Underdogs

TWENTY-ONE

❝The lesson you need to learn right now can't be taught with words, only with action.❞ ㅡ Levi Ackerman

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Chapter twenty-one:

RISK IT ALL

Galene was perched on a balcony, legs dangling over the railing as she smoked calmly. There was a distant look in her eyes as she stared straight ahead, a detached expression on her face as she blinked it away.

"Do you regret it?" came a voice she knew all too well.

Glancing at Johan from the corner of her eye, she waited for the young man to join her. He stopped beside her, way too cautious ㅡ or not reckless enough  ㅡ to sit on the railing. Placing both hands on the metal surface, he looked at her with tired eyes. There were dark shades underlying them; he still had trouble finding the peace of mind that would allow him to slip into unconsciousness.

Not that she was any different.

Galene sighed through her nose, and some smoke made its way out. "Saying I do would make me look heroic, but I would also be lying," she whispered as her gaze got lost in the rocks that marked the end of the city. "I can't bring myself to feel regretful for all the deaths I've caused. In this shithole, you can't afford caring for others; that's what gets people killed. I am alive, and that's enough for me. If it makes me a selfish person, so be it."

He seemed to mull over her words. "I don't think it makes you selfish. You're human, G. And this place... Well, no one is going to look after you so you may as well worry only about yourself. I'm sure they were just thinking about getting out alive as well ㅡ they didn't care if the rest made it out or not. They made the decision to follow you; you're not responsible for their fates."

Galene didn't reply for some seconds. "Caring about someone else's safety got me into that ugly situation," she confessed. "But I don't regret that choice, either."

She threw the rest of her cigarette to the distant ground and got off the railing, landing on her feet next to him.

"We're so used to how this city works that we've grown distant and inhuman in a way," he said before smiling softly. "It takes a miracle for us to be able to drop our walls and let someone in. And when it happens, we try too hard to fight it."

Her eyes narrowed, and she gave him a knowing look. "We have to fight it. People are selfish and cunning; don't think for a moment there's someone out there who'd risk their life to save yours."

He frowned, as always unpleased with her cynical attitude. "You saved me."

Pausing, Galene clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned to look at him. 

She shook her head, and her shoulders relaxed as her features softened ever so slightly. "No, I didn't. You try to deny it, but you are the same as me; your will to survive is stronger than petty, righteous beliefs. That's why you're alive today."

Instead of feeling offended, the young man chuckled and shook his head in apprehension.

"What?" asked the woman, rather irked by his reaction.

"I hope one day you'll cross paths with someone who will change the way you see everything," he commented lightly. "You'll find out there's more to life than just surviving."