Esme

Adam held onto Crystal for dear life, the bike zooming forward without a moment's notice. He wondered what happened to Gilgamesh and why he'd looked so forlorn when leaving.

What exactly is going on?

Adam couldn't be sure. But he had nowhere else to go; he was over his head anyway.

I wonder how you survived this world, Alan.

But according to Crystal, Alan didn't even count as a survivor—more of cannon fodder. Adam wasn't sure what to think about that. He decided to stop thinking and take in the world he found himself in.

The landscape was bleak, and the harshness of the sun felt alien from the sun Adam was used to; it felt malicious. If he was being honest, everything in that damned world felt like they were gunning for his head. In that sweltering heat, The Graveyard felt a long way off, and Adam was shocked to realize he missed it—just a tad.

Since there were practically no sounds of insects or birds, Adam wondered how Alan survived that long. In Alan's words, "This world is mad, and sometimes it refuses to let us die," even though Adam didn't understand it, it suddenly made sense.

The terrain was sandy in some places and rocky in other areas. It was a mishmash of both. Aside from the sweltering heat, some things did not make sense, like the voice in his head in a hologram.

It made no sense, and he'd never heard of such things happening before. If he was being honest, he felt as though he was hallucinating and would wake up after a while. The fact that he was holding onto Crystal for dear life didn't make it any better.

The scenery changed suddenly, and just like earlier with the cavern, it seemed like one moment there was desert as far as the eyes could see, and the next, there was a scattering of caves and mountains with jagged edges. On one side, the sun's heat was sweltering; on the other, Adam couldn't breathe well because of the instant switch from hot to extreme cold. It was like walking bare-chested in a blizzard.

"What is this? How's this possible?" Adam asked, his teeth chattering. In one smooth move, Crystal killed the engine and removed her jacket, handing it over to him.

"Take, you'd need it," she acted so naturally; Adam wasn't sure if the place was weird or if he was overreacting.

"This is my home. I protect it with my life. We are The Renegades. And you're one of us now." That was news to Adam since it was clear that he didn't agree to anything. But he hadn't eaten in a while, and his tongue felt like sandpaper.

"Water," he croaked out, and Crystal's eyes widened suddenly.

"Wait here. Don't move a muscle, no matter what." She sounded stern, and Adam wondered if she'd ever stop being bossy. He wrapped his arms around his body, the cold worming into his system.

[BODY TEMPERATURE LOWERING, INITIATING SAFETY MEASURES]

It was that damned voice again, the holographic one. He couldn't tell if he was going cuckoo or the world around him was.

[BODY TEMPERATURE DROPPING, SAFE MODE INITIATED]

Adam felt his arm heating up, like his imagination, but the heat seemed to be coming from his legs and arms. He raised his arm and screamed—a high and girly scream.

His arms were glowing red as though they'd just come out from a blazing furnace.

Forget the cold; I'd burn myself alive at this rate.

[SAFE MODE DISABLED]

And just like that, Adam touched his body to be sure he was in one piece. Another thing he noticed was that he was no longer cold at all. He felt perfectly toasty.

"Can you read my mind?" He asked apprehensively, wondering if he'd get a response in return.

[GREETINGS, I AM A PART OF YOU, AN EXTENSION OF YOUR SOUL, YOUR DIGITAL ADVANCED SELF]

It all sounded like gibberish, especially since he asked a different question. But Adam could tell that whatever the voice was, it didn't have a hint of malice. So he could trust it for the time being.

"What is wrong? I heard you shout," Crystal said, running up to him. She had a worried look in her eyes, and he wondered why. They hadn't known each other for a long while, just a few hours tops, not counting the time overnight spent in the cave.

"I am fine; it's just the voice in my head. It helps in weird ways; I'm no longer cold," Adam said, handing over Crystal's jacket to her. A look of irritation crossed her face for a millisecond, and it was gone in a flash.

Maybe I imagined it.

"Gilgamesh is already here; let's get going." Crystal draped her jacket over her shoulder in an incredibly smooth, off-handed gesture.

"One thing though, you can't spook them. You'll remain silent until they permit you to speak," Crystal laid down the ground rules, and Adam nodded, unsure what else he was supposed to say. It sounded like a military camp, but he didn't mind.

"Good, you're learning," Crystal replied when Adam said nothing. He walked after her until they got to a clearing. Something felt different, but he couldn't place it. It was neither cold nor hot.

I can hear the birds chirping.

Adam laughed out loud then, unable to believe how much he'd missed them. The Graveyard felt dead, as the name implied.

"Everything here is alive," Adam whooped with glee, and Crystal didn't stop him; she just gave him a small smile, and he noticed a bunch of people huddled together, wearing the same jacket Crystal gave him earlier.

"Hel—" he tried to speak but remembered what Crystal told him a few moments before. Crystal never did anything just for the sake of it; that's what made her stand apart from the people he'd met in his life. She had a purpose, and he wasn't sure he'd ever had that.

"Who's that?" Adam heard a small voice, and a girl hiding behind Gilgamesh stepped out.

Adam's heart shattered. He went on his knees.

She looked to be about nine years old and missing an arm. She wasn't complete; whoever messed with her body didn't care enough to make sure she was able to defend herself at the very least.

Crystal bent down, too, meeting his eye level. Then she spoke in a whisper,

"I knew you'd react this way; that's why I didn't say anything earlier. This is what they did to her and so many others. Her parents were behind on payment, so she became the scapegoat. You don't hate this world more than I do; nobody does. Look at her, burn her image in your memory. Esme, that's her name. It took a while to get her here from The Graveyard, but I managed it."

Adam noticed Crystal's use of I, and something struck him.

"You were the first one here, weren't you?" He felt nauseated at the thought.

"Yes, I was. Barely seven years old, I found myself here. It's been over twelve years since then, and I have learned to survive. I stuffed my belly with sand, hid from the darkness, and contemplated eating my flesh. I created The Renegades. So, treat Esme with respect. She's a warrior, surviving everything thrown at her."

Adam couldn't look up at Crystal; he couldn't because while she fought tooth and nail to survive, he ogled her body instead. He didn't know her origins, yet he treated everything like a quest, not understanding the stakes.

"Why didn't Alan come with you?" Adam asked, still unable to get his legs to rise from the ground.

"I came for him many times, he declined. He chose to stay; there was nothing I could do," Crystal had a despairing look in her eyes, and Adam felt sick to his stomach.

"Can he talk?" Adam felt a finger poking his cheeks, and he turned to lash out, but standing before him was Esme, her smile as wide as the ocean.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Adam said, and Esme shirked in shock.

"Give her a little space; she's not used to you yet," Crystal explained, and Adam didn't mind; he was ready to do whatever it took to protect Esme, even from himself.

Crystal was the ultimate mother hen, but Adam couldn't bring himself to poke fun at her; her existence was filled with pain and even more pain. She had no one to depend on and survived alone.

Adam couldn't imagine it being the only one in the world. It felt like a nightmare.

"Don't worry, she'll come around," Gilgamesh nodded at Adam, who nodded back. The others in the group weren't so welcoming. There was a girl with black mascara over her eyes and a boy who looked like he was revving for a fight.

"I'll introduce you to everyone," Gilgamesh tried to explain, but Adam tuned him out. The world was darker than he'd expected, and he took everything for granted.

How does one survive alone in the world? With no one to call, nothing to reach for. Abyss. Void. Hell.

He looked at Crystal again as she calmed Esme down and ground his teeth.

I won't be pathetic anymore.