Chapter 5

  On the first floor, Dann was already leaning on a wall, trying to talk cheerfully to an older-looking lady in a long dark dress. With a chilled expression on her face that seemed to tolerate an eternal frown, she was emitting quite a fearful expression.

  She didn't like Dann, or she was looking like that all the time—trying to murder with an icy look and give children nightmares. Authority seeped out of her, second to focus, dedication, and a bit of apprehension. The other strange thing about her was her height of more than six feet.

  She was towering over Dann, who wasn't the shortest for his age, but he was still just a seventeen-year-old youth. He was almost an adult in a normal world. In truth, he was already working and doing his part, making a living for himself and this camp without having a permit to leech off this orphanage.

  Indeed, this woman was terrifying for all young children. It was her appearance and William recognized that from the moment he saw her. Even now, some chilling memories remained, but he respected her more than feared.

  “Good morning, Miss Anderson,” William politely greeted her. In return, Miss Anderson shoved Dann aside as if he were an annoying boulder in her way. She walked to William and patted his head, sized this youth she had known for a couple of years, and knew it was time to say goodbye.

  “Good child has proper manners,” she sternly said, her face frozen and expressionless. Surprisingly, her voice was vigorous and firm. “I assume you know what this is about. Have I said it, or Dann did?”

  William knew that she kept her warm heart for others around her. Or it might be a case of some disease where her facial expressions froze from some shock. It could also be something else and William wasn't so stupid to touch old wounds, so he let it be.

  “Dann said you wanted to see me, and I fear to know what this is about. Someone arrived? Who? Is it about some convoy? News? Time? I don't know specifics, so...”

  William spoke while being continuously patted by her. When he finished speaking, Miss Anderson stopped.

  There were some other children with Emblems in this building. However, he was the oldest by far.

  “I think you didn't know about a lot of things upon our first meeting, William.” She said and William would bet he heard crackling hesitation in her voice. “You are a clever child that bears the weight of the Outside for far too long. You wanted it, or so I've cared to think. It's a shame, yet it is...”

  “No!” he refused. “Where else to go? What to do? My parents... no, there is no need to go there. I wanted to be with Dann. I said it, haven't I? Since I got.... bad. I needed these two years. You agreed with me even when some Walkers did not.”

  “That I did. They didn't like it but not many knew of it.”Chill returned to Miss Anderson's face, who looked at Dann who was whistling and pretending to be a wall.

  “I know. You refused all offers in the past because of your parents. Frankly, many do something similar because this place has been stable for a long time and many of them want a perfect choice. Yet, how far could that come and go? Those invited and those who come here are often responsible for difficult choices, and Walkers can get quite persistent. It is business. We are still an orphanage. Walkers are tough while camps need every hand they get.”

  “What is happening? You are acting weird, miss.” William inquired.

  “It... Your... past. It is another thing, boy. You are wondrous, do you know that?”

  “Past? Nah,” William frowned in confusion. Also, why did she return to patting his head; it should've stopped long ago.

  “It has been only a couple of years since you've come here. We don't pry for the difficult past too much. It is our precious standard to work and give children some justice, so what about the orphans and those looking for someone? You know, it is a normal matter to consider. Some look for children; others for parents. It is about family. About bonds.”

  “So?” William's frown deepened and he almost snatched her arm away but endured it. A bit of shining red glow escaped under his shirt, looking bizarre and brighter, but thanks to the light of this room, it wasn't as obvious. “Does that mean.... my parents? Have you found something about them?! How?! Where? I looked for so long.”

  At last, Miss Anderson stopped patting and put her hands down.

  “Unfortunately, my child, the wild disasters that you've endured are known to many of us, but many parts are not. Most are long gone, shrouded in Fogs of destruction and unknown. Looking where we can't is a bad way to know what has happened, though prying for knowledge and hope is up to research and tries. Some news could occur. You said to me you were five years old when you tasted your first misery. Where? You didn't know. What happened? You mentioned very little of that, but it is part of trauma, which no one blames you for. You were little. You don't talk about it for a good reason. I know that so don't fret. I haven't found anything. Others did.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “What?! Others?” William said seriously. “I thought... wait. Why speak about it now? Does it concern my parents or not? Why now, of all times?” William truly became agitated and even Dann became hesitant and serious. How far would this time change and devolve?

  William didn't like how she sounded, which Miss Anderson couldn't refute because she was a little insensible and restless right now. What occurred in the past week wasn't usual in the slightest, and today, the result came over.

  “It pains my heart that you are about to leave our home without succeeding. That is not all. Uncertain future is hard, but what about the past? It pains me... that it took this long for something to happen,” Miss Anderson said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

  William clutched his hands and calmed down. “It isn't about my parents, is it?”

  “No.”

  “What then?”

  “You.”

  “Just a regular recruitment then?” William's voice skipped a beat and his disappointment was unbearable. “What do I matter? I am an orphan. I don't have anyone else besides myself. Oh, and Dann...”

  Dann snickered and waved a hand at him to shut up.

  “Do you know that for sure?”

  William hesitated. “No. Alone or not, I was... young. I don't even know my birthday, the name of my parents, or my surname.”

  “Yes. Every one of these matters complicated our research for answers. Yet you've endured hardships that no children should bear.”

  “Excuse my manners, but that is stupid. I am not rare. This world is real, Miss Anderson, like people. It is good to pretend but not lie. I know that it is proper. Why are you not glad? Your wonderful work gave home to many children like me. No matter if you are sending them to a dead end or hopeful tomorrow, I find it amazing.”

  Dann smirked and secretly chuckled behind their back. William was quite good at feeding the pleasantries to adults while keeping his head straight. He taught him that much thanks to being older than him. It was something orphans had to do since their lives were their greatest possessions.

  Miss Anderson clutched her hands and gazed at William's eyes. “Empty words. You revealed to us your Emblem years ago. We note them and look at them broadly, while any words are crucial for further, or additional research. Even small hints can reach far. You, my dear boy, are not alone in this world.”

  She stepped aside, giving a gesture to a man, who walked from another room.

  A middle-aged man wore a dark purple uniform. His sharp eyes glinted in azure light as his uniform looked tough and contained a huge amount of respect. Consisting of sturdy leather boots, fiber-class trousers, and jacket-looking armor, his whole appearance was reliable, firm, and robust.

  William recognized a Walker straight away.

  “Wow,” a cry echoed from aside, “a Captain from the Yondu Division?” Dann blurted out, looking at the approaching man who walked aside from him. He was always like this since he never wanted to feel alone in his life ever again.

  The man, unbothered by the questionable stare from Dann, walked towards William. His eyes were like eagles and his voice hummed.

  “William Gale?”

  “Gale?”

  “Your surname. You don't know it, right?”

  William got uncomfortable from his gaze and approach alike. “I was... young,” he repeated.

  “You are Gale, I know. My name is Luke Irwin. I knew your father Victor when he served as a Walker of the Federation.” Luke bluntly said, looking at uncertain William who didn't even know his whole name. So when Luke revealed not only that but also noted his father, things worsened even further because of his words and uniform.

  Frankly, this reveal shocked Dann more than William, who froze in his frown, and the crimson hues wavered under his shirt.

  Dann trembled, and even his mouth widened like his eyes, which was rare for him. He shut up for once, reluctant to change the pace this Walker shifted and revealed out of the blue.

  William Gale? Dann thought. Isn't it quite a good surname? Damn...

  William clutched his hands and storming sensations spread all over his right arm once again. This time, it was turning hot as if he dove into the steaming bath or... people, or Darks. As many voiced, emotions were one way to notice Walkers and worsen them.

  He was agitated and uncertain about trusting words and people. Why was that the case? Was there something wrong with trusting a Walker recognized by Miss Anderson, or was it more that he didn't like what he heard?

  It was neither. He was shocked to hear about his father after so long. Not only did this person know about him, but... he said his father was a... what? A freaking Walker?!

  If not shocked, William wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't remember his father in any significant detail. He was more like a shadow that tinkered and peeked behind his mother. He always spoke with a firm voice, sometimes, but not alongside his mother. That was what William acknowledged.

  “You knew my father?” he asked as he relaxed his fists, where crimson twitched as he hugged his arms. “H-how? My father... he was...not around often. He was busy. My mother, and... what is this? Why... now?” Visible confusion lingered in his heart.

  From Luke, a lot of things turned odd.

  William swore Luke watched him with incredulity and confusion, but also throughout observation. He was aware he hardly knew anything about his parents, and he remarked on it since he was little. Finding them was unthinkable; it was already fine to consider their matter finished after a decade.

  They were death, he often whispered to himself, trying to lie.

  Uncomfortable feelings and doubts that Luke triggered manifested in nauseous anxiety, which then moved the crimson, or the crimson moved the rest. It was hard to tell.

  Fatigue moved where he grew and then... not that well.

  Since that nightmarish day, he hoped, and then, he did not dare. Now, he believed in almost nothing but taking history for ashes. It wasn't a belief without basis; it was a fact etched into Outside.

  They would've long found me, William believed.

  He had never doubted the love of his mother; for his mother's stake and his.

  It failed. A decade of living Outside changed his perspective and forced him to accept what had happened, but it was impossible to turn his mind and heart cold over those dreams.

  That hand kept reaching out for him.