Chapter 3

  Many Walkers grew up Outside, which was a term depicting a world away from the most important organizations. It was a favored term in North America, which homed a significant portion of the human population in the Western Hemisphere. There weren't many places, so the Outside was everywhere except the Federation and this term could be quite prudent or haunted. After all, it was a discrepancy and some people didn't like it.

  William regarded Outside by himself rather than by the views of the Federation, whose culture wasn't about propaganda, but it certainly hoped for peace and prosperity no matter what. It was a paradise far from North America—a bastion for humanity, or so many people proclaimed.

  Camps were important for the status quo but they weren't beyond the Walkers. It wasn't surprising that a lot of attention formed various lands. Walkers had to see them. Help them.

  But William grew up Outside and not entirely out of some helping hands. Missing his parent, who used to be there for him, he felt dreams were a luxury.

  That hand. That voice. The sweetness... of blood.

  He will never feel all of them ever again.

  Years of traveling and surviving included the wilderness devoid of life. Settlements and resources were good targets and many of them had broken apart, while some did not. They either intercepted dangers or ran away.

  William knew it wasn't an easy life. The Rifts, weird entities in space, could appear anywhere, while Darks would come out of them. Besides that, weren't those monsters in countless corners, seething in rage, instincts, and desires? Where to even run?

  Corruption was spreading with Fogs and Darks into many areas. Camps were sturdy, and they had to have their protective means. Still, many hadn't gotten shit, thanks to the remoteness of some locations. They should feel lucky. Surviving this destruction, Darks, and continuing afterward was depressing. Not a lot of things would come out of places considered breached or wiped out.

  Who decided that? Walkers. Every camp had them put in charge, serving as a leader in name alone, or, in rarer cases, they had the full lead thanks to the Federation behind them.

  Such was the current camp Dann and William lived in for the past two years. It was the longest time they had lived in after becoming orphans. That meant this place had tighter security than anywhere else.

  The reason was easy.

  The land around was fertile and vast, giving this camp constant goods and growth, so it was worth protecting it at all costs. Hills and mountains were suitable grounds, and even water poured down, giving the land below some life.

  William and Dann saw it all from the open window. Stable buildings made of bricks or large slabs of concrete created a proper civilization. Streets full of working people were busy, buzzing in the bright morning. Then, there were large plains further ahead, away from the walls of the camp, where there was essential farmland that wasn't as secure as one would think.

  Darks shouldn't give a shit about them. It was the people's problem, so they needed walls and security. It was precious since a lot of troubles could come from the sky or those plains, hidden by mountains, forests, or hills.

  Wood was the most common material for traditional structures, but here, in large numbers, stone bricks stood better. In some portions, the camp resembles a huge number of fortresses and sizable or smaller buildings connected by canals and streets.

  William could say this was the best camp he had ever seen without a shadow of a doubt. Unbothered by this sight, or Dann, he covered his Emblem and punched Dann to the shoulder.

  “Ouch, don't hurt me you lunatic! What if I fall? I don't have wings.” Dann jokingly complained, pretending to almost fall from the window.

  “What? Don't tell me you are glad you are alive! I don't believe it. Let me try it again.” William smirked and punched his other shoulder.

  “Give me a break,” Dann fled to the other wall away from the window. “The last time was barely enough! The military was breath away from us. This camp... This is paradise! No Rifts or Incursion will stop us!”

  “Us? Wait, had you seriously said what I've heard? Incu... No. Never mind. We can only hope. I don't think there is a better place than the Federation, but who knows, eh? We have never seen it, but...” William wanted to give him some lessons, but Dann made his move, and he believed Dann knew it already.

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  He punched William's shoulder and fled before giving him time to counter.

  “S-sorry...” William said weakly.

  “I hate this talk about this so-called Federation! They are a bunch of nations of the past that are trying to return the world to its previous glory. What is there to return? People? Land? Corruption is said to be a curse. They are true, no matter who said that. It won't leave for centuries. In fact, the past nations weren't that great at all, by the way! Mind telling me why, hm? Or do you want to hear me talk about it again? We should think about the future and how to get rid of every single Dark first!” Dann spoke in agitation, almost shouting.

  He caused a scene once more.

  Unpleasant shouts sounded from the opened door, but both youths ignored young and older voices.

  Dann focused on the past, almost to the point of obsession even if he hoped for the future. The past was full of wonders and legends. It was a remarkable idea with billions of lives, hiding a whole world that was one large paradise for humanity. It was a weird ideology that William never knew where it came from.

  Was the past a genuine path for humanity? Many things and stories were shared by common folks throughout the time and surviving generations. Past no longer mattered when the world crumbled apart. Many people sought out a better future instead.

  Dann was one of them and had rather extreme ideas about the past. He didn't like many things about the past, but he was obsessed with some other matters.

  It wasn't easy to get past knowledge. It wasn't as if it was something illegal and forbidden. It was kind of everywhere but scattered in some forms after humanity disappeared into the void, waiting for re-discovery, or people to come up with something new.

  Broadly speaking, some parts of history were a bit better thanks to some archives, stories, books, or openness. Letting knowledge die out would put an end to them. Words and history existed and not every person was against such things.

  There was one thing that William and Dann could not believe. It was a different world called the digital world, and neither of them knew much about it, even if it was still present at some limited capacity.

  A significantly smaller population created new needs, while advancements in science weren't forgotten. The land and people fought and a constant struggle to get ahead had to involve science.

  William didn't know what sort of expression to make, or how to express his doubts. Unlike Dann, he didn't care a lot about the past. He knew what happened to him, and telling Dann that the reality was more important would just anger him more.

  “Don't fret, my friend!” Dann cheered up, pulling his arm around William's neck, and poked his face with his finger. As a friend, he knew what sort of expression to make. He knew William had nothing easy before him.

  “Are you saying it because of me? I know what are your feelings about it.”

  “I do, or I don't. I think it is very impressive that I even managed to befriend you while living to tell the tale. I want my children to know what we have endured, killed, and what we've gone through. It would make a great story! What about a book? Trilogy?”

  William shook his hands off. “Do we have time for that?”

  “Entertainment is still valid. Not here, but in the future, it might be great. I would call it a Manifesto of Dann and William, or Journey through the Darkness. Oh, perhaps a Dark Journey is the greater name? What is there to worry about beforehand, right? I think it is great.”

  William sighed. “You are a real piece of work. Wanna meet Miss Anderson and tell her about it? I am sure she will be thrilled and call you a genius after she got rid of your ass a year ago.” William smirked and regarded Dann's reluctant and grimacing face as funny.

  Although he had some memories himself, full of an uncertain past where he couldn't know what the other day contained, he wasn't hopeless. There was some bitterness, sure, or even hopeless memories that he would rather forget, but there was always an end.

  It was hope. Either in pain, or closer to a lesser one, or a time that would be the opposite of everything known. Leave. Grow. Become a Walker! That sort of thing was up to his arm, whereas his head was no Walker. He was better and worse.

  His age acted as a weird motivation for someone who grew from a young depressed kid to a questionable teenager. Added to it weird and numerous changes, no one should toss him into the same sack as other children. Dann witnessed it firsthand.

  William wasn't certain of his exact age. He might be already sixteen, or not even that. He promised himself to never get hopeless ever again.

  After Dann ceased his grimace, he smiled and brushed off his shame and awkwardness.

  “Actually, that is the reason I woke you up. Miss Anderson wanted... to see you. Not because of some trouble, of course. You are a great guy, unlike some random hooligan with a great name. Not sure what his name is. Not like he lives here anymore.” Dann laughed and walked out of the room. “Time waits for you. You've waited. Goodbyes will be bitter.”

  William thought.

  William then scratched his head and checked his clothes. Then, he pulled his sleeve up and looked at his Emblem that felt shiny rays of the sun. An expression of grief, opportunity, and hope were all over his face. He knew this was an object of incredible value and something good was coming.

  He just pretended it wasn't.

  He will have to snatch this chance and live decently and be proud of himself. If his mother and father were dead, that was the least he could do for them.

  William wasn't exactly sure what his mother used to say or what lies he thought since then. All sorts of things blurred through the madness of his runs, while his blood and... a lot of other things, came afterward. Pain. Screams. Thuds. Beats? Blood and gore, and seized hearts and heads and...

  William stopped thinking. Voices carried and gave his mind a fair share of traumas. They returned from time to time, giving grief and memories, but in no shame like that dream from less than fifteen minutes ago. There were worse nightmares, followed by very nightmares.