't believe that she died. It still didn't weigh on him fully yet. Reality can be harsh but it was especially harsh this time with someone that didn't have any power to face that harshness.
"I hope you can finally rest peacefully. However, even though you said that I must live and never bind myself to hatred… I can't do that. I can't live knowing that the people that took you away from me are still alive. I will hunt each and every single one of them down no matter how long it takes and I'm ready to accept the consequences of my actions."
Then, he sighed. "Hopefully, you will understand me. Anyway, I will come to visit you as soon as possible. Thanks for everything." Closing his eyes for one last time, Asher turned around and walked away, not daring to look back. He knew that if he took as much as one glance back, he will lose his composure completely.
When he reached the entrance of the graveyard, he found Rack standing there, resting on the wall.
"Are you going to leave?"
"Yes. Thank you for everything." Asher said flatly.
"... You don't need to thank me, kid. I did nothing." Rack replied as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, I think this is it. I will return to visit regularly. Hopefully, we can meet again." Asher then extended his arm forward for a handshake.
At first, the quirky doctor looked taken aback but then he smiled and shook Asher's hand.
"You better not die, Asher."
"..." Neither denying nor confirming, Asher pulled away and turned around to leave.
Rack watched his silhouette as he walked away silently, a lone soul that looked pitifully small compared to this giant and unforgiving world and yet refuses to get crushed yet.
In a sense, Asher's tenaciousness to find those who killed his sister and take revenge was admirable as many would simply give up and either kill themselves or live the rest of their lives as empty shells of their former selves. However, that tenaciousness itself could be the reason for his demise.
"Well, fate will determine whether we can meet again or not." After that, Rack turned around and walked away himself.
***
"Oi, Davey, get that box in the truck! We're fucking late!" A man shouted as he looked outside the window of his truck.
"W-Wait, I-I'm coming." A hesitant and timid voice replied as he quickly ran back and picked up a box before putting it inside the truck.
As Davey returned to the front to get inside the vehicle, a silhouette appeared near the window. Asher stared at the two men once before he asked.
"Are you heading to Southern Star Settlement?"
"Yeah! We have a supply of weapons and food to sell." The one sitting in the driver's seat replied.
"Can you bring me with you?"
"Hmm, you don't look like you're old enough to travel, kid. Are you running from your parents?" The man asked.
"I don't have parents," Asher replied coldly without flinching.
The response made the man blink a few times as he wanted to simply brush the kid's words as a bunch of gibberish from a boy going through puberty and being rebellious. However, the tone and way he said them didn't sit well with him.
"Sigh, are you going to bring me with you or not? I will simply ask another truck if they can." Asher said as he turned around to leave.
"Wait! Fine, geez. Kids these days don't take jokes. Well, we sometimes transport people too. But, it's not for free."
"How much?"
"50 Voners. The trip will take a few days so if you want food then you gotta pay extra."
'The currency here is a 1:1 ratio with the currency from my old world. So, 50 Voners is equal to 50 dollars? Well, that's expensive.'
Sighing, Asher pulled his stash of money from the storage device and then pulled out three bills that looked similar to a 10-dollar bill and yet also different as they had pictures of nature and the Forbidden Lands instead of faces.
"I only need the transportation. I can deal with the food myself."
"Fine, hop on! Oi, Davey, open the fucking doors so the kid can get inside."
"Y-Yes!!"
When Asher walked to the back and took a peek inside, he saw the silhouette of a person sitting inside.
'There is another person?' Even though he found it weird that someone other than him was traveling to the Southern Star Settlement. However, he quickly lost interest.
After jumping on, he took a seat on one of the boxes and rested his back on another box. The other person didn't seem to acknowledge Asher's presence as they simply sat silently, covering their faces with a hood.
"The journey is going to be bumpy so brace yourself."
After that, the man turned the truck on and they soon started moving, leaving the settlement behind. Looking at the silhouette of the place as it grew smaller and smaller. His days in that settlement didn't even reach a week and yet the impact they had on him was stronger than any other place he went to in his life.
On one hand, he hated this place to the core as it was where he lost his sister, and yet at the same time, it was where she rested so he wanted to stay there.
'I will return as soon as I can. After I deal with this matter. I should sleep.' Closing his eyes, Asher didn't think about it any further and simply tried to rest. His body and mind were exhausted greatly.
"What's your name, kid?"
"... Asher."
'Or not…'
"Hahahaha, nice name! It's your lucky day, Asher! Usually, only a few trucks go to the Southern Star Settlement as it's extremely far. However, since a few days ago, a Zombie Legion that roamed the area vanished mysteriously, we are able to do some business with that place."
"..."
'This is going to be a long day…' Asher sighed as he listened to the man as he blabbers on and on about random nonsense.
A few hours passed at that rate with nothing happening except for the few Zombies that they pass by. However, the truck was armored so it can easily stomp on them and pass as if nothing happened.
At that moment, the truck suddenly shook violently as if it was hit by a train, rushing at full speed. Asher found himself spinning around as he was close to falling on his face.
'Shit!'
The truck was completely flipped on its side.