In the distance I could see the humming of two echolites crawling around a bush. They were small creatures that were put in the sacred creatures categories apparently to my scanner. It had warned me that if i had killed one, it would be illegal. I pulled out my Y-bracket and decided to fire upon the two little creatures. Their yellow blood had splatted against the grass and trees. Its flared up pus spots underneath its stomach popped ejecting out its sweet nectar.
I scooped some up, taking big gulps without stopping. I turned to the other echolite and noticed it was squirming. I wanted to hesitate and not kill another but I had to. I was hungry for more.
After I finished my meal I then walked through the rough terrain to get back to the river where August and Arlo would be waiting for me.
I kept on traversing through the landscape until I heard a little voice.
"H…help- help…" it was the faint voice of a woman. My eyes darted around past the trees, and around some bumpy terrain where the woman could be hiding. I then saw a deep decline in the floor nearby which led to a cave. Low and behold I found someone. "Ah-ha… hello" Her voice was strained and ragged like she had been screaming for hours and hours for nobody to show up. She was frail just like me, she had a rock in her hand that brushed the wall over and over trying to alert anyone nearby. Her hair was thin and falling out. Way too dark in here, but safer than out there.
"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. It's way too dangerous" I said.
"Uh-uh…uhm…help-help…help-" The woman spoke as if she was confused and lost. Nothing made sense.
"Fuck" i whispered under my breath. "I can't stay here for much longer. Or I'll end up like you." As I made my exit out of the cave the woman shouted.
"Wait! You- you can't leave me in here!"
"Why not?"
"Because, I don't want to die."
"Neither do i but I guess that's life."
"You don't look like you're dying." The woman said.
"I think I'm hiding it pretty well. Thank you."
The woman stood up and walked over to me slowly. She was no threat, she carried nothing with her, no gear, no armour, just a basket and a dress.
"What is your purpose being here then?" She asked. She was super close to me. I could smell her terrible breath that was possibly toxic.
"Hey, stand back. And my purpose is to find some plants for some people."
"What kind of plants?"
"Tephlir."
Her head turned slowly. "For whom?" I felt a little uneasy from this question. Why did she suddenly care about who I was searching plants for anyway?
"Some people who need to heal their animals I guess for some people– are you sure you're okay?"
She put a finger on my mouth to shush me. Her eyes looked around and so did mine confused about what was going on. "You hear that?" I shook my head. "It's coming."
"Whats coming?" I mumbled.
"The alternates are looking for me." She whispered. We both sneaked back to the corner of the cave which hid us pretty well. It was cold, and the only source of heat came from my body. Beads of sweat poured from the top of my head to the bottom of my jumpsuit. "Don't make too much noise." My chest heaved up and down worried what might happen.
I heard gurgling sounds that were close by. It was then followed by a scream which was a blend of anguish and slurring of speech. The human part of this person was still there but it struggled the fight.
A brief moment had past and the alternate was nowhere to be heard again. My anxiety started to slow down again. "Are you okay darling?" The woman asked me.
"Yeah, I think so."
"Here, have this." She held out a fruit in her hand.
"I think you should take it instead. You definitely need it more than me."
"No, I insist. Please." My eyes furrowed.
"Please, I've already eaten just now. I'm okay. Trust me."
"Hmm, more for me I suppose."
"So now, can I ask? What were you doing here alone?" The woman looked away, almost embarrassed. She sighed before speaking again.
"I was looking for a way out of here. I was separated from my group of explorers." She said. "It had been nearly 2 weeks since I've been in the villages and I don't think my husband or my son are worried about what is going on with me."
"I'm sorry to hear that. The Exploration Zone is way too big and dangerous. I can't believe im going in here by myself now that I think about it."
"You're here by yourself? Now that is ballsy woman." The woman said. "What is your name anyway?"
"Marie."
"Chloe"
"Nice to meet you."
"Now, I need to know." Chloe said. "Why are you roaming here alone?"
"As I said, I'm here looking for some plants for some people, in hopes for a reward."
"Insane."
"What?" My eyes hardened on her.
"You've seen what we've encountered and you're here alone–" At that moment, I received a call from August on my comms.
"Hold on, sorry."
"No, no, take your call in sure it's important." Chloe said sarcastically.
"August, hey." I said.
"Marie! Are you okay? You just disappeared from earlier. I wasn't sure if you were alright."
"Trust me, I am totally fine. No need to worry about me–"
"August?" Chloe said out loud. I turned to her in confusion. "August? Is that you honey?"
"Mom?!" August exclaimed over the comms unit.
"August! My dearest boy!" She ran over and spoke into the comms unit.
"Mom, where have you been? Oh my gosh. Dad! It's mom, Marie found mom!"
"What?! Ar-are you sure it's her?" Arlo spoke in the back.
"Well… Mom? Is that you?"
Chloe's eyes started to water. "Yes! Yes! Yes, it's me son! Oh my, oh my!" She heaved a heavy breath from her chest struggling to speak. "It's felt like forever since I've heard from you guys."
"Same for you!" August exclaimed. Chloe started to relax herself and wipe the streams of tears from her pale face. "Marie, how did you find my mother?"
"I was looking around and then I somehow encountered her I guess?" I struggled with what to come up with. This situation sounded so bizarre but also bittersweet that I didn't want to ruin it.
"I- I can't believe it." August replied.
I then briefly told Chloe what the situation was with August and Arlo and my problem with the stonewalkers.
"Hmm, i see. That is a problem indeed. The storm outside is not going to get any better, Marie." Chloe said. "What was the REAL purpose of encountering my son and husband? Because surely not you decided to just help them out of the blue when they only just met you?"
I sighed heavily. "Okay, ill be honest. I'm going to the border unit to collect supplies for my son so that he can survive. He's sick and honestly he's not getting any better. In hopes of getting some sort of extra cash from August and Arlo I could buy some more stuff for him but the stonewalker won't budge up. And now I'm here. The real reason."
"Humph. I don't blame you, the Inner circle aren't willing to give us more supplies since they're using it for their own dirty business!"
"It makes me sick, so terrible" I replied back.
"If i wasn't so frail now, I would have probably been able to help you with your mission to the border but i'm afraid my time might be up soon if i dont get the right medicine and resources." She gave a sad sigh that was just dark.
"How about this? I get you to your son and father and then I go off on my own. I need to get the supplies to my son Chloe."
"Comepletly understand, but Marie, we're in a hot spot right now."
"Hot spot?"
"Deary me Marie, you would have done some research before dropping head first into the deep end of the bliptic city."
"Sorry, i was just desperate to cross this place and i've never encountered a hot spot before."
"Okay, i was exaggerating that we were in a hotspot, rather we are on the outer layer of the hotspot."
I nodded my head in understanding. "The main problem we would have to worry about is the middle layer of the hotspot moving towards us. Blips and alternates move in some kind of groups I think where some linger here and there, usually creating a fractal which they all like to huddle around like penguins."
"I see." I never knew that there were hotspots for Blips. I always thought they roamed around looking for more people to infect.
" I am assuming that the fractals are not too far away, but I'm not willing to risk my life by running out there." Chloe said. "I was planning on running out a couple days ago but I missed my opportunity and had almost gotten myself killed by an alternate if it wasn't for my martial arts. But now my frail frame could not take on another. Honestly, If you didn't show up, I'm sure I would have died from something by now."
"So those two weeks in here were pretty rough I see."
"Yep. Most of the time I was just banging this fucking rock against the wall in hopes someone would show up. I almost went insane. Thought no one would ever show up."
"I'm sorry you went through all of that. As a mother myself, it's scary to think of involuntarily abandoning your children and being stuck also in a trapped place like this." I said.
"My son means the world to me. I couldn't leave him all by himself with his father." Chloe shook her head again and I noticed her eyes were watering again. "I didn't think that I would ever hear his voice again." She sniffled.
"Marie!" August shouted through the Comms unit, "where would it be best for us to meet?"
"Let's meet around the edge of the exploration zone. I don't think that stonewalker is budging anytime soon." I replied.
"Heh, don't want to anger that fellow." the Comms unit ended the call and now we were in darkness.
"I guess we better start moving, this storm isnt getting any better. And nightfall might hinder us if we are too fast now."
"Are you really sure we can leave?" Chloe asked nervously.
"I got a gun, don't worry." I pulled out my Y-Bracket and then said, "Let's go."