Mad God's Love [Dark, enemies-to-lovers BL]

4 C 1

I reached the manned gates and had to do long and tedious entry process. Since I didn't possess official papers of any kind, I rattled off information of one of my affluent clients. Not contact information, god forbid. Just something I've glimpsed in the man's wallet unsupervised. Old databases had collapsed for the most part, electronics couldn't be spared for each little whim. Documentation was iffy at best.

I should have just looked for holes in the decrepit buildings at the perimeter further out to avoid all this hassle, but didn't want to strain my barely able body. The process considerably shortened after I'd noticed clerk eyeing the pear, which I'd relinquished into the care of state.

I wasn't entirely surprised to find myself in same city I started out at. It was the biggest hub in the region and there was definitely safety in numbers. Small towns disappeared off the map at an alarming rate, whilst big ones remained. Population in those boomed due to orders of mandatory evacuation. However, coercion ended up being unnecessary. Most people voluntarily abandoned their livelihood for shabby shelter away from the newly untamed wilderness.

Double amount of people crammed into same or even smaller plot of land, as the lavish suburbs have suffered the fate of the surrounding villages and ended up on the other side of the fence. Buildings grew taller to accommodate everyone, not that everyone was lucky enough to get a room. There were slums, surrounding the bastion of civilisation on all sides. Nobody who had a choice wanted to be anywhere near the outer wall. In other words, home sweet home.

It took a fair bit of effort and time to reach familiar neighbourhood. Sun was already setting and I was thirsty, hungry and exhausted. So, the usual.

Pushed on the peeling blue door and hobbled in. The stillness told me the most others were already out working, legally or otherwise, so I turned for the stairs towards my room. Hobbling up those final steps left me quivering and completely wiped out. Knowing finish line was so close made me feel all the hurts anew and at maximum intensity. Opened my room's door to find... a bare mattress. I sighed, and fell face first into it anyway. Rest now, find out later. At least it still had this much.

The later didn't want to wait, "Who keeps leaving the doors open? Were you born on the bus?"

I replied without energy to move, "I might have?" It was an ongoing joke among us, most of whom were orphans. Glad some things didn't change, even if buses were a thing of past.

"Oh. My. God. Ruby!" a girl shouted with all her might and I swear flakes fell off the ceiling. "Ruby hurry up and get your ass in here! Now!"

The happy hops soon landed on the mattress besides me and I could not contain joy, either. Sure, jostling hurt but that was some distant and irrelevant sensation. Clasped my dear friend and saw tears rolling down her face, too. Finally, I was home. Squeezed her to me tighter.

"Where have you been, we worried so much!" the ball of energy kept clamouring too loud.

"So much you threw out all my stuff?" I grouched. "Rude."

Even more impudently, knife bearing man barged into the room just to stop and stand perfectly still. Right until he slumped backwards into a jamb as though legs gave up on being there and offering support.

Amber paid no attention to the convoluted process of fainting, all her attention was concentrated on injustice I've suffered. Her nose crinkled as she shared the gossip, "That's Peach, you know how jealous of you she is."

"Oh, that bitch!"

"I know, right!" Amber was as outraged as me as we delved deeper into the blather.

Red-haired man finally regained use of his extremities and fell into a hug, too. Sans the knife, I was happy to notice.

Redhead muttered, "I have some of it, but I didn't know what was yours. We will get all the rest later."