6 – The House (OLD)

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The likeness of Michael Kramer is used in this project through AI-generated technology. Please note that Michael Kramer did not record any audio for this content, and his voice is not being used for any monetary gain. The rights to Michael Kramer’s voice and likeness do not belong to Redmatter Creations. Furthermore, the voice and likeness of Michael Kramer will not be used in the final product.

Janero, Febro, Marto, Abro, Mino, Janao, Janio, Agero, Sebero, Octoro, Nevoro, Dektoro, Plino, Vereno, Turseno, Corono, Cayano, Hylano, Retuno, Fonalo

From the Journal of Azura Seren. -Turseno section, 28th rotation

Lew takes the first shift, Reyus second, and Efram third. This gives them time to sleep, eat, and socialize while the others stand guard. They are all proficient with ancient blades. Hadrian is also well-trained with a rapier but is too important to station himself.

I am unable to sleep. Thoughts of the raider I killed flood my mind. I try to force it out of my mind and rest but it proves useless. I am a killer. Once you kill someone, you are branded as a killer for the rest of your life.

I don’t know why Hadrian wants to stay here. If we just continued along The Path, this wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have had to kill anyone, Oberon wouldn’t have been shot, and we wouldn’t be in danger from lurking raiders. This is Hadrian’s fault. How could he continue to allow this to happen?

I shouldn’t have even been in a position where I had to kill someone. I want to blame Oberon, too. It was his idea to go scouting. If he didn’t scream, maybe he wouldn’t have drawn attention to us and we would have escaped unharmed. 

He wouldn’t have screamed if Mattias didn’t antagonize us. Part of it is his fault for upsetting Oberon and triggering him to yell. His constant attacking has been slowly chipping away at Oberon and me, nearly pushing us over the edge.

I blame myself. I had the choice to not shoot the attacker. But If I chose against shooting, I wouldn’t be panicking over being a murderer. But that would have left Oberon to be seriously injured. Or worse. I should have shot the raider in the arm or leg. Why did it have to be his head?

A heavy rushing sounds outside my door. What in Nivalis? I jump at the opportunity to finally get out of my bed. It’s still uncomfortable. Opening my door, I bump into Lyria again in a similar manner from this morning.

“What did you do?” I ask, sounding a bit more harsh than I meant.

“I—”, She stammers, “Your toilet.”

I push the bathroom door open and the toilet bowl hisses while water rises. Water? Where is it coming from?

“How did you get water to appear?” I ask Lyria, dumbfounded.

“I didn’t.” She says, “It just showed up this morning.”

When I turned that valve, did I enable water to flow through my house? I check the sink next, twisting one of the handles. Water pours out of the spout and splashes inside the bowl. I cup my hands underneath the water. I put my hands carrying the cold water up to my mouth and drink it in. It’s clean, filtered even. There’s no mud or dirt I have to spit out. 

Where is it coming from? Is it an infinite source? I look to Lyria for answers, but she has none. She just shrugs. I’m glad to see that she looks better. The ring around her neck is is beginning to scab over.

We stand in silence for a second, before I speak up, asking a question I wish someone would ask me. “You doing okay?”

She nods slightly, averting her eyes from mine.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She shakes her head no. So I don’t press her further. She is in a vulnerable state and her wounds are probably still fresh. I nod in understanding and step past her toward my own room. My door creaks open and she speaks up.

“My son disappeared a couple weeks ago.” I meet her eyes and her lips tighten. “I woke up and he was gone.” I lean up against the wall, remaining silent. “I looked and looked until I gave up hope.” She rubs her neck with her left hand.

“Never give up hope,” I say. It sounds corny after it leaves my mouth, but I don’t take it back. “I promise, that I will do what I can to help you look for your son.”

I am a bit nervous about making that promise. What if I am unable to keep my promise? This is a big world that is constantly moving forward. I’d hate to travel back west into the darkness.

She smiles slightly. It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile. And at that point, I could see myself having a future with her. She isn’t necessarily attractive to me, but I think I could look past it. After all, she trusted me enough to say what was wrong.

I push open my door again and she stops me one last time, “Hey,” I look at her once more. “I think I’m ready to find my own house. Would you like to come with me?”

I want to tell her that she should stay. I’d prefer it if she did. What if she needs someone to protect her while she sleeps? More importantly, I like knowing that I am not alone in this house with a couple dozen deer carcasses underneath me.

I have to remind myself that I do not own her, and she isn’t mine to protect. She isn’t a damsel in distress. She’s a broken mother who loves her missing son. “I’d love to go with you,” I say before closing my door.

I don’t sleep on the bed this time. Instead, I lay on the ground and let the thoughts of Lyria put me to sleep.

***

I feel more awake than ever in the morning. The ground is so comfortable. No bed could replace the feeling of flat ground. The carpet makes it even more comfortable. It isn’t squishy like a mattress, but soft like animal fur. I think Lyria is still sleeping because her door is closed. I decide to try out the toilet in the bathroom.

The items in the toilet bowl disappear, going places I’ll never know. I fill my canteen with water from the sink and take a sip. The water is so clean. Do I even need to boil it?

I leave my house, squinting at the sun’s brightness. Fewer people lay on the ground this time. I guess they’ve become more acquainted with their own homes.

This is why I wake up early. I can be productive, getting things done without people even noticing me. Often, I would go out hunting and return with food before anyone wakes up. If Oberon could wake up as early as I do, I’d go every morning. I try to avoid going alone these days. If I get in trouble it’s nice to have someone be there to help. 

Nothing bad has happened while hunting yet, but we have had some close encounters with brown bears in the forest. I don’t think our crossbows would have enough power to stop one of those. Having someone to banter with is also appreciated. The silence of the forest is maddening. 

When we traveled through the luminous forest, Hadrian assigned everyone “buddies” who anchored each other. Something about the forest caused people to lose their sense of direction and disappear forever. A blanket of fog carpets the floor of the luminous forest and unrecognizable creatures lurk in the brushes. Despite the sun being overhead, the coverage provided by the trees, causes it to be eerily dark. Walking around it instead of through it is rarely an option because of its sheer size. The Path goes right through the center of the forest and it lasts for way too many passings.

Luckily the forests here aren’t like that. We wouldn’t need to worry about the Luminous Forest for another couple of passings. Hopefully, I’ll be dead by then.

“We are low on food again.” A nasally voice says. It had to be Mattias. Couldn’t I just enjoy one day without him bothering us? I stretch my neck back, looking toward the sky and taking a deep breath. “If you guys don’t go hunting, I won’t have enough food for everyone.”

“Yes. Mattias. I know. Thank you.” I respond, trying not to inspire him to speak more. Could I give him one of the deer carcasses in my basement?

“If I don’t have enough, you guys will not be getting a plate tonight.” It’s too early for me to care. The moon hasn’t even broken the horizon. I begin to walk away.

“Maybe I should come with you on your hunts,” Mattias adds. This catches my attention. “Make sure you aren’t screwing around.”

“You? Hunting?” I almost laugh. “Sure buddy.” I know that letting him come with will piss Oberon off, but maybe this experience will get him off our back. He’ll see the amount of effort that we put in and stop grilling us for being gone for so long.

“What time are we going? Will I be getting a crossbow too? We better be back so I can have time to prepare it.” 

“I will keep you updated,” I say, trying to shoo him away with my hands. Luckily, he leaves. Probably to go bother some other poor person who’s awake at this unfortunate time.

I spend my next hour on my porch, thinking. Many thoughts flood me as memories of my parents invade my mind, followed by Lyria fitting in with the community, Oberon’s recent injury, Dolora acting the way she did, Mattias’ hostile personality toward us, the death of a raider. What other secrets does this town hold?

Is it safe for us to leave and hunt for food? If two hunters were gone, that would leave the Brightest with two fewer defenders. Although I don’t think I could kill someone again. It isn’t in my nature. My passion is to provide.

My front door squeaks open and Lyria makes an appearance. She is wearing the clothes I got for her. She’s cleaned herself up—maintained her hair and looks well-rested.

“Ready to go real estate hunting?” I ask.

She and I survey the blocks near the Willow Tree. I don’t want her to be too far away from everyone else, but most of the Brightest have claimed the intact houses in the direct vicinity. 

After walking in silence, I ask, “What was your life like before The Brightest?” I try to ask it without alluding to the event that led us to find her.

“I’m sure you could figure it out.” She sighs deeply before continuing, “I was in a group, not much different from The Brightest. It had a leader, like Hadrian. When I had Tommy, everyone celebrated. Life is—was a delicate thing in my group and people were highly encouraged to procreate. They removed me from the group after I had my first child. I wasn’t able to bear any more. And believe me, they tried.”

“They?” I blurt out. I didn’t mean to say it. She looks distraught even bringing it back up. But she doesn’t hold back the rest of her story.

“Jack Merida was our leader. He named his group after himself and gave every woman his surname. They run it like a cult, trying to keep people from leaving if they can. Jack purchased me when I was a child. He essentially raised me.” 

I understand. She didn’t need to say more before I got the idea of what her old group was about. A prostitution camp. She was a woman to be used and thrown away. I feel sick to my stomach. Light, I don’t even want to imagine the horrors she’s gone through. I feel even worse for her now. She had no home to go back to, no husband to love, and no child to care for. 

“What happened to the group?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She says. “I want to believe they are all dead. Killed by raiders, but in reality, they could be anywhere.”

I don’t know what else to say so I try lightening the mood by steering the focus somewhere else. “How’s this house?” I ask, pointing at a one-story flat-roofed brick house. It kind of looks like mine, but the bricks are red and not painted green.

“At this point in my life, I can’t complain,” she answers, shrugging her shoulders.

“If you don’t like it, you can choose another one. There are so many other houses. We can keep looking if you want.”

“What if I don’t know what I want? Maybe I’d rather have someone tell me what to do or tell me what I like and don’t like.”

“In the Brightest, you are free to make your own decisions. No one is stopping you.”

“Okay, I want this one then.” She insists on the one-story brick house. I won’t stop her if she really desires this one. The inside is dim and smells like mildew. Wallpaper peels off of the walls and reveals an ugly design.

“Why don’t we check out other ones? There are so many more in better conditions.”

“No, I want this one.”

“It’s gonna require a lot of time and effort to get it in good condition.”

“Good. It will keep me focused on something.” She begins to fidget with a piece of rubble tearing off the wall.

“Well, just know that I don’t know how much time I can help out.”

“I don’t need your help.” She says. “I really don’t need a ‘big strong man’ to carry everything for me.” She focuses her attention on tidying up and picking up garbage and rubble from the ground.

I don’t know if I should take her last sentence as a compliment or an insult. I don’t know how she wouldn’t need my help. Some of this debris is way too heavy for her to lift. If she wants to have a dainty little man, she should pursue Mattias.

The thought of them together repulsed me. The last thing I want to hear about is Mattias abusing his partner. I remember what I told her earlier—In the Brightest, you’re free to make your own decisions. I don’t want to seem like I was trying to take that privilege away after just introducing it to her.

“Okay, well—” I start, “If you don’t want my help, I have a few things I need to do so I’m just gonna go.” I want her to ask me to stay.

Instead, she says, “Okay, have fun!”

I drop my head and turn to leave. Time to find Oberon and Mattias.