Capítulo 78: - The Initiative [2]
"Is this the place?"
A calm and stern voice asked over the wind rising, brushing against the many leaves in the trees surrounding them.
There stood three men, two stood off to either side of the third, whose body was hunched over, as if he was freezing from an unseen and unnoticeable cold breeze that lingered in the wind that blew by.
"Y-Yes."
The shivering body answered, glancing back at one of the men, whose eyes were passing over the large stone wall before him.
The wall was part of a far off mountain range, this particular section was just sheer rock face, while the rest steadily inclined towards the top, trees and grass growing more and more along the way.
The man made a solid glance to his right, where the second man was also observing the rock face, his arms crossed and somewhat unimpressed.
"Well?"
He asked, his voice somewhat sarcastic.
"You think this is it? Doesn't seem like a typical gang hideout to me."
The second man shook his head, pointing to small nooks and cracks in the walls.
"The air blowing out is colder from in there than it is out here. It means that there's a different temperature behind this rock face, which typically shouldn't be there."
"I deduced that much. The fact that there happens to be a room behind this rock is wrong in its own right. But for the space to be big enough that it contains its own temperature is somewhat surprising."
The second man made a glance at the first , looking for any impressions on his face - a twitch of the mouth, narrowing of the eyes, a look of distaste or hate. But, he saw nothing.
Just a man who watched on like he didn't care.
'Since when has he been this calm before. He was practically furious that someone tried to go after her in the first place. I thought that was why he beat that man back in the clearing.'
Taking one last long look at the first man, the second shook his head, eventually giving up.
'Whatever. I guess I was wrong.'
The first man made a move towards the third, whose eyes passed between the two like a man trying to catch a fly moving back and forth in the air.
"You sure this is the place. You're not lying to us are you?"
"N-No. I'm sure. This is the main camp, just behind that wall."
The man pointed to the stone, making a careful point to gesture to the individually large cracks in the rock. These cracks circled and circled, curved and dipped until, eventually, Cain got the image of a large circular door.
At least it was somewhat circular.
"How do you open it?"
He asked tracing his hand over the grooves and the bumps in the rock and stone.
"I…I don't know."
The third held his head low, looking to the ground.
"I was kept with the rest in a secondary camp. I only heard about this place from one of the older members who mentioned it only once. I…"
He drifted off as he fiddled with his fingers.
"...I'm not that trusted of a member."
The first man looked back to the hunched over figure, his eyes narrow as if to question his truthfulness, but eventually, they softened.
"I know. You were taken from your mother as a debt to Krill like all the others in that 'secondary' camp. But unlike the rest, you've survived until now. For that you deserve praise."
"T-That…"
The man would have normally been surprised that this other man knew so much about him, but if this wasn't all told to him before, he normally would have been.
It just didn't shock him as much anymore.
"...what you said before. Why…why…"
"Why make you the new leader?"
The third nodded to the first, while the second man took his time looking around the nearby trees for any hidden levers or buttons.
Crouching down, the man looked up at the small teen, who he had later found out was in his early 17's, just shy of 18 come the next winter.
"Well, I need someone to do me a favor. And for starters, not only do you seem like the most open-eared person around, but you're also the most open for change."
"Change?"
The first nodded, his eyes soft as the morning rays sun rise, while his smile was as warm as the flames of a campfire that licked at your fingers when hunched down to get warm.
But the boy, he knew better. He had seen what these two were capable of, and knew that while his smile was warm like a fire, get too close and you shall burn.
"Krill, the man from before - your former leader. He took…certain means to extract different debts from different people. Like your mother, those who couldn't pay would give up their children in exchange for their miserable lives. Your mother never batted an eye in the process."
The boy's head ducked lower, clearly the memory of such an event, though he was only a babe at the time, was still vivid in his mind.
The man took notice of this, and grabbed the boy's hands.
"I know it hurts, but Krill believed that you could start a new life in his gang. A newer, better life…did any of that come true?"
The boy shook his head.
"And why is that?"
Though he hesitated at first, the boy let everything slip about his younger years. How he would be beaten senseless by Krill and his goons to 'train' them. Make them tough. In truth it was just a means to get rid of stress he and his boys carried with them from job to job.
They would go through rigorous training, days in and days out. Sometimes they were starved to know what hunger felt like, all in order to keep them there, knowing that if they escaped, they would starve before they ever made it to the nearest town.
The boy's first moments in this life, all he knew was pain.
And the man could sense this.
"This pain you have. Let it flow; let it not cling to your soul, body and bones. Let it let go. It's like the dew from a tree - a living virus that moves and thinks. It grows in you if you let it latch on."
The boy let out meek sounding words, words that were barely audible to the man, but he heard them well enough.
"It hurts…"
"It will. But when the pain is done flowering, it will turn to anger. Rage. And if you turn it to those you hold dear, you'll be drowned in miserable pain."
He clasped the boy's hands tight on his own.
"But…if you let the pain flow, get over the hurt, focus the rage and anger towards something you can hurt, then it will all go away. All that will be left is a lingering memory, a reminder to what you must not do in the new place you will take. And the things you must change."
The boy reluctantly nodded his head, small tears forming at his eyes.
The man didn't bother brushing them away, as he knew it was best to let them flow, not keep them inside.
Like anger, sadness is a cold dagger to the gut. Guilt is a shot to the heart, and anger is a burning fire in the soul of one who lets it wield him, control him.
These were emotions one must never lose control over, for fear they go mad from them.
The man waited several moments, as the stifling sobs of the boy began to fade, and replacing them, was a red eyed and teary looking boy.
"Now that you've taken a moment, and I've explained all this to you, I have one last question I need to ask."
The boy nodded his head, wiping an eye fresh with tears.
The man's voice grew serious, and it felt as though time stopped with his question, paving a new path this boy could take, if he chose to follow.
"Is there anyone in there you want to live?"
The boy stopped crying, shocked by the question, but failed to show it.
He thought back to the second camp , the memories of their trainers, his brothers, his friends that showed him kindness.
It took him a moment to come up with an answer, but when he did, he didn't hesitate in speaking.
"No."
***
Lia sat before Randolph, her mind still turning over the idea of Cain's power. No matter what question she asked herself, the answer always left more doors open than the ones she had just closed.
Answers came from questions. Questions came from answers. It all felt like a circle.
But in the midst of it all, Randolph spoke, snapping Lia out of her mindless thoughts and rambles.
"Ah, so…"
He leaned back, sighing in his chair.
"...it doesn't matter what you do with the necklace - at least to me that is. I just thought you should know about it considering you are the one who found it."
Lia frowned, confused, but then immediately bowed her head, thaning Randolph for the help.
Sheepishly he scratched the back of his head, waving it off. Clearly he was embarrassed about the
"Thank you" he was getting from Lia.
"Haha, d-don't mention it. You don't have to thank me that much you know."
Lia shook her head, her actions somewhat childish in a manner that made Randolph almost laugh.
"No. Randolph, you've told me something that can really help us. You could have just sold the necklace but you instead came to me. For that, I am grateful."
Randolph waved it off, folding his hands together and resting his chin on the edge.
"I never would have thought that someone like you would be this impressive, in my opinion."
"Really? Well, I didn't know you were Postmaster. Even when Carlena mentioned the Postmaster, she didn't mention you were him."
She said smiling, causing Randolph to chuckle.
"Yes, yes. Carlena believes that to be Postmaster, one must be serious about her job. All I do is goof off with other Hunters, go on Hunts, and deal with brawls. It's one of the reasons every Hunter here gets along so well with me. But Carlena, that woman, thinks they're all faults in their own way."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, all the paperwork is often dealt with by her. And anytime I have the mental capacity to try, I end up screwing different things up from time to time."
Lia nodded her head, agreeing somewhat with what Randolph was saying.
"The former Postmaster was an old friend, back before Carlena settled down and took up a job here for her kid. Back then, when our old friend was passing away, he gave me the position, and no matter how much I've tried, that woman won't take it from me."
"You believe she's the better choice?"
"In many ways yes. She does everything better than I do. She's been here since before I was Postmaster, and even then we used to travel together in a party. Nowadays, all I seem to do is get berated by her day in and day out."
He slightly chuckled, a smile forming on his lips every time he mentioned Carlena in his words. A detail that Lia didn't fail to miss.
"So…"
She said after a while, her voice somewhat suspicious.
"...when do you plan on telling her?"
"Hm?"
Randolph glanced at Lia, who wore a sheepish grin that immediately clicked in his mind. Inadvertently he blushed slightly, avoiding his gaze from hers, coughing into his fist.
"Kghm! Well, I uh…I…"
He sighed, his face turning grim and Lia suddenly felt like she had said something wrong.
His next words confirmed her suspicions.
"I don't ever think I ever will. You see…she's still in pain.Pain a mutual friend of ours left her with. It doesn't feel right to move in on that pain and replace someone that is seen in such a bad light."
Lia bit her lip, saddened by the look on Randolph's face that portrayed pure hopelessness. Clearly this was something he loved, yet he couldn't even grasp onto it and profess his love.
He was afraid.
Taking a chance, she spoke up, her voice supportive and kind.
"You know, I'm pretty sure Carlena is just waiting for a certain someone to take away that pain."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Lia secretly rolled her eyes, this all sounding too much like a conversation she would have with Cain.
"She's in pain? So? Why are you just sitting here doing nothing about it? You know she's in pain from some lost love, but let's be real Randolph, you know she's gotten over it."
"W-Well, I…"
"Randolph."
He forced his eyes to meet her's, her face as serious as matching the eyes.
"She's over it already. I can tell. Trust me, all she wants is someone to fill in that gap, and get rid of the reminder."
"You…You really think so?"
Lia smiled, glad he was finally taking the initiative to take pride in himself.
"Yes. So…what are you going to do?"
Randolph smiled, chuckling to himself.
"Who knows."
But then, as if he found an answer to the question he just asked, he spoke again.
"Maybe I'll -"
However, he never got to finish.
As the earth shook that day.
A tremor of fear and screams to match filled the air, the ground, and the world around them.
The earth shook that day, and the roars from the streets told them why.
A nightmare was waiting for them just outside.
Estado de energía semanal
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