Towards A Higher Level [Part 3]

Alice and Joe Walker began their careful search for Maria. They stayed together to reduce the risk of getting lost.

Joe Walker appeared tired from walking around the area for quite some time. The high building ruins in the area made it winding as some parts of the surrounding buildings were also affected.

"Aren't you too weak, Joe? You're a man, right? Shouldn't you be responsible for things like this?" Alice said, observing the scattered building debris around them.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm not tired, it's just that I'm not used to standing on two legs," Joe Walker said, looking at his own legs.

"What do you mean? Are you a human or a snake? So, have you been living without legs all this time?"

"Hmm, how do I explain this?" Joe Walker seemed hesitant about his actions.

I've actually never used my legs because I've been sitting for days just watching memories from various creatures in different dimensions and universe.

I can't tell her that, can I? I mean, is it okay?

Whatever it is, even if I tell them, I'll probably just be considered crazy.

I don't want that to happen! Especially since the previous incident seems to have made them think I'm a pervert. When all I wanted to do was protect them...

Joe Walker looked sad.

Come to think of it, it's quite embarrassing. I tried to protect them, but the building didn't really affect us at all.

Oh, how embarrassing!!

Alice noticed Joe Walker deep in thought. She was no longer paying much attention to their previous conversation.

Shortly after, Alice remembered a moment when Joe Walker wanted to protect herself and Maria.

Back then... I couldn't say it...

Alice suddenly touched her lips for a moment.

But she was startled by Joe Walker's sudden shout, "Ha! There it is! That's Maria's gun!"

"Huh? Where?" Alice was surprised and tried to find it too.

As they approached, the gun became more visible. They also began to hear Maria's voice, sounding like she was having fun.

Maria's gun was leaning against a remaining wall amidst the rubble of the surrounding walls that were also affected by the building's collapse.

Alice took the gun and glanced at Joe Walker for a moment. Joe Walker also glanced back at Alice.

Maria's voice was clearly heard behind the wall. They started walking towards it and began to see some cables connected in various directions.

They continued walking until they could clearly see Maria.

"Hahaha, you're so funny! Do you want to join me? You must want to, right? Can you speak? Hey, white sir! It seems the white sir can't speak!" Maria said to a strange creature.

The strange creature was moon-shaped and had no fur at all. It was just round with eyes. It had no mouth or ears, only eyes.

Joe Walker and Alice looked to the left and found the body of a human leaning against the wall, with a lever connected to the cables they had seen earlier.

The person's face was not visible as it was covered by a black military helmet.

There was no sign of life from the body. However, Alice and Joe Walker continued to watch while walking towards where Maria was.

Joe Walker asked, "Is... Is he still alive?"

"I don't think so," Alice replied.

"Wanna check?"

"No, thanks."

Alice continued to approach Maria and immediately hit Maria's head, almost causing her helmet to come off. Maria had to endure the pain while holding onto her loosening helmet.

Meanwhile, Joe Walker paused for a moment and began to approach the unidentified human body.

Carefully, he leaned down in front of the body and looked at it closely.

There was a white piece of paper right on the helmet covering the person's face. It read, "do not remove."

What do you mean, do not remove? This helmet? It only makes me more curious!

Joe Walker was about to remove the helmet to see what would happen. However, he remembered Alice and Maria's presence around him. Despite no apparent danger, he didn't want to take any risks. Especially since he knew he didn't know everything in this world.

This person seems to be dead. At least I will respect that.

Joe Walker refrained from touching the helmet. He chose to look around elsewhere.

Near the right hand of the body, there was a strange lever connected to the cables.

Is that the lever used to detonate this building?

Joe Walker looked further and found an animal cage made of iron bars. However, the cage was destroyed; the door part seemed to have been forcibly broken.

An animal cage? What kind of animal?

Joe Walker looked towards Alice and Maria, who were debating something.

Maria seemed to be scolded severely by Alice.

But Joe Walker's focus was not on the two girls, it was on a strange, round creature that Maria was now hugging.

Joe Walker looked back at the cage he found.

Does... Does that strange creature have any connection with this?

Joe looked around and found a small book held by the hand of the body.

Joe Walker reached out to take the book, but suddenly Alice called him, diverting his attention.

"Hey, Joe, what are you doing? We're about to leave!" Alice said, holding Maria's collar and already quite far from Joe's current position.

"Yes, alright... I'll catch up!"

"Be careful!"

"Thank you for your concern! I'm glad to be worried by a cute girl like you!"

"Whatever, just do your thing... Don't die, okay!"

"Alright, I understand, mom!"

"Stop tease me!"

"Ehehehe..."

Alice immediately turned around and headed towards their vehicle, tightly holding Maria's hand.

"W-wait! My hand hurts, Alice! Let go! Ughhh...," Maria tried to free herself from Alice's grip.

"No, you'll disappear again if I don't pay attention to you. You're really troublesome! What if something happens to you!?"

"Okay! Okay, I understand, so let go of me! Sorry, I'm just following this cute tiny creature!" Maria pointed to the creature who relaxing on her head right now.

"What kind of creature is that? So strange..."

"I don't know either..."

They continued to argue until they reached the vehicle.

While on the other side, Joe remained in the same place and had not hurried to catch up with Alice and Maria.

Should I just take this book?

Joe Walker stared at the small book in the hand of the person leaning in front of him.

Nothing will happen, right?

Why am I being so cowardly like this?

No, honestly, I already know the reason. It's all because of the presence of those two girls.

I don't mind if I die because of something strange. But, I must not involve those two children in my foolishness.

But they seem to be far enough away. It shouldn't be a problem, right?

Joe Walker began to quickly take the small book.

He started looking around to make sure of the situation.

Will someone come? Could this be the trigger for a secret room?

An underground organization hiding from the civilization of war and survival?

Joe Walker smiled, but then slowly stopped smiling.

No..., I'm just hoping for something that doesn't exist.

When I was still in the 'cosmic,' I saw for myself how this world operates. And I didn't see any signs of such an organization like that.

Or maybe there is, but they have something that even the 'observers' cannot know their existence?

Joe Walker shook his head from side to side.

I'm overthinking too much.

For now, I just have to try to keep Alice and Maria safe! That's all I want right now!

Joe Walker began to walk through the ruins of the buildings to return to the vehicle named Tony.

Fortunately, Joe Walker didn't have to try to remember the way because Alice and Maria were still visible in the distance.

He looked at the two girls from afar, displaying a peaceful smile.

He started to be curious about the book he had taken earlier. He slowly began to open the book.

Joe Walker's eyes widened as he discovered the contents of the book. Because the book turned out to be a diary.

It seemed that this diary belonged to the deceased.

Joe Walker started reading from the first page. He was slightly surprised by what was written.

He moved on to the second page, and he became curious.

The third page made Joe Walker laugh.

Until page 12, he read it, and the content turned out to be just everyday life.

However, as he continued to page 13, Joe Walker could no longer laugh at what he saw.

The more he read, the more speechless he became.

Pages 16, 17, 18, 19... Until page 40, Joe Walker read while following Alice and Maria.

But on the last page, Joe Walker immediately stopped moving. He didn't know how to express himself, he just stood still in his place while staring at the last page of the diary.

Eventually, he decided to close the diary and continue his journey to catch up with Alice and Maria by running.

While running, Joe Walker briefly held the diary tightly. Fortunately, the diary did not break, and he then placed it in his pocket.

***** ***** ***** *****

Two little girls named Maria and Alice were walking together to return to their vehicle. They were accompanied by a strange, round creature that only had eyes.

"Hey Alice, why does this creature only have eyes?"

"I don't know..."

"Is this creature an animal?"

"Maybe?"

"You don't know?"

"Do you think I'm a god? I'm human just like you, I don't know everything."

"Disappointing."

"At least my brain is more full than yours!"

"Ehehe..."

"Why are you proud about that?"

Maria gently stroked the strange creature she was hugging, while Alice focused on remembering the way back.

Soon enough, they managed to see their vehicle again.

Maria ran towards it, shouting, "Tony! Long time no see! How have you been?"

"No, we haven't even left Tony alone for more than 2 hours," Alice said as she began to check their supplies in the vehicle.

"Haa!" Maria looked surprised, glancing at Alice.

"W-what?" Alice was confused.

"You called him Tony!"

"What's the problem?"

"No, I thought you didn't like his name. That's why you never mentioned it."

"Do you think I'm what? Even I must have something I like. I like it, the name is c-cute...," Alice looked a bit shy saying it.

"I agree! It's cute right? It's a cute name right!? Hahaha, I thought you didn't care about this at all!"

"No, I actually don't care. But I just thought the name you gave was nice enough. But honestly, it's not useful at all," Alice's face returned to its usual expression.

"Don't be like that! Names are important, you know!"

"What's the point of naming a vehicle?"

"Think about it! What if Tony is among thousands of identical vehicles? We won't be able to find Tony if we don't know his name! What if we end up using a different vehicle that isn't Tony?"

"It doesn't matter to me as long as it runs well. And also, as I suspected, you are very foolish, Maria."

"What do you mean calling me foolish!? I'm not foolish!" Maria yelled in frustration.

"Even if we give Tony a name, how do we differentiate Tony from vehicles that are the same type and shape as him?"

"We just call his name! That way, we will be able to find him!" Maria said proudly.

"How?"

"As I said, by calling his name! You didn't hear that?" Maria felt irritated and raised her voice.

"You really have no hope left. I don't ask again because i didn't hear."

"Huh? What do you mean!?" Maria looked angry again.

"Tony can't talk. He doesn't even have a mouth."

"Eh?... ah... Uh...," Maria began to realize. After that, she laughed, "ehehe, I forgot."

"How could you forget something like that! You didn't even try to think about it, did you?" Now it was Alice's turn to yell in frustration.

"Ehehe...," Maria chuckled softly with her sweet smile, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Shortly after, Joe Walker finally caught up with Alice and Maria from behind. Alice had finished checking the food supplies and some other equipment.

"Alright! Everything is ready! Let's go!" Alice said as she started to get into the driver's seat.

"Let's goooooo!!" Maria replied enthusiastically.

However, all their activities were interrupted by a single word from Joe Walker.

"Before that, I want to tell you something guys. Can you two listen to me for a moment?"