The World's End | ONC 2024 ✔

ੈ✩‧₊˚ |𝟬𝟲| 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲 & 𝗣𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

"Mama won't be home today, but she'll come back tomorrow," Axelle told us, "But Baby Alissa will be thrilled to have some visitors. She's been inside for so long. She'll want to see more people."

There she is again, talking about Baby Alissa. I hoped that meeting this small girl would be worth it because, from the way Axelle described her, this little girl was a ray of sunshine.

Yes, that was very much intended. Sunshine in a place of no sunshine. Very funny.

"Keira, could you get us to the market center again? I'm not entirely familiar with this side of town," Wylan asked and I nodded curtly. I stole a glance at the huge fences that rose thousands of feet. It was a little bit farther of course, and we couldn't see anything past it.

However, if you looked closely, the clouds covered the entirety of Veridonia, but on the other side, there were small twinkling things in the sky. They were like diamonds, shining. They were a part of the outside world, and I couldn't help but wonder, why didn't they have them here?

We continued our journey through the dimly lit streets. The darkness pressed in around us, and I took the less-known shortcut to the market as Axelle and Wylan followed me.

Soon we reached the market, and the emptiness of it was familiar to me even if it wasn't familiar to the others. The stillness was unsurprisingly beautiful, and I knew that there was nothing that could be of danger to me now. Apart from the Disease of course, which was probably killing me from the inside.

Wylan took charge from there, and I took the gun from Axelle, noticing her slight falter as the sprint changed to a run. As brave as she was, she wasn't strong enough to hold onto the gun for that long. She gave me a small smile of gratitude as I held the gun on my shoulder, positioning it so it didn't rest on my shoulder bone.

Wylan led us through the more rich part of the city, where the middle and upper classes lived. We arrived at Wylan's doorstep, a modest yet sturdy structure that reminded me of my old house. It was very similar to this one, but it was painted green when my brother was obsessed with artistic nonsense.

Wylan pushed open the door and ushered us inside. The inside of the house was dimly lit, the flickering glow of the candles being the only source of light in the entire house. Wylan's dad was sitting in the middle of the room, his feet on the floor. He looked up and smiled at his son, but suddenly his expression changed when he saw Axelle and me behind him, with me holding a gun.

"Son, what happened? Who are they?" he asked Wylan, struggling to get off the floor. Wylan ran over to help him and pointed at us.

"That's Axelle Henderson and this is Keira," he explained as his dad narrowed his eyes on Axelle. I understood why Wylan had to say Axelle's full name. The Henderson part held a lot of importance.

"Father, we need to leave immediately. A Major Verid was going to detain us to get you and Madame Henderson in trouble for selfish reasons," Wylan explained as Axelle nodded.

His dad's gaze swept over us, lingering on each of our faces in turn. "How does this girl have anything to do with this?" he questioned Wylan curiously because Wylan very conveniently made it seem like I was randomly pushed into this mess.

"Well... she is actually um—" he began, but I cut him off.

"My brother was taken to the mental facility for the protests a few years ago. My parents were killed as punishment," I told him emotionlessly as everyone's eyes burned on me.

How tragic.

"Father, the Verids can come here and it won't be very safe for you here. Let's pack some things and leave," Wylan pressed as his father's eyes searched the room.