Chapter Thirteen

Ignoring that fact, of course, the girl continues blabbering: "We had your wounds treated before bringing you here in confinement for a day to see if there were no toxins in you from the ghouls. Bennett is in another room, but since he was bitten he needs to stay longer so you won't see him for a while, that's why I'm here! He asked me to help you out a little and that's what I'm doing." The last part was said with a mouth full of bread.

Pointing with a spoon at me she suddenly seems to realize something.

"Oh, I got to ask something too! Since you cannot write nor have any documents we still don't know your name! So, how are you called? Uhm, uhm? Oh, right, silly me, you don't understand me, hum… How should I do this then…? They don't teach us how to deal with this kind of situation, darn."

She seems to ponder for a while after I finally reach out for a piece of bread and munch it dry; not like it would taste any better anyway since it wasn't meat and it wasn���t human nor ghoul related, but to keep the appearances I push that soil tasting thing down.

"Oh, I know! Like that movie right? Uhm… My-name-is-Julia, Julia Holland. What-is-yours?" She suddenly starts speaking funny, very slow and with the words strongly pronounced, pointing at her then at me.

I just tilt my head.

"Ugh! Again. J-u-l-i-a. Me. You?" She repeats that a couple of times, frustration growing, until I realize that she was trying to tell me something.

Or rather, ask me something.

Is like Bennett and Harper right? That thing they like to call themselves, what is it… right, a name! Such a silly concept that humans were so attached to, but I guess that if I want to blend in and hunt freely I'll have to learn a few things here and there.

So, a name… should I make one out…? Is not like I can pronounce it anyway, but is a thought to keep in mind for later for sure…

As I think about that her frustration builds up, and I can notice how her face moves to express that; which, by the way, changed far too much and too quick; and how she behaved, like a sponge in the water sucking all information that I could out, only now truly looking at her and not regarding her figure as a mere supporting character.

She had short brown hair that was very curvy, green bright big eyes as full of energy as her mouth, and a very energetic demeanor to top all that.

After talking some more while she ate most of the food; they don't give her food out there?; her gaze falls on me again, making me straight my back so I could quickly react to whatever she was thinking of doing next.

"Well, I guess no point in asking where did you get that wound right? There were some shallow cuts of something sharp, maybe a knife, probably done by a human… you, you haven't been abuse by someone, have you? I mean, Bennett would never do something like that, he is too sweet and kind for it, but then… well, the good part is that it was deemed that it wasn't from a ghoul, so you are good to go! Isn't that good news?!"

She stands, cheeks flushed as she smiles, making me anticipate the healthy chubby meals that I will find later, and with quick steps she goes for the door, stopping midway and frowning.

"What are you doing? Come on, follow me! Hurry hurry!" She motions with her hand, making me slowly walk towards her only for the girl to eye me up and down.

"Well, the clothes will do but… I guess shoes are impossible, right? Why do you have to be so stubborn? Making my job difficult… geez. Come on, let's go!"

At that we are out and about, her quick steps make following behind her harder as we pass throughout those white halls I had seen before, but lacking the smell that I eager for, or rather, it strangely lacked any smells at all, only a strong chemical one in place, as if… it all had been washed away, and constantly to be this clean so even my senses wouldn't pick up anymore.

We walk our way back to the front gate, but a commotion reaches my ears and comes to view next as we walk out, shouts, pleas, screams and cries.

And I soon learn why.

The girl swallows dry as she curses under her breath: "Is that time of the day already? Son of a gun… Bennett got to pay me a very nice meal after this, darn…"

Right at the entrance, where the bridged started, there was a line of soldiers blocking the way in, standing tall and with their faces covered by a mask, most of the body in camouflaged gear, but the most important point was in what they were doing.

And the rifles they were pointing at the people on the bridge.

The responsibles for causing a commotion were the ones who were on the bridge, the people left from the line before, screaming and shouting and even throwing things at the guards, but none had the courage to do more than that and approach with those rifles pointing at them.

One of the guards had the mouth uncovered on the side, and with something on his hand that he puts in front of his face he talked, probably to amplify his voice as he says:

"Please leave the bridge and stay behind the red line, I repeat, please leave the bridge and stay behind the red line. Those who disobey will be shot, I repeat, those who…" He kept repeating the same things over and over until a guy with no mask walked forward, wearing a different uniform with two lines of buttons and some symbols here and there on his shoulder and chest.

He slowly brought a cigarette to his mouth, taking in the foul smell slowly and letting it out through his nose, his grey eyes looking down at that scene with not even coldness, but pure indifference, as if they were not threatening other people lives.

He takes the thing off his mouth and leaves it resting between his long fingers, his tan skin coming to view as well as his face and the scars on the lip, eyebrow and chin, beyond his short black hair.

"Start firing." He simply says to the soldier who was previously shouting the warnings.

"Yes sir.! Take aim! Set. Fire!" At that the men at the front start blazing the bridge with bullets, not even flinching when they hit the people at the front like sacks of meat, having some fall on the pit and others stay over the bridge.

And if I thought they were screaming before… they prove me wrong.

They soon realize that it was not a joke and, panicking, start to run back, but since they had packed the bridge up many others fall from the bullets before they manage to stay behind the red line drawn at the other side of the bridge, and soon a loud mechanism resonates over our heads and cogs move the thick chain and bring the bridge up, leaving the bodies to roll like they were nothing and any who manage to reach the soldiers would be kicked to the pit mercilessly, even if they still had life in them.

Totally ruthless.

And a waste of good meat too…

"They could have just warned shot them…" Says Julia as she watches everything unfold with clenched fists to the side.

"They grow bold if we do." Someone answered, making the girl tense up and look beside her only to find the man from before, and yet even if his words were directed towards her his calculating grey eyes were on me.

"Lieutenant Owen! I reckon you were informed of the boy Soldier Bennett brought with him and that he still needs to be allocated. So, as requested before, could you please spare him some time and give him a proper place to stay?"

He listens while slowly smoking that sticky thing, making me want to sneeze and wiggle my nose, and I can hear and feel the increasing tension from the girl, Julia, as he dragged the silence away, answering only once the bridge was finally closed and the soldiers that once were at the front went to stay up above the walls to guard for the upcoming night.

Suddenly he reaches out and cups my chin with his hand in a rough gesture, keeping my face in place as with the flaming tip of this cigarette he brushes my hair aside to have a clear look at my features.

And after seconds of consideration he simply says:

"Red circle." Letting go of my face as suddenly as he reached out makes me increasingly annoyed by him, wondering if I should eat him first or leave him to despair as the last one; both options very tempting; however the moment his words come out the girl started protesting.

I internally sigh. Is this going to take long? I want to explore my new territory already…