'Ugh... it's... cold.' Both the cool night winds and the skin of the person holding her.
"If you are awake, you should run by yourself, women." A monotone speech, something that radiates an even colder feel than the wind.
"Ugh... I just woke up, a moment please, Liam, my head still hurts... and... why are you carrying me like this?" Mercy opened her eyes but was already stunned. She wasn't a princess, no, more like a heavy bag carried in a fireman's carry.
"Efficiency and...
Reason."
"What?"
"The name is."
"Uh..." She sank into a quiet contemplation... she was actually saddened that waking up and everything wasn't just a dream.
"Reason, right? You can put me down now."
"Can you run as fast as I now? You don't seem to be in the right state to do anything. I will carry you."
"Ah? You... Your voice, no, I mean your tone is cold, but you are really kind..."
"Observant. We can't waste time now. They are tailing us too fast."
"Tailing... How many?" For a moment, as she turned serious, she took up his strange tone.
"Eleven, I heard coming up the hill, for how many still, I do not know."
"So worst case eleven, and if others are following them some more... I... Can you deal with them alone?" She contemplated whether she would be of any help, but she hadn't slept, nor was she mentally or physically ready for what had happened tonight. Most of all, she wasn't sure how Reason seemed fine after all that happened.
"..."
"Thought so, that's why you are running away... That other guy... can you call him out once more?"
"Not optimal, you have already seen him uncontorled..."
"Then do we have any chance?"
"I am running for time... not away... If I could drop you off somewhere, and I made a plan it would be possible."
"And if you made a plan, how many can you beat?"
"Fifty... a hundred, till completely exhausted, but it depends on how many at once, how frequently they arrive, and their overall coordination."
"A hundred?" She was stuck on his first words.
"Possible."
"...Are you all..."
"Freaks?" A momentary sift in his tone, a slight glance at the girl's eyes, was he looking for somthing?
"I did not say that..."
"Most think." His tone also returnd to its norm.
"..." There was a moment of silence that strached too long, but right now they did not have time to undrestand each other Mercy knew that too, so she soon continued.
"So what is the exact time you need to rest in between fights... and how much do you need to make a plan that would deal with all of them?"
"Memory is fuzzy but it was stated they are more than 50 so some more on top of that altogether, we dealt with 3 and 8 including their Boss. So if we count 59, 11 was alredy dealt with and 11 is chasing... the remaining should be 37... most would be ocupide by taking care of their spoils... hm..." Reason's analysis was cut short.
'Hahaha... its seem you are running away... I felt the screams, the blood soaking the ground, I know you are in trouble... kid.'
"...? What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Then I suppose you don't hear it..."
"What?"
'I have been calling for you for so long... finaly you resond, come to me... I will give you the strength to slaughter them all... just come follow my voice...'
"The creepy voice, trying to lure me into the forest."
"!! No, Liam... I-I mean Reason, you have his memory right? Father always warned me to never follow any voice from the forest... something bad is in there..."
"Not all but I do have some memory, and... didn't warn us tough... and this does actually play in my favor."
"Your favor...!? Why wouldn't father warn you..." Mercy's face quickly shifted as Reason clearly started running into a different direction.
"I don't know."
'Yes... Yes... YES, come to me... finally... Finally...'
"What do you mean you don't k!!" Wha... how is he running so fast...' Mercy got spooked as Reason's speed increlased by the steps... it wasn't anything inhuman but, it might have been at the edge of reason even more with another person on top of him.
She involounterly grasped around him as the speed incresed even more. "Don't move around, you distrupt my blance."
"Agh... Aren't you tired...? And how the hell can you run so fast in such a hard forest terrain... and and don't you dare fall with me... and also... how and why are you so freking cold. I know you are shirt less but its like someone dead is tuching me, I get shivers." She was talking a little to much a little too fast... it wasn't that she was scared or anything but for someone who hasn't been of the ground much in her life to being carried on the shoulder by someone who is around two metters tall and is running so fast in the forest she see flashes, the fear of falling might just appear a little.
"That guy both restored and advanced this body to peak condition, for the terrain, you just have to analyze where you step. This way is eficient, perfectly balanced there is no need to fear falling. For the cold. I can manipulate some more than normal body functions so I make blood be pumped mainly to the legs and my brain and just the bare minimume elsewere to optimise muscle activation." He answered withouth even a heavey breath or betting an eye to the bombardment of qestions, and still with the same monotone voice.
"Ugh... efficient my ass... can't just just carry me on your back... at least so I don't see the ground move so fast." She was still in a fireman's carry, it wasn't as unconfortabel as it would seem it mostly just... yeah...
"Optimal solution... close your eyes."
"Close my... you little... I will hit you if you don't do it." Without another word, Reason reached back and spun her, the next moment as Mercy oppend her eyes she was on his back. The reason? Arguing with a women is never optimal.
As Mercy's armed relaxed a little around Reasons neck, a vocie spoke up. 'Sigh... I adives you not to bother him...' Tiana's voice.
'Uh? When did you wake up?' Why would I bother him?' She wasn't as much fazed by her now, she did feel her presence, to explaine it would be like someone standing beside you, even if you don't look, you know they are there.
'Reason dosn't actualy like to talk much, he does enjoy explaining things to an extent but he can get anoyed to. He is one of our only chance now... also give me the light for a moment.'
'The light?'
'I mean to be outside.'
'Why would I do that?'
'I wan't to speak with him.'
'And how do I do that?'
'It's not that complicated , there are many ways but let's see the easiest, close your eyes, and instead of outright thinking let your mind ease away kind of like when you are trying to fall aslep, then the other one simply can just think with a little more force and take the light.'
'Close my eyes and... try to sleep... sleep...'
'You are thinking to hard... ease a little it will happen on its own.'
'Ease a little, nyanya nya... Easy to say... I don't even want to do it.'
'You... did you just mock me?'
'No, I complimented you.'
'You bitch... I am just trying to help, you should already know I am not inside you of my own free will.'
'Who are you call a bitch you bitch!? You can just leave already, it's so strange to hear someone else in my head why would I activly give you my body?'
'Stupid if I leave you die. Do you not remamber what I said...'
'... why would I die? Didn't you just say that than to get out of the situation.'
'No, I did, but also... To begin with, you should already be dead.'
'Now are you fucking messing with me!?'
'No, I am serious, you have already died... your soul and body is already separted the chain linking the two rigth now is me, I don't remeber how you died I wasn't fully awake then yet, but I am sure of it, you have alredy died once...'
"I... have died..." She involuntarily said it out loud.
"Hm? That is possible." And Reason answered.
"What... what do you mean, can you feel something?"
"No, but I do have Liam's memorise and he does have somthing strange, flashes of images of you two when still young, of him over your still body, they are the fuzzyest memorise so much so that I am cearten even he couldn't fully recal them but also strangly it is the most present thought he had in his life."
"...Liam..."
"He like you very much... tougth he was conflicted with many things, I like him, he was kind." Such a cold tone yet also somthing in it not as much...
"Reason... so he is realy gone..."
"..." She took it as a confirmation but... it might have been a silience of uncertainty.
'So Liam is gone and I have also died... why does everything has to turn on its head now... why...'
'Now, don't ponder on things so much, he did all he could for you, and if even you don't remamber how your death happend just leave everything be for now.'
'Leave it be? How can I leave his and my death be!?'
'Hey don't scream at me and calm down, if you don't get yourself together we still very well can die today too...'
'Ah...
You are right.'
'We are in this together, if I leave I wont have a body and you die so there is an easy solution for this, we just have to get used to it and help each other out.'
'Get used to it... you are again just trying to get me to accept you in my head... get used to that someone is living in my head rent free all the time? You are just nuts... what about if you take my body like before and privacy or other stuff.'
'Now really... that is your main concern now? I have been here for many many years now, I seen and could have done everything and more, I just had no reason to bother you before.'
'Uf... And now... your reason?'
'Isn't it obvious, it's Temorsth.'
'Temorsth?'
'Him, the name of the seventeen of us.. I mean them the seventeen of them...'
'Seventeen...? You mean... there is seventeen inside Liam...?'
'Liam... it is Temorsth, the name of the body, the name of the collective of the seventeen, it is a long story why but just accept it as that is our true name, also you have already met with four from the seventeen, thought I suppose I am no longer a part of it...'
'Then Liam...'
'Sight, no... that Liam is... hmh, first I thought Liam is the one born to replace me in the seventeen after all there shall always be seventeen, but as Monster said he wasn't a true soul probably just a temporary replacment...'
'Replacement... Liam is...'
'Don't you dare starte to cry.'
'I... I wasn't...'
'Sigh, I don't know, I am just theorasing. It never before happend that one of us left so maybe from today onwards there will only be sixteen... or... maybe... it should be happening soon...'
'What should be?'
'The birth of the seventeenth.' In that same instant...
"Ugh!" Reason fell to his knees, blood flowing from his eyes, ears, and nose.
...