The City - PewdieCry

32: A Small Moment

"You seemed surprised, Pewdie." Matt said, standing next to me with his arms folded over his chest. I only gaped, staring at the lobby and shaking my head.

"I've never seen him like this." I admitted, and Matt only chuckled softly.

"Usually, he makes the decisions and this is my job. Its not rare to see him this way, it happens occasionally, but with recent events it doesn't surprise me that he needed to take the reins for awhile." Matt explained, and I could only nod.

Cry was standing atop a table, ordering people around as though he came into this world giving orders. At a distance, it would seem disorganized and chaotic, but he was careful in the way he did things. He held his arms out like a director, pointing for certain people to take things to different places, bags and boxes of items made small enough to carry packed with as much could be managed. The materials from the kitchen were being moved, and carefully of course. Food that could be harvested was, and the live animals were being moved outdoors to get moving easier. Cry had several people working to get everything from the basement as going in there made the masked man break out into tears, and it was a bit odd for everyone to see. He wore the mask, seemed emotionless, but the comfort and support from the gang was incredible, and everyone was ready to make him feel better.

He waved his arms about directing, moving, shouting, ordering, checking over things, organizing where what items should go. Any soldiers that had already gotten their own things ready were asked to move them downstairs in the lobby and into an area easily accessible to grab and go when the time was right. He had become overly focused on the task at hand, working tirelessly to make sure that all was prepared and that those who weren't going to fight would be safe no matter the outcome of the battle.

He hadn't taken Wilson's leaving very well, or any of the veterans. He had cried the entire walk home, and kept his entire face hidden behind his mask rather than keeping his bright grin open to everyone. He took up leader mode and seemed to have forgotten everything that made him sad and delved deep into focus on work. He hadn't slept in several hours while most of us had gotten sleep over night. He had been up moving, watching, thinking. His brain was on a single track at the moment, and it had no brakes installed. It was a bit alarming to be the one to stand back and watch his exhaustion and efforts unfold, but Matt seemed to trust him and he turned to confront the search group that had gone out the night before and was now returning.

I eavesdropped a bit, and as it turned out they had found a nice place that was sheltered against all odds that the bomb in the city would go off. As much as I disliked the idea of losing this city and the people in it who were about to risk their lives for it, I had a gut feeling that this wouldn't go as planned. I knew that if M truly planned on setting off that bomb then he would risk every soldier able to breathe just to do it. Suicide missions didn't gain their title without reason, and I scowled at the thought of M's stupidity. Part of me wanted to fight him myself and beat some sense into him.

The other part was jumping in excitement like a small child. I regretted nothing coming to this city, and I adored it almost as much as the people who lived here. Yet, I knew that the outside world was where I was raised, and where most of my life had taken place up until recently. The raw country and sheer, blunt horrors that were the reality outside a sheltered, contaminated city was what I was used to, and by all means was I excited to get back to it. I was ready to show Cry that I could do things on my own, and I could prove it easily in a familiar place. The larger group would be nice too, as defense of one another was vitally important considering that other groups didn't take politely to a weakened one, usually picking them off first. There were many groups of bandits outside this tattered city, but with a group well trained in combat and all carrying weapons that we knew how to use, we wouldn't run into many problems.