The Obelus

-6- Meeting Subject 77

"Oh great, look, it's a desert. I can't even see anything other than a desert."

The car suddenly stops and smoke comes out of the lid. You get out and start rummaging the back for tools to fix the car. Instead you see a plunger, box of matches and other useless items,. You walk away in confusion on why Olivia has those things in her car. After crossing the barren desert for 10 minutes, you grow tired and wish that Olivia's car was still working.

"If Olivia's car was still working, it would've been much easier."

You kick a few rocks and hear some noises. You start running in case, and out of the sandy, unclear landscape, you see a cliff, and a completely ruined village. You start running faster, since the noises behind you are getting louder by the second. You turn around.

"Oh the horror. Shit, more guards?"

You grab out that junker musket again and fire. There are four of those Obelus guards. You know you can't possibly defeat four guards so you start running and finding places to hide, even if you know there's nowhere to hide.

Suddenly, a masculine figure jumps in front of you. They fire twice, and then throw a knife at the other.

"Well howdy mate! Never thought I'd see another person wandering the desert around here!"

They introduce themselves as June, Subject 77.

"Oh hey, I'm Y/N, Subject 43. Olivia told me to come find you."

June shows you to a building he introduces as his home.

"Not even a thanks?"

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Thank you so much! How could I ever repay you?"

"Well, I mean, you could try some of my coffee..."

"Yeah, of course!"

"I'll get you something to eat too. You must be starving after getting out of there."

"Yes please, the last time I ate was two days ago!"

June laughs and walks to the kitchen. You sit at a table and wait for June. to get something for you and him to eat. June brings you a sandwich and some brown looking liquid.

June must've noticed you looking at the brown liquid with disgust.

"You know, this is coffee, made here. Coffee's kinda rare around here, so don't hesitate to have some!"

You start taking bites out of your sandwich and you take a sip out of the coffee, and then resist the urge to spit it out. The coffee was way worse than you expected, and it had the taste of dirt.

"June, what's in this coffee?"

"Bitta dirt and some cocoa powder, nothing bad if you ask me."

You look at the coffee again and say "I'm sorry June, but I'm not in the mood for coffee."

"You promised me..."

"Fine... I'll take some then."

You drink it, and as you expected, it is bitter and weird tasting. You resist the urge to vomit and smile at June.

"Yeah, it's uh, great!

You finish your sandwich and then June starts asking you questions.

"So uh, how'd the guards know you were here?"

"To be honest with you, I don't really know..."

"Hmm can I check your bag?"

You let June check your bag. After searching and scanning your whole bag and its contents, June starts checking the sleeves of your clothes. He does this for a while and then suddenly, he seems to have found the answer to his own question. He grabs the little stitched emblem on your shirt and examines it.

"Aha, there were trackers on your shirt! We need to burn these clothes that you have and get you some new ones. Did anyone part of the Obelus give you these by any chance?"

"Well, yeah. Uhm do you know Yihan, the worker there?"

"Yeah, was a good friend of mine back then. What about them?"

"So they gave me the clothes. And also, I'm sorry to say this, but Yihan has passed..."

"Oh..."

You and June lament for a bit, and then move on.

"So if the clothes had trackers on them, then... they must know we are here!"

"Ok so, grab these and quickly change. I'll pack up and we can leave as soon as possible. "

You quickly change and get out of the restroom. June has packed all the weapons, belongings and food you would need. You and June get ready to leave and open the door. You see a faint shadow of a person. You and June run out and hide behind the building.

"Who's here?"

There is a loud bang as the front door of the building opens. You figure that the workers of the Obelus must've broken into the building. June rummages through the backpack to find something.

June drags you to the exit in the back of the building and quietly gets in the car.

"Get in Y/N!"

"Hold on, let me listen..."

June goes quiet and you both listen to the conversation happening in the front of the building.

"You have lied to me!"

"I- I never knew that one of them didn't die..."

"You promised me. As I said, you can go join them in Hell now."

"No! Please... I- I'll do better next time!"

"Deal with it, it's your fault."

"... Oh ... So this is the end?"

"Yes. Now say your last few words, Felix. And now prepare to die."

"I guess it's karma..."

In the distance, there is a gunshot.

You are sure that you heard a noise somewhere around the front of the building. You are supposed to feel happy that the Obelus guard has died but instead you feel a pang of sympathy and sorrow.

"C'mon Y/N! No time to waste, they're gonna catch on soon! Get in the car right now."

You jump in the car and June drives off to the west.. You close your eyes and the car speeds up. You open your eyes and you and June are driving off into the desert.

"So, our next stop is Mount Vagual. I have a friend who lives there and I'm sure it's safer over there."

You slowly drift off to sleep to the sound of the car engine.

Mini and Yihan float into your dreams. You look at them. They look at you. This continues until Mini opens their mouth and says hello, with a dreamy voice. Then they both disappear.