Chapter 30: Lack of Everything

"He's fine. I'm telling you, Marcus," Clara said firmly. Dante opened his eyes for the third time after passing out. He was starting to get annoyed with himself for not staying conscious for long. "Just talk to them. I'll take care of things up here. The kids will help me."

The sky was dark. Was it night already? The stars said yes. A moonless, pitch-black night. Even the distant bright points seemed to flicker more intensely.

"I'm glad you woke up." Clara moved closer, sitting on the chair in front of the bed. "It was a bit tricky getting you here, but we had plenty of help from Marcus's folks."

The pain in his back was gone. He leaned forward, exhaling in relief.

"Where am I now?"

"Our temporary base."

It was a tall building, with railings all around. At the back, there was a vast plantation, though it wasn't well-lit, just a small oil lamp illuminating the tiny sprouts in the soil.

"Thank you."

His words caught Clara off guard.

"Why are you thanking me? You're the one who risked yourself for me."

"I mean for everything." He placed his bare feet on the ground. The cold stone reminded him he was truly alive. "For helping me, standing by me in the mud. I don't know how you cleaned yourself, but I need that tip. I'm filthy."

Clara chuckled softly.

"You're just a little smelly because you fell into Felroz dung, but that's the least of it. Your smell doesn't bother me at all."

"At least there's that," Dante replied, scratching his face and sitting beside her. "I'm still trying to process all this, so forgive me if I've been a bit rude. This place… I don't know how to get home, and I don't even know where I am. I'm sorry."

"You thank and apologize at the wrong times, you know that? A man like you shouldn't be so pessimistic. I know many who wouldn't have had the luck you did." Clara paused briefly. "No. I don't know anyone who had the kind of luck you did."

"Luck, huh?"

The word didn't sound as wonderful as it seemed. Being sent somewhere unknown, without knowing where the Capital was, without knowing how his parents were. Without being able to find Talia and hug her when he got back from the Balsa.

He hoped his sister was safe with the Officers. That she wasn't mistreated or called a Foreigner.

He still felt some anger at Radius for saying that, but… it was in the past. His problems now were different.

"Why is it so dark here?" he asked Clara. "Don't you have light?"

"Light?" she echoed, almost laughing mockingly. "Back in the Capital, the place you came from, did you have electricity?"

"Yes, the entire city was lit up." Dante turned his head. The city before him was dark. Nothing but guttural sounds below could be heard. "You don't have light…"

"Remember the rule I told you? Move during the day, hide at night. Here in Kappz, we can't just roam around at night."

Clara handed him a half-full water bottle.

"Actually, we barely have anything. We've got nearly a hundred people to feed, but we can't hunt during the day because the animals run in dense forest areas. Over there"—she pointed to a dark corner on the left—"we have a small base where we keep watch at the old radio tower. They wait for a moose or a boar to show up, but it's been weeks since they've left their den. And over there"—she pointed to the right, where a darker shadow took shape in the distance—"is a base where we collect water weekly. So, no, we don't bathe every day."

"Am I going to stink like this forever?"

Clara laughed.

"Your sense of humor in the middle of this darkness is quite comforting."

Dante chuckled softly in return.

"I have to stay optimistic. I'm in a place I don't know, with people I don't know, so I'd rather hope that, at least, I can get a decent bath."

"Oh, I wish it were that easy." Clara's expression shifted whenever the topic changed. "During the day, the water turns greenish, so we can't collect it. And when the water's clear enough for collection at night, that's when the Felroz show up. They stay there until morning."

The feeling he got from her was one of complete defeat. No food, no water, no supplies, living hidden atop buildings, staying silent throughout the night to survive the bright days.

The residents of the Capital didn't suffer like this. Nor did the villagers where his parents lived. He'd never had to hide during the night.

There were other people, other places that lacked everything the Capital had.

"I don't know how to leave, Clara," Dante admitted, breaking the silence. "I don't even know where to start. You say I could be anywhere in the world, and the Capital could be on the other side. But I learned a lot in the Capital. I know a lot about the Felroz, and I'm good at fighting them."

"Marcus was pretty surprised by that."

They both laughed.

"That part's true. Before ending up here, I fought over thirty of them at once, but now…" He touched his stomach, then his chest. "If I push myself too hard, I'll break even more."

"I'm not going to ask you to do anything for us. I know you want to, but people don't know you."

"I hope that while I'm here, I can at least help collect medicine or water. It won't be hard."

Clara stood and looked toward a dark part of the city. Dante struggled to his feet and saw a yellow light blinking twice, much higher than where they were. The light blinked, went out, and then turned on again.

"It's Marcus," Clara explained. "We always communicate this way to let everyone know everything's fine at night. Oh, about you helping with water or supplies, can I leave Marcus with you for that?"

"No problem. He only pointed a gun at me three times yesterday."

She genuinely enjoyed Dante's humor.

"They say three is the lucky number."