~ What I see in you might be an illusion ~ full story

What we lost

The air reeked of charred wood and other materials. Black angry smoke rose to the sky and it was a clear statement. The fire was still ongoing, raging inside and outside, destroying everything they had built together.
Had it been an act of vengeance? Probably. He and Clown had scammed the others, gaining their hearts every time.

The fun house, the casino.

They lost so much and that evoked such an action.
This is lifesteal after all. No rules apply. Kill or be killed. Trust, friendship – foolish to think about.
He bit his bottom lip deep in thought.

What now?

One would say it was fitting to see everything you live for crumble to dust and if seeing this gave him a simple heartache what would it inflict on ...

There was movement to his left. Of course Clown wasn't far from him. It's what they do – stick together, even if Branzy couldn't contribute anything to a fight.
The other stood still and Branzy tried to keep his eyes down and not to stare .
Clown just lost everything he had.
He looked tense and he couldn't even tell if Clown was breathing right now. The others face still hidden behind the stupid – yes, stupid because he couldn't read him with it on! - mask.

"We can rebuilt it.", Branzy heard himself saying without proper thought about it. "Or create something else. A fresh start."

Shut up, Branzy!

His words had an effect at least. Clown was staring him down now, still unmoving and way to intimidating that he feared he'd said something to anger his partner.
It became uncomfortable pretty fast. The silence was killing his last nerves and Clown ... suddenly turned away from him, walking into the woods, leaving a dumbfounded Branzy behind.

One last look at the remaining ruins of the casino and then he followed him.

"Where are we going? If you think about finding them ... that's ..."
Branzy stopped with a sigh.
Again, nothing came from the other. Was he even listening?

"Clown, are you listening? It's not a good idea right now. We have nothing to ..."

"We need shelter. Somewhere else far away from here. Whoever did this might still be lingering around, Branzy. So, stop talking.", Clown hissed at him and that did shut him up.

Shelter and regaining some sort of balance again sounded wonderful but the venom in Clowns voice made his skin tingle in a wrong way. He knew it wasn't his fault and his anger was not aimed at him but it still made him feel small.
He couldn't offer any comfort – no inspiring words or gestures – so all he did was follow quietly.

They seem to walk for hours – or that's how it felt for Branzy at least. When Clown said far away he meant it for sure.
No one was following them otherwise the assassin would have taken note on that.

Alone. In the middle of nowhere.

'How far is far away?' he wanted to ask his companion but decided against it. Anything could trigger Clown right now and he really didn't want to be on the receiving end. He still harbored a healthy dose of fear when it came to Clown – anyone would, really – but he wouldn't just stop trusting him now.

Branzy stared at his back without realizing the distance between them getting further and further – not on purpose though.

"Hey Clown – uh ... wait." why did his voice sound so shaky and unsure all of a sudden. Good god. "Aren't we far enough already? Look, we could build a shelter right here. We got a lot of wood and ... stuff."

Very smooth.

It sounded like a desperate try to not have to walk anymore. His feet hurt, yes, but that was not it.

"We aren't hunted so ... let's rest and then think of a plan."
Clown did stop with him but he looked just as tense and restless as before and it rubbed off at Branzy too.

"Can I – do something to help you?", he asked carefully in his soft voice with a smile on his lips. It wasn't helping them with Clown being as tense as a bowstring ready to snap any moment and he just couldn't tell what was on the others mind. No face to see, no mimic to read beside the evil grin that didn't tell him much.

" No." Simple as that. One word. Nothing more.