Awakening
Page 51
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After an unspecified amount of time -Barsch was having too much fun to keep track- they reached the end of the unnatural path. Ahead lay a large hill, the tallest for miles. Like the green road, it too was distinctly different; being completely covered by soft grass and numerous violet flowers. Standing at the apex of the hill, in a mirror image of Kingston’s earlier pose, was Alza.
In his mind, Barsch imagined her turning towards them with a welcoming smile, and calling out a melodious greeting. In reality, she merely turned her head slightly, gazed at them with a blank face, and stated, “Oh, It’s you.”
Together, they made their way up the steep hill; Kingston cautiously, and Barsch only slightly less so. When they reached the top, Alza was still there. She was waiting for them, which Barsch took as a good sign. Looking at her, he tried to envision her as the innocent, pure girl he had first met; but the image of her ruthlessly killing the re-mech kept surfacing in its place.
“Alza…” he started, unsure of what to say, “What happened back there… with the re-mech?”
Alza looked from Barsch to Kingston with her trademark apathetic stare. “I saw it as a threat, so I eliminated it, that is all.”
“Yes, but how? I mean, I’ve never seen anyone do what you did…”
Alza’s gaze lowered by a fraction of an inch, which to her was probably equivalent to bowing her head in consternation “I… I don’t know. I saw the… re-mech… attack and somehow I just knew that I could stop it.”
“Do you think you could do it again? On purpose this time?” Kingston asked, most likely trying to gauge Alza’s control over a power that could kill them in an instant.
Alza, in response, shook her head and said, “I don’t think so. Whatever it was, it comes and goes. I think that this is something I’ve had since before I lost my memories, so I don’t know anything about it.”
“Oh. But if that’s the case, then why did you leave this morning? If it’s something that even you don’t know about, then we should figure it out together!”
Barsch wondered what he would do if she said that she was leaving for good. She was a danger to them, but she had also saved both of their lives, whether it was intentional or not. Kingston had said that Carçus City was dangerous, and having a companion who could destroy a re-mech with her mind couldn’t hurt their chances.
“When I awoke, I saw the state of the Station, and I assumed that you had found what you were looking for. It was clear that you would want to return to the old one’s hut as soon as possible, and… I do not believe that my past lies with him. So I left, and continued my journey alone, until you caught up with me…”
Barsch wanted to laugh, but something told him that it was unwise given the atmosphere. He felt relief that Alza had only left because she had thought that their journey had ended, but the ease in which she had done so still worried him. They had not known each other for long, but to leave without even saying good-bye…
Shaking his head, he pointed towards the horizon, where a shadowy set of black spires lay. “We couldn’t find all of the medicine, so we came here, to the city.” Carçus City still lay many miles to the north-east, but Barsch could already feel a sense of abandonment from the ruins.
“That’s our destination, so, if you still want to travel together for a little while longer…”
Without answering, Alza started to walk down the slope, heading in the same direction as the city. For an agonising heartbeat, Barsch feared that she was going to leave them once again, until she turned and said, in a flat voice, “Hurry up.”
Barsch felt the smile return to his face as he did as she said, although Kingston still wore a displeased expression on his face. Barsch did not know whether the old man was upset that Alza had not explained the incident properly, or that she was travelling with them again; but at that moment, Barsch found it hard to care. Either way, the hermit was soon walking beside him, and the normality of their group –twisted as it was- returned.