The Plan, Part 2
Jerin and
Aleck exited the broken down house that was hiding the Hatch.
They continued into the open world,
off to find some supplies for survival. They desperately hoped that they could
find some supplies without being detected.
The suburban area they were in
seemed so quiet, so gloomy, it was as if the place hadn’t been inhabited for
years. That really disturbed Jerin. He hadn’t been out here in quite a while.
The last time he remembered being out in this place was when he was traveling
to meet up with a friend to discuss some important matters.
That thought made him wonder if his
friend was safe, or even alive.
Aleck then said, “Alright, follow
me. I know where to find some supplies. I found a small building where there
was a room with a lot of supplies. Way too many to carry. I tried my best to
cover up the entrance so no one else could find it and take them.”
They continued, being as quiet as
they could. They moved to another area, no too far from the house the Hatch was
hidden in.
“It’s a little ways away, so be on
alert,” Aleck said quietly.
“Let’s hope we can make it,” Jerin
thought to himself.
They kept moving. Farther and
farther away from the Hatch. Aleck seemed to know where he was leading Jerin,
so he took a little comfort in that.
Cumble…
A noise…
Possibly the sound of small stones
falling down from the top of a pile of rubble.
The two heard the noise, since they
themselves made very little. They
couldn’t make out which direction it came from, though.
They both glanced around and tried
to find a place to hide. They saw a broken down home, and ran inside, as
quietly as they could. The door had been blown through with a bomb of some
sort, by the looks of it.
The two waited. And waited.
Nothing.
They looked around.
“Hey,” a low voice whispered, coming
from the darkness of a corner of the wall behind the two. It startled them
both, and they turned around quickly.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
scare you two. I suppose you guys heard the noise I made in here,” the voice
said.
The figure walked forward, toward
Aleck and Jerin, and continued, “I thought I heard something coming from
outside, so I stepped forward to see what it was through that window you two
were looking out of. But, I guess I made enough noise for someone to hear me.
I’m glad you two aren’t Searchers or Hunters. I would have been captured or
worse…”
Aleck and Jerin said nothing, their
eyes still adjusting to the darkness of the home. They couldn’t tell who it
was, but it must have been a Stray.
After a moment, the figure looked
vaguely familiar to Jerin.
The Stray then said, “Oh, I’m
terribly sorry. I’ll introduce myself. My name is Oran. I used to live in this
very city, until the Great Breakout, and the Hero Factory’s fall…” he then
trailed off. Probably because of the horrific memories brought back by the
statement.
Jerin was about to speak, realizing
who the Stray was. But was cut off when Oran began to speak again, “So, what
are you two…” he stopped mid-sentence.
From the little light there was in
the home, Aleck and Jerin noticed realization come over Oran’s face.
“Wait, are… Are you… Is that…” Oran,
said, staring intently at Jerin, head tilted slightly. “Is that you, Jerin?”
“Yes it is me!” Jerin replied
excitedly.
“Jerin! My old pal!” Oran said,
walking quickly toward Jerin. Oran had an orange head, with orange and silver
armor pieces. He had extra armor on his right arm, with a large piece of
shoulder armor, and a smaller piece of silver armor on the lower arm. He also
had silver armor on his lower legs.
Oran was the friend Jerin had been thinking about earlier,
and he was alive!
Jerin then walked toward Oran, and
they shook each other’s hands, in a way as if they hadn’t seen each other in
years, and they hadn’t. They then released each other’s hand and looked at
Aleck. Aleck didn’t know who Oran was, but walked up to them and introduced
himself anyway.
“Hello, there. My name is Aleck.” He
said, shaking Oran’s hand. “Jerin and I were out looking for supplies. I know
of a place, so that’s where we were heading.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Aleck.
I’ve been wandering out here for quite a while. I was actually looking for
supplies as well. It’s been very tough around here. Thankfully, though, I have
come across some nice armor and a handy sword.”
He
unsheathed it, and showed the other two Strays. They hadn’t really noticed it,
since his back concealed it from view.
“Well,” Aleck began, “I suppose you
can come with us, we will probably need some help carrying supplies back to the
Hatch, a place where we stay. It’s pretty well hidden and it is big enough for
the four of us in there. And--”
“The… four… of us?’
Oran asked, cutting Aleck off, re-sheathing his sword.
Jerin pitched in, “Oh, yes. Sheer. She is a former Villain.
She and Aleck were seen—“, but was also cut off by Oran.
“A Villain?!” Oran exclaimed, eyes wideing.
Jerin signaled for Oran to keep it down.
“Former, Villain.”
Aleck corrected. “She and I were seen together “conspiring”, as the Villain
Leaders put it, and was banished by the Black Phantom from Makuhero City and
any other areas controlled by the Villain Leaders. So, now we are allowing her
to stay with us in my Hatch.”
“The Black Phantom?
A Villain Leader? You are allowing a criminal to stay in your Hatch? What if
they aren’t who you think they are?” Oran said, questioningly. He took note of
the former Villain’s location.
“Don’t worry. I trust she isn’t going to turn us in to the
Villain Leaders. She herself would be killed if they found out where she is,”
Jerin said.
“Okay. Well, we better get moving, then. The City Guards may
come by soon, ya never know.” Oran then said. And he was right.
“Alright. Let’s go, then,” Aleck said. “Just follow me.”
Then, they were off.
To Be Continued.
