Chapter 144

  “Is this the end?” William asked, watching the walls and doors with symbolism and locks. “I thought it wasn't the end. There could be more… stuff.”

  He spent three whole days in here. That was more than enough for Ellie, who had no desire even to hear his hesitant words.

  “Yeah? Sorry to disappoint you, but even rooms have ends in sight. Now, we can go to the upper floors and broaden your proper head, which… might be what you should want much more than here. Shame I can't change you considering how much fun you've had.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Yep. There you go again.” Ellie sighed and looked at him. “Also, history floors and non-connected museum parts cling to some parts above, which shows some extra spicy stuff. We haven't visited all of them, as we can't or shouldn't, so I hope you do so on your own later since there isn't much there for me to do. There are remaining archives for historical dates, materials, books, and various research that are either restricted to upper Walkers and etcetera. Do you want to take a look there further, or has this been enough? Just so you know, these exhibitions take a lot of space, so what is public is more undersized in comparison to the deep relics.”

  William pondered if that was something he wanted to know.

  He made his choice in a few short moments.

  “Darks! Here we go.”

  “Oh, right! I expected that, so let’s go.” Ellie slapped William's back and cheered internally. It arrived! Perhaps she will spend even more days with him, expectant, fresh, and greatly apprehensive.

  William was stunned and surprised by her slaps and stumbled a couple of steps. He turned, giving Ellie a questionable look.

  “What? You needed it. So many days came from these floors! I wanted to come with you to the upper floors considerably sooner, but no! Some little curious outsider was way too curious about museums and history and Dawn, or politics and… stuff. You will feel like a mummy! You also need some days off or reconsider what is right and wrong, yet you kept insisting. You should be glad I love talking and broadening your silly mind.”

  “I...”

  “Shut off. I can't even imagine what will these six weeks of learning do to your silly head. Maybe it will grow like a tree? Will it be heavy? You should look for a barber and don't take literally everything into your head. Who knows what it can even hold? I am worried.” she retorted, giving him a strange look that ended up in her laughter. “Wait, I take it back.”

  In truth, Ellie had been itching to continue teaching him anything for the past day. She had spent years learning what she could about the places below the upper floors, so she knew what to look for under many circumstances.

  Although her parents were both alive and well, she helped out in the library from time to time ever since she was little. For years, she already lived by herself thanks to a passable salary. For a long time, Ellie had no worries about food, clothes, or safety, let alone what to do with her life. Well, that wasn't right; her job became her worry instead, making her passionate and kind of... mad.

  “I don’t think time is cheap and credits are not much for me, Ellie. I need to get what I can, so I won’t regret it. Such a chance like you won’t come twice. I want to go up, or… you don’t want to go there because you aren't ready? You learn of it as well, right? That offer... You are very serious about it.” William wondered and lacked critical information.

  He didn’t understand what was there for her, as she hardly explained to him her new position, or what she really wanted. He was unaware she could follow him anywhere. If she hadn't done that, someone else would've decided everything for him.

  “What? No. I will go anywhere because I can and you won't ruin anything. If you think we go, up we go then, so don’t act like an idiot. I warned you before. A whole lot of things are about to change. I would say... about eighty percent. Well, it's a guess. Now, let's go.” Pouting, she pushed William forward and got him out of this damned floor.

  Out in an open hall, which had quite some view by now, Ellie pushed William’s shoulders until she reached a new set of stairs to the next floor.

  There, he had enough and pushed her arms off.

  “Forget it, alright? I will take a day off if you want!” William misspoke and couldn’t see her advancing ideas or hopes. She was quite adamant about something else, but he didn’t know that and neglected his blame.

  In truth, he was overlooking a whole lot of things about her because he was never close to a girl like Ellie, who was aware of this fact. She heard his silly misunderstanding and thought it was funny.

  “Really? What are you talking about right now?” She asked just in case because she wasn’t sure about this boy’s head.

  “If I feel like it, some break isn’t bad. Outside has such times as well, you know. In farms and stuff. When dangers come. We wait and do a whole lotta of nothing. Some people are experts at that.”

  “That's just great, expert. But the rest? You have nothing and no one in this place, so what are you gonna do instead?”

  “Train, exercise, or try some other meaningful thing? That is… well, I don’t know what to do. I will figure something out as I've always done. Alone this time. I am yet to meet that someone important to me, so perhaps it will happen soon. For now, figuring things out on the go sounds fine.”

  “Oh? How about me?!” Ellie pointed to herself, proudly puffing her chest, and thinking of some opportunity.

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  “What about you?” William asked in an obvious confusion.

  *As expected. Oblivious and clueless. Interesting. Cute too, in a way. Wait... Oh, dear… what is happening?* Ellie scowled internally and felt silly herself. “Something is missing. I can show you around the Federation since you told me you never did much. It is your new home. That is, as long as you want to know this place from the outside rather than inside, as that can be difficult. All district has its own internal efforts and communities and a lot of it is vertical. There are even elites and workers and farmers and medics and military. Some are huge, but that's what you should know.”

  “I know that.”

  “Yeah? If so, I have a lot of free time, you do as well, so where are some stops?”

  William looked at her, thinking if this was an offer or some trap.

  “There is a lot to learn around the Districts, William. You can travel to them in a day since this place isn't as massive as you think. We have neat streets, but if you have a guide, things are better. A native? Someone who grew up here, yes?” Ellie offered a rather great idea and felt no remorse to be this honest.

  It was a new thing to her; she was always head-deep into books and learning, so reaching for this opportunity felt rather thrilling and different from this library. His Walker status might be a big why, but Ellie wasn't willing to think of it as her whole reason or excuse.

  “Y-you want to… spend time outside of a job with me? I don’t want to bother your free time. I get how cities and jobs work. I am already very satisfied with what you’ve shown me in this library and I don't want you to waste time when we can do that in... I mean, here? Yes. I need to learn.” William proclaimed his truth and saw her strangely smiling demeanor as strange, even if it was entirely hopeless.

  *T-t-this boy… ugh. Making a girl feel like this and speak… What is Outside for you?!* Ellie thought and stopped beaming like a bright sun.

  “I don’t mind anything, by the way. As I’ve said. I have time and getting to know a Walker is a good opportunity for me. Where are you living anyway? Dorms for young Walkers are in many places, or is it some hotel? Military compartments are harsh and strict, so… do you have some schedule? Wait, are you even a citizen? We barely talked about this sort of stuff! You were looking terrible when you came here for the first time...”

  Ellie changed the topic and kept going since she wanted to spend more time with him. Now, it was no longer about some silly misunderstanding.

  She was starting to like him.

  “Uh, where do I live? I don’t know the streets that well, but I can eat and sleep for free in one such place. There is a bridge on the west side. Was it the West District? There are some alleyways and big apartments of some sort. I have no idea what they are called by now, so…” William grunted and pulled a map out of his pocket and showed it to her.

  That was a good idea, albeit the map looked poor in comparison to detailed drawings in this library.

  “… You live there?” Ellie exclaimed in surprise as she visualized this map. Jumping in right as he expressed his home, Ellie knew a lot about the Federations and their structure.

  “Do you know it?”

  Ellie rolled her eyes. “I am not some idiot. Of course, I know it. It is the best neighborhood. Most upper Division-related Walkers have their residencies there, as well as many important officers. Well-kept and built to last, it is a place with sky-high prices for each apartment. For the basic one, rent is hundreds of credits a week depending on the quality and vastness of the apartment, people, and… wave, or… What? How come you live there? Are… is… this about your parents? Wait, not. Ah, sorry! Are you part of some organization? Wait. Not that. I... don't know anything about you, right? I never asked.”

  *Org? I don't know about that* Williams thought and assumed a lot just from her reaction. *I know it looks luxurious, but when I think about it, it is like a palace compared to the camps. I guess Walkers have quite some value about them and wealth comes with that. Outside does the same thing if one values or works well. Is it equal with Walkers and this place? Of course not. I will do my best to become good, but I don’t plan to be some silly goose for money or its advances.*

  As a part of his new path, William learned a valuable new lesson.

  Ellie stared at him and almost snatched his map away.

  “It is just a temporary living. I was told that by the military who got me to the Federation all those days ago. You know that already.” William explained and said nothing wrong. It was complicated because Luke was forced to keep him while Mi-Yung was nowhere to be found.

  William bet he wouldn’t mind the dorms or any kind of shared space. Although he had his own space in Roshwell since the orphanage got lucky to obtain a large and well-kept building, he didn't mind sharing. He was used to that with Dann, or more people, or going around with no rooms at all.

  Ellie sized him as she heard his excuse. She assumed it was still strange. For a boy from the clueless Outside, living in this luxurious neighborhood that even her parents or herself couldn’t afford, something weird was going on. It made her all pouty and curious.

  She knew these building complexes housed not just normal Walkers since most of those from the military stayed in barracks permanently, or they were away anyway because they didn't need such luxury. Their duties were significant and time or home wasn’t really taken for granted.

  People able to afford them were either too important, retired, or sensitive Walkers or people with important positions. Right. Like the Assembly Island, various research facilities, trainers, and so on

  Ellie quickly assumed that William was under someone great without him even knowing about it. It wasn't an exaggeration, even if Luke wasn't someone that great. Within her mind, she had already forgotten some details. William mentioned Luke in the very start, and that pointed to the one mighty Walker who would've come to her mind.

  Ellie didn't think that far because of all the changes and work. At least she was aware of the requirements, Forced Awakening, and what was bound to happen in less than six weeks. That calmed her down and made her focus on her steps.