205 Being Used (2/2)

After this fun interlude, Sarah's mother had all the kids clean up for dinner while Laz sent Tyr out to go hunting on his own. Laz actually didn't know what Tyr ate, only that he seemed to take care of himself pretty well and Laz didn't have to worry. When the kids got back and noticed Tyr was gone, they were a bit sad, but brightened up when Laz promised that Tyr would come play with them again soon.

Dinner was a quick affair with lots of food and everyone was very full after words. Laz helped clean up with Sarah to show his appreciation and was about to head back out for a bit before he was stopped by Onacona.

”I'm guessing you already know why I had you come here?” Laz looked at the old man as he said this and nodded his head. Despite them being out in the middle of nowhere, Laz noticed that there weren't any infected in the small town. It also seemed like they had been lucky so far and there weren't any dangerous demon beasts in the area. Although they had encountered a few, from what Laz had figured out, they were mostly low level ones that could be brought down easily by regular guns. As such, the entire village wasn't really at a state of high alert about the changing world around them.

And that was a very dangerous mindset to have.

”You want to use me as a way of getting people to understand the dangers out there?”

”Something like that, yes,” the old man agreed.

”In truth, I want my family to at least have an idea of what is happening. My daughter, although she believes me, still thinks these things are distant and don't affect us. And my granddaughter, well, she is almost totally oblivious to what's happening in the real world. And it's not totally their fault. The government is still keeping things locked down as much as possible and therefore most people are still blind to it.”

”That's nothing new.” Laz knew that the thing that scared people the most was the unexplained. Although things had leaked out, the news was still controlled by the government. This was a point shown by seeing how the normal person thought of the infected versus what they thought of those chosen types. Even though both could be considered dangerous, it was the ones who had physical deformities that would scare the masses. Hence why the infected were considered a threat.

”I am sorry about using you, but I have no choice. I have seen what's going to happen. It's not something that the unprepared can survive through.”

”It's alright old man. I needed a place to recover anyway and if I can help your family in the process, then that's fine by me.” Laz knew that he was being used in a way, but he could also feel the helplessness in the old man's voice. Onacona had claimed to come find him thanks to being led by his visions and although that part was true, even Onacona had no idea why he was led to find Laz. That truly left some questions unanswered.

”In a few days time, I want to call a town meeting so that we can open a forum on what's really happening and what we can do about it. I hope that you will be able to talk to everyone a bit and share some of your experiences,” Onacona asked Laz.

”I would be more than happy to,” Laz replied without hesitation.

”And don't worry about your secret getting out. Only the adults will be invited and everyone here in the tribe can be trusted. No one wants anything to do with the federal government.” Although Laz didn't say anything and would do as the old man requested, he did have a bit of hesitation about revealing himself. He knew that at this point, the government would do anything to get their hands on him if he was found alive.

After their conversation, Laz felt a bit more relaxed, now that he knew what the old man had planned for him. Although good people existed, there were few who would help a stranger with no strings attached. Laz got the feeling that if he said no, the old man wouldn't chase him away or anything like that, but he would be a bit disappointed. And since the old man had come to pick him up, shelter and feed him, Laz wanted to return the favor somehow. He didn't want to owe any debts.

Both men had a few beers before Onacona wandered away, something about going to talk to some old friends of his to get things moving on the forum. Just as Laz walked outside, he noticed that Sarah was standing around while seemingly playing on her phone. The interesting part was that the phone was actually upside down atm. Laz already knew that she had been listening in.

Without exposing her, he just started to walk, back to the edge of the cornfields on a small hill that he was at before. He knew that Tyr would go to find him there when he was done eating.

”Hey...” Sarah's soft voice rang out. It was almost like she was forcing herself to talk to him even though she was hesitant to.

”Yes?”

”I... uh... I wanted to... ask you something...”

”What's that?” Laz could feel her hesitation. Despite her normally fiery persona, it seemed like even she had moments where she could feel skittish.

”Are... are you one of those... people? The ones they talk about on the news and on websites sometimes?” She asked, while clearly afraid to look him in the eyes.

”I am. Why?”

Hearing Laz acknowledge it, Sarah felt herself shivering. She had read the stories and had always been scared about these human monsters that were appearing, but she never thought she would meet one.

”Are you... are... you... here... to... hurt us?”

”... No?” Laz was actually rather amused by her behavior now. Would someone admit to being a killer before killing everyone he admitted it to? Only if he was really messed up in the head.

”Then... why are you here?” Sarah seemed especially nervous now.

”Cause your grandpa gave me a ride.” Laz replied before turning around and walking away, leaving Sarah with a blank look on her face.