Project 43: Healing

I'm eighty-nine

Slowly, the now blonde walked towards the open garage doors. There was a full wall covered with tools Elias couldn't name even at gunpoint, a radio blasting classic 80s rock, and a car, lifted into the air with a man working underneath. Elias looked around for a bit longer. The space looked a lot like Attila. The walls were dark but the space was well lit. There was a lingering smell of cigarettes in the air and a couple of empty beer bottles in the corner next to a small fridge. One of the walls was entirely covered in posters and signs. Some were roadsigns Elias could see Attila stealing just because they looked cool, and others were clearly from a vintage shop the three fugitives had walked past.

Elias smiled lightly as he noticed a picture hung on the wall. It was of their squad, the day they were officially a part of the Legion. Under each of their faces, Attila had written their names. Antonio "Amazon" Pereira, Hugo "White Lion" Johansson, Bilguun "Attila" Batbayar, and Emich "Krait" Schneider. Elias almost laughed at the name. Partly at the name he chose for himself but mainly at Krait, the snake who you don't know has attacked you before you're dead. Antonio had really thought highly of Emich.

Soon enough, Elias heard wheels turning and turned to see the figure roll from underneath the car. He continued staring at the picture and the badge Attila had hanging underneath it.

"Oh merde! Désolé, je ne vous ai pas entendu entrer. Nous sommes déjà fermés pour la journée," Attila said, spooked by the blonde figure standing in his workshop.

"Étiez-vous dans la Légion?" Elias asked, ignoring whatever his friend had just said.

Bilguun looked a bit taken aback but then noticed which picture the man was staring at. A lot of people wanted to talk to him about what it was like so it wasn't too strange. However, the figure seemed weirdly familiar as he walked up to the blonde.

"Oui," Bilguun said, but continued after he saw the dog tags hanging from the man's neck, finally realizing why he was so concentrated on the picture: "As-tu servi dans l'armée ?"

"Oui," Elias said, finally turning to face his old friend. He smiled as he realized the Mongolian man hadn't changed a bit in two years. His hair was longer, now put up in a bun, but other than that, he looked exactly the same.

"J'ai rejoint l'entreprise en 2004 et j'y suis resté cinq ans. En fait, je suis en ville pour rendre visite à un vieil ami de là-bas," Elias said, still smiling at Bilguun who looked even more confused, as he tried to figure out how he knew the man. 

The two stared at each other in silence for a while, both trying to figure out what was going on in the other one's head. Elias wanted Attila to turn off the cameras before he could talk freely, but needed the man to realize who he was.

"Comment vas-tu, Attila?" Elias finally said, breaking the silence.

In an instant, Bilguun's eyes widened as he realized who was standing in front of him.

"Krait?" Bilguun asked to which Elias just nodded, but spoke before his friend was able to say anything else:

"Vos caméras fonctionnent-elles réellement ?"

Attila understood what Elias meant immediately and ran off to a backroom, only to come back a couple of seconds later, still running.

"What? No hug for an old friend?" Elias chuckled, knowing that Attila never hugged anyone. Not even when they said goodbye, now knowing if they would ever see each other again.

Before Elias had time to react, he was engulfed in a tight, and stiff hug. It took him a while to process what was going on before he was able to hug his friend back. Elias ended up laughing, to which Attila joined as he let go of the man.