Chapter 8: Elpis

Asher and Sarah had carried the woman with them to a nearby house. It was a small two bedroom house with a kitchen that had a small dining table in it. Most houses in the Boundary were much worse off than this one and didn't have nearly as much space. It was similar to Asher's old house, which made him a little sentimental as he sat down on one of the three chairs around the dining table. The awful smell coming from the decaying corpses outside made him snap out of his daydream. The smell had gotten worse over the last few days which was another reason why he and Sarah intended to leave the dead zone, it was starting to become unbearable. Sighing Asher distracted himself by thinking about what they were going to do next. He figured that they still had about ten hours until the veil reached them and they had to move again. They had placed the woman in a bedroom where Sarah was currently taking a look at the wound on her leg. While Sarah did not have any medical training she had learned how to do a little since there was no real hospital here in the Boundary. Normally the two of them would have been against helping random strangers they came across, seeing it as a risk but this was different. This was a member of the Elpis family after all, the most powerful and influential family in the world! 

Just thinking of the promotion I'll get for this is making me excited but then again I'll probably die before that could even be a possibility.

Asher was surprised that he had not realised that she was part of the Elpis family even before seeing the pendant. It should have been obvious she was an Elpis, they were not easy to mistake after all. Any member of the Elpis family was… well perfect for lack of a better term. They were all breathtakingly beautiful, they were essentially as close to a perfect looking human being as one could be. It was well known and added to the legend surrounding the family, making them seem like heroic angels, which in a way they were being the heroes of humanity and all. While Asher had seen members of the family on the giant mega screens in the city of Elpis often enough, he had never seen one in person. To say the big screens didn't do them justice was an understatement if he was being honest, they looked much more striking in the flesh, however he had never seen or heard about this young woman before. For a normal citizen of the Boundary this would be the norm but Asher was a different case, working for Elpis robotics he thought he had known of all members of the family. 

Odd.

Regardless he knew that finding a member of the Elpis family was an opportunity they could not pass up. If anyone knew what was going on here it must be an Elpis. She might even know how to escape the veil which would mean that the chances of Sarah and his survival would increase. Becoming a little hopeful at the thought Asher grinned to himself. 

Maybe they really were heroes or demigods after all… but why would a member of the Elpis family be out here to begin with? Asher pondered to himself. It didn't make sense no matter how much he thought about it. 

As he was thinking he heard a door close, looking up he saw Sarah had left the room. "Well?" He asked nervously. 

Sarah gave him a puzzled look before she replied. "Well it seems like she was shot in the leg and it passed completely through. She has also lost a lot of blood." 

Hearing this Asher looked down at the ground, his hope starting to fade a little. 

"However, somehow her wound has closed up already." She said, seeming a little baffled. 

Asher looked at her equally as confused as Sarah. "How can that be possible? I mean that was a fresh wound as far as I could tell." He said, puzzled. 

"There is another thing that should be concerning you, who was it that shot her?" Sarah asked, her expression becoming more grim. "If this wound was fresh, then whoever did this can't be that far away. Who's to say they didn't see us dragging her here?" 

The two of them exchanged dark looks realising the possible danger they were in. They both began securing the house in preparation for a possible attack. Just as the two of them finished securing the main entrance to the house they turned back around. There standing at the bedroom door was a young woman with raven black hair staring at the two of them. Sarah had removed her combat pants to have a look at her wound and left out a pair of grey jeans and a black t-shirt that belonged to Asher. The clothes fit her well aside from being a little too short for her, showing off her toned and athletic physique. 

The young woman gave them both cold calculated looks with her ethereal green eyes. Asher felt as though she was peering directly into his soul. None of them moved for a few moments as they observed one another. Then her face relaxed and she gave them both a warm smile, which almost sent Asher into cardiac arrest. 

"So… you guys wouldn't happen to have any food, cuz I am starving." 

A few minutes passed by with them all not saying much as Sarah handed her several pots of protein gel. The three of them were sitting at the small dining table in the kitchen. Asher and Sarah sat across from one another while the young woman sat at the front of the table. She was greedily eating the protein gels they had given her, seemingly unbothered by its disgusting texture. Neither Asher or Sarah had asked her any questions yet but they were both growing anxious and wondering whether or not she had any answers. Seemingly noticing the inquisitive gazes on her she looked up from her food. "I suppose you have a few questions you want to ask me?" She said as she continued to devour the protein gel. 

"Yes we do." Asher replied not breaking eye contact. 

"Well I assume you already figured out who my family are and you are probably wondering what it is exactly that I am doing out here correct?" The lady said not looking up from her food. 

"Yes we have and we are both a little curious if we are being honest." Sarah replied politely. 

The woman looked at her and nodded. "Well my name is Elise Elpis. The reason I came here is pretty simple, I wanted to see the Boundary since I'd never seen it before and I was a little curious." 

Asher had never heard of an Elise Elpis before but that didn't mean much although he thought he knew of the majority of the family he could have easily been wrong. Why she was here was the most surprising thing for him. He was not really sure he believed her, I mean what are the odds a member of the Elpis line visits the Boundary the day this whole thing started? As far as Asher was concerned it was not very likely. Looking up at her he noticed that her eyes were locked on his now. Had she noticed his suspicion of her. He felt a chill run down his spine but she broke eye contact after another second making him relax. Asher was about to start asking her questions about the veil and what was happening but before he could Sarah chimed in. 

"How'd you get that wound, if you don't mind my asking?" 

Elise frowned, seemingly becoming a bit agitated as she recalled the events. "I was attacked by a group of eight people while I was making my way inwards. Those bastards have no idea what they are in for when I find them." Her aura became more serious as she spoke. 

"Well you escaped, that's something, plus you were helped by two delightfully kind and charming strangers." Asher said sarcastically trying to lighten the mood. 

Elise gave him a puzzled look and then chuckled. "I suppose you're right it could have gone worse." She then finished the last of the protein gels they had given her and stood up. 

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked worriedly. 

Elise smiled at her which made Asher's heart skip a beat. 

That smile should be classified as a weapon, it's too dangerous. 

Seemingly noticing his reaction she turned to him and smiled even wider, making Asher look at the table awkwardly. She laughed as he did it and then looked back at Sarah. "Well I was gonna go track down those bastards who attacked me." Elise replied with the utmost confidence. 

Both Asher and Sarah looked at her, bewildered by the overwhelming confidence she possessed. Especially since not even two hours ago she had passed out from blood loss, and now she was saying she was ready to go straight back out there, to attack a group all by herself no less. 

"I know being an Elpis must give you this idea that you are capable of anything, being demigods and all that but there is no way you can go out and take on a group of seven people all alone and expect to survive. Also I am not sure if you are aware or whatever but there is a literal bullet hole in your leg." Asher said, hoping to point out how crazy it all sounded. 

Elise gave him a sour look. Then as if to show she was alright she hopped up and down on her injured leg to the dismay of both Asher and Sarah "See I'm good as new thanks to that miracle doctor over there." Elise said as she winked at Sarah. 

"All I did was bandage your wound though." Sarah said noticeably confused. 

"Okay geez, it's still a little sore are you happy?" Elise said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She then turned, walked into the bedroom, threw on her green jacket and then walked towards the door, the limp barely noticeable now. 

"Hey wait a second I still have a few more questions." Asher said, a little annoyed at Elise's rush to leave. He still had not learned anything useful from her which was the whole reason they rescued her to begin with. 

Elise turned back to look at him and grinned "Look I'm super grateful for what you guys did for me but those guys stole my bag which had a lot of really important stuff that I would really rather not lose. So I'm sorry but I don't have the luxury of time right now." 

Not happy at all with this response Asher frowned and was about to call her an idiot but before he had a chance to speak Sarah piped up and asked. " Do you think you will be able to get your stuff back alone?" 

Elise stood still for a few seconds, seemingly mulling the question over in her head. "Well I'm not one hundred percent sure I'll survive the encounter if I am being honest… but you know what, now that I think about it, if I had the help of two delightfully kind and charming strangers things might go a little smoother." 

Hearing this Asher shook his head in disbelief at the arrogance of Elise. Not only did they save her life but now she expected them to go out and help her with her suicide mission? This group had a gun and all they had was some knives and a crowbar, how could she possibly expect them to win a fight with this group? While Asher wanted to reject the idea completely just to see the look on Elise's smug face, he did not. More than anything he wanted him and his mother to survive this hell and even if by pure dumb luck they come across an Elpis he knew that she was their best bet. His intuition was screaming at him to follow this woman. She had to know some things about the veil that she hadn't told them yet, plus she may still know how to escape or what the hell caused all this to begin with. He needed answers and following Elise was the way to get them. Asher looked at Sarah who looked back at him. It seemed she had come to the same conclusion as him. They both nodded to each other before turning back to look at Elise. 

"Fine we will help you deal with this group but we have questions we want answered. So once this is done you have to tell us what it is you know about all this." Asher said sternly looking directly into Elise's eyes. 

A devilish grin appeared on Elise's face. "I was really hoping you would say that ya know."