How Annoying

Chapter 7: Mystery Man ( 2 )

It's afternoon for me so, Good afternoon y'all.

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As we near I hear Ang speaking with Layla about needing to find food because it was a fail at the last supermarket. Layla looks to us with her eyebrows raised.

"Leo, Deacon where did you guys go?" Layla asks with slight suspicion.

Leo flinches, "um we-"

"-were looking for food stashes" I speak over him.

He peaks at me and lets out a sigh of relief. Can he be more obvious?

"Since it's such a big factory maybe there was food for the workers somewhere but we didn't find anything" I continue, shrugging my shoulders. I don't wait for a reply pulling Leo along with me to the other side of the camp where my chair is.

Leo seems out of it, his attention placed on where Layla is. "Do you think Layla and Damien are involved in something dangerous?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper. Just as I was about to reply a sudden chill runs down my spine, causing goosebumps to form on my arms. I come to an abrupt halt, my senses on high alert as I glance back into the darkness searching for any sign of danger.

Leo pauses beside me, sensing my unease. "What's wrong?" he asks, his voice low with concern. I shake my head, unable to shake the feeling that we're being watched. "I don't know," I admit. Leo's expression darkens, his eyes narrowing as he scans our surroundings. "Do you think someone's following us?" he asks, his voice tinged with apprehension.

I hearing rustling just to see Leo making a move to sit on my seat, noticing my gaze he pauses and resorts to sitting on the ground. 

"..."

"what?" Leo tilts his head.

"why the floor?"

"I thought you didn't want me sitting there"

True but he didn't have to actually sit on the floor.

"..." oh well.

I glance back over my shoulder, half expecting to see someone—or something—lurking in the shadows but the area remains empty, the only sound of our own voices. But the feeling of being watched lingers, a reminder that danger lurks in the darkness, waiting to strike when we least expect it. I cross my arms, maybe I'm just overreacting because I'm sleep deprived.

I rub my eye sitting down in the chair and slump back, feeling the exhaustion of the night weighing heavily on my shoulders. Leo still sitting on the ground, his expression weary but determined.

For a moment, we sit in silence, neither of us speaking a word as we gather our thoughts after what we discovered. The events of the night swirl through my mind, but I can't muster the energy to dwell on them.

It's Leo who breaks the silence, his voice low and determined. "We need to figure out what Layla and Damien are planning," he says, his tone resolute.

I offer him a grunt in response, too tired to engage in conversation. I hardly know Layla and Damien, and I couldn't care less about their plans. I only followed for fun. But Leo seems determined to uncover the truth.

I offer him a tired nod,  my eyelids growing heavier by the second, I feel a reluctant sense of obligation. "Yeah, sure," I mutter, my voice lacking any real conviction with a twinge of sleepiness.

Leo shoots me a glance, his eyes shining with determination. He continues to mutter to himself. I feel a surge of irritation bubbling beneath the surface. Every word he utters seems to magnify the pounding in my head, and I struggle to keep my eyes open.

"Leo, can you keep it down?" I mutter, my voice tinged with annoyance. "I'm trying to sleep."

Leo shoots me a sheepish glance, his expression apologetic. "Sorry," he whispers, his voice barely above a murmur. "I just thought..."

But I don't hear the rest of his sentence, as my eyelids flutter shut of their own accord. The last thing I register before drifting off into sleep is the sound of Leo's voice fading into the background, a distant murmur in the darkness.

——

I gradually awaken from my slumber, everything comes back into focus. The chilly night air is replaced by the gentle warmth of the morning sun filtering through the cracks in the walls of the factory. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, my eyes begin to sting and squinting seems to be the only way to relive it.

I sit up in my chair, feeling something drop from my shoulder and see a blanket fall onto my lap.

Beside me, I notice Leo stirring on the ground, his movements slow and groggy as he begins to rouse from his own sleep. I glance down and see that he's made himself somewhat comfortable with blankets and a makeshift pillow he must have found or brought over during the night. I guess he's the one that covered me with a blanket. Despite the exhaustion still evident in his features, it seems he's still fixated on uncovering the truth behind Layla and Damien's mysterious activities.

I glance at the quiet campsite, my mind already drifting to other thoughts. It's not that I dislike Leo or the others; it's just that I don't feel any particular attachment to them. After all, they're just strangers I happened to wake up with when my memories were still a blur.

He rubs his eyes muttering " morning".

"Morning" I awkwardly reply.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah.." I hate small talk, I would rather you not say anything.

With a resigned sigh, I push myself to my feet, my movements slow and languid. Leo follows suit, his expression mirroring my own - tired.

He suddenly stops and runs back. As Leo returns with a bundle of blankets in his hands, I continue walking towards the others, my pace steady and unchanging. We reach the others, Leo's sudden burst of energy is met with indifference on my part, and I make no effort to engage in his greeting spree.

Instead, I walk to a random box, pushed up against the wall and I sit waiting for what we're doing next. With a sigh, I lean back against the box, closing my eyes and letting the sounds of the conversation wash over me.

I find myself drawn to thoughts of the mysterious man Layla and Damien met with. Despite my usual indifference to the affairs of others, there's something about their meeting that piques my curiosity. I don't care necessarily for what they are doing but what the outcome will be.

As the conversation continues around me, I lean back against the box, content to watch and wait for the answers to reveal themselves in due time. With a small smile playing on my lips, I find myself oddly amused by the whole situation. I can't help but be entertained by the unpredictability of it all.

I try to piece together what little information I have gained from their conversation, but the details remain vague. The man's ominous warning about running out of time and the high stakes involved just leaves me confused with questions.

With a sigh of resignation, I realize that I'll need to tread carefully if I'm going to uncover the truth. Whatever Layla, Damien, and the mysterious man are involved in, it's clear that they're not sharing all the details with the rest of us. I push aside my thoughts for the time being, knowing that dwelling on them will only lead to more questions than answers.

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da dun

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