Alex doesn't hesitate to heed Lovia's words, and neither does Jack. They both plunge their burnt hands into the water bottle and take out handfuls of the vodka-soaked strips. Then, using them like bandages, they wrap them around their wounded areas. Of course, the cloth strips aren't nearly as good as real bandages; those are far more elastic and soft, but they'll work for now.
Alex grits his teeth as the vodka stings his burns. The liquid exposes him and Jack to the cool night air, and a chill runs through them whenever a breeze passes by. Despite this, Alex is still grateful for the makeshift bandages. As Lovia said, vodka isn't a very good antiseptic; it would need a much higher proof for that, but having anything with infection-stalling properties is a blessing, especially since he's hesitant to go to a hospital.
I'm still a bit shocked that she's been hiding so much alcohol, though. Alex unabashedly lets his mind wander as he wraps his body.
He's known Lovia for a very long time. In fact, she's one of the first people he met when he became homeless seven years ago, just before the housing crisis. At the time, Tetanus Town had not been founded, and Alex was broken-hearted and vengeful. In such a state, he was almost assured to die like a dog within a year.
Luckily, he had encountered Lovia while slowly starving on the side of a street. Since he was only ten at the time, Lovia took pity on him and shared what meagre amount of food she had.
From that day on, despite how irritating she could be, Alex was like a duckling and followed Lovia around, learning from her example and slowly acclimating to his new life on the streets. It was only when Tetanus Town was formed three years ago that he separated himself from Lovia, becoming independent and taking care of himself.
So it surprises him that she's willing to use her hard-earned alcohol to help him and Jack. After all, survival is the most important thing to people like him and her, and freely giving things away is antithetical to that principle. Then again, she has always been a bit contradictory.
Chalking Lovia's actions up to her own odd nature, Alex finishes wrapping the last of the cloth around his wrist, securely tucking the extra beneath the prior bandaging.
Alex chuckles internally as he looks down at his cloth-wrapped torso. I'm like a budget mummy.
He had mainly focused on wrapping his legs and back as much as possible, so the grey-blue strips of cloth criss-cross messily across his chest and around his legs. They give off a ragtag, messy appearance that makes Alex seem like a child playing doctor on himself. "Thank god for my raincoat." Luckily, it conceals most of the bandages on his torso.
Jack, on the other hand, has nothing to cover up his wrappings since his t-shirt was destroyed at HMS, but he doesn't seem to care. In fact, he has a satisfied smile on his face while finishing his surprisingly well-wrapped chest.
Meanwhile, while the two were applying the makeshift bandages, Lovia was deep in thought. However, now that they've finished, she finally asks the question she's been wanting to ask. She looks at the two, eyes gleaming with confusion and worry, and asks, "What exactly happened?"
Alex hesitates to answer, but quickly relents. Like with Jack, there's no actual reason for him to hide the truth from Lovia. If anything, it would actually be beneficial to tell her about the creature. After all, Lovia knows Rifield far more intimately than he does, having lived there decades longer, and knows many things he does not.
So, Alex chooses to tell her the entire story, albeit an abbreviated version, to save time. Starting from when he found Silas vomiting in a dumpster, he relays all the key events. Once he gets to the part where Jack appears, Jack also jumps in to expand on several points or add his own thoughts.
After several minutes, Alex finishes by describing his frantic run through the doorway in the crumbling wall. "After we passed Silas, the creature stopped, and the air started shaking. Then we ran into you."
Lovia, who had been listening without interrupting, doesn't speak for several seconds. In fact, she doesn't react at all, staying perfectly still, as though meditating while standing. Eventually, she snickers and forces a terse smirk onto her face. "Well, you certainly aren't lying. The air's trembling just like you said. You've really gotten yourself into something, kid."
Alex blinks repeatedly, surprise evident in his tone. "That's it? Aren't you gonna freak out or something?"
A hoarse laugh bursts from Lovia's lips. "Well, I'm certainly wishing you had left some vodka!" Her laughter continues for a few seconds before dwindling into a calmer tone. "Alex, I'm eighty-three. I've seen some weird things in my time, and things have only gotten weirder. When I was young, a lot of the things we have now would have seemed like fantasy. I'll just have to add magical creatures to my list of weird things that have shown up in my lifetime."
She pauses before changing her tone to one of confusion. "Although, Silas is probably one of the weirdest."
Sensing an opportunity to gain valuable information, Alex quickly asks, "What do you know about him?" Lovia spends most of her time in Tetanus Town nowadays, so she has a very intricate knowledge of the homeless community.
It only takes a moment for her to recall what she knows. "Well, he's a blatantly suspicious idiot who's constantly gambling. He showed up out of the blue about three weeks ago and immediately started acting strange. I thought he was just an undercover cop. One sent to investigate those disappearances."
Alex nods his head, but Jack is surprised. "Dissappearances?"
Lovia turns her gaze back to him and gives a grim nod. "Yeah, people have been going missing.
Knowing he'll want to know more, she elaborates. "About seven years ago, a bit after the LT Corporation took charge, homeless people started disappearing. Granted, that's not uncommon. Some migrate to other cities, others die with no one identifying their bodies, and some just drop off the grid. But this is different, people I know are smart enough to live and are too attached to Rifield to leave, have started disappearing without a trace."
She shakes her head slowly. "The disappearances started slowly, with only one or two a month, but lately, they've exploded to the point that there are multiple a week. I thought the police finally took notice and sent Silas to investigate. But that's clearly not the case."
Thinking for a few seconds, Alex says, "The two might not be unconnected. If I had to guess, the missing people are the creature's previous victims, and it's not too secretive during its hunts. It might have attracted attention from somewhere else."
Lovia is suddenly enlightened. "So you're saying Silas is here to investigate the disappearances, he's just not a cop."
"That's right." Of course, Alex isn't confident in his deduction. In fact, he's fully willing to believe that he's wrong. After all, there's just too little information about both the creature and Silas to make an accurate guess. Both their origins are unknown, their goals are shrouded in mystery, and their abilities defy logic. Using logic to understand the illogical is inherently pointless.
Alex, Jack, and Lovia spend the next few minutes discussing and theorizing about both Silas and the creature, but they don't get any further than they already have. Lovia hasn't known him long enough to uncover any hidden motives or connections. At best, she knows little things like his unconscious tells during poker, or how those tells are both plentiful and easy to notice, making him terrible at poker.
The same is true for the creature. It's simply too hidden to fully understand. The only thing they can fully deduce is that its abilities are connected to heat or fire.
Actually, Alex suddenly remembers, is that why Silas said to leave by boat? Because the creature's abilities are fire-related? He puts his hand to his chin. It makes sense. If we were in the middle of the river, we could easily put out any fires it sets. Plus, it might even be warded off by the water, and be unable to reach us.
Rifield was originally founded on the northern bank of the Missouri River, which is used as an important shipping route. As such, Rifield has its own docks for barges and other boats that careen down the river. Said docks actually used to be the main source of income and jobs for Rifield, but it was surpassed by Layered Technologies seven years ago.
If Alex manages to sneak aboard one of those barges, there's a good chance he can stowaway all the way to another city.
There's also a good chance the creature won't be able to reach him if he's on a boat. The Missouri River's current is deceptively fast, being able to completely overpower swimmers and wash them away. Not only that, but it can also reach twenty feet deep. If one isn't careful, they can easily drown in its waters. So, if Alex is right about its aversion to water, the creature probably isn't capable of swimming in such conditions.
Grasping this thread, Alex looks to Lovia. "Do you know how to get on one of those barges?"
Lovia, who had previously been informed about Silas's hint, quickly understands Alex's meaning and shakes her head. "I haven't been to the docks in years. You'll have to ask someone else." Her answer disappoints Alex, but it's not unexpected. Lovia is homeless after all, the only business she would have in Southern Rifield is panhandling, why would she go to the docks?
Jack, however, lights up and quickly jumps in, "I know how to get on a barge!"
Twisting their heads to look at him, Alex and Lovia are surprised by Jack. "You do?"
Due to his better financial status, Jack is more likely to have ventured into Southern Rifield. But, he's still a native of Northern Rifield; at most, he should only be going to Southern Rifield for special errands and important events. There's no reason he should know about the docks.
Taking a small bit of smugness from Alex's surprise, Jack nods. "Yup! My brother told me. He worked there over the summer and told me all about it!"
Lovia lets out a hoarse cackle, "Well! Your brother's a downright gem! Teaching you manners, telling you stories, and getting an actual job!" She nods towards Alex, "His last job was mugging a druggie."
Alex shakes his head slightly, "Don't lie about me in front of my friend… it was a dealer, that's much more respectable. Besides, I doubt it's the same brother as before. Jack grew up in an orphanage; he's got like thirty siblings. It's practically his catchphrase to say 'my sibling told me… something or another' "
Jack doesn't even attempt a retort; Alex has teased him enough for him to know it won't matter. Instead, he directs his attention towards the docks and how to get on a barge.
"When Austin, my brother, had his first day working there, he got to ride along a barge to another dock. Along the way, there was a really low bridge. He said it was so low that he was afraid the barge might scrape against it! If we time it right and aim for the right spot, we might be able to jump off that bridge and onto a barge."