Chapter 15: Solidarity. Part 2

Solidarity. Part 2

Walking through the streets of the lonely neighborhood in Matria, Chase Termiane followed Vines Pall.

They had both heeded Jevo's advice and changed clothes on the way out. Chase was dressed entirely in black, with leather boots, chains around his pockets, and another of his signature baseball cap, while Vines persisted with his style that was too tight for his build.

"I told you, it's too far away. Huff..."

"This would be easy if I'd slept as much as you, Vines."

"Stop and think for a bit and look at the positive results; Rousset is coming with us."

"And you still don't know how serious all this is... Rousset? So that's her name."

"I don't know how she got with you, but if it's her, no one would care about the reasons in the slightest."

"Uh-huh..."

"Living under a rock? Heh, one word, bitch. It's strange that you don't know her when rumors about her flew like the wind at the Institute. And look at her now, depressed, sensitive, and needy. The time to take advantage of it is now; there's no better time.”

"You should listen to yourself once in a while... Never mind," Chase sighed. "How far are you trying to take me? You know what Matria is like, Vines. The heat that will come will be unbearable."

"(You're so boring now... And I'm not kidding)," he thought. "We've arrived. It's right here that I saw lights on when I got off the bus yesterday."

Taking the last steps to climb onto the sidewalk, they stopped in front of the supposedly correct place.

This was a simple establishment, a humble grocery store like any other she'd find around the corner, although it seemed to be the only one for miles, and curiously, several metal bars protected it from visitors.

"Are you sure someone was here?" he questioned his companion, without much faith in the matter.

"My eyes don't lie."

"Okay, so what now?"

"Hey! Is anyone there?" Vines asked, waving the bars to get attention. "Hey!"

"And not a soul answers," Chase commented. "You didn't make me walk all the way to..."

"Ah."

After knocking a few times, Chase, who was about to turn around and leave, saw one of the window curtains move. Finally, someone appeared at the locked door.

The person, at first glance a girl about seven years old, black hair, Asian features, appeared before them, carrying an adorable stuffed animal in her fragile arms.

"Oh, hello, little one," Vines greeted, using an exaggeratedly friendly tone. "Are you alone? Can we come in?"

"..."

She didn't communicate except for nodding occasionally, which made it difficult to understand if she understood anything they were saying.

Vines still insisted, making gestures as if it were necessary.

"You know what I'm saying, right?"

"...”

And she somehow understood. She left for a few seconds to return with a handful of keys, then opened it with some difficulty and let them in.

"Well done, that's right," he congratulated her before entering. "Hey, look, Chase. She has a stuffed Yevo. Ha ha, what a coincidence, huh?"

"What kind of crap is that?"

They realized the place was unusually dark and quiet. It was the first thing they noticed as they passed between the dusty shelves filled with cans, bottles, packaging, and other utensils. It was also easy to detect an "old" smell in the air.

The three of them arrived halfway there.

"Is there really no one here?"

"She seems to be alone, completely..." Vines said. He paused for a moment. "Chase, was everything you told me last night true?"

"What...? I already told you... Why the hell would I lie about something like that?”

"Heh, I just wanted to be sure... Just to be sure..."

"H-HEY! Who are you guys!?"

Suddenly, they heard a man's voice. Along with his wife, it came from the back of the store.

The woman immediately took the girl in her arms and led her away from the duo.

"C-Chill, sir. We saw your store was open and came here to buy something. Nothing more, nothing less, right, Chase?"

"..."

"Open...? Was it...?"

Vines's lie was necessary if they didn't want to leave empty-handed, and fortunately for him, the man couldn't remember correctly. Perhaps his age was getting to him.

He shook his head slightly and stared at them for a few seconds.

"...Y-Yes, please come in."

Having been invited, Vines and Chase split up to search the establishment for food. He only had 20,000 manecyans in his pocket, which was roughly 20 bucks at the time. With the number of people waiting on the bus, they had to be smart about how they spent their money.

A while passed… and they were starting to delay more than necessary because they could barely see. Apparently, the owner refused to turn on the lights for some reason they chose to ignore; all they could think about was buying food and leaving.

Now the man was alone with Vines.

"Ugh, they're warm…"

"… What were you doing outside?" the man asked with a very different accent. Vines was still checking some bottles in switched-off refrigerators.

"Outside?"

-[Ø]-

On the other side of the store, Chase was still browsing the shelves in search of something to eat for breakfast that morning. He'd been thinking of something simple like sandwiches.

The store owner's wife was waiting in a seat for him to decide, her daughter sitting on her lap.

"(They're starting to make me uncomfortable...)" Chase thought, trying to ignore them. "May I know where you keep the bread?"

He had already gathered the rest of the ingredients in a bag. That was all he needed.

"There," the woman pointed.

"Where...? I can't see anything... Tsk, are the lights really out or something?"

"Over there, over there."

"This is why I hate...! Guh…" Chase said to himself.

They didn't have a good enough command of the language to express themselves clearly, and the little girl was a clear example of this.

"Hey!"

She had unsuspectingly separated herself from her mother's arms and, ignoring her careful calls, approached the boy.

From the shelf beside her, she pulled out the package she'd been searching for and handed it to him with a few words in Mandarin and a big smile.

"Uh... Thanks." He took it and put it in its plastic bag.

"Hi~ I'm Yevo~”

"!”

The moment she returned her arm to hug her stuffed doll, it let out a pre-programmed greeting, startling Chase.

"Ah... A Yevo, right?" he commented as he looked closely at the curious object. To be honest, its expressionless eyes in the midst of such darkness continued to unsettle him. "So this is why they make fun of him so much."

"AAAAGHH!"

A shriek intervened and immediately alarmed him. It was Vines's voice.

The three of them returned to the other end of the store, hearing objects falling to the floor.

When they arrived, Vines Pall was standing there, holding a thick glass bottle, which he was using to hit the man he was struggling with against the refrigerators.

"What the f...?!"

"NO!"

After seeing that he had even smashed the bottle over the man’s head, the woman desperately ran to her husband's aid, grabbing Vines by the waist.

"Gsk! Get out of the way, woman!" he shouted, pushing her against the shelves.

"AH!"

Chase and the girl were still motionless, watching the scene.

"W-What the fuck are you doing, Vines?! Are you crazy?!"

"Ah! Ah...! I-I didn't do anything! That asshole attacked me from behind just because! JUST BECAUSE! I-I swear!" he excused himself.

The family was already gathered; the father was holding his bloody head in front of his wife and daughter, who were crying in fear.

"It's okay! I-I-It's okay!" The man held out his arms to keep Vines from coming any closer. "Please, go..."

"...Chase! Take everything!"

"W-What...?!"

"A-Anything you can! Come on! Quickly! EVERYTHING!"

The stress made him not think twice. He grabbed everything within reach and filled a few more bags.

"Please!"

"S-Shut your damn mouth, you old fuck!" he threatened the man. The hand holding the bottle kept shaking.

"No...! Don't hurt us! Take! T-Take everything! Go!"

With a click, the man hurriedly reached for a bunch of keys in his pocket and waved them at Vines. Confused, he looked between them and the man, waiting to hear what he meant.

"H-House keys! Stay in it, we won't be going back there!"

"...A-Are you for real?"

"Yes, yes. Just leave, please."

"If you're lying or something, we'll come back! D-Did you hear it? ...Chase!"

Hearing his name, the boy in black finished, and the two of them hurried out of the store, carrying the bags of food.

"R-Run! Run!"

"Tsk...!"

"You should not have gone outside..."

"?!"

Something strange was the whisper Chase heard behind his back.

The man was hugging his family tightly in the darkness of the humble store.

Turning his gaze as he fled, Chase caught a glimpse of the little girl. He made eye contact with her small, tear-filled eyes one last time before they both looked away.

That was the first robbery of his life.

To be continued…