Chapter 14: Questions

It was the next day now and Asher had stayed by his mothers side the entire time, just like when he was a young boy and he used to cling to her wherever she went. He knew it made him appear weak but he did not care, he simply couldn't handle the thought of being alone again in case he went back to the desolate place. He was still a mess and would have to wash his face and hair soon because currently he felt he looked a little mad with the blood and mud all over him. He was sitting with her now on a chair in the destroyed dining room scoffing down protein gels. Normally he would be reluctant to eat them but after all the events of the past day he was in serious need of food as his body had still not recovered. Asher had calmed down a lot but he was still quite shaken up by his experience and wanted to get away from here as soon as possible after hearing the gaunt man's words. He didn't know if he could handle another run in with those bastards and he couldn't even stomach the thought of being near that creature again. Thankfully he didn't have to convince Sarah or Elise of that as they also wanted to put as much distance between them and those lunatics. Sarah had filled him in on what had happened to them and why they had arrived after him. 

While running from the remnants of the hoard they had been surrounded by them on all sides and so had no choice but to fight. Luckily he had led the majority of them away but there were still about thirty or so that came for them, while Elise no doubt would have been fine she also had to worry about protecting Sarah so things were looking rather dire but then two others intervened. They fired from atop a rooftop and eventually the four of them killed them all. It was a real stroke of luck to come across others willing to help which Asher couldn't help but feel envious of when comparing it to how his own situation had gone. Still he was very happy that Sarah was okay and he was also happy to see Elise oddly enough although his face went bright red every time he thought of how he clung onto her. Asher shook his head trying to shake the thought. 

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked, concern evident in her soft voice. Ever since she had found him in that sorry state she had been filled with worry and his explanation of events only made her more worried but he was trying not to make her worry. Asher did feel like he had changed somehow even if it had only been a short time since they last saw each other. He had struggled his hardest to survive, something he never would have done before and he had experienced a fear so great it made all others seem frivolous by comparison. Sometimes when he thought back on it his body would shiver as if it had etched the experience into its very being. 

"Oh just trying to think about how I'll ever be able to look Elise in the eyes again without feeling an overwhelming sense of shame." Asher replied defeatedly. He sighed and Sarah chuckled at him. 

"Yeah I don't know how you're gonna live that one down. I mean if I had done that I don't think I could live with the embarrassment." Elise said Sarcastically as she gave Arthur a devious grin. 

Asher gave his mother a disdainful look "Wow thanks mom, that makes me feel a whole lot better about it." 

Sarah laughed and Asher couldn't help but chuckle as well. 

After he had finished his food he decided to look for Elise, he still had many questions for her after all. Asher trusted Elise a bit more now after she had saved his mother, he also secretly enjoyed her personality and if he was being honest with himself it was better to have her with them than not to. He exited his house and Saw Elise standing out front scanning the area, beside her was a short stocky man, he had dark skin and a bald head with snow sticking to it. His name was Josiah and his daughter Misty had decided to travel with Elise after discovering who she is. It was of no surprise to Asher that people would follow Elise, she was an Elpis after all but more than that there was something else about her that Asher couldn't quite put his finger on. Not wanting to waste any more time Asher approached the two and Josiah turned to greet him. The man while short was still at least an inch taller than himself which irked Asher a little, the man had dark brown eyes and a rough looking face. Elise turned back as well, giving Asher that same enchanting smile she always did which made Asher's cheeks go a little red as he replayed his embarrassing interaction in his head. 

"It seems this area is devoid of people, at least from what we can tell." Josiah said, his voice gravelly. This was the first time Asher had heard him speak and it fit him rather well. 

"Not surprising considering it's still in the dead zone, even if it's only bordering it." Asher replied but Asher knew that the more time passed the more it would spread outwards so moving inward and away from whatever lurked at the heart of it was growing more important by the day. Asher looked up to the sky as it had been a while since he looked at those ominous red numbers in the sky. 

The death quota had already been reached and in fact it had been long surpassed but the numbers still went down at a concerningly rapid speed. The population now was only just over ninety thousand and at the rate things were going it would be half that in a few more days. It was really just absurd to think about the scale of death that was happening all around them, but after meeting the hoard Asher felt as though he had an idea of why it was dropping so fast. While Asher didn't fully understand what exactly they were, it seemed that it was all connected to that harrowing creature that had let out that mind shattering shriek the first day. Whatever it was Asher had assumed that when the population dropped by half it was because all those people had died but now it seemed more likely that he was wrong. Thinking back on it while the streets of the dead zone were littered with bodies there were signs of people still being alive but he and Sarah had brushed it off as other survivors. There were also not enough corpses lying about on certain streets when considering the number of dead, but what didn't make sense to Asher was why they were not considered as people regarding the numbers. After coming into contact with them Asher was certain they weren't some army of the dead, they were breathing and talking so why didn't they count? He did not know and he wasn't sure if he would ever find out the reason especially since it seemed as though death was closing in from all sides now. Still thinking about how many tens of thousands, or hundreds or even millions of people might be followers of that thing made him shudder. 

"Elise, I need to talk to you." Asher said his tone was more serious now. 

Elise smirked. "OH whatever about?" 

Asher continued not wanting to put off the discussion any longer. "We didn't get to finish our talk." 

Elise frowned. "Oh and here I thought you wanted to talk about our hug from earlier." Asher felt his cheeks turn a bit rosy. For whatever reason Elise seemed to enjoy teasing him. 

Josiah glanced at the two of them for a few moments. "It's okay I need to speak with my daughter anyway, wherever she is." He turned around and left to search for her. 

Elise and Asher watched him go and then turned back to one another. This was a long time overdue and Asher needed to get answers. 

"Suppose I promised. Fine then but you might not like the answers ." 

Asher nodded. 

"Walk with me I don't want the others to hear." Elise said as she began making her way towards a small dishevelled metal shack ahead of them. Asher followed behind her. Finally he was going to get some answers.