118 Deep Water (1/2)

I had fun writing this chapter. I feel like I'm back into the swing of things at least. Hope you guys enjoy the chap.

I shrugged, “Yawm’s been keeping me busy. I’m sorry.”

Althea narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrows,

“That’s a pretty good excuse...I still missed you though`.”

She laid out on her bed, arms propping up her head and her feet kicking behind her. Her hair was messy, but in a sexy kind of way. To me at least. I grinned at her, “I missed you too.”

Althea flushed a bit before glancing off in the distance, “So...how are things?”

She I laughed a bit at her awkwardness, “Things are going pretty good for now. I’m not dead, so that’s a plus.”

She nodded, “Or turned inside out either.”

I shivered, “Don’t remind me.”

She leaned towards the camera, her eyes opening wide, “Did you, uh, see anyone else there?”

I shook my head, “No. Yawm killed everyone after they sent you out bounty hunting.”

Althea glanced down, “Oh...really...Wow.”

I raised a finger, “Wait, there’s one person named Keeja.”

Althea looked up at me, her head tilted in confusion, “What? He’s alive?”

I weighed my hands back and forth, “Sort of. I’m sure he’s not the same as you remember him being.”

Althea gripped her shoulder with a hand, “Yeah, Keeja always looked scared of everything. I never imagined he’d last this long.”

I grimaced, “Well, there’s not much left of him. He warned me to run though. It was very...ominous.”

Althea nodded, “Let’s hope you can get out of there as fast as possible. I’m sure Yawm has tried selling you plenty lies already.”

I shook my head in disbelief, “Yeah, he’s a bullshit salesman.” I locked eyes with Althea,

“It’s not just that though. I get the feeling that Yawm’s really disconnected with what he’s doing. I mean yeah, it all sounds good in theory, but if you look at what he’s done...It’s malicious. How he’s gotten this far in and never thought to himself that it’s all a bad idea, well I can’t fathom it.”

Althea raised her hands, “I know right? I can’t even go on for five minutes without doubting myself.”

I frowned, “See, that’s the thing. He does doubt himself, but he just keeps going. It’s like he’s taking water out of a sinking ship. He’s been doing it for so long now that he won’t stop no matter what. He’d rather keep wasting his time than face the fact that he’s wasted time up till now.”

Althea’s eyes turned hard, “Yeah, I never liked him. I didn’t see him much though, only twice before I was changed. Once before the operation and once more right after it.”

I rested my chin on my hands, “Did they ever mention anything about tears?”

Althea raised an eyebrow, “Tears? Maybe as a code word for something else. No one was crying during the experiment though, not even me. I only remember them surrounding me with dungeon cores that were writhing like they were alive. They dipped me in some liquid with all the cores. After that, I don’t know.”

I grabbed my chin, “Damn...Well that just makes things more confusing.”

Althea nodded, “Yeah, it does...”

An awkward silence passed before I coughed into my hand,

“Ahem, I...uh...love you”

For some forsaken reason, I blushed a little as I said it. I shook my head in frustration,

“What am I, twelve? I thought I got rid of the jitters years ago.”

Althea giggled out a nervous laugh, “I’m blushing too if it makes you feel any better.”

My eyes focused back in on her. Her face was purple. I laughed,

“You’re cheeks are as purple as your hair.”

She swiped her hand at me, “Cut me some slack.”

I smirked at her, “It’s not my forte.”

She turned onto her back, looking at me with her head hanging off her bed, “Yeah, I could tell after you killed those levelers like that.”

I spread out my hands, “Yeah, that was weird as hell. Why would they even try doing that?”

Althea tapped her full lips with a finger, “Hmmmm. I guess levels are important.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Enough to die for?”

Althea’s purple, shiny hair spread out onto the stone floor with a nice sheen to it,

“There’s certain places you can only go once you’ve gotten to a high enough level. That’s why I went to earth for my bounties instead of a more developed world. I was way too low level for somewhere more fun.”

I raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong with earth?”

She kicked her legs at the edge of the bed, her fluffy pajamas looking comfy,

“I mean Earth’s fine I guess. It’s kind of empty though. There are some places you can go that have more city than wilderness. Anything you could want, they have. Some people just shore up and watch stuff on their obelisk all day. Other people get high on all kinds of drug cocktails until they go broke before going out for credits again.”

Althea glanced off into the distance, “With money, you can have pretty much anything you could ever want really.”

For a second, I thought about what she said. I remembered asking other classmates what they would do for a million dollars back in middle school. People had a wild variety in their answers. Some would kill other people for a tenth that amount. Others wouldn’t even suck a dick for double it. It really did depend on the person.

I assumed that mercenaries were the same way. They saw Schema’s reward as that million dollars, a reward that was normally impossible. Because of that, greed consumed them. It was kind of sad how Schema swayed them so easily. It made me wonder what their lives were like before the mission.

I silenced those thoughts. Thinking about that would just make me feel awful. Besides, they shot at me first. It’s ridiculous to think I wouldn’t ensure my safety after something like that.

I leaned towards the camera, “What would you spend a mountain of credits on?”

Althea grinned at me, “Hiring a personal chef, a nice, cozy house with a huge library in it, and a huge bath so I could soak in it all day.”

A wry smile traced my lips, “Expensive tastes, eh?”

She made a hand into a gun and pointed it at me, “I could always take you out for a few quick credits.”

I raised my hands, fiegning mock terror, “You wouldn’t dare.”

She cocked her hand, acting like she was loading a pistol, “Try me.”

I waited for a moment before pulling out a pistol from my own hand.

“Bang bang bang!”

I pressed a hand against my chest, “Blahh, you got me!”

Althea pressed a fingertip to her lips and blew on the pistol, “Shouldn’t have crossed me.”