Safety

The woman frowns at Henrick's outburst and crosses her arms disapprovingly. "You're welcome." She says defiantly, her ears twitching in agitation. Father David places a hand on Henrick's shoulder, bringing him out of his shock. "I'm sorry, thank you for saving us. I'm Henrick, this is David." says the soldier, embarrassment creeping up on his face.

The woman waves of his thanks, a frown marring her face. "I'm Selene. We have to hurry and get to the camp." With preternatural grace, Selene continues navigating the maze-like sewer channels. "That was stupid of you both. To walk around above while the thunderstorm was raging." she pauses as she turns to look at Henrick, her face tight with tension. "What caused you both to do that?"

The duo are unable to answer as a mutated cockroach the size of a king sized bed suddenly rushes towards them from the darkness. Henrick steps forward and unleashes a bolt of electricity, far thicker than anything he has ever released, and incapacitates it. The insect writhes as lightning courses throughout its being, and stills as Father David stomps on its head with a concussive blast.

Henrick gives David an approving nod and watches as dark purple mist enters the priest's body. "This feels...odd. Like recovering from a workout." the Father says, as he cleans his shoes on the cockroaches carcass and stretches his body. Selene merely nods at the efficient kill. The trio continue on without conversation, weary of attracting unwanted attention again.

A few minutes into the walk, the group rounds a bend. Henrick and David widen their eyes as they take in what looks to be an encampment of humans. The hushed whispers of the fearful and injured permeates the air as the inhabitants notice the new arrivals.

Distrustful stares and undisguised scowls follow them as they walk deeper into the camp, snippets of conversations audible to their ears. "...ability user?..." "...less rations..." "...more?" "...no space..." Father David does the cross as he watches the disheveled and suffering appearances of the people around him, his heart shattering as he sees a dirtied child struggling to eat stale bread.

The priest clutches his cross as he prays for all the souls here, while Henrick looks around and keeps his face impassive at the tense atmosphere surrounding them. They make it to the middle of the camp, in which lies a large tent. "Bobby, I have rescued two humans from the surface." Selene says as the guards stop them from entering, her face lined with disdain.

The tent is silent save for the rustling of fabric. Moments later, a large man with a round frame steps out and eyes Selene with undisguised lust. "Ah my dear, haven't I made it clear that there is no more space here?" he says as he steps closer to Henrick's saviour. The soldier himself finds that he has to look up at the towering man.

Selene's face scrunches up at the smell emanating from Bobby and scowls. "Was I supposed to leave them? You said to bring those that were useful and I did. Where is my little brother?!" she asks, anger lacing her voice along with a touch of desperation.

Bobby simply scratches his belly as he leers at Selene. "In due time, Elf. When I think you've been useful enough, then I'll give him back. For now, give them a spot, I don't care where." he says as the guards shoo the trio away aggressively.

There is an angry silence as Selene clenches her fists, a foreign energy seeming to swirl around her body before dissipating. "I apologise that you had to see that. Come, I'll guide you to a free spot." she says as she swiftly turns on her heels. Father David hurries to the front and stops Selene as he asks, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Selene simply shakes her head and walks away. "This is my fight, I'll finish it alone. Come." Henrick simply follows as they arrive at a relatively clean spot near a wall. The soldier stares at Selene and rubs his chin thoughtfully. "So...you're an actual elf? Not a mutated human?" he asks as Selene rips off the tape on the ground, to show that this spot is now taken.

With a raised brow she turns to Henrick. "An actual Elf? No, I'm human. Whatever happened to the world, changed me into this." Selene says as she fixes Henrick and David with a hard glare. "Enough with the questions. Get some rest, you'll have to scavenge tomorrow to keep your place here." With those words, Selene strides away, drawing glances from the surrounding people.

Father David slumps down against the wall and lets out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness, some safety." he says as he places his hands together. Henrick looks around and frowns as he sees the glances and stares. He places his backpack, which somehow remained undamaged, down and secretly gives a protein bar to the priest.

David raises a brow and is about to speak, but is silenced by Henrick's stare. "It isn't as safe here as you'd like to think, Father. Keep your guard up." The soldier says as he sits in front of Father David, in an effort to obscure their meal. The time passes by uneventfully, and Henrick tells David to sleep first, unable to rest himself.

The sewer chamber is dark, the only existing light sources are candles scattered about. Henrick paces and figures that their assigned space is the size of a Queen sized bed. The soldier keeps an eye out as the hours blur together, and does his best to ignore the smell of sewage and manure. After a while, he sits and thinks on their next step. So engrossed in his thoughts, that he barely notices when someone approaches and tries to steal his backpack. Henrick twists and flips backwards, landing in front of the backpack and grabbing the arm of the thief.

Henrick snarls and is about to smash down on the thief's head, when his eyes widen at the sight of a scared and gaunt child, no older than twelve. He lets go with a scowl and picks the child up by the scruff of her shirt. "What do you think you're doing?!" he whispers harshly as he levels a glare at her.

The child whimpers and tears up at the sight of Henrick's face. "I'm - hic, sor - hic, sorry." she says, tears streaming down her face. Father David wakes up at her sobbing and sends a disapproving glance at Henrick. "Henrick, what's going on? Why are you lifting that child so aggressively?" the priest admonishes as he gets up.

Henrick scoffs and places the child down with a huff. "She tried to steal our stuff, I was trying to scare her from doing it again." he says staring at her. "Where are your parents, kid?" he asks roughly as he places the backpack against the wall.

"My...mommy and daddy - hic, are gone..." the girl softly whispers as sobs threaten to burst out. Henrick's eyes soften at those words and he places her down gently. "Same here, kid." he says sadly as he takes the last protein bar and gives it to her. "Have this, keep your strength up." Father David watches the exchange and nods in approval.

The child tentatively smiles and reaches out to grab the protein bar, when a voice roughly interjects. "Hey, hey, I'll be taking that bar! This kid doesn't need it anyway." says a rough and lanky looking man, his eyes blooshot and his lips pale. Henrick stands to his full height and stares blankly at the man.

Without shame, the man grabs the child by the head and laughs as he turns to Henrick. "This is my niece, Elly. Was she out stealing again? I'm so sorry about that. I'll be taking that bar, gotta go scavenging tomorrow morning after all. You don't mind, do you Elly?" he sneers as he grips Elly's head roughly.

Elly gives Henrick a reassuring smile as she sees his eyes faintly glow. "I don't mind, Uncle Grant." she says as tears flow freely. Grant laughs as he turns to Henrick with a triumphant grin. "The kid is stupid, but she-ack" he starts but is interrupted as Henrick grabs him by the throat and lifted off the ground.

"Shut your mouth!" he shouts and wakes up the nearby survivors. Grant thrashes and releases a weak blast of water on Henrick's face that catches him by surprise, but not enough to let go. "Elly, is this man really your uncle?" he asks, giving Elly a soft smile.

The girl shakes her head as she glares hatefully at Grant. "He forcefully took me in so that I would steal for him." she says as she weakly punches him repeatedly on the leg. The survivors gasp as Grant's face starts turning blue. Henrick stares blankly at his struggles and squeezes tighter, but is interrupted as Selene appears and knocks Grant out.

The soldier snarls as he throws Grant onto the ground. "What the hell are you doing?!" Selene just raises a brow and says, "Stopping you from making a mistake. Well, more of a mistake. This man is Bobby's yes man. Bobby won't be too sad if you kill him, but he'll take it as a challenge to his authority if you do." she finishes as she grabs Grant's leg and drags him away. "Get some rest, only 2 hours left until the sun rises, or at least when it used to." her voice echoes as she heads deeper into the sewers.

Father David ruffles Elly's hair and kneels down. "Worry not, child. You're safe with us. Eat and get some rest" he says kindly as he opens the protein bar for her. Henrick is about to speak up against the priest's decision, but holds it in as he sees the genuine happiness Elly has over a protein bar. The soldier smiles and sits back on the ground as he keeps on thinking about their next steps. He eyes the now shaken survivors and sighs.

"Safety, huh."

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END