-You met Noah Young?!-I yelled in surprise.
-Chill, mate. Yes, I did meet him some years ago. Why?
I stopped hugging Jenny and stood up. I took off my cape and threw it in front of her.
-These used to belong to him…-I pointed at the knives inside of my cape.
-And…-she said while inspecting the knives and waiting for me to finish my sentence.
-And I have them because he died…
Layla broke in laughter, claiming that there was no way that he could've died, given how strong he was. However, once she saw my serious face, her laugh turned off.
-Damn… And how are you so sure about it?
-Because I was there…-I said, trying to contain my tears.
Both women looked at me and caressed my hand, trying to calm me down.
-Sooo… Why do you have these?-she said while picking up The Set of Knives-I didn't know him much, but I'm pretty sure Master Young would rather die with this before giving it to some random kid.
After listening to her, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to calm myself down before speaking.
-That's because I'm not random.-I said before taking my id out of my pocket-See?
Layla yanked it out of my hands, inspecting it with the faint light that leaked inside of the prison. "Jacob Mateo Young Espinosa" she read while comparing me with my id picture.
-I'm guessing that you must be his family if you carry his surname.-she said-What are you? A nephew or something? I don't remember him having a brother.
-Come on, Layla! It's not that hard! He must be his son!
We both looked at Jenny with a face of surprise. I met her a few minutes ago, but who would've thought that she could be this aggressive.
-Wait, wait, wait… You're telling me that Master Noah Young, the workaholic blacksmith, somehow got the time to create a family?!-she asked, perplexed.
My head moved up and down, answering her question. Then, I sat down again, getting beside Jenny and telling Layla to continue.
-I'm sorry about interrupting again. Please keep going…
-Okay? -she resumed the story, looking at me differently after finding out who my father was-Well, he said that there might've been some kind of word or phrase written in my hammer, and that's why he wanted me to give it to him.
My "hugging partner" and I looked at each other and then giggled, letting out a high pitched scream afterwards.
-Nah, he definitely wanted you.-I said-That was just some kind of lame excuse to approach you, I'm sure of it.
-Yeah! What he said!-Jenny added while giving me a high 5.
Layla looked at both of us with disappointment, following with the words "I wish that was the case".
So that random man was being serious? He was looking for some words written in weapons? Damn, and I thought my goal was weird.
-Tell us! What happened then?-we asked in unison-If he didn't want to approach you in a weird way, then what did he want?
-He did not get into details, but apparently some of Master Young's weapons had "clues" in them. I do not know what he meant by that, but the more he spoke, I could hear his voice, so I was happy.
The three of us made a sudden pause at that moment. We looked at each other, thinking about the mysterious man that she encountered and then spoke again.
-So? How was his voice?-I asked with excitement.
-Oh, boy…-Layla answered me while acting like someone hit her chest with an arrow-How do I explain it without saying it was perfect?
-We don't know! Just say anything!
She laughed at our eagerness to hear the rest of the story, so she started to think of a way to describe it.
-Alright…-she talked while making gestures with her hand-Imagine a hot smoker. Now imagine him speaking while panting because he was tired of having his arms up.
I felt Jenny getting goosebumps at the same time as I did. We both got excited just thinking about a proper example that would fit that description.
My mind went blank for a few seconds, trying to imagine what his voice would have sounded like, and after a few seconds, my mind created some representations that seemed fittable for him. However, a little after those possible voices appeared in my head, a face appeared there too.
My inner self made the kid appear, trying to remind me that this was just a minor distraction, and that I should focus on my main goal first.
I got my body rigid and straightened up my back, formally asking Layla to finish her story because I was in a hurry.
-Oookaaayyy…-she told me while putting up her arms in surrender-You could cheer up a little, you know? The world ended, so we won't judge you if you get "excited" for this type of man. Believe us, we would get like that too.
She looked Jenny in the eyes and smiled. Then, they both looked at me trying to hide my blush.
Layla smirked, chasing me with her eyes as I tried to look away.
-Can you just finish?!-I screamed, waking up all the other people in the prison.
-Fine! But you should learn how to be more honest, you know? It's okay to be proud about who you are and what you like.
-Yeah, Jacob! Listen to her!-Jenny said while gently hitting my arm-There's nothing wrong in getting excited for someone like that.
I closed my fist, flustered by their words. Then, in an instant, I stood up and yelled at them.
-You don't get it! I do like hearing about hot guys and stuff,-I screamed hysterically, putting my hood on to try and hide my tears and my worried face-but I have someone to look for, and I can't spend all my time here!
The woman beside me looked at me and pulled my arm, hugging me in hope that I would calm down.
Beneath my hood, I let out a couple of tears. I know I said I hated kids in the past, but this kid was my kid.
I don't mean it in a parenting or creepy way, I'm just trying to say that she is "my kid" because she is special to me.
If something were to happen to her, I'm pretty sure that I would enter the same state I was in after my dad died.
-Shh… It's ok…-Jenny said while hugging me and caressing my hair.
Layla reached her hand to me and patted my leg. She took a deep breath and then, with a smirk, she told us that she would quickly finish her story.
-Listen closely. After getting distracted because of the spectacular views in front of me, he touched my shoulder and made me regain my consciousness again. Then, with his left arm up, he crouched and picked up the bigger axe from the floor.
-And what did he do? Did he try to attack you? -Jenny asked curiously.
-I mean, his eyes did seem like those of someone who wants to harm you, but instead of damaging me, he only put his axe closer and pointed out the word "find" that was written in it.
-Find?-I asked while wiping the tears off of my face-Just that word?
-Yeah, apparently it was all part of a big phrase he was trying to figure out. He also added that he only found 6 words by that time.
-And that's it? That's the end of the chisme?-I asked in disappointment.
-Chill, goddammit.-Layla said angry, reaching out her hand to my face and pinching my cheek. Then, she coughed and kept on talking-The end is that I gave him my sledgehammer, he inspected it and after seeing that even though it was made by your father, it didn't have any of the clues he was looking for.
-I'm guessing he just walked away after that, didn't he?!-A woman yelled from the cell beneath us-Men will just leave after getting what they wanted!
Layla broke into a loud laughter, making her voice echo around the whole prison. Followed by her voice, a lot of females voices echoed in the building, all of them laughing because of what that woman said.
-So real!-yelled someone who was beside us.
-Tell 'em queen!
I hid even more under my cape. It was kinda obvious that all of them hated men, so they must've hated me too.
A couple minutes passed and Layla dried off her tears and finally told the end to her story.
-Yes! Just like our friend under there said, he just bailed after seeing my weapon.
A big quantity of boos and insults flew through the air after she finished her story. My body thought instinctively of running away, but Jenny held my hand with a smile and told me to stay put.
-Hey, Layla! Tell the boy to take us out!-the woman who made the joke earlier yelled.
Her words were accompanied by a series of screams, all of them telling Layla to make me get all of them.
My hands shivered. I was never one to talk to big groups of people, so I was feeling really pressured and nervous at that time.
Just as I was about to say something, Layla pulled me back and covered my mouth.
-Don't worry! Jacob was trying to get us out of here before, so I'm sure he'll find a way quickly!-she then pulled me close and whispered so only I could hear her-I suggest you think of a way to get us out quickly if you don't want them to kill you…