C.R.A.N.E (Strange Editing WiP)

Chapter Twenty One: Mirror

To prepare for war.

"Well, another haiku, huh?" I said, nervously chuckling.

The mirror suddenly cracked. The writing was still visible and readable.

"Who are you talking to, Roukan?"

I turned around and Trevor was there, with one raised eyebrow, arms crossed and looking very confused.

"Uhh...heh...just, you know, talking to myself. Thinking stuff through." I lied, pretending nothing happened, but was breathing heavily.

Trevor came closer, still with a concerned look.

"Were you anti-social as a kid?" He asked, out of the blue.

"Huh? Well, I was quite an introvert." I replied, smiling and scratching the back of my neck.

"Don't worry. Talking to yourself can be a good sign. It's a way to help you think better and it means you know yourself very well." He informed, tapping his head with his fingers.

"How are you feeling?" He asked kindly.

"Fatigued...and afraid." I replied.

"You should really take it easy. You know you can't push yourself too much. Your health is the most important thing."

"No it isn't." I said.

"Excuse me?"

"Accalia is my number one priority."

"Yes, Roukan. I understand. My children are my number one priority as well, but how are you going to save her if you can't even move, huh?"

He was right, I guess I should be more careful.

"We're getting out of here soon. Is everyone ready?" I asked.

"Well, not really."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Joseph and Blair don't want to leave."

If I recall correctly, Joe was the Veteran and Blair was the welder.

"How come?"

"Well, they don't....how do I put this...trust you."

"Of course, we just need a little chat, that's all."

"All right, see you outside." Trevor waved and left.

I turned back to the mirror and it was back to normal. No cracks or blood written on it. Strange.

When I stepped outside, everyone was together near the gate to go out. However, the group were separated into two. Well, it was more like everyone versus Joe and Blair.

I knew something bad was going on.

"Are you crazy!? This is the safest place there is! We go out there, and we will die in a split second!"

"What are you talking about? We're slowly running out of food here, this place is so old it's going to break down any minute and worst of all, C.R.A.N.E are going to be here before you know it!"

I walked over to them. Aatu and Joe were both arguing one on one while everyone else was watching.

I stood over next to Apollo and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's going on, Apollo?"

"Oh, hello Roukan! There seems to be a little problem here. Joe and Blair don't want to leave." He said, chuckling at the end.

"How come?"

"Ask them."

I went over to Aatu and stood next to him.

"How come they don't want to leave, Aatu?"

"These idiots think that it's more safer to stay here than move on. But sooner or later, this place will be destroyed by them whether they like it or not." He exclaimed.

Blair poked his head out behind Joe and quietly said, "Maybe Aatu's right, J-"

"Shut up, Blair! If you even think about going on their side-" He shouted.

"Woah, chill the fuck out old man! You elders really like to keep your ground-"

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" I finally yelled and the two finally kept their mouths shut.

"This is not gonna work! This fighting and non-stop yelling is not going to help us survive, right?"

They both looked angry, but both apologized to me.

I took a deep breath, calmed myself down and turned to Joe.

"Okay listen, if you don't want to come, you don't have to. But, just note this; You can hide from them, but it won't stop them from raiding these buildings. It won't stop them from taking our food and supplies. It won't stop them taking away the ones who are important to us and it won't stop them from taking our lives. I believe if we work together, we can stop them. We can stop them and make this world better. Plus, the more people, the better."

Joe was quiet for a few seconds, then started to laugh.

"You stupid kids! How in the world are we going to stop them? What makes you think we can actually face them off?" He asked, walking closer to me to make me feel more intimidated.

"Faith, Joe."

He huffed and stared down.

"Roukan, you're one hundred percent right. I'm with you." Aatu said.

"And so are we." Trevor said and him and Serena stood next to me.

"Me too." Susan said and did the same.

"Me three." Apollo said.

"You all actually trust in this kid?" He exclaimed.

"I'd trust him with all my life." Trevor said, then smiled at me.

Joe was again quiet, turned around and looked back at the old motel.

"Fine. We'll go with you." He said, then he turned back to me.

"But under one condition."

"Of course he was going to say something like that." Aatu mumbled.

"If anyone gets hurt, taken or worse, then you must take all responsibility. You are responsible for this group, to our decisions from our worst cases." He declared.

This was a massive commitment. He's basically telling me to lead this group, and I was never put into something like this. I didn't know what to choose, but I had to trust my gut at that moment.

"Deal."