Far away, in the distance, Edmund could see one… no, two silhouettes advancing toward his direction. He'd been waiting for quite a long time already, his legs numbing from standing too long. In his mind, fuzzy from the long wait, the instructions given by the Superior Being fastly rewinded like a movie.
When he thought about the man, that man, his grand figure, intimidating aura and noble heart, he could not forget any of the words he had spoken, it was just impossible to. Clear and sound, his directives were nowhere from bizarre. 'Wait for the girls and make yourself an indispensable ally.'
Those were no hard tasks. Approach, help and follow them so he can meet the green haired man and his companions. Of course, he was already aware of the boy's location, but barging into the mall out of nowhere, all of the sudden, was pretty suspicious. It was much better to befriend the others first and then start attacking the real goal. But there was only one issue; Edmund had no social experience, talking with people and sounding confident was not his speciality. He had always been uncomfortable and sounded rude and impolite. He could not help it, the nervosity made him like that. The Superior Being was aware of this, yet still gave him the responsibility to make himself a trustable and reliable companion. This certainly showed this wouldn't be too hard… right? He had to succeed.
Then, if everything so far went his way, he must officially join the group, protecting and helping them like they share the same blood as him. Sacrifices and risks, for all of them. Of course, he did not want to. Dying was far from being his wish. However, there were two other conditions he must follow, two conditions which could lower the risks of an imminent death.
"Don't get attached and if I tell you so, you must betray them."
There was no hesitation, not a mere fragment of sadness in those words. Emotions seemed absent, inexistant from this man, although his voice gave the impression of an ever ending sweet sorrow.
The Superior being expressionlessly gazed at Edmund's eyes, his own fogging under all the sadness of the world. He was waiting for an answer. With a faint nod, Edmund would've accepted those conditions, he could not refuse anyways. He had no idea what the man's intentions were, he did not know if he wanted to see the world fall in crumbles or in the opposite, save it from its downfall, but one thing was for sure. He would not let anyone or anything get in his way. With a fast pace, he would've left the place with a bitter taste in his mouth.
.
.
.
From what the Superior Being told him, Sasha and Lilianne - the ones he had to find– were walking towards the mall with the intention to join their other companions. But what they didn't know was how long it would take for them to arrive at their destination. A week, two weeks, they had no idea. This is why Edmund had to meet them as quickly as possible, time was running out dangerously fast. While he would protect them from the Brillantes lurking outside, he could also make the whole journey go faster. He knew many shortcuts in this damned city and how to take them there safely.
Thus, as the two girls arrived in the park, all he had to do was gain their trust. When they took notice of him, close enough to see his face, a sign of suspicion could be seen in those eyes. Lifting his arms in the air, he approached them with no ill intent. His boots, clean and shiny despite the chaotic environment surrounding him, echoed loudly in the silent park.
Steps after steps, he tried his best not to scare them too much. The tall blond one, Sasha, started speaking, her strong voice echoing against the chunks of destroyed walls surrounding them.
"Who are you, what do you want?"
Not an ounce of distress could be heard, her provocative tone showing she wouldn't let him touch even a slight strand of Lilianne's hair. The small girl, behind her, seemed worried but not in the least scared. More like a; "Do we really have to kill him? What a waste".
'What a bunch of weirdos', he thought. 'How are they not scared? Did they go crazy after all those traumatizing sights?' Though he didn't tell them directly, the confusion he held was not without curiosity. As he stopped walking before them and cleared his throat, he replied.
"My name is Edmund. I just happened to find this place around an hour ago and felt like taking a rest. That's it, happy?"
"Mn."
Of course, they wouldn't be convinced of this easily. The man was never a sociable person, communication had always been a struggle of his. Maybe he had talked to one or two people, but he couldn't remember any of those encounters. If chance was on his side, maybe two girls would be comprehensive. Of course those were useless hopes, he was glad they couldn't hear him scream and cry in his mind.
As Sasha was about to retort something, Lilianne started talking too.
"Are you one of those? An 'infected'?"
"Yes… Since the first day."
"I see."
"Yeah."
The ambience was incredibly awkward. Like when cousins meet for the first time after years, but it was a hundred times worse at that moment. Looking around him a bit, Edmund did not know what to say next. Cloudy dark sky, the ghost city with rotted corpse, fresh or old, laying all around, nothing could help. Although he was confident that his strength was without flaws, he really needed to improve his social skills. But if his mind flowed with anxious thoughts and his hands under his gloves were starting to sweat, his expressionless face would not tell anything. Calm eyes, regular breath and lips sealed together, no one could tell how bad he felt at that moment. He was safe.
With an annoyed sigh, Sasha lifted her hand towards him, for a handshake.
Surprised, Edmund looked at the girl, and then at her hand. Uncertain of the sudden move, his face showed confusion. Frowning and looking away, she told him.
"Don't stay there like that, we're all endangered here, why not help each other out? But… If you dare betray us, I won't hesitate to kill you."
She obviously didn't trust him. But did she had a choice? Not really. With a calm and honeyed voice, he gave his answer.
"Alright. Same goes for you."
The deal was made. It was for sure Edmund couldn't fulfill her conditions, but he was ready to take the risks just to stay alive. Fight violence with violence, as they say. With a faint smile, he looked at the girls. "Where are you heading?"
+
This was strange. Why were they here? And Sasha, she finally recovered? I fastly walked into their direction, not caring about the stranger behind them.
"Sash-"
…Wait. The woman before me had Sasha's eyes, hair and everything Sasha had. But why did she feel so distant, different? I slowed down, my concerns bubbling up in my head. In contrast to Sasha, who silently walked up to me and hugged me tightly. What was going on? The girl I knew would've shouted, laughed and cried, why was she so calm?
…Oh.
I couldn't help but frown. I knew what was going on. As our embrace tightened just like my heart and her silent sobs broke the silence, a wave of anger and sadness took over my whole. No, of course, I was not angry at her. I was angry about everything that happened, from the miserable life I had, to the pain my friend felt for weeks now. I had a mix of emotions, all too cramped deeply to recognize them. Only three words would come out of this mess, repetitively whispering in my mind. It was unfair.
Sasha stepped back, a faint smile brightening her pained and tearful face. Her eyes weren't the same. I remember, as they used to look like a bright sky although sparkling with stars within them, they were now of a muted darking blue, the one resembling foggy clouds on a cold evening. Her whole silhouette looked slimmer, weaker. She seemed to have lost weight over the past month. Of course, it made sense, yet I was still furious.
However, except for the burning rage, one more thing could make me slightly flinch, making me nervous to a point where I would shiver a bit.
Something about her, her energy, it was something I had never felt before. Not a feeling like deception, or resentment, evenless love. I couldn't describe it. The moment she embraced me, the moment we went in contact with each other, I felt it. It was like it was always there with us, without us realizing. It came in naturally, with no warning. I could affirm it, somehow we were linked.