He studied Rex again, the way he trembled like an old, cracked statue about to break apart. Johnquis repeated, voice rough.
"Lex..."
Rex's voice spiked, echoing off the pharmacy walls.
"Yeah! Lex! My little sister! The only thing that's mine in this fucked-up pit! And now she's—"
He cut himself off with a choked sob, scrubbing tears with the heel of his glove.
"She's not supposed to leave me. We're a set, you know? Fork and spoon. That's what we used to say—"
Johnquis winced, feeling the Runner above them tense , the quiet rasp of its breath almost a growl. He took a careful half-step back.
"Hey. Rex. I'm sorry about your sister—"
"DAMN IT, LEX!"
Rex suddenly shouted, his voice so raw it scraped the air.
"WHY'D YOU DO THIS TO ME? WHY'D YOU PICK THAT BALDING MUSCLEHEAD OVER YOUR OWN BROTHER?!"
His shout bounced around the ruined store. Old pill bottles rattled on the floor. The Runner's claws flexed against the beam overhead.
And then —
A voice called from the street outside, echoing through the broken windows:
"HEY, CAPTAIN! YOU OKAY IN THERE?"
Rex's eyes snapped wide. His chest heaved as he tilted his head toward the door, breath ragged."Oh, damn — got all emotional again, huh? Sorry. I'm always like this when I talk about my sister. Big brother problems, right? She's all I had left — I'd do anything for her."
He forced a laugh, the sound brittle.
"Anyway… I gotta go. My squad's probably finished sweeping the area. Lucky bastards might snag a loot bag, you beat me to this one. Heh. Good for you."
Rex forced a smile that didn't touch his eyes, wiping the last smudge of tears from under his visor with the back of his wrist. He sniffed, then flicked his head toward the doorway where the muffled shout had come from.
"Squad gets nervous if I disappear too long. Gotta keep them in line, you know how it is."
He stepped back. The hanging sign above him squeaked as it rocked. Rex paused just before he crossed the threshold, glancing at the loot bag remains on the floor.
"You did good."
He said, voice oddly gentle for someone whose eyes still glowed with that feverish loneliness.
"Take care of yourself, Johnquis. Loot bags… they're dangerous. That blood in 'em can make you crave more, can change you into something else."
His gaze drifted to the smear of blood near Johnquis's mouth. Then lower, to the faint black gleam of his Eater Stone.
"Hope that feed won't make you a Glutton."
A silhouette flickered past the broken window — one of his squad, waiting.Rex raised a hand in a half-wave.
"Stay alive, yeah? This place doesn't forgive the soft."
Then he turned and stepped out into the overgrown street, shoulders hunched under the weight of everything left unsaid. The echo of his footsteps faded between the ruined buildings, swallowed by the distant wind and the rustle of vines scraping broken concrete.
Johnquis didn't move. Not until the Runner slipped soundlessly down from the ceiling, landing at his side with a low, soft growl.
He stared at the doorway for a long moment, words caught behind his teeth.
Lex.
He flexed his hand, feeling the faint pulse of the Eater Stone. It lay quiet, but inside his head something twisted tighter, a coil of guilt and memory.
"Rex… I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to tell you. Seeing you, it's like looking at myself back then, when Jiana left me. I couldn't say it... that Lex… she's gone."
He turned, just enough to catch the Runner's eyes. Its violet stare glowed in the dim light — and in that gaze, there was something that almost understood.
They slipped out into the street together, moving the way they always did: quiet, watchful, staying alive. Johnquis caught a faint smile as a massive structure loomed ahead. The shattered remains of a mall, its lower floors buried in rubble.
SEASIDE MALL — the sign above the main entrance hung crooked, letters half-gone.
"Don't look at me like I'm gonna stroll you through it. We won't find shit in there. Nothing left but ghosts."
They pushed on, following a side path that snaked past the mall's crumbling flank.
Ahead, by the gray chop of the sea, the rusted bones of an old amusement park loomed. The air was sharp with salt, the wind cold off the waves.
Faded banners flapped weakly in the wind. Tilted rides stood frozen in time. Twisted ferris wheel cages, a roller coaster track sagged and the half-collapsed remains of a carousel, its painted horses chipped and lifeless. Nature had claimed the place.
"Hard to believe this place was once joy… Now it's just another corpse in the world's graveyard."
They walked beneath the ferris wheel. He stopped and looked up.
"This was my favorite spot. Up there… you'll know why."
The wheel creaked in the wind.
"Come on. Let's climb."
He fired his hook and shot upward, cape snapping behind him. The Runner followed right after, leaping with ease.
"Those long legs really help you out, huh."
He climbed fast, almost excited. Looking down, he saw the Runner keeping up, and it made him smile.
It felt like showing off a secret place like a kid bringing a new friend to his old hideout.
"Almost there! You'll see why I loved it up here."
They reached the top, landing on the highest platform just beneath the rusted crown of the ferris wheel. The wind was stronger up here, pushing at them with cold fingers. From this height, they could see everything—the broken coastline, the towering buldings, and far beyond, the thick green wilderness swallowing what was left of the city.
The view held their breath for a moment.
"Do you get it now? This view's amazing. You can see everything from up here. When I was a kid, I used to wonder what the world looked like outside the walls. And now… seeing all this... I still think it's worth saving."
Johnquis sat down slowly, legs hanging off the edge.
"Whenever I climbed up here, it felt like time stopped. I always wished I could freeze every moment."
The two sat quietly. The sea below sparkling in the moonlight. Stars glowing across the sky.
After a while, Johnquis spoke again.
"You remember Lex, right? The one you ripped open, tore through her abdomen and clamped your jaws around her throat?"
He let out a dry chuckle.
"Freaky monster…"
He glanced across the park.
"I wasn't even supposed to be on that quest last night. I just took it without checking… Turned out I was a fill-in. For their squad. Because Rex, Lex's brother bailed."
Johnquis's voice dropped.
"I could feel it. He's strong. Dangerous. But he stayed… for his sister."
The Runner remained still. Johnquis looked down at his gloved hands.
"The sister you killed."
He turned toward the Runner.
"And now… you're bound to me. He doesn't know what really happened. Not yet. But when he finds out… he'll realize you're still alive. And that I'm the one keeping you as a slave."
Johnquis paused. His next words came out with worry.
"He'll lose it. He'll blame me. And maybe he should. I wasn't strong enough. If Rex had gone instead of me… maybe they'd still be alive."
The wind howled.
"I don't even know what you are anymore. You killed them… but now you follow my commands. You're quiet. Controlled. Tamed…maybe."
He looked up at the stars overhead, face pale in the moonlight.
"But when Rex sees you…"
He swallowed hard.
"He will want revenge. He will kill you."
Johnquis's voice cracked.
"I-I don't know what to do, killing you would be justice… but…"
Silence.
The wind swept through the ferris wheel, rattling its rusted frame. Below, the waves crashed against the shore.