Day: 3186
Days Left: 2294
Lives Saved: 17
Between the outermost wall of The Warren were mainly barracks, supply huts, and defences in case anyone breached the first wall. Up high on the battlements, guards patrolled, keeping an eye on the refugees on the other side, though a few looked down and pointed at Henry and Nia to one another. A few guards as they passed congratulated them on getting the citizenship, after first saluting Kai, their superior officer, in respect and returned to their duties. They reached the next wall, smaller than the outer wall but still significantly fortified and defended by another patrol of guards. After Kai gave the order, the heavy gate was lifted, and they walked through. Henry and Nia had not seen The Warren in its full glory due to the height of the walls, with only a few buildings reaching tall enough to poke above into view on the outskirts. Even when they were looking down on the city from far away, it could not compare to seeing the impressive size and sight when walking through the streets themselves. Though Henry had been in a city or towns and villages before, he had no memories of it, so being in this lively place filled with buildings and bustling streets was strange, almost like stepping into a fairy tale. All of the buildings were made from wood harvested from the nearby forest, the bark an unnatural neon green, causing the city to be a vibrant emerald. At first, it was slightly painful to the eyes at how colourful everything was compared to the dull and bleakness of the rest of the Eternal Abyss, but Henry's eyes eventually adjusted, no longer suffering from a mild headache.
Kai started the tour, seeming to be well-rehearsed and was perhaps the usual person to give the newbies the induction. The city had multiple walls, marking each time it expanded with the older buildings in the centre and the new ones in the outer layer, just like a tree and its increasing layers. These walls, whilst still having a few guards patrolling on the battlements, were open for people to go in and out through the gates. At each gate to a new wall were numbers which Kai explained was the population of the city at the time of each expansion. When they reached the very innermost wall, the number was under fifty and had a large sign, weathered through the years. 'Welcome to The Warren' was in faded paint with a few child-like drawings surrounding it. At the bottom, it had a list of signatures, the original founders of the Warren. Henry immediately saw Corinna's name, her handwriting so neat and uniform, as well a few other names of people he had met or heard of like Kai, Lili, Calixte, Alfreda, Talon, and Betty. Nia subtly motioned to another name 'Jules', the man that had been leading the protests against Corinna. It seemed that he had been telling the truth that he had been an original founder.
Henry followed Kai's tour on the map that he had been given, all of the notable places and landmarks marked on the handwritten booklet. Kai showed them the food hall where they would get all of their meals, either eating there or getting takeout with food tokens; small pieces of carved wood that could be exchanged, more used to prevent starvation and control how much everyone was eating and not run out of food, though Kai explained that you were free to exchange them with others if you wanted, though there was no currency in the Warren; all supplies were free, but documented to ensure that no one was hoarding or monopolising certain goods. Kai guided them around the city, showing them where everything was and how it operated, giving a quick explanation as Henry was still exhausted and would need another nap before meeting Corinna later in the evening.
It was an endless bombardment of information paired with awe and amazement that such a feat could be accomplished in the Eternal Abyss; it was too much for Henry to process all at once and he was left speechless for the majority of the time so Nia asked questions for him, despite the fact that she would be leaving the Abyss tomorrow.
No, stop thinking about that.
Stop thinking about it.
There were a few bathhouses to accommodate the growing population, each one of them with communal baths and private shower rooms with hot water. There were small parks and games rooms, libraries, small sports pitches, vendors of people giving their crafts for free that they made for fun, carts of supplies being pulled by monsters from one side of the city to another. They passed someone using their tall monster form to paint the roof tiles of people's homes. Another used their monster form to heat up metal and sculpt them into tools and pieces for construction. At one of the courtyards, there was a yoga and mediation session being held, helping people ease down and relax after the blood moon. People walked on by, chatting to their friends with wooden cups of what seemed to be tea, the smell similar to an Abyss plant, perhaps using the leaves to resemble tea. Such small details and implements made this place alive, to help you forget that you were not a prisoner in a monster-infested world. Henry could see how easy it was to feel that there was nothing outside of those many walls, how distant they were from the rest of the Abyss that was suffering and struggling to survive. Because no one was struggling here, and they were not surviving but living, so peacefully and happily. And Henry got to live here at his first time of trying. He felt a pang of guilt thinking back to how many people were waiting, and how long they had been camping outside for their time to get in and yet he was chosen because he was Corinna's relative. If he wasn't, would he still have been chosen? Was it fair? Maybe he should have just asked to meet her and wait to actually live in the Warren just like everyone else.
Nia gave Henry a gentle nudge as Kai had asked him a question. Henry snapped out of his spiralling trance and Kai repeated himself.
"Do you want to check out the Land of the Lost?" he asked.
"Uh, yes, yes!" Henry replied, putting on a smile. He wondered if he didn't show enough enthusiasm and gratitude they would kick him out and find someone else, so from that point on, Henry made a laudable effort in engagement. Deep down, he was excited and inquisitive, but it was difficult to show that when there was also so much anxiety bubbling up and waiting to take over; about Nia leaving, about meeting Corinna, about what if all of this was going to go wrong and-
"And here we have the requisition office," said Kai.
The requisition office was situated nearby the Land of the Lost, which was one of the more unique Land of the Lost's in the Abyss as it was initially underground, the portals hidden from the world until at some point the ground caved in and created a deep crater of discarded mountains pile of items. Stairs had been dug into the sides to allow people to go down and scavenge but it was cordoned off for the general public. Instead, you would go to the requisition office to order your desired items that had been collected from the Land of the Lost. The whole city had been built around the Land of the Lost, likely to keep possession of such a valuable asset and control the majority of the sector's resources, a not so easy feat to accomplish what with how large the place was.
They entered the office and inside was a counter with a large heavy book, likely a record of stock, and a bell to call one of the workers. There were a few shelves of smaller items on show, though with a sign signifying that they were just display items. Everything else must have been in a back room, Henry thought.
Kai hesitated, his face wincing as he pressed the bell gently, the silvery sound barely audible. "Don't want to get scolded for ringing it too loudly," he explained with a chuckle.
Then, from behind the counter jumped a small creature that pounced on top with a slight trill. It was some form of green fox with a large fluffy tail and a gemstone in its forehead. The carbuncle stretched out on the counter as if waking from a long nap, then looked from Kai to the bell.
"No!" Kai warned the carbuncle. "No-"
The carbuncle, in vengeance from being awaken from its slumber, batted the bell violently until the door at the back swung open and out stormed a young woman.
"I heard you the first time," she spoke in a quiet and contained voice and yet with an underlying malicious threat.
"It was-" Kai was about to accuse the carbuncle but the creature had retreated away to the other side of the counter, innocently scratching its ears. Sighing, Kai dropped it and continued, "I'm here with the newbie to pick up some stuff." He motioned behind himself to Henry.
The woman glanced over, her arms folded, giving him a studying gaze, and then to Nia.
"This is Rin," Kai introduced. "She's in charge of this place. Anything you need and want, just put in a request here."
The woman was relatively short, with long straight ink-black hair that reached almost down to her hips. Half of her face was covered by her hair, though when she moved slightly, Henry could see that parts of her skin were flaking off and folded like paper, no it was paper, caused by a bad mask transformation perhaps.
Henry realised that it would be wise to be in Rin's good books, as she would be deciding if Henry would receive any future supplies and goods from the Land of the Lost. To survive anywhere, connections is what you needed the most and Henry was now finally turned on to get to work and sort out a strategy of living in this new place. Though, being a relative of the mayor was perhaps as great as connections could get already.
"Hi, I'm Henry Best," said Henry, able to snap into a friendly and welcoming smile as he offered a handshake to the woman. "Nice to meet you."
Rin seemed surprised by such a formal greeting, and responded with a weak and hesitant handshake. Her sleeve sliding away, it revealed what seemed to be words on her arm that morphed and changed like blottings of ink, fading into new ones. Seeing that Henry noticed, Rin quickly let go before mumbling, "you're Corinna's cousin?"
"Yep, that's me," Henry forced a slight chuckle, hoping he had not appeared rude for staring at her arm, nervously scratching the back of his head. "And this is Nia."
Nia gave a slight handwave, unsure whether to also give a handshake.
Rin looked at her, confused until Kai explained that Nia was not given citizenship as she was free to leave Abyss tomorrow.
Henry's smile almost faltered at that reminder, however the conversation was saved as the carbuncle wandered over, pawing over the bell again.
"He's been a real shit lately," said Rin. "If you have brought anything shiny or valuable with you, keep an eye on it or this bastard will try to steal it."
"Aw, he's so cute," said Nia, before weirding herself out as she realised that this was a person transformed. "Why haven't you kicked him out then?"
"He lost his mind before any of us met him," explained Kai. "But he's totally harmless apart from the obsession with shiny stuff."
"Tried kicking him out but he somehow finds his way back," added Rin. "So, we just hired him instead."
The carbuncle looked innocently at Henry with its cute large reflective eyes before batting the metal bell again, creating an insufferable din. Rin picked the fox-creature up and moved it off of the counter.
"Anyway, you're here for clothes, right?" she asked, the question for Henry but she addressed it to Kai. "We've already sent the welcome package to the house." She finally looked to Henry asked, "what are your sizes?"
After Henry told her, she headed back to the back and returned with a small pile of clothes, mostly of generic t-shirts, trousers, and jumpers along with undergarments, pyjamas and a coat. "When you have more time, you can request something more your style," she explained. "But here are some basics to get you started." Rin turned to Nia. "Will you need anything?"
"Thank you, but I'll be fine with what I'm wearing," said Nia. "It's only for a day."
Only a day. No, not even that anymore. It was a night. She would be gone before midday tomorrow.
"If you're sure." Rin shrugged. She made a record of the clothes she had given Henry and Kai suggested that they head to the house. Henry thanked Rin, ensuring to show his appreciation and say goodbye, the woman giving a weak and disinterested wave in return as she focused on her work.
Kai led Henry and Nia through more streets, down what seemed more of a residential area and were one of the first few houses that were built in The Warren. They stopped in front of one of them, which was situated on Calanthe Road, named after a founder who had been released. The house was two stories, originally built for one person until the Warren's population grew and was converted into an apartment, with Henry on the top floor. Kai explained that most people tended to spend their time out of their homes anyway, but Henry could request a larger house and be on the waiting list if the studio apartment was not to his liking.
It was of course to Henry's liking after so many years sleeping in tents and the constant travel, sometimes just sleeping on the cold ground with nothing but the clothes on his back. Now, he had his own room with a double bed, a table and two chairs, and shelves and cabinets to store anything he wanted. There was a shared outside toilet between three other buildings but it certainly was better than having to squat over a hole in the ground.
Even though it was just one floor of a building, it was plenty spacious for any furniture that Henry would want to bring in.
After chatting and raving about the place with Nia, Henry noticed how quiet Kai had become. Throughout the whole tour, Kai had been quiet talkative as the guide but here he fell silent, gazing around the room sombrely, caressing the bed frame and shelves, lost in thought.
"Everything okay?" Henry asked gently.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, everything's fine," Kai lied, though the façade broke almost immediately. "I just..." He swallowed. "I used to live here, actually. The first house I had here."
"Really?" Henry looked around.
"Yeah, built this place with... with my friend Dex. That was the guy who left. He finally finished his sentence."
"This place must mean a lot to you then," said Henry, wondering if it was right to live here. "Would you want this place instead?"
"What? No, no, it's okay. I've got a place of my own, I was just... lost in nostalgia I suppose." Kai cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Anyway, here's your welcome package." He motioned to a large wooden crate, filled with all sort of things from a toothbrush and comb, to towels and a rucksack. Inside the rucksack were Henry's food ration tokens, which he would receive more of in the future by visiting the ration station in the city centre, next to the requisition office.
"Your friend..." Nia began softly. "You said his name was Dex?"
Kai nodded. "That's right."
Henry let out a gasp, disbelieving how forgetful he had been. "You're Kai! Kai and Dex!"
Kai looked between the two, a mix of confusion and fear at Henry's excitement. "Uh, yeah?"
"When we were trying to find Corinna," Henry began to explain. "We went to the sector where I thought she would be, Sector 38."
"We met a bunch of people who knew her," said Nia. "Wendy and Klei, and a few others. They told us where to find all of you."
"Oh..." Kai looked away, glancing at the floor. It was hard to tell if he looked happy or perhaps sad. "How are they? Klei and Wendy?" he asked with a crackle to his voice.
"They're helping the water nymphs," replied Henry. "They seem to be doing great."
"That's great." Kai smiled, perhaps painfully. "I... I haven't seen them in quite some time."
"They said that you were free to come back. All of you are." Henry left out Dex's name as the man had already left the Abyss which seemed to have left an impact on Kai. "Klei seems to have regretted how things were left, but he would like to see you all again."
Kai did not respond. He was silent, and eventually just nodded whilst deep in thought.
"And Wendy is human again," added Nia, attempting to lighten the mood.
"Really!" Kai perked up, a broad grin on his face. "She turned back? Oh that's so good to hear! We were all really worried about her being unable to be human again."
After Kai asked more questions about how Klei and Wendy were, he finally left to allow Henry and Nia to relax and settle in before their dinner with Corinna tonight.