ethan

Hah.

What? What's that for?

Nothing, I've just never seen you like this.

I remember when we used to go junk diving together. You'd pick a fight with those wandering bums every day.

You never this friendly.

So that's why you're laughing at me?

Nah, I'm not really trying to make fun of you.

You live in this hut?

This is the Lungmen slums. Practically everyone here lives in one of these.

It's much better than the old days when we lived on the streets. At least I have a roof over my head now.

That's a good thing.

Being able to settle down is already pretty great for kids like us.

So...

Are you alone? Where are the others?

What happened after that?

You really want to know? Still care?

What happened to the others after that...?

They're dead.

Are you surprised? All Infected die sooner or later. If we don't die fighting, we die in some quiet corner, alone.

If you want to know the gory details, I can lay them on you. They all died in the most undignified way possible. There, happy?

I...

*Sigh*...

Is that all you wanted to say?

What?

If you want to fight... let's not do it here.

Fight? Why would I fight you?

The folks here live a difficult life. If you kill me here, the L.G.D. will shut the whole place down. It'd be a big pain for my neighbors.

Hold on...

I think we've got a misunderstanding.

You aren't here to kill me?

No, hold on a second.

Why would I kill you? What are you talking about?

You can drop the act. I understand.

You left Reunion and went somewhere else.

Going by that trendy getup, it's gotta be a great place, eh?

Most Infected don't get to live as good of a life as you do.

But if you want to keep living that high life, you still have one last obstacle.

That's people like us.

I know who you are. I know you used to be Reunion.

Once I'm dead, you won't have anyone to rat you out anymore. No one will ever know you were cut from the same cloth as us lowlifes.

(Silence)

I knew this day would come.

Or should I say I've known for three years this day would come, when you told me you were thinking about leaving Reunion?

It's not like we get to live all that long anyway. Everyone else's dead, and I don't think all this peace and quiet is going to last that much longer for me either.

(Silence)

What's wrong? Lost your tongue?

A year ago...

A year ago... I heard there were a few Reunion folks still in Lungmen.

I spent all my money this year just to ask around, just to find you guys.

I held out hope that you were doing okay, that you made it through everything alive.

Looks like I shouldn't have.

Hold on, you really aren't here to kill me?

How could I be...?

I don't know what you've been through these last few years, but I've always thought of you as a brother.

Back when we were starving in Kazimierz, you stole a few cans of food just for the rest of us, and you got beaten up so bad.

When we were out in the wilderness, you fought off those bandits with Packy. That's how I'm still alive.

I'm grateful for you guys. If it wasn't for you, I would've died out there a long time ago.

That's why I came here to look for you.

But I kinda regret it now.

I shouldn't have come.

Well, how about this? You're alive. That's good enough for me. It's a load off my mind.

Take this.

What is it?

It's Oripathy medicine. Here's the instructions. Follow them.

What?

Well, that's it, then. You take care.

Wait!

Hold on!

It's my bad. I got it all wrong.

I apologize. This is all my fault.

I didn't mean it. I just thought that...

*Sigh*...

A lot has happened these past few years. I've gotten a lot more suspicious.

Ah Hoi, a bottle for me!

Right away! Three bucks, please!

Kevin puts on a tattered Industrial Arts casting glove and takes out a few bottles of light yellow soda. He tightly squeezes the glass bottles with both his hands. Before long, the surface of the bottles has begun to frost up.

When did you learn to use Arts like this...?

Remember that group of soldiers from up north?

You mean... the Yetis?

That's right.

After you left, I was assigned to the Airborne unit with a few other guys.

We worked with the Yetis for a very long time.

They're the ones who taught me this. I don't have much talent for Arts. All I can do is chill a few bottles of soda.

They were good people. FrostNova, too.

But they're all dead.

So what happened to the others...?

Packy died on our way to Lungmen. You know how serious his Oripathy was.

Waltz... The Lungmen squads killed him when he tried to shield the others.

I'm alive only because I got lucky.

My jetpack broke down midflight. I crash-landed right in the garbage collector.

By the time I came to, the war was over already.

You know the most pathetic part? It was the junkmen from the slums here who found me. They dug me up from the mounds of trash, and that's how I'm still here.

Ah Hoi! A soda, please!

You got it. Three bucks.

Kevin turns around yet again and takes out a few more bottles of soda.

Take a look at the people here.

They're all normal folks. There are some Infected too.

All of them have their own lives.

But, back then, that thought never so much as crossed my mind.

When I took up arms, I really thought I was fighting for all the Infected out there.