Chapter 24 - Anna's Fear
Luke was spending his day in a rather ordinary manner with the other two Deviants. For the first time since arriving in this place, he didn't need to run from death or scour for food to avoid starving. With the help of the two girls, he realized things would be much easier, especially when it came to sleeping. Even though he had the option to sleep inside the basement house, he didn't feel safe there. Despite not fully trusting anyone, knowing another human would be keeping watch gave him some peace of mind.
"Luke," called the little redhead.
Alice had gone to clean the wolf better and try to bring the others closer to their camp. Meanwhile, the two stayed back to clean the cave.
"Need any help, Anna?"
Watching the small redhead, he realized it was the first time he'd interacted with her since nearly being hit by an arrow.
The atmosphere is a bit awkward because she still feels guilty about the arrow, and I'm a complete stranger.
"Can you help me with the dirt? We've been here for three days and prefer staying outside. Now that we're staying for at least a few more days, it'd be better to clean this place up."
Luke smiled.
"I have the perfect item. You mean this?" he said, conjuring his broom.
Anna looked surprised and then laughed.
"I swear I forgot you had that card. I was just going to ask you to help me gather some big leaves so we could try to sweep the dirt out."
Little broom, I appreciate you and haven't forgotten how you helped me get the key in that cell and when you were shoved down a wolf's throat. Only you and I know what we went through.
Luke started sweeping the cave while Anna took the opportunity to do other tasks. She went to collect some branches and stones to have them ready for the campfire. He kept sweeping for a bit, barely believing what he was doing.
I'm actually sweeping as if this were my little apartment.
He looked outside, scanning the surroundings in the small forest.
At least it's something normal amid this crazy situation.
He gathered some dirt on a leaf and threw it into the forest.
"Hope this all gets resolved soon," Anna commented while preparing lunch.
"Me too. I hope to laugh about this experience in the future; these days have been way too hard for me."
She continued working on the meat in the pot.
"It was a bit complicated in the first days in the Veil, but now I'm glad to have found this slightly safer place," she said.
"I understand. I also arrived in a place with monsters, and it was tough to survive. At least now we'll have some time to relax until a search team emerges from the sewers to find more people."
Luke stood up and started washing the cave using his canteen. He noticed the floor was a bit gross with his and the wolf's dried blood. Thanks to his broom, he could scrub off the excess stuck to the ground and splash water from the canteen to clean it.
Alice's Point of View:
I left the two alone while I checked the surroundings and fetched the wolves scattered far from the camp. A part of me wanted to leave them there for any passerby to see that there was human activity. So I chopped off their heads for easier transport and left them on site. If any human from the expedition passes by, they'll see that other survivors were here and killed the wolves… or they'll think it was some powerful monster.
In this crazy situation, they'll probably think it was a monster.
A part of me is cautious with anyone, especially in a situation like this. Fortunately, Anna is a normal person, and talking to her is relaxing for me since she is not from Deviant society. Luke seems ambiguous; he didn't appear to know much about prana usage categories. It might have been a lie, but if it was, he's the best actor in the world because he seemed genuinely surprised and interested when I explained it. He also appears to be from Earth, but I was surprised he knows how to fight. While I believe he struggled to kill those wolves due to being a Dissident Deviant and not making better use of prana, I understand it wasn't just 'luck.' He has at least a basic understanding of combat, which is good.
I left them talking to get to know each other better and strengthen our survivor group's unity. We need to ensure we collaborate until a new search team emerges from the sewers. I believe it will be difficult for that to happen in the next few days since they lost a team and need personnel to deal with the sewer monsters. Anyway, they will need to send someone out eventually if they want to investigate the area better before heading toward human civilization. During this time, we will also look for survivors who might have left the Veil and be around the city in one of these houses.
I have a small idea to help us bond and learn to work better as a team. I'll suggest we hunt together. Even though we have enough food for a few days, it's never too much to have more in reserve.
Lucan's Point of View:
Night had fallen, and they had to extinguish the campfire to avoid attracting anything in the dark. Alice had taken the first watch and was somewhere outside the cave.
Thanks, Alice. You removed the big wolf's hide, and at least it gave us something to sleep on in this cold. Staying up late outside in the cold will be terrible, but at least I have the Midnight Mantle.
"Luke..." called a voice.
Luke turned toward the darkness from where the voice came and feared asking who was calling him.
"Anna?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes," she replied from a little distance away.
Thank God it's her. Anna, you almost gave me a heart attack! It's pitch dark here, and I can't see anything.
"Did something happen?" he asked after a moment of silence.
"No, everything's fine. I just... I just wanted to know if you were there," she said.
Huh? Why?
Before he could ask, she continued:
"I slept alone in this place for days... thought I'd never see anyone again. Then I found Alice, but she spent more time outside the hideout than inside. I spent those days sleeping alone, and even when she was here, we had to take turns on watch and separate."
She paused for a moment, then resumed:
"I... I was afraid of being abandoned. Having another person close helps. This way, my mind doesn't imagine I've been left behind in the darkness... that I'm not the only one here in the dark."
Luke understood her words; he had lived with that fear in those days. The fear of being forgotten in a place like this, the fear of being left behind. He began to value human presence, even though part of him didn't like other humans.
"I understand you... I was also afraid of being the only one alive in this place."