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ꜱʟɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴍʏ ꜰɪɴɢᴇʀꜱ.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ɪꜱᴀʙᴇʟʟᴀ.
"ɪ ᴛʀʏ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ; ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ɪɴ ɪᴛ."
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͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ.
In which (y/n) thought she had seen the last of Isabella when she left her at the wall. 19 years later, sh...
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(n.) a state of exhaustion inspired by acts of senseless violence.
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"Pick up the pace, will ya?" Beside me, Emma and Ray start to run a bit faster. Still, they're nowhere near the man's speed. He, in question, is taunting the kids while sprinting ahead, across the wasteland's loose sand and soil. I'm running at a controlled pace next to Emma and Ray. Considering I don't do well in the heat, I figured I shouldn't overexert myself when we still have half of a day to go.
"No joke, he's really fast. He's lugging around that heavy gun too...I guess adults are just on another level." Ray scrunches his face in anger.
"HE ACTS LIKE A SPOILED KID THOUGH!" He shouts. The man laughs and continues to taunt him. I swiftly avoid tripping over a rock. It doesn't really matter how far behind the kids and I are from him, so long as we can follow him.
"I guess it's fine so long as you're back here with us, (y/n)." Emma smiles. I nod in acknowledgment. I'm already sweating, which is annoying. Having anticipated this, I packed lots of extra clothing. A few of the younger kids helped out, or rather, they hung around and played with things they found in my bag, which went on until Dominic almost got stabbed with a letter opener.
"There's nothing particularly dangerous around," the man yelled, "beyond the wastelands, there won't be any areas that they conveniently avoid." He didn't need to tell us who "they" were. Everyone knew.
"When you can go ahead safely, don't waste time. Just go. I don't want to loiter around the shelter entrance like a friggin' idiot, too." I found myself a bit surprised at how formally he was talking to us. Especially considering his behavior from earlier. He acted like he had aged twenty years in the span of a few seconds.
"First, we'll head straight east and leave the wasteland. The search for Minerva...the journey AO8-63 really starts when we get there." AO8-63, Goldy Pond. Just days ago, the kids and I had looked over a map the man provided. While he admitted it was dated, it certainly held valuable information. Demon settlements, rivers, and the like. Our destination was conveniently labeled "Goldy Pond". Not sure where the name came from, but it sounded like nonsense a four-year-old would spout. Seriously? Goldy? Even I could've done better.
I made a comment about its name that night, and was quickly reminded by Emma that the name didn't matter, it was what we might find there. I agreed, but still found the name humorous. I swiftly glance at Ray and Emma, who are still running, following the man. Determination is blatant in their eyes. That's right, Emma. You and Ray...even the rest of the family have surpassed my expectations. You'll need to continue to do so if we want to make it to the human world alive. So for the sake of your future and your family...don't fall behind!
I speed up, surpassing the kids and making pace with the man. He's not going much faster than the kids, he just had a head start. His perceptive pupils only dart over to meet mine for a second before they focus on what's in front of him. Not even a snide remark. I imagine that he's got a lot on his mind, especially considering Gilda's reprimanding before we left. I narrow my eyes- not that he can see them under my mask. Neither of those kids are dying. I'm not either. Just watch, we'll all be home in one piece before you know it.
