Chapter 24: It's Better to be Ignored

Henry felt like he was treading on thin ice while trying to convey the information to Noah without angering him. He was also part of the same group he was mentioning, so he assumed the worst and reasoned that Noah would come to the conclusion that he was also extorting people in their need for shelter.

Contrary to what he believed, Noah's reaction was the exact opposite of what he worried it would be. The cool and aloof demeanor Henry always saw him carry was nowhere to be seen. A smile, one that appeared to almost stretch from ear to ear, was plastered on Noah's face. His dead black eyes seemed to vaguely come to life; Henry could 'feel' his eyes locking onto him, the intensity of his gaze causing his body to shudder.

"We can spend our money?? Like a shop? What does it look like? Where is it? What do you mean you receive other people's gold? How do you do it?"

Noah bombarded Henry with one question after another. The term personal space was nonexistent in his vocabulary as he stood just inches away from Henry. The bewilderment of such a change left Henry unresponsive until he felt his body jolt back and forth. Each tug inspired a heavier change in Noah's expression, as if he was expecting an answer to magically drop out with each shake.

Henry began to grow increasingly dizzy from the back-and-forth tugs. The value of stats inspired too much of a difference after Noah's recent level ups while Henry had yet to experience combat. While one was suffering, the one causing this turmoil was oblivious to the amount of strength being used.

Flustered, Henry extended his arms to create distance between them, yet that didn't have any effect to deter Noah's excitement.

"Come on, man, spit it out already!" Noah impatiently yelled. He's been antagonizing all this time since the moment he received his first handful of gold about where he could spend it. Now the answer is right in front of him, and yet the person is taking his sweet time to give him answers?

Seeing such a lively side of Noah was pretty disturbing in Henry's perspective. A bloody guy who killed such a monstrous animal on his own and could unhesitatingly hit a woman; Was now looking towards him like an excited puppy, the sight literally gave him chills.

"W-well I'm not exactly aware of all the details… but from what I heard, it's a person covered with a hood. All I know is that the person is on the second floor, and when you get close, apparently, you feel a sort of unnatural energy. I heard the stuff is pretty expensive, which is why they are "asking" for money.

I don't know how they figured it out, but all you have to do is make contact with the person you're exchanging with, and the giver concentrates how much they will give, then it happens. Don't ask me why it happens; if you want more answers about it, then you'll probably have to ask them, but like I said before, they are gonna charge you for staying here."

Hearing what he wanted, Noah's excitement calmed, and his curiosity peaked. His mind roamed over the many possibilities about the mysterious man and the gold exchange mechanic.

'If the 'person' is covered in a hood, maybe it's not human… is it similar to an NPC in video games? Why did it appear here of all places? And does that mean space storage exists? If there's a shop function, then that could be the only way it could hold it all, no? Maybe that's where they learned how to trade gold… ah, this is killing me! I have to find out!'

His eyes were blinking as rapidly as he was thinking before his thoughts finally settled, and he readjusted his eyes to focus on Henry, startling him once again.

"Alright, well, let's meet your friends then."

His tone, in Henry's perspective, left no room for negotiations. It's not like he was gonna change his mind and refuse what they originally agreed on. Yet part of him just couldn't let what Noah said go. He turned away, facing their destination a little further ahead, with his shoulders slumped, he quietly spoke to himself but loud enough for Noah to hear before moving on.

"They're not my friends…"

Noah, of course, picked up on this yet decided not to respond. He didn't feel the need to, since discussing it would be pointless. Henry isn't his friend either, so why should he continue to poke his nose in his business unless it would benefit himself?

They were both silent the rest of the way, with only the tapping of their footsteps echoing down the hall. The silence lasted until they made it to the opening where they could clearly hear the voices of others; Noah could only assume they were the group that Henry previously mentioned.

—————

"Look, we've waited long enough, and Henry still hasn't made it back. He either died fighting the new zombie or… the loot he gained from killing it was rare enough that he ran away with it. He better hope that he was killed or being eaten alive would be the least of his worries."

"Ken, if that's true, then we should hurry! If he got done in, then we can finish off the zombie and get whatever it had, and if not, then maybe he didn't get away too far."

"Dave's right, I also saw a skill in that shop earlier that I really wanted. I can really use the coins right now."

Noah and Henry could easily make out the discussion being had just ahead of them. Henry, having heard how they were discussing him, realized how little he meant to the group. Deep down, he knew that he was being used, but he hoped that he was at least useful. Yet it seems that it was all in his head. 

His heart and mind were in disarray; his fragile heart couldn't continue to listen to them anymore lest his self-value would plummet even more. From their words, his life amounted to less than a creature's loot. Was he really that useless? He felt more ashamed than embarrassed to hear any more.

Noah, on the other hand, held him back by the collar of his shirt, gaining a nasty look from the once-downcast young man. This look caused Noah to become intrigued rather than offended. Noah considered Henry to be a do-gooder and a very skittish man, but that cold expression screamed 'I don't have anything to lose'. He was tempted to figure out what Henry's bottom line was, what would it take for someone who was more accepted into society to forsake their humanity? His curiosity had him dying to know, but he was quickly disappointed again. He forgot how fickle human emotions could be.

When Henry peered onto Noah during his irrational state of chaotic emotions, the resentment he held for him was extinguished faster than his mind caught up to what was going on. Noah's gaze was akin to a predator that was in the mood to play with its meal before eating it slowly. He instantly regretted what he had done; his earlier behavior devolved to one of submission and meekness. Henry was already unsettled when Noah behaved as if he didn't exist. Yet if he had known that this is what it would be like to gain his attention, then he wouldn't have shown an ounce of frustration towards him; he probably would have thanked him instead for yanking him so hard.

Contrary to the foreboding events that Henry assumed were going to happen next, nothing came. Ever since he saw the crazed interest in Noah's eyes, he never dared to remove his own eyes from the ground. He was afraid of what would happen if he continued to meet his stare. Would Noah take that as a challenge, or would that look intensify? His body quivered at the question. And as that question uncomfortably settled in his heart, he became aware of the stillness of the person in question, the quietness that lingered that tugged on his very being. He couldn't help but worry, fearing that his actions had poked the honest nest.

The silence between the two ended with Noah letting out a deep breath; he felt let down. His curiosity died as soon as Henry became submissive again. He's seen this behavior so many times before in other people, but that was before the so-called apocalypse began. He thought that just like him, Henry was also about to show his true colors. Maybe it was more because Noah wanted to believe that he wasn't the only one with such a peculiar personality that he showed such interest.

Noah slowly came to terms with the present situation. There wasn't any sufficient reasoning for him to believe that Henry was just like him. As he thought about the fickle man, he couldn't help but think to himself that there wasn't anything else interesting about Henry to begin with. The only reason he prevented Henry from walking out before was that he still wanted to hear more of the other group's discussion.

The thought of walking in blind was unsettling, especially so when the opportunity of gaining all the information he needed was being handed to him by the targets themselves.

From what he gathered, there were three voices, while none of them appeared to be the person that ran away earlier. He couldn't be assured of their intentions; would they fight him if he rejected their obvious extortion? Were they bloodthirsty or just all talk? Noah already witnessed that not everyone could easily adapt to the situation at hand, and most people like him who did either had something wrong with them or had a strong conviction that helped them to do so.

Mark was a clear example of this, he could tell just from his 'hero' mentality that he was as psychotic if not more so than he was. He was willing to kill Noah so easily even though he didn't know him nor did they have any prior negative history to mention. Noah wouldn't call himself a saint nor had he shown any oblivious traits of striving to be one. However the only people he ever thought about or attempted to kill were those who attempted to take his life first. So the need to acquire more information before confronting the group was a must.

"Ok, Dave, Phill, you two come with me. Zack, you stay here and don't let anyone onto the second floor. If you run away this time, well, just wait till we get back." 

Noah caught wind of the voice being closer than before. He frowned after finally catching onto what the person said. Because of Henry, he blocked off everything else they mentioned before, he doesn't know if he missed out on anything that could contribute to his lack of information. 

Henry too caught on to the group about to soon approach. Before he could decide what to do he felt a push from behind. He didn't need to think about who pushed him or what the push was for. There was a moment's hesitation before he unwillingly moved forward lest the sudden push became much more than just that. The palpations of his heartbeat spoke volumes of his unwillingness to continue. He would be between two groups of people that makes him feel nervous and utterly inferior as a human being. Every word uttered would have to be spoken carefully not to offend either side but in the back of his mind he was prepared to side with whoever would keep him safe.

Nervously he walked into the lobby area which was a lot brighter than the hall they came from. He was halfway in the entrance before the opposing group became aware of his presence. Noah was quick to observe their quick reactions as each and everyone braced themselves ready to fight, all except one.

"He-hey guys…I'm back…" Henry's timid response allowed the group to put their guard down, to them he had a rather forgettable appearance but his meek demeanor was a clear trait they all shared to remember. They were about to "welcome" him back with open arms, unaware that their true feelings were already out in the open. Henry, if none the wiser would have easily fallen for their fake comraider, the trio was truly gifted in the act of playing the wolf in sheep's clothing. Ironically their current feelings weren't truly lies, they were happy to see but only because they desired information on the special zombie. 

There was only a small gap between Henry's greeting and the group displaying their great acting when an obnoxious voice that Noah was familiar with rang out that brought about a hostile atmosphere. 

"It-ITS THE ZOMBIE! HENRY WATCH OUT, IT'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"

Everyone reacted to the scream, each braced themselves once again while wielding their weapons in preparation for the "zombie". Ken and his group didn't care if Henry died or not so they weren't planning on rushing out to save him. If anything, his death could allow them to kill the unknown creature without endangering themselves. 

When they all got the visual of the "zombie", they too thought it was one at first. The figure was completely doused in dry blood from the face down, lifeless black eyes and a face without much expression, at least not enough to tell that 'it' had one. All the checks pointed to it being a zombie, but after a few seconds of waiting, they noticed no one moved. Henry, who was supposedly in danger, didn't move nor did the so-called zombie try to attack him. 

Unlike Zack, the group of three fought and killed a couple of zombies along the way here, they didn't fear them, especially if it was just one while they were all together. Because of that fact, the group wasn't dumb enough to know that something wasn't right. They looked to the person who could give them answers, bringing about another sigh from Henry along with the shaking of his head because it turned out exactly like Noah assumed. 

"Guys…it's all a misunderstanding."