Sharp morning wind cut through the rusted gaps of Riverbend's crumbling buildings. The smell of overnight dust mixed with old metal, carried on the first harsh breath of a new day.
Leon reached the patrol station ahead of Eva, spotting the tall elderly figure sitting outside—unusually quiet and grim.
"Leon!"
The familiar gravelly voice called out—Barton, the town's perpetually complaining old patrol leader. But today his eyes looked more serious than ever.
Leon sighed, glancing over.
"What's the emergency this early? The team's gonna fall apart without me?" he said with mild sarcasm.
Barton let out a dry chuckle.
"Without those sharp ears of yours, who's gonna listen for danger for the rest of us?"
"That urgent, huh? Or is this about that Red Mist thing again?" Leon shot back, shrugging indifferently. "What you guys like to say—that it's just fog mixed with rotting rat blood? Ridiculous."
Barton stared at Leon silently, his expression not shifting at the mockery. "Today... that 'ridiculous' thing is exactly what we're all going to face as a team."
The words made Leon stop short. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Every patrol team in the city is going in there," Barton said with heavy finality, all traces of his usual playfulness gone.
Leon's frown deepened immediately. "What? Go in for what? There's more to it than you've been telling us, isn't there?"
"We're preparing," Barton emphasized. "And this mission... without someone with good ears like you, it's going to be a real problem."
Leon started to turn away. "Not interested. I'm not wasting my rest time." He stayed stubborn.
Suddenly Eva's voice cut in as she caught up, her tone mixing worry with defiance.
"Old man! Are you insane? We don't know anything about it! You've all been covering things up this whole time!" She crossed her arms, glaring at Barton with clear displeasure.
Barton smiled thinly—a smile that didn't reach his eyes—and spoke in a low voice. "I think... I'm starting to 'know' some things now. And it's time you two knew as well."
Leon, who was about to turn his back, stopped abruptly and spun around, interest clearly visible in his eyes.
"Know what?"
Eva stepped beside Leon, her gaze steady. "Yeah, spill it all, old man Barton. Stop being so damn cryptic."
Barton crossed his arms, his expression grave as he replied seriously. "Have you ever noticed... why the big Vine-born, the ones that aren't just dirty rats, never show up in Riverbend?"
Leon snapped his fingers. "Huh!" He swept his gaze skyward as if searching his memories for answers. "That's true... since I was born, I've never seen any Vine-born scarier than these mutant rats. Only heard stories, almost started thinking they were just fairy tales."
"Actually, I was wondering about that too," he asked back with a more serious tone, his reluctance to get involved beginning to fade, replaced by curiosity.
Barton nodded. "The reason comes from that 'Red Mist.'"
He narrowed his eyes, staring into Leon's and Eva's faces alternately. "Notice how... the mist comes in cycles, not all the time?"
Leon answered immediately. "I've noticed, but..."
Eva interrupted. "So what does that have to do with other Vine-born not coming in? Or does that mist 'hunt' them?" Her question was sharp and to the point.
Barton let out a dry laugh, while Leon looked at Eva with slight surprise that she'd thought in that direction.
Barton drew a breath, as if preparing to shoulder a tremendous burden, getting ready to say something important.
"The thing is..." Barton hadn't finished speaking.
Leon cut in immediately, his voice cold but with knowing awareness gleaming in his eyes.
"This is part of why the adults in this town try so hard to keep people from going far from Riverbend, isn't it? Not just because of outside dangers, but there's something you 'don't want' us to know about this place."
The air around them seemed to thicken slightly. Red mist hung in the distance along the horizon, and sunlight that should have been bright was swallowed by faint bloody hues until everything looked like a half-awake nightmare. Leon felt ice creep up his spine, though it wasn't from the weather.
Barton worked his jaw slowly, as if chewing bitter truths. He nodded slightly, his voice low and hoarse.
"Yes... you're starting to understand. Riverbend has a lot more to it than meets the eye."
Eva fell silent for a moment. She clenched her fists, then sighed long while muttering.
"This is starting to go way beyond 'patrol' for food or resources..."
Leon glanced at her, his face caught between light and shadow. The corner of his mouth curved up slightly—a smile that could be called either amused or pitying of his own fate and that of everyone in this town.
"So that means... that damn mist is 'alive' or controlled by something living, right?" he asked directly.
Barton didn't answer immediately. He raised his hand to rub his throat as if something was stuck there. His eyes dropped for a moment before looking up to meet Leon's and Eva's gazes steadily, then forced the words out.
"Or at least... it has 'intent.' Intent that's been affecting all of us in Riverbend this whole time."
A sharp gust of cold wind swept through the alley. Scraps of paper and metal dust swirled in the empty silence—a heavy quiet that seemed to wait for answers or decisions.
Leon stood still, unconsciously gripping the metal pipe tighter. Something crept into his chest, like fear but not yet acknowledged. Images of his parents abandoning him in this town flashed through his mind... did they know about this too?
He spoke softly to himself, his tone carrying complex emotions that were hard to explain.
"The outside world still has so much more... and it seems like 'inside' Riverbend itself has just as much to discover."
Barton looked at the faces of both young people, full of questions and confusion, before speaking in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, yet it echoed in that silence.
"And today... you'll see Riverbend's 'Guardian' with your own eyes."