Chapter 13: Departure.

When the Prime bells announced dawn, Salvatoris rose to his feet. He hadn't slept much, his eyes showing dark circles. Although the day had only just begun, he knew it would be another busy one. He had to find Alice, not forgetting to take some food with him to reactivate her. He also thought of leaving a note for his mother, who had already left for work, to inform her of his departure. However, he suddenly realized something: he'd only mastered the ancient script he'd seen in his vision, and his mother couldn't read even the simplest script, which left him puzzled as to his plan of escapade.

Nevertheless, he shook his head as he strode determinedly towards his kitchen. He then grabbed a piece of bread, before heading straight for the plains, unaware of the consequences his actions might have. He wanted to know, even if it didn't benefit him.

As soon as he was out of the house, he called up his puppets left outside the village. He'd almost completely forgotten the danger of the routny, so engrossed was he in what he could learn as he walked across the plains at speed.

However, he stopped when he saw tall grass moving not far from him, a sign that the routny were lurking nearby. He made a quick decision, sending one of his puppets to his death before moving discreetly towards the ruin. With all the commotion the fight would cause, he was confident he'd have no trouble, and as if to prove it, he arrived safely at the ruin's entrance, his piece of bread firmly in hand.

Once again, he passed through the ruin's barely concealed entrance, though he noticed a change: the air was now slightly more breathable in these parts, no doubt due to the opening he had caused the day before. He moved swiftly through the ruin, his attention focused solely on his objective: to question Alice and find out more.

When he arrived in front of Alice, he smashed his bread into fine pieces before putting it in his mouth, waiting for Alice's reaction. However, time passed, seconds quickly became minutes, and when Salvatoris was about to give up in the face of Alice's lack of reaction, a metallic noise was heard, followed by a faint voice.

"un-u,-hu-human... Y-you're the one I made read our me-memories to?"

Salvatoris was surprised at first, but quickly nodded, not forgetting to ask his questions.

"What was all that about? Is this really the world I live in? Was what you showed me true?"

"Y-yes...your gods are not what you think, you-you saw it like me and Reiner saw it...so-wh-why question me?"

Salvatoris froze. He had no idea what Alice was referring to, so he looked at her, knowing only too little what to say, before muttering a sentence.

"All I saw was a bustling world, there was no sign of any race other than humans. At the end, there was a fight in the streets, but... why are you telling me this?"

Hearing this, Alice froze, her time was running out, and she knew better than anyone that she wouldn't have time to answer Salvatoris' questions, let alone explain the situation. She then scanned her memory, looking for reasons why Salvatoris hadn't seen everything she wanted to show him, before stopping herself, realizing one thing: she shouldn't have listened to Clovis at that moment. Then she fixed Salvatoris with a deep stare, she didn't know who he was, why he'd come back knowing so little about the past, nor what his intentions were, but she had to convey what had happened, she wanted to save him, no, she had to save him.

"He-he...you should have seenmo- more. Come closer...I...have...not t the- the ti-me..."

Alice's body began to convulse in places, making Salvatoris hesitate, however, he stepped forward, speaking in a determined voice.

"I want to know everything, show me everything A...Alice. I want to understand everything that's happened, I need to know if this world is just a big lie, or if the lie is you! I need to know if this man is the hero whose resurrection I've always dreamed of, and to understand why the world has changed so much, or even if it's the same world."

However, Alice's reply was transmitted in a damaged robotic voice, barely audible.

"Very, very wewell. I hope you make the right choice, hu-human. Sau-sauve the...ple-please..." 

Alice stammered, a sad expression marking her destroyed face. She struggled to speak as all her strength left her body, to once again illuminate the device behind her with a brilliant green light, which once again sent Salvatoris into a deep coma when Alice grabbed his hand, leaving the unconscious Salvatoris to be assailed by incomprehensible images.

* * *

When all stabilized, only the incredulous faces of Alice and Reiner facing a window were visible. However, they were soon transformed into terrified faces, then shocked by the violence of the clashes taking place just a few meters from their window. These clashes had erupted without a moment's notice, apart from gunfire in the nearby alleyways, and men emerging from their homes armed. Although the civilians' weapons were sometimes archaic or homemade, they were still effective enough to kill several policemen who didn't have the proper protection anywhere to resist this type of weapon.

Their corpses lay in pools of blood amid increasingly violent flames, while rats and other urban pests, accustomed to the city's almost daily violence, were attracted by the smell of flesh and blood. They would pluck the eyes out of the sockets of certain corpses and carry them into the surrounding alleyways or sewers, sometimes going so far as to enter the bodies themselves through their mouths to devour them safely from the inside.

However, when pulse or plasma weapons from the black markets hit their target, they left nothing but ashes or pools of deformed organic liquid on the verge of boiling over. This was without counting the countless casualties on the side of the rebel mob, whose only advantage was sheer numbers. The vast majority didn't even have a semblance of armor, wearing at best ordinary clothes, or at worst, simple rags patched over and over again with any kind of leather, fabric or even old plastic.

Alice was the first to look away, placing her hand on Reiner's shoulder and shaking her head to encourage him to do the same. But Reiner couldn't take his eyes off the morbid, bloody spectacle, whose atrocious stench could almost be smelled through the windows, piercing even the smell of burning now common to all. Seeing that Reiner barely turned his gaze away to look at her, Alice struck up a conversation, trying to speak in a calm, clear voice.

"There's no point in looking too hard, it's even worse than yesterday... better to wait for someone to come and get us too, it's already a miracle we can stay so close to the capital without being drafted. So... let's try to enjoy, and forget, before moping about something we can't change. Didn't you also say something like that to me before?"

"Yes...but...it's...I realize it's easier said than done..."

Reiner replied hesitantly, looking away from the window as Alice blocked it again with the piece of furniture that had been moved to allow a view outside.

After blocking the window, Alice picked up the remote control that lay randomly on the sofa, then turned on the TV, staring at Reiner.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know really, watch some anime, I guess, so I can change the mood a bit."

But just as Alice was about to change the Tv mode, the news channel in the background called out to her as the reporter talked about the global situation.

"-This allows all our citizens to have secure training before going out into the field, and despite the occasional minor dissent being quickly peacefully subdued by law enforcement that continues to occur occasionally, all is going well. We repeat, any worker who is not a reservist must remain at his post and will not be conscripted. Don't confuse the issue, many people misunderstand-"

Reiner cut the journalist off mid-speech, and took the remote control from Alice's hands, changing the TV mode itself, which suddenly distorted, disappearing to leave only abysmal blackness in its place, before reappearing as if nothing had happened, as Reiner said.

"There's no point in seeing this anymore..."

"I agree, but, still, I was curious."

Reiner went to a website, watching a Japanese anime with Alice, gradually turning up the sound as the episodes progressed to mask the noise of howling, flames coming closer, and increasingly violent exchanges of gunfire emanating from outside. Suddenly, however, everything calmed down, with only one final shot sounding, bringing total calm to the street and surrounding apartments. This allowed Reiner and Alice to turn down the volume of what they were watching, acting as if nothing had happened.

Outside, the sun was setting under a horrific sight, where men in white suits were doing their best to clean up the street filled with blood and mutilated corpses, full of flies and their eggs frankly laid in their breasts. They were trying to scare away the rats and other vermin that had invaded the streets to feed on this feast, under the gaze of Reiner, who had once again moved a piece of furniture to see the situation outside.

Despite this, everything was as before, the streets were only noticeably less crowded. The administrative buildings were still bustling with activity, despite nightfall. This left the main streets of the city, which had seemed so calm and peaceful, lit up from all sides.

However, this view was blocked by the furniture, which Reiner replaced with a sigh, as if he didn't really want to see what he'd seen, but couldn't help looking. He headed for his room, where Alice had already taken refuge in her charging station, close to two filled backpacks. Reiner settled down on his bed, wrapping himself in his blankets, still wearing all his clothes, and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep while the night was still calm.

It was only in the middle of the night that this calm was interrupted by a ringing from the front door of Reiner's apartment, leaving Alice to move to it so as not to wake him. Opening the door, she was greeted by a man in a black suit holding his glasses in his left hand, who spoke almost immediately.

"Synthetic Alice, please bring your owner, it's time for your departure."

The man pointed to the shuttle behind him, which bore the initials of the Greek god Ares representing the government, and pulled a badge from the front left pocket of his suit to prove his point. He let Alice wake Reiner, who wordlessly took his belongings and bags from a corner of his room, then gave one to Alice. Both followed the man in the suit and entered the shuttle, opening its doors from top to bottom. As it lifted off the ground and headed for the capital, it showed the grandeur of all the skyscrapers seemingly only a short distance from the vehicle, where small buildings like Reiner's seemed much smaller. The sprawling streets blended together in the light, showing off all the more the alleys that had little or no lighting, making them stand out all the more in this landscape of light.

* * *

As the journey drew to a close, the landscape changed from sprawling, interconnected cities to a deserted crater-filled zone, occasionally sending the vehicle's built-in Geiger counter into a frenzy, with abandoned ruins that nature had long since covered over. It was only when the counters stopped making noise that the shuttle began to slow down. The sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the shuttle as it approached an isolated military camp in the middle of this abandoned landscape.

Reiner and Alice got out of the vehicle as soon as the man opened the doors from the driver's seat, guiding them between other shuttles of varying sizes in a huge hangar where over a hundred people were waiting. Many of them were sleeping inside, some were waiting outside, and others had obviously just arrived, and were trying to find somewhere to put their things, or were waiting for something.

Once Reiner and Alice were close to the hangar, the man spoke in a loud voice.

"The last people on the list have just arrived, all the Androids gather outside, you take another shuttle."

Soft whispers ran through the room as the androids stood up, some clearly expecting it, though others were surprised. However, they all headed for two of the largest shuttles specialized in mass transport.

Each was piloted by an android waiting in the driver's seat. Alice was among the first aboard the nearest shuttle. Then, once both ships were full, the farther one took off, leaving the fuller one behind. He was now accompanied by another man in a military outfit consisting of a camouflage jacket decorated with a few medals, and matching military pants, who had just joined him without a sound.

"Now that all the androids are gone, or nearly so, I'd like to introduce you to your instructor.

The man in military garb stepped forward and spoke in an authoritative voice after coming to a halt.

"My name is Monsieur Sécrès, your instructor during your short stay here. From now on, you will all refer to me as 'Instructor', or 'Mister Instructor', we're not here to become friends, but to try and give you the necessary military basics to make you not just cannon fodder, but useful soldiers."

All present then focused their attention on the instructor and stopped whispering, restoring the camp's original calm, before it was broken again by the instructor's authoritative voice.

"Listen carefully, soldiers. We can't perform physical miracles in a week. Usually, it takes eight months to forge soldiers worthy of the name. But we don't have that luxury. You'll have to absorb these basics like sponges. The rest you'll learn in the field, in the heart of the action. I expect iron discipline and unfailing attention from each and every one of you."

Whispers spread through the crowd almost immediately upon hearing the instructor's words. But these were quickly drowned out by the sound of the last shuttle taking off in its turn, leaving Reiner staring for a long moment, unaware even of the instructor's new words. It wasn't until everyone started heading for the nearby military barracks that Reiner was forced back to reality.

Once in front of both buildings, the instructor opened the door of the nearest barracks without a word. He then approached one of the many farther doors, opened it and spoke.

"You'll sleep in these dormitories. The four doors around this one contain the same rooms. I'll give you two minutes to pack up and move outside. Those who don't fit in here, follow me."

Reiner opened one of the doors, revealing a dormitory illuminated by the outside light, made up of ten beds with a small space between them, and a crate in front of each one, as well as two wardrobes. Reiner placed his bag next to one of the beds, before turning around to see nine other people doing the same. Meanwhile, other people entered and left the room, still carrying their belongings. He then went to wait outside, merging into a small crowd of around fifty people, watching the instructor waiting outside the second barracks, watching the few people exit the building.

Once everyone had exited, the instructor continued his tour of the small camp, going from the dining hall, then to the shooting range, taking several long tens of minutes before gathering everyone on a vacant lot in the middle of the camp and speaking.

"In a week, no physical change can happen. But on the battlefield, having stamina is capital, so we're going to test your endurance. Twenty minutes of running."

Reiner then looked out at the scattered crowd, also looking around them, without running or trying anything. It was only when the instructor repeated himself that some of them began to run, creating a mass effect. But as Reiner began to run, everything went black, even Reiner disappeared, plunging the world into abysmal darkness.

Suddenly, the interior of a shuttle appeared, gradually replacing this abyss of darkness. It was filled with androids standing close together, leaving no free space. Alice was in the middle of this crowd, whispering to each other. The whispering stopped as the shuttle came to an abrupt halt, dropping all the Androids, and a voice was heard from a loudspeaker.

"We're going to take a detour, the first shuttle is no longer emitting a signal. Probable destruction."