Couldn't My Reincarnation have been more Cliche!

Chapter 3 (Broken Expectations) Part Two

Despite this strong sense of foreboding, I still went along with the soldier, simply nodding my head along with the first part of his words. But as the silence dragged on, in tandem with me being dragged along, I couldn't hold myself back and asked:

[Iris Sinclair]: "I-I -W-Where exactly are we going to?"Maybe it was just something with this body, but I couldn't seem to string together my thoughts into words properly, leaving me frustrated, as despite all the questions I wanted to ask about the frankly shocking stuff he had been saying this entire time, what came out was nothing more than a pathetic mumble.

[Concerned Soldier]: "We'll be heading about 65 kilometers north of here. There's a military checkpoint there that is outside of the dimensional split's range. Once there, the association's people will guarantee your safety. But don't worry, like I said before, we still have plenty of time before the rift breaks. Though I have to say, you're really lucky. If I hadn't come by when I did, you'd be in a lot of trouble. But seriously, no need to worry. You're safe now. If you need anything, the association will take care of it, so don't look so worried. But again, I can't state this enough: next time, make sure you follow your local emergency line so you don't put yourself in danger like this."

Only half comprehending what had just been said, I wanted to cry out that this is clearly foul play! Isn't it only polite to at least give a warning before you dump a bunch of important-sounding nonsense on someone. I mean look, I was just told that I was right now standing in the range of some kind of dimension-rending event. Also, what even was an "Association" or a "rift"? How was he able to say all that with a straight face, why didn't he ask more questions about what a young women was doing all alone, wearing clothes stained with blood, isn't a public servant suppose to be more concerned about those types of things?

The soldier must have taken my confused contemplative state as fear or worry as he drew slightly closer as if to reassure me. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that him or, better yet, his entire world was the cause of my inner turmoil.

Not like it was his faults though as it was obvious to me that if that useless goddess had spent a little less time acting cute and a little more time explaining to me where the hell I was, then I wouldn't have to be so shocked by every little thing that happened around me.

After a short walk, His vehicle finally came into view. And for once I actually found something new in this world to be reassuring. In front of me was a well-armored military truck. It's rough looking frame gave off an intimidatingly modern presence, which was completely mismatched with the sword clattering around on the soldier's waist.

Walking over to one of the doors, he started to insert what looked to be keys and said:

[Concerned Soldier]: "I still have to finish scouting the rest of this area. Why don't you gather your belongings here, and I'll come pick you up when I'm done? Just remember to only take what's absolutely necessary. My vehicle may look spacious, but we might encounter more people like you on the way out."

I shook my head, rejecting his offer. It wasn't that I didn't believe what he said, actually, it was just the opposite. I felt the urge to yell out that we shouldn't be spending a second more in this place, and how the correct way to act in situations like these was cautiously. Besides, remembering the state of that apartment, going back there wasn't going to do me any good anyways. I suppose I could maybe use the opportunity to rummage through my neighbors' apartments, but I wasn't going to let one of the first acts of my rebirth be theft.

The soldier looked at me for a moment and considered something for a bit before a soft expression came over his face as he spoke.

[Concerned Soldier]: "Ah, um, I think I misspoke. What I meant to say was I need to call another unit up here to search while I evac a civilian who's in poor condition. I really did just misspeak, so please don't have a face like the world is about to end. Trust me, I know it's always scary when rifts behave erratically, but we're nowhere close to its pole. Oh, and um, my name's Paul. Since it seemed like you were struggling a bit when you were talking to me earlier, I hope that will ease your nervousness."