Isekais Don't Exist, You're Just Trapped in a Social Experiment

12: Not On Your Schedule

"What are you talking about? This is no time to be afraid, we must keep moving!" He tries to convince you, even pulling on your arm as much as he can without hurting you in the process.

"No, you don't get it! These people are smart. Whatever you're trying to do right now, they already know your plan. We should stay in the area," You explain quickly, feeling his force relax with your explanation. "I can't tell what they're up to, but this reeks of something having gone wrong on their end. They're not perfect, but this feels too much like a mess they're trying to clean up."

This is the second time they send you away somewhere with an unexpected companion. You are the one that knows they normally send you somewhere Tighnari is. They constantly push you to him. His visit to San Francisco, when they sent him to you, was a mistake.

So this had to be an attempt at sending Cyno back to where he was abducted- a botched return like their attempt to send you back home the last time.

They could just fire up the soundwave that knocks things out in a selective vicinity, can't they? They used it to put us out when we were in the testing labs, or whatever that white sanitized place was.

You shake that thought off. If they could, they would have already done it by now. That means there's a reason they can't. There's a reason they have to come get you by foot.

There's a reason they didn't immediately have Tighnari sent back the same day he woke up in San Francisco.

Theoretically, you could end this conflict quickly if you surrender and let them take you. They probably want to set things "right" by returning you home. Even if they were to prod and poke you a little more...maybe they really wouldn't have let you die when you were being strangled before. You initially assumed they would, but no one goes through trouble like this for something expendable.

And thus, the choice in your next action lies with chasing your desire or abandoning it.

Every time a hot breeze kicks up sand, you feel the fabric of your top brush against your torn skin. It pulls gently at the dried blood that's coagulated into hard patches around your waist and chest, reminding you of the one you've been waiting to see again. The one you'd be endangering others to catch a glimpse of- if you decide to be a little selfish.

Although you want to see him badly, you know the option you'll default to by nature. Cyno, Fatima, and the other Eremites shouldn't be dragged into your problems anymore than they already are.

It's time to let go of the fantasy and get back to reality.

Your chest clenches painfully with your final decision. You'll head back to a nice home, your pulse pounding job, your bad habits, and joyless endeavors. Security without comfort.

They'll stop if I walk up to one of them, right?

"Change of plan," you say, turning around in the other directions to scout for the best avenue towards the battle. "I think I know why they're following us. I know it's dangerous, but they'll leave you guys alone if we-"

By the time you turn back around to him, you see Akeem's body dropping to your feet following a series of strange noises. In surprise, you nearly fall stumbling back from him.

It takes a minute for you to process the red holes in his backside, soaking into his clothing and turning it a familiar scarlet shade you're beginning to get used to.

"Hey!"

The voice in the direction straight behind where Akeem was standing comes from a man in gear quite unlike the setting around you. He's not an Eremite and doesn't look like he's tried to disguise himself as one. He looks like he's part of the military, shaking as he keeps his pistol pointed at you. For someone holding a weapon, the expression of fear in his eyes is unusual.