Chapter 10: A free-will leader

Chapter 10: A free-will leader

"That was... incredible," the young man with glasses said, awe in his voice. "You guys are like heroes from a movie or something."

Aeon rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Uh, thanks, but we were just trying to survive."

"Well, you did more than that," the female staff member added sincerely. "You saved us."

Layla, still cooling off from her earlier rage, simply nodded. "We'll need to keep moving. The zombies will be back once they figure out where we are."

Aeon glanced at the group, noticing the hope in their eyes. They were looking to him now, and despite his earlier reluctance, he realized he couldn't let them down. Layla's expression, however, remained distant and somewhat disgusted, as if she had seen this scenario unfold countless times before.

Layla turned her head to assess Aeon, noticing how he seemed pleased with the attention and the feeling of being counted on. But she knew from experience that the weight of responsibility could crush that initial high. Success brought smiles, but failure often led to blame and resentment. She feared Aeon might be getting swept up in the moment, blinded by the fleeting praise.

"Alright, thank you, count on me," Aeon said, his voice cheerful.

Layla's disappointment was palpable. "I guess it's too much for him to handle the attention and recognition. What a waste," she thought, taking a few steps toward the exit, ready to leave this scene behind. But she stopped in her tracks when Aeon continued, his tone shifting.

"Is that what you expect me to say? Haha, well, I'm sure others might be swayed by this kind of atmosphere, but I don't care about that. I'm trying to survive—for myself. So I won't let you leech off me by saying 'count on me.' That being said, we're all human, and we all have moments of weakness. To overcome adversity, we need to cooperate. I'm not your servant, I'm not your leader; I'm just a human trying to survive. Most of you have families you want to check on, right? So let's work together, discuss together, and fight together. We might lose, but we won't blame each other for the loss. We might win, but we must not be blinded by small victories. Let our biggest goal be to restore our lives—no, to live a better life than we were before. Now we have a chance to start over. So, YOU ALL, ARE YOU GOING TO WORK WITH ME, NOT UNDER OR OVER ME? YES OR NO?" Aeon's speech was powerful, his serious expression and passionate tone resonating with everyone.

The survivors were left speechless by Aeon's sudden and inspiring speech. Then, one by one, they began to clap, their voices rising in agreement. "Yes, we are with you—not under or over you! Let's live a better life together!"

Even Layla was taken aback. Aeon's actions were often peculiar and unpredictable. She had expected him to be swayed, but instead, he had swayed everyone else—not as a tyrant or a pushover, but as a leader of free will.

As they continued down the corridor, Aeon felt the weight of their shared mission, but he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, he was starting to earn her respect.

Just then, Aeon's foot caught in a hole in an unstable floor spot he hadn't noticed earlier, sending him sprawling forward. He crashed into Layla from behind, who was just about to avoid him but hesitated for a split second.

Layla turned her head, glaring down at Aeon, who was now awkwardly sprawled on the ground. "Are you trying to get yourself killed, or are you just this clumsy?"

Aeon quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing off the dust. "Totally my bad! No need for sword testing!" He then extended his hand to Layla, a cool, unexpected smile spreading across his face, surprising her just a little again. "Truce?" he offered with a playful wink.

Layla stared at his hand, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, but before she could react, one of the survivors called out, "Hey! Are you two done with the flirting? We've got zombies to avoid!"

Aeon's face flushed, and he quickly dropped his hand, muttering, "Not what that was, but sure, let's go with that..."

Layla simply rolled her eyes, but there was a slight, almost imperceptible twitch at the corner of her mouth as if holding back a smile. She shook her head, trying to maintain her stern demeanor, but Aeon's antics were proving hard to ignore.

"Alright, everyone," Layla said, her voice regaining its usual edge. "We need to stay focused. We've survived this far, but we can't let our guard down."

Aeon, now back on his feet and feeling a bit more at ease, glanced at Layla and then at the group. "So, where to next? I think we should check for a safer route or a way to secure this place a bit more."

One of the survivors, a young woman with short blonde hair, stepped forward. "There's an old storage room nearby. It might be a good place to regroup and plan our next steps. We can fortify it and use it as a temporary base."

"Sounds good," Aeon said, giving her an appreciative nod. "Lead the way."

As they moved through the dimly lit hallways, Aeon tried to keep up with the group's pace, but his earlier stumble seemed to have left him more self-conscious. He glanced back at Layla, who was keeping a close watch on him. Her expression was unreadable, but Aeon couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that she hadn't immediately turned on him again.

When they reached the storage room, Aeon took a moment to catch his breath and stretch out the kinks from his earlier sprint. The room was filled with dusty old supplies and crates, a bit of a mess, but it was sturdy enough to provide temporary shelter.

"Alright, let's get this place sorted out," Aeon said, rolling up his sleeves. He started organizing the supplies and clearing out some of the clutter, trying to make the space more functional. The survivors began to pitch in, setting up makeshift barricades and searching for anything useful.

Layla watched from the entrance, her expression softening as she saw Aeon's enthusiasm and effort. It was a far cry from the bumbling fool who had stumbled into her earlier. There was something oddly admirable about his willingness to dive into the work, even after everything they'd been through.

After a while, Layla approached Aeon, her tone slightly more relaxed than before. "You're not too bad at this, you know."

Aeon looked up from arranging a stack of crates. "Thanks. I'm just doing what needs to be done."

"Well, keep it up," Layla said, a hint of approval in her voice. "We'll need all the help we can get."

Aeon grinned. "Glad to be of service. And, um, sorry again about the whole tripping-and-crashing thing earlier. I promise it wasn't a ploy to distract you."

/////

"Whatever," Layla said curtly, having finished her inspection, she turned to leave the room. However, as she pivoted sharply, her foot landed on a stray banana peel that had been discarded in the chaos. She slipped, her arms flailing as she lost her balance.

Aeon, who was nearby, reacted instinctively. He lunged forward and caught her in a swift, graceful motion, cradling her in his arms as if she were a princess. 

Layla's eyes widened in surprise as she found herself held securely by Aeon. She struggled to maintain her usual composure, her cold facade wavering slightly.

Aeon looked down at her with a wry smile. "I guess you can be clumsy too."

Layla, quickly regaining her composure, scowled at him. "I was about to fix my posture. You just acted faster, that's all."

Despite her attempt to sound indifferent, Layla's cheeks flushed slightly beneath her stern expression. She cleared her throat and pushed herself away from Aeon, her pride wounded by the slip.

"Thanks for catching me," she said curtly, though her voice carried a hint of genuine gratitude.

Aeon chuckled softly, watching as Layla straightened herself and adjusted her stance. "No problem. I think we make a pretty good team, even if one of us is prone to slipping on banana peels."

Layla shot him a cold glare, but the smallest hint of a smile tugged at her lips. She turned to leave, trying to maintain her aloof demeanour, but the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her secret embarrassment.

As she walked away, Aeon couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction. Even in their dire situation, moments like this provided a glimmer of normalcy and connection even more to a regressor. They were still fighting for survival, but at least they could share a laugh—or a slip-up—along the way.