Chapter 26 - Twenty-Five

My eyelids were heavy when Leonel woke up. By then I had manage to see some shadows going back and forth from the tall buildings; which was amazing considering the distance between them; as well as some creatures on the ground.

Though nothing was worse than the horde that passed by us by the time Leonel woke.

Those things… were scary, and that statement said something on itself as I have seen some big boss monsters around before. They were… like a dark mist, warped around something black and sticky, having a humanoid figure, with longer limbs that ended up in thin needle talons; but the face was the most disturbing part.

Were their eyes should have been stood a flaming ball of green fiery mist, and their mouths were permanently stuck in a smiling motion, going upper that it should be possible, showing an all thin tusks smile, while their head spasmed around, like a bird movement, changing directions quickly in a sickly nonstop movement.

I brought Leonel closer in a tighter hug, lowering ourselves as much as possible while covering us in Shadow Veil, waiting for them to pass.

Dark Mummy: Nasty hunters, kill and torture their prey for pleasure. Their whole bodies are a weapon, and been made of mist and dark material they are not affected by physical attacks, yet are able to inflict such attacks. Usually walk in packs, have many variations. Once one spots a prey, they alert all others of their presence.

Ha.

Ha-haha.

Good thing to know, hum… While you are in the middle of a group of them! And no physical attacks? How so?!

This is bad.

Really bad.

Just pass us without spotting us, please, please, pretty please…

They were some level 60 in the middle of them you know?

Scary shit I tell ya!

Some of them bump on the glass, others pass the claws on it, making a shrilling sound, and one even jumped up the glass and stood on our cabin.

Leonel was calm in my arms, probably calmer than me since I could see the status and whatnot. Finally, as the last one passes, I let out the breath I was holding.

"Morning kid." I say, still a little shaken.

"…" He sits up and starts to heal his legs, passing a warm light over them, as his golden eyes pass over the outside. "We need to go higher."

I look up as well. The exit should probably be on top of one of those buildings, with a tunnel or structure to go up. Or at least I hope so; if it is a portal or something we would never be able to get out of here.

"Not yet, we should look for water first, then scout the area and look for possible preys too."

He stands up, brushing the dirt from his clothes off, which were ragged with holes by now, though his tied posture tried hard to make up for all the messy outfit. I stand too, staying by his side waiting for any support he may need, but he only takes a little too stable as he goes to the exit.

I quickly open the door, smelling the remains of those creatures traces, marking them as dangerous beings in the back of my mind, and we go back to walking in this not-so-desert-anymore place.

I keep sniffing, trying to find some source of water and even finding some inside those enormous structures, but I wasn't keen enough to enter yet. We kept walking, passing through many strange metal vehicles, and more than once I catch Leonel looking at me.

On the tenth time I ask: "What?"

"Why are you helping me?" I shrug.

"I'm not helping you specifically, I was just saved by the elves in the past and I'm helping them in return."

"But I'm not only an elf. I'm human too."

I stop at that and look him in the eye, snarling. "Putting some effort to make me hate you?" Leonel doesn't answer or reacts, and for a moment I felt like I was talking with a statue. "Don't be silly, I know what you are, and I don't care."

"Does it mean you don't hate humans?" We go back to walking.

"No, I do."

"Then why don't you care? I don't understand."

I shrug again. "Never said I was consistent." I said, flaring my nose up and finding a smaller building, probably made to live in, with water inside.

"I just… trying to learn to separate things." I say, this conversation been more serious that I thought it would end up in.

"How so?" He asked, truly curious.

"Trying not to generalize; in both ways, that not all humans are bad as well that not all elves are good. People are… always unique. And trust comes with time and effort, individual effort… And my brother kept talking about how not all humans were bad and blabbering about it, it just made me rethink it."

"But is not easy, of course, hell, I'm still learning how to deal with these kinds of things, and I haven't been doing a great job so far" Even more without been given reasons to believe that humans weren't bad.

But the more I think; and perhaps is my animal mind talking; the more I realize that I don't understand the concept of white and black, good and evil, so well anymore.

Can a predator be considerate evil for killing his prey to feed himself and his pups?

Would mother nature be considerate evil for bringing storms and disasters over the world?

I don't know, I really don't, I just think that there is no black and white anymore for me, it would be a simplistic way of thinking… but instead there would be only shades of grey; some darker than others, some lighter.

…

Aaaand.

I'm overthinking.

Again.

"But why do you care?"

"…"

"I admire you." He says as we reach the front door and try to open it, finding that it's locked.

"How can you admire me? You just met me." I said as I use my Shadow Manipulation to open the door on the other side.

"… I know enough."

What's up with that? Weird kid.

The conversation stops once I perch my ears up, catching something inside the house. With one side look at Leonel I know he recognized my reaction, staying alert as we enter the dark house.

It was actually a little apartment complex, so the first thing that greeted us was a long corridor without windows and completely dark. Lovely.

"Put your hand on my back, I'll guide you in the dark"

He does as told, gripping the back of my neck; which felt very uncomfortable since it gave him some control over my body; as we entered the now silent complex.

I try the door with the water inside, and had to unlock it too. We enter a very small apartment, the kitchen with a balcony serving as dining table, a two place sofa under the window and to the right were only two doors; one to the bathroom, other to the bedroom.

Little claustrophobic, and not a good place for a battle to go down, but at least very hidden. Leonel goes to the kitchen and I follow, finding some kind of mechanism with a barrel of water on top. He pushes the lever below it and water comes out.

He cup it with his hands, remanding me of a bird drinking from a little waterfall with his little sips, and once he was done he passes his tongue on his lips, some water still managing to drip from his chin. Looking down on me and to the water on top of the counter, he cups the water again with both hands, managing to push the lever with the tip of his finger, and knees down before me.

"Here"

Surprised I look at him, a little hesitant, but his cold and aloof face somehow calms me down. I move forward and start drinking from his hand, inevitably brushing my tongue on his palm.

"Thanks" I say once I finish, and he simply nods as I, once more, hear a sound outside. Looking back at him, I say: "Is too dark for you to came. I will check things out, ok?"

I can see his jaw clench slightly, but he simply agrees as I, once more, enter those dark corridors.

~~~~

Hey yo!

This is me.

The so hated end of the chapter, muahaha.

Just kidding, lol, haven't thought of a snarky comment for this one.

Buhu.

What do you guys think of their interactions so far?