22 Merci

-----Fleur's Perspective----

"Paul, I'll be resigning from my post. From now on, I'll be accompanying this kid and there's nothing you can do to stop me"

A tall feminine figure approaches my behind and spouted the words that I had been wanting to hear. Her strong volitions made my heart flutter in glee, but deep inside, I knew all along what was coming for Venice.

"What do you mean resigning your post?"

"I'll be quitting the military" She then beckons me with a forceful smile.

Abandoning one's job, especially in the infantry, would prove to be difficult, Yet, I was ignorant of anything, which had have caused turmoil amidst the flow of this conversation.

Dejected, I pulled myself upright and shook the shoulders of the woman whom I cherish with my life.

"This isn't only about us. What about you? What about saving everyone—those people trapped inside their home, stranded, and even left barely eaten or escaping alive? I thought we'll be handling those petrified people from the vicious zombies lurking every fucking where!" I screamed from the top of my lungs, hoping to get a knack out of Venice.

She lashes out in the form of a chuckle, as if that the things I've said were the funniest joke laid out inside a bar.

"What's so funny?" I queried, still shaking her shoulders.

"My family… they're all dead" She hysterically laughs once again, this time producing an oddly look on to her face.

She began hugging her knees in deprivation, hoping the pain would fade out—but nothing. It was all left unforgotten, lingering inside her pure mind.

"My mum, my dad, even my older sister. They…no news had come to me. THEY'RE ALL DEAD AT THAT VERY PLACE!" She continued while boisterously scratching her head whilst pulling her hair.

"Stop it. That's enough." Paul abruptly catches her arms with a firm grip.

"Can I ask if…you can leave us be?" He said as he shifts his gaze unto me. This was indeed the first time that I've seen Paul's stern look to be soft and cracked from the sight of Venice, who had been broken down into shambles. The topic must've hurt her quite deeply, and the love inherited from her family's heart had taken the toll out from her mind.

"I understand" I turn around and soon walked away. Tears fell from my eyes similar to the pouring rain, mourning for the people she had lost.

--------

Tomorrow came yet, again, I was left restless and voided from my sleep. Without having anything much to do, I packed up my things in a jiffy and visited Clinton's room, which he had been surprisingly doing the same.

"You're up early," He said, bewildered from the sudden visitor.

"Couldn't sleep" I replied and began folding his scattered materials inside his worn-out bag.

"Thank you," Clinton said

And thus ended our conversation.

Clinton was a genetically…messy individual in terms of organizing things from the get-go. He would just mash up all of his belongings inside out and pray for an unknown deity to bless his storage.

"You need a hand?"

"No, thank you. I think I got the hang of it"

My worried demeanour had been left further astray, so it seems. While finishing the last few touches of his scattered possessions, I took out a photograph hidden behind his old spare of notebooks, which used to be a note specified for his college matter.

"Do you mind?" I ask, rotating the notebook from all around, studying it for more plausible images attached.

"No, not at all" He was hesitant at first, but soon gave way from his feelings. A gave a short nod from his approval and began rummaging myself to the scribbled notes and other stuff, which was quite arranged from the terms written on the pages that I've no idea about.

Soon after, at the end pages of his note, pictures of both him and Pura are glued and aesthetically placed together inside their matching border frames.

At the corner of my eye, I saw Clinton adamantly staring at the photographs resting on my hand, reminiscing from the time he had first met Pura. Although I was briefly aware of their private relationship, I hadn't been able to know nor talk to him as one of my circle of friends.

"Aaaw, where was this picture taken?" I asked and returned the image to Clinton.

"It was hmm, around a year ago? I don't know. But we usually hang out in this small restaurant and…" he subsequently stop from his tracks the moment he took the photograph out from my hands. He then solemnly stares at the image and gently slides his fingers toward the smiling figure of Pura.

"We used to eat at this restaurant and… turns out, she had struck by love at first sight for me, and so did I. I knew she's the one but I… A lot of things had happened and sort of disrupted our relationship." Clinton started closing his eyes, as he unfolds their story between their distant loves. I didn't dive in further from their matter, thus and eventually changed the topic.

"Anyway, we need to get moving"

I stood up and gazed at the grimy luggage once more. The room was bombarded with dust and wrecked items, slowly being worked out by Clinton himself.

"Gotcha. I'll head out in a minute…or an hour" he replied while swiftly putting back in place the photographs used and stored the rest of his items inside his bag.

-----

2 hours had finally passed and we're currently outside, waiting inside the helicopter run by Trevor, who was also our pilot from before when we had both saved Ariel and Zenith.

Speaking of them, they are presently waving their hands near the helipad.

"We'll be missing you, big sister Fleur" Ariel runs towards me and gives me a warm pleasant hug, just enough to snuggle her adorable body.

"I'll miss you too" I replied and gently gave her a long kiss on her forehead.

"When will you come back?"

"I…"

"Now now, honey. We don't want Fleur to be late for her work now, do we?" Zenith calmly strolls her way and lifted Ariel from behind. Her daughter immediately pouted and soon crosses her arms.

"But I wanna be with Fleur" She retorted, hoping that her wishes could be heard.

"Ariel, dear. You know she has work to do, right?"

"And besides, I'll return before you can even say 'Clinton's a dog"

I remarked while pinching her nose for the last time.

"I can hear you" Clinton snorts behind, but soon had his change of heart.

"I'll miss you, Ariel" He gently pats Ariel's head and flashes her a wide smile.

"Hmph, meanie"

"Ack~ my heart." Clinton acted as if he had been having multiple seizures of cardiac arrest while placing both of his hands on the surface of his chest.

"Fleur, Clinton, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for us. If you haven't helped us out, Pura might've…" Zenith firmly holds my hand and began tearing up inside. I

"No need to thank us, ma'am. Besides, Pura was the one who decided to save you guys. She'll haunt us forever if we haven't finished what she had started."

These are the words that I've been wanting to tell them. At long last, I was able to meet the goals of Pura who was now resting in peace.

"I'll return with souvenirs," I shouted.

The two of them went back towards their original positions and resumed waving their goodbyes.

Seeing them off before our main journey was a blessing, and saving them along the way was the best decision we had ever accomplished during these apocalyptic times.

"All set?" Trevor's, who's residing at the pilot's seat, queers us a question. The chopper was ready to go but…

"Venice" I murmured, hoping she would come and join us in our voyage…or even to see us off. Where is she? Is she not coming with us?

Paul himself was nowhere to be found and judging from the schedule we had earlier discussed, we are nearly arriving late for our designated flight.

"You looking for us, kid?" Paul jumps inside the chopper from behind with two large bags intact.

"What's with the face? Aren't you happy that we'll be coming aboard, hmm?" Venice followed suit and took out two large pieces of baggage from behind and pushed it inside.

"W-WHAT?! I THOUGHT YOU GUYS AREN'T AVAILABLE?" My face tells it all. Shockingly as I was, my mouth was left agape from their presence, while my mind had soon been corrupted by the series of unexpected events creating dozens of 'error tabs' on my human screen.

"Well, Paul here had assigned his fellow squadron to monitor the whole base." Says Venice, who is also busy aligning her seatbelts on the helicopter's seat.

"Princess, the whole damn thing had escalated heftily. We are tasked to capture both Andrew and Claire, alive; Our humanity's last hope." Paul continued, as he too tweaks the leathered belt lying on his waist—of course, with a cigar on his mouth.

Trevor, who had been well-informed from the event snickered in front and lights up a smile on the mirror right beneath his head.

"You guys…" Clinton said and merrily does the same, as he giddily sat from his seat with a big curl up from his face.

I was left speechless from the scene, as I also prepared myself from the seatbelts attached at the open seat, right next to Venice.

Yesterday, I was seen begging for Venice to join our team.

And now, Paul had unexpectedly joined the fray