Experiment

1 - Raphael

Was, a scientist and inventor.

"Amazing! I never thought I'd run into one! Especially now that uh..." she cut herself off

"...Especially now that most scientists have been killed by their own creations..." I finished her sentence.

"Yeah... And because of that those 'creations' are roaming around causing fires and chaos." She replied in a slightly sad tone.

It was silent for a moment, when Cleo started to speak again.

"Thank you for saving me the other day. I thought my story was done because of that." She smiled as she patted my shoulder.

"No problem. It's what I had to do, and you did the same thing to me earlier, so, no biggie." I smiled back. "Thanks as well."

She smiled. "Let's continue this talk later. My camp is nearby. Let's go, I'm taking you in with me, if that's okay with you."

I replied with no hesitation. "It's fine with me! I-I mean... I-It's fine with me, it's been l-lonely having to survive in a world like this where you're not sure people still exist here..."

"Don't mind your tone, excited, happy or sad, whatever tone you want your voice to sound like, it's fine. I felt excited to see you too, so, it's only natural." She told me genuinely, she seemed trustworthy.

I'm the one that's not, aren't I.

With her signaling me to follow her, we arrived at her base camp a few minutes later.

———————

We arrived at an abandoned warehouse, nothing that special, although, I'm surprised she was able to survive in a world like this all alone in a place like this.

"It's nothing special, just my family's old warehouse. Doesn't look like much but it's sturdy and strong enough to hold back those experiments." She told me while looking in some boxes.

A few seconds later, she threw me a bag of a cinnamon roll.

"It's all yours. You must be starving." She said as she opened a water bottle that was almost empty.

"We can share this, you know." I offered

She looked at me and smiled. "I like that you're humble, but, it's yours. If you can't eat it all, save it for tomorrow." She advised.

I looked at the bag, then back at her. Knowing that I can't do anything, I opened it and started eating. It wasn't too sweet, and it's wasn't too tasteless either. I'd love to buy some pastries from the same shop she got this from in the future.

"If there is one..." I mumbled quietly to myself as I took another bite. I don't remember the last time I had something sweet.

"Here, luckily I have another sleeping bag." She opened and spread out a white sleeping bag beside me.

"Thank you.." I said quietly as I moved myself from sitting on a crate to the mattress.

"So, is it delicious?" She asked me as she sat beside me.

I tilted my head in confusion. Did she mean comfortable?

"The cinnamon roll."

"Oh, yeah, it is. The flavor is balanced. Being someone whose tongue starts to hurt when eating too much sweets, this seems perfect for me." I smiled.

She laughed a bit, then dragged another mattress beside mine, and laid down on it.

"I was never happy being in a world where sometimes you think you're the only one left." She started.

"I'm glad I found you." She looked at me and smiled faintly.

"Same." I replied to agree with her. "It's been so long since I've met another human being, a real one and not experimented on. It's also been uncomfortable sleeping alone. I never minded the cold floor or uncomfortable boxes, it was being alone that bothered me, so I'm glad to have met you too. Now, I don't have to be alone." I smiled back at her.

"You're a scientist, but you don't talk formally, and you know how to flatter girls. How many girlfriends have you won?" She teased me.

"H-Hey! Those were genuine feelings!" I blushed, looking the other way as she laughed.

"Ahahaha! I'm joking, I'm joking."

"Hmph."

It was silent again, what could only be heard were the sounds of me chewing my bread.

"Yeah, you don't have to be alone anymore. You have me, and I'm going to sleep beside you, so you don't feel uncomfortable anymore." She told me. "But of course, there has to be some distance." She added.

I laughed. "Haha, if it's not okay with you, you can sleep further away from me. As long as there's someone here, I won't be uncomfortable."

"It's fine, it's been a bit long since I've slept beside someone too." She said as she looked at the ceiling.

It was quiet again, 'til I've decided I've had enough cinnamon bread for tonight.

"Let's call it a night?" I asked her as I wrapped my half-eaten cinnamon roll back in its bag.

"Sure." She replied.

She closed her eyes, as I laid down.

It's been so long since I've met another person, and if I did, they would either go missing, or you'd have to helplessly watch them get murdered by those once human victims. It felt relaxing and safe to be with someone again, and someone as reliable as Cleo. I usually lost hope tomorrow would exist, but now, I feel much more enlightened now that I know I'm not alone anymore.

I settled down, lowering my guard, knowing I wouldn't suddenly get attacked by ravens, I closed my eyes, feeling safe after a long time.

"...Good night, Cleo."