They sat down on a bench near the border of the Royal Green Lung to decide what to do next.“Let me explain this again, one last time. We need to get my NCCAG back from those rats who took the shit out of me. You don’t need to understand the details, but without it, any normal person would lose their mind.” He had to lower his voice a bit, since some neighbors wandering around started to look at them. “It seems that with this eye, I became immune. That is pretty useful, at least. I won’t leave this damn place until I get it back first. Are we clear on that?”.Satis nodded happily.“Now, if I got this right, this Eye—or Left Eye—can actually help track them down only when the Moon is up, which, as far as I can see, is an issue in the current state of the world”. He let out a sigh. “No matter what calculations we do, it's impossible to know when the next night will come”.Satis nodded, not happily.“I don’t want to be picky, but… why do I have to change my name to this…Rowdy Deer?”This will be a long day. He lowered his voice.“You can’t go around everywhere with only one word for a name. It’s weird, you know? And the horns—it’s not that there aren’t people with funny stuff implanted in their heads—but at least with a new name we can sort it out and avoid suspicion.” I would like you to at least have a cute tail. “Get up, maybe it's a good time to look around”.There wasn’t much to see. Many Streams was one of the most populated communities in the peninsula (though not the largest in extension), but was mainly composed of the same ochre buildings. The only zones that broke the monotony were the Lungs (large areas for vegetation protection), the Royal Green Lung being the biggest.From their position, they could also see some of the Outer Rings in the distance. As Common Day had explained to the demoness, those Rings were for fast driving (he had to spend some time explaining to her the concept of ‘autodrivens’). After god’s demise, most of the electronic systems were no longer functional, so they were merely empty tunnels.And that led to another point. While crossing a new block, Satis had already noticed that despite the abysmal number of buildings, there were not that many people.“The first months, humanity went really nuts. Luckily, there weren’t that many civil wars here. The only issue is that the most common cause of death in the first two months was… People just didn’t find any particular reason to wait until the official end, if you get what I mean”. Common Day grimaced.“So how was it…the issue with god?”“Hard to tell. This is more a topic for a scientist. I was basically watch—hey!”An old man was tugging at his clothes. He needed help to empty his apartment, and there were no Uppers left in his building. Most of the Depths and Uppers in these blocks were already returning to their apartments—if they were unscathed. This geezer wasn’t that lucky.After a few tugs and foul words, Common Day and Rowdy Deer left the poor guy behind. The demoness looked at him, judging.“Oh, no. I don’t have time for this. Most of them already got the best apartments on the lower floors, so they can’t complain. And what do you want me to do? He could be another crazy vagabond trying to steal my body parts”.The Sun hadn’t moved an inch from the horizon. They were close to the temple ruins… and the S-market nearby. He got an idea.There were still some people waiting to buy supplies. It’s not that this part of the Community was in a total crisis—probably these people were just scared of their first earthquake. But if everyone starts deciding to find a better place, all Rings will collapse, and I'm still not sure if this one can handle social interactions yet.Without many options, and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible (if that makes sense with a pink-haired demoness with an eye patch and big black horns), he asked around.The clerk didn’t have any recordings of the moment of the attack (nor did he had any hope, since electronics had been randomly malfunctioning for ages). However, he had better luck with the clients. A man in his forties, who was resupplying with his son, gave them some useful information in exchange for a selfie with Rowdy Deer, who joyfully agreed.“You have to keep good, cute memories, just in case, you know?”The guy worked in one of the new printing presses that produced most of the pamphlets in this zone. Years before god’s death, many movements appeared against digital systems and promoted the reutilization of good, old paper. Common Day remembered a catchy commercial about returning to your roots. You get it? Your roots. Because paper is made of trees. Hehe. Roots. Those businesses skyrocketed during the crisis, and even overproduced whatever could be made with paper. Hence, the current state of most of the walls. In any case, this man was coming back from late work (probably sticking pamphlets on some building in case they had forgotten that the world would end), when he saw some dirty people approaching a guy alone on the avenue. He was still carrying thousands of papers, so he obviously wanted to protect them. The man clearly remembered there were three. They went north of the Lung, using the avenue that goes to the OR-3.“Not sure if this is useful, but these streets aren’t as safe anymore, with people from so many communities coming back and forth. If they went north, they are probably scavenging the former residential zone. You know, the one for rich people. Lots of criminals, foreigners and drug addicts (it sounded like synonyms in his mouth) gather there too, so I wouldn’t go that far.”The clerk didn’t remembered any girl in a purple dress, which was sad news for Common Day. She was probably okay. He even thought of going back to his building, but something prevented him—not even for his things. I can smell the madness already.Without the NCCAG, he hadn’t have any payment method, but Satis was cute enough that the clerk gave them some packs. Maybe he was a little bit worried for them, but not to the point of actively arguing against the visit to the north residential blocks.Nobody honestly thinks it will make any difference in the end.When they left the S-market it was already night. Oh, God, if you were alive, I would hate you so much.He grabbed Satis and moved fast to a place far from any watchers. “This visit was a total waste. Quickly, how do I use this?!”“Just… just look. Like your normal eye… it’s not my fault you can’t get it! This was literally my Eye, how should I know how to use it?” she said, nervously.She is going to be the death of me. But he didn’t have time to complain, since he needed to take advantage of the night while he had it. Those vagabonds could try to sell his NCCAG, or even break it by mistake. Just the thought of their ragged faces made his blood boil. In particular, the one that made him the angriest was the oldest and bearded of them all, with his melon suit crumbling down his back…“Hey, let’s go—and fast! I know where they’re fucking hiding!” he shouted as he pulled Satis towards the residence. She smiled at him.“So you know how to look at them! How…”“It’s as you said, I just have to think… and look! Everything is weird, but if I think harder, somehow it works… wait, this is not good. It’s like he is in…half?”Satis was already panting from the sudden race.“It’s…the Moon…you can see everything…the Moon sees…just…exactly what the Moon sees”. The Moon was at first quarter tonight.Seriously, this girl.They could feel the subtle change in the buildings. With every block they passed, fewer lights could be seen in the windows. As if they were heading to the darkest part of the Community.Common Day could feel how every step was effortless, as he was fastest than ever in his life. Almost dragging Satis, they reached a modern luxury portico. Art deco style. Sweet.“There is no turning back. Be prepared for some wickedness.”She smiled back, devilishly. But she couldn’t contain the urge to vomit.
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