“Y-Yeah, we can look for the dog.” You spoke up. Mordikai looked at you, slightly surprised. He turned back to the Traders, nodding in agreement.
Sydney, at least you assumed it was Sydney, squealed in excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She took a deep breath before starting again. “Last I saw of the dog, it went down thataway,” she said, pointing behind you at a beaten path that went into the shadows of the Undercity. “Uhh, the dog itself is like…Cynth, what does the dog look like again?”
Cynthia sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. “The dog was a large one, yeah, like up to my knees here…I think it was a black and white dog? Had some spots on it for sure and its fur was nice and long. Real soft too. Uhh, that’s it I think?”
“We’ll do our best!” You exclaim, masking your anxiety with excitement. Mordikai chimed in, agreeing that the two of you would, in fact, do your best.
As you walk away, you begin thinking about the Traders, and just how close you are to getting back to the City. You can finally get back to your family and your life. You think about what you’re going to do when you see your younger brother again. You think about just how much you miss taking a nice, warm shower at the end of a long day. You sigh sadly, catching Mordikai’s attention.
“What’s up?” He asked, scanning the area.
“Oh, I was just thinking about the City. I mean, it’s been a while. My family must be worried as hell.”
“I’m sure” Mordikai agreed, looking away for a moment.
You wanted to ask Mordikai about his family, but you hesitated. It didn’t feel right, as you’ve only known him for about a week. The two of you walked in silence as usual, though it felt more comfortable than it did at first. Suddenly, you remembered something: the dog that you killed earlier that day. It was mangled enough that you couldn’t tell if it was the one that you were supposed to find.
“Hey, Mordikai”, you started.
“Hm?”
“You know that dog…the one we killed earlier?” You didn’t really want to talk about it again, as everything still left a sour taste in your mouth.
Mordikai grunted, his face twisting as he realized what this could mean. “Well, let’s head down this path a little more before giving up, mkay?”
You nodded quietly.
The two of you walked side-by-side down the beaten path. The stench of the air wasn’t nearly as putrid as it was before and you weren’t entirely sure if it was because you got used to it or if it was because you were closer to the entrance than you were before.
“Hey, so,” Mordikai started, “what’s the City life like?”
You stopped, a bit taken aback that he would ask. He wasn’t really the type to ask questions unless it was directly related to what the two of you were doing. You closed your eyes, searching through the perfect memory that would describe what the City was like.
“If I had to describe it in one word, I would say that the City is a contained place.” Mordikai gave you a look that fell somewhere between confusion and amusement.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Everything has its place, you know? Like, everyone has their homes and their neighborhoods. Troubles and arguments don’t really spill out into the streets as much.” You said, motioning towards a corpse that vaguely resembled a person. The sheer shock of seeing them was less terrifying and it was becoming more of a natural thing to see, although it disgusted you to think about it. “Everything has its own neat little place where it stays.” Mordikai gave a small chuckle.
“Yeah, this place could do with a bit more organization.” He smiled longingly. “I hardly remember the place. Wonder how much my old town has changed.” His voice trailed off.
“It wouldn’t hurt to visit it, would it?” You asked cautiously.
Mordikai made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh. “Who knows.”
Before you could say anything more, you heard someone shouting from a distance. You reach out to let Mordikai know, but he’s already moving beside one of the crumbling walls that lines the path. He motions for you to do the same. Over the cold bricks, you could barely make out a few figures standing by a run-down shack. Though the light was dim, you could tell that these figures were well-built. You couldn’t quite make out the words that they were saying, but you could tell that they weren’t too happy. As they shouted, they moved their arms around angrily, the taller figure jabbing his finger into the shorter figure’s chest. Another figure stood with his back leaning against the shack, seemingly on the lookout. You felt a small tug on the sleeve of your shirt. Mordikai motioned for you to come a little bit closer to him.
“I can’t quite make out what they’re saying, but I know they’re talking about a dog. There’s a damn good chance that this is the dog that we’re after, Jordan.” He paused, taking a deep breath before whispering again. “We could go in by ourselves, all gung-ho, but we don’t know what kind of gear they have. On the other hand, we could try and shoot them after moving a bit closer, take ‘em by surprise and all that. How well do you think you could handle that?”
Try and take them by surprise? There’s no way in hell you could do that! You almost snapped at him, telling him what an incredulous idea that was. But at the same time, Mordikai had always had your back, even when things didn’t go as planned. If you did manage to take at least one of them by surprise, you and Mordikai would have an advantage. However, if things didn’t go as planned, it could spell disaster.
“I think…I think we should prioritize the safety of the dog. We’ll need him if we want the Traders’ help, right?”
Mordikai nodded. Maybe Mordikai sensed that you didn’t want to take the lead. Maybe Mordikai was just getting impatient with you. “Jordan, I need to know if you feel capable enough with a gun to even attempt to take them by surprise.”
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