Genesis Reality II

Chapter XXII - Pensive Behavior

Rin drove past the only gas station in Zemog, going just over the speed limit.

Mai sat in the back of the car and reminisced about her previous journey with the others while Ashton sat in the passenger's seat.

"Mai, you look comfortable back there," Ashton mentioned as he looked at Mai through the rear-view mirror.

Mai turned her head from the window to the mirror with a grin, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"I still have yet to hear about everything you guys did. It's a long way to Garza, so might as well fill me in," Rin explained as she kept her eyes on the road and raised her voice so Mai could hear her.

"Where do we even begin... For one, I spent the whole trip moping around about how much I missed Ezra," Mai explained.

"I too was moping around, but for you of course," Ashton said as he turned to look at Rin with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, we stopped at Haven City after meeting Ashton's parents and ran into some people there," Mai explained.

"Key, right? We should visit her and the others!" Ashton explained excitedly.

"I don't want to have to make unnecessary stops unless we need to," Rin explained as she turned on her turn signal to merge into another lane.

Haven Highway was more crowded than usual, being that it is the only highway very far from any civilization.

"I think it's important enough to check-in. After all, they did help us out just a little bit..." Ashton explained, trying to persuade Rin to go to Haven City.

"...Fine, we'll stop by," Rin said as she began exiting the highway.

Rin drove into Haven City and quickly noticed that it was more alive than usual.

People were walking on the sidewalks and had smiles on their faces.

"This is... different," Ashton said as he watched the civilians carry on with their daily lives.

Rin drove slowly through the half-empty streets to carefully find a parking spot.

"I think Key lived just down the street from here behind an alley," Mai explained as the group drove past a large empty park.

"I've been to this park before... a long time ago for a mission," Rin explained, finding a parking spot next to a cafe.

"We'll have to walk, but it isn't that far," Mai explained as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

The three got out of the car and huddled together as they walked down the sidewalk.

Rin put on large sunglasses that covered her face as she began to slow down her walking pace.

The three walked past a large trashcan that smelled horrible.

Ashton took a peek inside to see a dead dog inside of it, with its limbs cut off and blood still dripping out of the wounds.

"Ezekial fucking Christ..." Ashton muttered as he covered his mouth and nose with the collar of his shirt.

"What the Hell is wrong with people these days..." Rin said as the three kept walking.

Ashton looked behind the group and noticed a man in an all-black outfit following them. He had his hood over his head and hands in his pockets.

"Something's not right here..." Mai explained as the street became more and more empty by the second.

The three, including the man following from a few feet, turned on a corner and noticed that the shops on this block were mostly closed.

"Is this a bad part of the city? I think we made a wrong turn or something..." Mai said as she lost track of where Key's base might have been.