Liam just got over the garden fence where he left Lucius and the soldier behind.
Lune's breath speeds up as she realizes what just happened a moment ago.
"What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to help him. Why are you here and why is he still over there?" she says, her voice carrying a panicked tone.
"This is what he wanted. He signaled me to rescue you and let him be the distraction," Liam answers her while looking at the ground.
"You piece of shit, why would you do this? You're lying! He would never sacrifice himself. He isn't the type of guy to do that!" Lune screams at Liam while crying."You let him die alone. You're just the worst. I wish you would be behind the fence!"
Then silence. The only sound that can be heard is the sound of fists clashing against flesh, followed by a groan.
Then from behind the fence Lucius screams at us, "GO! Both of you! This is what I wanted! Just get to safety!"
The anger and panic vanish from Lune's face. The only thing left is sadness, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Liam grabs her hand and starts to pull her away.
"We need to get out of here. If he survives this, he will find us in the end. And in the time since I met him, I am sure that he will be able to do that. But he can't if he worries about us, so we need to get out of here, and it would be best if we do that pretty fast."
Liam and Lune make their way away from the garden. Lune is glancing back in hope that Lucius jumps over the fence and comes to them.
But that doesn't happen. It will never happen. Liam knows that, and deep down Lune does too.
They walk hastily on the street in the direction of an older industry complex. The complex can be seen in the distance, its long pipes running through the whole area, making sharp turns over and over again.
Lune is hanging behind. She is getting pulled by Liam while he is walking very fast. His speed is way too quick for Lune, so she is getting pulled away by him.
"Wait, give me a second please. I can't go that fast," Lune says out of breath, her voice still filled with sadness from crying before.
Liam stops abruptly."Okay, I think we can take a little break here, but not longer than five minutes."
Lune crashes down to the ground, her hands on her eyes. She starts sobbing, her breath getting quicker and quicker.
"He is dead. We are the people that killed him. Why would he do that? We could have saved him. We could have beaten him together."
The silence that follows hits Liam harder than he ever expected. He was no savior that he tried to be. He failed with the one goal he set himself. He just wanted to save everybody, but he couldn't even save one person. He felt like a failure, like he was one from the beginning. He always thought of himself as the hero, as the knight in white armor, but now he realized he never was a hero. Lucius was a hero, but he was just a coward who took the first chance to run away.
Liam pulls out a little red packet and takes out a cigarette and a lighter. He lights himself a cigarette and for just a moment he stares at the sky, looking at the moon.
The sobbing from Lune starts to slow down. Her watery eyes are looking up at Liam, who doesn't notice her at first. But after some time Liam notices her stare and asks,
"Do you want one? It helps with taking the edge off."
He pulls his pack of cigarettes out again and holds the pack open to her so she could take one out if she wanted.
"Yeah, thanks. I don't usually smoke, but I give it a try. It helps with taking the edge off sometimes. So what did you do before all this started?" Lune says.
"That's a story for another time, but if you want you can guess. I will tell you if you are right," Liam says, his lips forming a small smile for just a second.
"What do we do now? What point does living have when we probably meet the same fate as him sooner or later? I mean, we can run away from here, but what tells us that they won't find us there? What if there are beasts that will devour us? Do you think we have the power to fight even one?" Lune says while lighting her cigarette, barely any tears coming out of her eyes anymore.
Liam answers her, his voice low, trying to calm her down.
"I know what you feel—"
Lune interrupts him mid-sentence.
"You know how I feel? You really think you know how I feel? Lucius is dead! He was my best friend. He was my boyfriend. He was the person that was there for me when no one was. And you expect me to believe that you know how I feel? I don't even know you. We are strangers. We met not even twenty minutes ago. How am I expected to trust you? How am I expected to believe you? Tell me that!"
A few seconds pass with silence in the air that seems deafening. Lune is looking at Liam with tears in her eyes while Liam stares back at her with a look of remorse.
"I get what you are saying. You just lost someone who was very important to you, and I do not expect you to trust me right now. But even though you have no trust in me, can I ask you to trust in Lucius? He would have never let you leave with me if I didn't have his trust to keep you safe," Liam answers her, his voice filled with guilt and sadness.
Lune looks at him for a while and says,"Okay… I can do that."
She then wipes the tears off her face and stands up again.
"I think we should head for the industry complex, at least till tomorrow. I think we both are tired, and it seems like the military will first continue searching the places where they will most likely meet the most people," Liam says while pointing off in the distance.
Lune nods.
"Seems like a plan. But what about the beasts? Do you think we will meet some of them there?"
"We should be able to avoid them. I can hear them before they hear us, so it should be possible to just go around them or hide from them. Remember, I have heightened senses. I forgot to ask you before, what are your skills? Is there something useful that maybe would help us out if we are in danger?" Liam says.
"I really don't know what it does or how to use it, but I can show you," Lune says while opening her stat window.
Name: LuneClass: NoneTitle: None
Stats
Strength: 3Dexterity: 7Vitality: 4Intelligence: 7Wisdom: 5Charisma: 7Luck: 4
Skills
Thread WeaverAllows the user to bind and connect materials or objects using thread and needle.
"Okay, so you can sew stuff together. But how does this work? Do you know how to activate it? Wait, that doesn't matter right now. We should just move on and maybe test it out later," Liam says.
They both start to walk down the street. Liam is using his skill to see if there are any threats nearby, and Lune is staying right behind him, trying to make as little noise as possible while walking.
While she does that, she notices something unusual — every time Liam takes a step, there is no sound. She thinks back, and he never made any sound while walking.
"Why are your feet not making any noise while walking? I can't hear your steps," Lune asks him.
"Oh, I just walk carefully. In my stat window it says that I have high dexterity, so when I walk carefully I don't make a sound," Liam answers her.
They come closer to the industry complex. With each house they pass, the next one seems even more run down. It seems like the closer they get, the worse the condition of the houses gets.