Something I would've never imagined actually happened this morning.
After my deal was made with Eli and I proceeded to tell everyone in the mall they were no longer imprisoned and were now free, night fell in the sky and we all went to take a rest. Before falling asleep, as I was rewinding my day in my head, a feeling of relief and pride took place in my mind. I felt as if 'I finally did it, I was finally worthy'. This was not the kind of feeling I would get often, so this was something pretty big for me at the moment. For the first time in my life, I thought I had achieved a great thing, not just living in the shadows of my friend and yapping about my personal problems all the time.
However, those brand new fluffy thoughts, bubbling around my mind, bursted all at once this morning. It got triggered when, as I was walking towards a clothes shop to change the old, dirty and smelly ones I had on me. However as I entered I heard faint voices of Jay and Eli, as they were changing their clothes too. Perhaps, they were arguing again.
Aw hell naw. I thought. As I started walking faster in their direction, their voices became more distinct and I began to understand the words exchanged in their heated conversation. Although I did not have the context nor the beginning of the discussion, I could still roughly imagine it.
"...- So when do you intend to leave?" Asked Eli.
"As soon as Yuri is ready."
Eli chuckled. His cocky attitude was back, stronger than ever. I could hear them properly now. He continued.
"I noticed you're really close to Yuri. Protecting him… following him like a puppy… What, is he your new love interest?"
Jay stepped back in slight surprise, seemingly frustrated by those insane allegations, but still answered with a direct tone.
"You know very well it's not the case. He's just someone who I happened to save." For some reason, he seemed hesitant, but kept talking. " He's a truly reliable guy since he's an 'infected'."
"Sure…"
"Hey dude, we only met like a month ago and I barely know anything about him. It's not like back then with you."
"Hey, okay. I got it. Now stop yapping around, god."
"You-"
Damn, juicy plot. It was kind of interesting, in a way, but I felt incredibly uncomfortable hearing them talking about this. To save Jay and my own sanity, I loudly cleared my throat and both turned around with surprise, realizing I heard pretty much everything.
In this extremely awkwardness which reminded me of those stressful parent-teacher meetings, Eli was the first one to take the situation in hands. His tone, earlier rude and mocking, was now sweet and kind. What a two-faced biatch.
"Oh, hi Yuri. Did you sleep well?"
Of course I didn't. My bed was made out of the wooden tables and my arm was not the most five-star quality pillow I wish it was. Moreover, I had a nightmare, as expected from the insane day I had before. That's exactly why my mood wasn't the best, even though I barely remembered anything from it. Y'know, those traumatizing dreams you get and mess you up the whole day.
But I didn't want to add fuel to the fire. Instead of being rude, I tried something else. I instead sighed, as an attempt to make a dramatic effect and relieve the heavy awkwardness pressing on us.
"Alas, I didn't. But I don't think I'll ever get to sleep in a bed ever again, so I should get used to it."
Eli nodded with comprehension, and I felt a bit relieved. But it was until Jay sighed loudly and left quickly. The blond boy and I both looked at eachother with surprise, before I hurried to follow my frustrated companion. Only Eli stayed, still looking at me, as I left the place following Jay in his fast pace.
As I finally reached his shoulder, he suddenly stopped and turned around. His eyes, red from anger and deep frustration, looked at mine which were very likely to show how hesitant and anxious I felt at that moment. His lips, curled down and sealed in a faint line, trembled and opened at once.
"I'm sorry for giving you so much trouble." He said, his sincere voice moving me.
I didn't really understand the whole situation and I wasn't much of a psychologist, but I still knew how traumatized the man in front of me was. The compassion and honestly I could give to such a man was no difficult task. I wasn't a sour person, and Jay needed my support.
"Well you know, it kind of flatters me you're still by my side right now… And without you, I would be gone long ago. So don't worry about that. I genuinely value you as a precious friend."
Oh, I said the right thing. As I spoke those words, the expression changed on his face. From anger, to confusion and last, to genuine relief. I did not care about his past relationship, and will definitely not blame him for acting like this. I mean, I too had complicated situations like that. I patted his shoulder and smiled, as his eyes thanked me instead of words.
But, surprise! This was not the big thing that happened this morning. I mean, yes, this was kind of stressful, but what came right after made me forget about it.
I was about to turn around and get back to Eli -without Jay, of course- when three people approached us, entering the abandoned mall by the main entrance. I recognized two of them immediately. They were, you guessed it, Sasha and Lilianne. Behind them was a tall man in red. As they walked toward us, I thought, deep inside; "What a messed up morning".
+
Since the first night of the apocalypse, Sasha felt something different. Something she had never felt before.
However, that 'something' could barely be described with mere words. The closest explanation she gave to herself was that she felt Yuri's presence. But it wasn't really like that. It was as if there was a link, a connection between them.
She started realizing it once he left, the weird feeling becoming weaker as the day passed by. However, back then she was still in grief and didn't really think much of it. But the main idea was there. She could sense where he was, how far and how close his mind would get and even feel some of his emotions like they were hers. And recently, she often felt as if he was either stressed or flustered, which confused her even more.
Point is, she knew how to get by his side at all time, like a GPS.
Obviously, the woman did not hesitate to use this glorious skill. Although she did question its origins, she just thought of it as her instincts and her strong will to protect him. This might be a questionable excuse, yet she held onto it for more than a while. Until last night, when she finally got her revenge and felt alive again, she sensed it even more, stronger than ever. When she told Lilianne they were going to join the others, she meant it. Lilianne couldn't understand how they could make it, still she didn't say a word. The 'new' Sasha was pretty intimidating and the young teenage girl couldn't dare disrespect her in any means. And she too really wanted to see her brother again.
When the girls departed, they knew it would take long before they arrived at their destination and dangers were lurking in every corner of the decombres surrounding them.
Though, surprisingly, after three hours of continuous walking and complaints of being exhausted and having pained feet from Lilianne, they stumbled upon an open area, surprisingly still intact from all the damages caused by the explosions. To be more precise, it was a park, in the middle of many destroyed buildings and small shops. It kind of felt like a small paradise encircled by a burning hell, though there was no fire.
Lilianne, who was at first really glad she could finally rest a bit, quickly changed her mind when she saw a man in the middle of the place. "Perhaps this is his base, we should not approach him", they thought. The man looked out of the ordinary. Crimson red coat and hat, wavy, blond and short hair falling down like silk and a dark skin mottled with soft pale dots, his beauty could be noticed from far away.
The girls, flustered by the glorious beauty standing in front of them, forgot there was an imminent danger for a few seconds. However, once this man started walking toward their direction, the girls came back to reality and stepped back. Ready for whatever would happen next, Lilianne had to fight the urge to ask him what shampoo he used.
Fortunately, the man had no bad intent. Slowly lifting his arms in the air, he would approach them with confidence. His eyes, of a yellowish tint and pupils resembling ones of a goat, were truly disturbing to witness. In those, the girls could see determination.
"This is weird…" Thought Sasha. It was as if he knew who they were and planned this meeting… Perhaps, this was the case?