Neither of them spoke. She kept her hood up, rubbing the side of her neck, and turned to look at him.
'Maybe I should have left him unconscious.'
Paper rustled as she wrote. Jared turned to see that Yidhra's black journal was open in her hands.
"You know, you're free to leave. You don't have to stay here. Your town is behind you. "
Taking a sip of her soup, she looked down at her book with Ore appearing by her side.
' So there's five Elders who I can make contact with: Nichole, Charles, Joshua, Ezekiel, and Feather. If I manage to find Big Sis Melly, then getting a meeting should be easy enough.'
Strands of her black, stringy hair slipped from her hood as she stood up from the ground. As she made eye contact with the kid, sweat dripped down the child's face as he shifted closer to the tree.
"If you're that scared, then why didn't you leave?"
Wiping the dirt off her face, she glanced at the kid once more before getting more soup.
' What a strange kid.'
She was still staring into the cold soup when the child spoke. "Are you really that journalist on the news?"
As she gripped the ladle, Yidhra paused.
"Did the news about that already come out?... Guess I have less time for the mission than I first thought."
With a slight sigh, the journalist took another scoop of her soup, placing it into her bowl. "Well, if you already heard the news then that's even more of a reason for you to start running."
"The name is Jared."
' Why is this kid still talking to me? Does he think this is a game?'
"Ok? You understand that this isn't some elaborate prank, right? You need to get home, now."
"I'm thirteen." Jared continued.
"Didn't think I asked?" quipped Yidhra.
"And I'm auditioning to be your apprentice."
'Ok, maybe my blood cells really were poisonous.'
"I think you need to see a doctor, maybe even a Transcriber. I think your brain is actually damaged." Taking a seat and opening her journal, Yidhra continued to look through her notes.
' If Black Treasury are the ones setting the stage, then I need to limit my involvement. Getting put on their hit list alongside the Union would be death.'
"Today was our family gathering," said Jared.
"What is he going on about now?" mocked Yidhra.
'Is he still going on with his interview?'
She set down her bowl.
"Well, more like a once-a-year event. Members of our family come together and indoctrinate their kids into the family," Jared explained.
'Is he describing a yearly core awakening ceremony? If I remember correctly, kids part of a specific family would spend most of their early years understanding and learning the basic concepts of their family till it's programmed in the subconscious. Then they do some ritual to awaken it.'
Jared got up from the dirt, making his way toward the Journalist. Light cyan light flickered in his eyes in long intervals.
"Those guys must have known we were there. There has to be something more going on. Everything turned out too good for them," Jared said, voice low.
'Ok, his brain is fried… But… maybe he's not wrong.'
Inches away from her, his breathing went shallow. Sweat beaded at his temples. What color he had was draining fast.
Yidhra's eyes snapped up.
"I want to know. I'm..."
Jumping from her seat, she tackled Jared.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Flashes of light filled the air behind them as more shots punched through the air, biting into the tree behind him.
Running footsteps closed in.
She clamped one hand over his mouth and pressed the other over her own, both of them barely breathing behind the bush.
A voice cracked first. " WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING AT! AMMO ISN'T CHEAP."
"You didn't hear that?" said another.
A third, unbothered. "Soup feels cold to me."
The first voice snapped, "Did you forget our orders?!"
Three pairs of legs appeared. With her hand over the kid's mouth and one over her own, The journalist found herself craving to breathe. Despite the turmoil, to Jared, everything else ceased to matter as he gazed into Yidhra's finally revealed face.
'Shit! Should I leave? What about the information they could have…'
The three spread out, talking, one of them scanning the ground.
"We're the first ones here. Now that the barrier is down our only goal is to get to the hideout," the first voice said.
"What type of guild member are you?! Who follows everything in the books? You must be new to the guild," the second voice shot back.
'Crap! Can I really outrun them with this kid? And if I do get away, would they be able to piece together who I am? ' Thought Yidhra.
The first voice groaned. "Ugh, there is no point trying to reason with you. Samil, pick up the bullet shells."
"Already on it," Samil replied.
'Those were bullets?! This has to be deeper than what I have already gathered. If they resorted to breaking the Anti-Arms Agreement between guilds then…'
Yidhra turned to look at Jared, whose breathing seemed to have steadied.
'I just need more information. I'm a little too deep now to turn back.'