The Responsibility of Blight

1. Wrapping the tragedy-1

1. Wrapping the tragedy"Drink up."

A fresh cup of coffee is handed to Evelyn. Steam slowly boiled up from the heat as he lifted a small sip. It was too sweet.

"If you're too cold, there are more blankets in the wardrobe and an extra pillow in case that's not high enough for you to live on."

Eizer wiped the sweat from his forehead, admiring the proud work he had done in quickly turning his once very trashy junk room into a real guest room. Though who could really blame him? What had happened was so shocking that not even God would have seen it coming.

"Ah, be sure to lie low for a minute. After all, if you don't play dead, the bronze medal will definitely fall behind."

Eze tried to laugh off the atmosphere, but was met only with awkward silence. One boy was already trying to sleep, while the other took a sip of his drink, making a bitter face after each attempt.

"Well, it's time for me to go." He announced, stretching his embarrassment. "You two need to be careful. If you do something stupid, you never know what's going to happen next."

He took a big step to the door and opened it gently, hesitating. His mouth moved as if something was urging escape, but he bit his tongue.

"Good night to you both."

He left.

Evelyn took a sip of her wine and gazed at the sleeping boy. His breathing was quiet, but steady enough to be heard.

"I have to do this." Evelyn muttered.

"But why?" The boy whimpered.

"I did it for my father, Gail. He showed me how much he loved me, and how much he hated me. So in return, I wanted to show how I felt about him."

Gail twisted under the covers, moving her body away from Evelyn and covering her face.

"No matter how many times you respond with this crazy answer, I will never understand it."

Evelyn wanted to say something to him, but he knew nothing would solve his problem. Not yet, anyway.

"Good night."

Gale did not respond, leaving only the night sounds to answer.

Evelyn took another sip of her coffee and made a sour face. Why are you giving me coffee at this late hour?

As the two continued to live in Ezell's house, the days passed slowly. Three meals were brought into the room once a day and eaten in their respective beds. Effryn made sure he swallowed every bit of crumb he could find in one gulp, and Gale could barely force it down.

As night fell, Evelyn could often hear Gail whimpering softly under the covers, whispering some sort of phrase over and over again. But he could never understand what it was that he kept whispering. He didn't need to. Not when the only thing he could recognise was 'Frael'.

Evelyn couldn't really blame them for crying, though. He probably loved her. Or at least he did because he was still a child.

Life was going to be okay for now, and if they could hang on, they could probably do this forever, hiding from danger under the shield of Ezell until the dust settled. In a few years, maybe the bad guys after Evelyn will probably forget everything that ever happened and just do nothing ......

--but not Evelyn himself. He couldn't. Not after what they've done.

There is no love in their behaviour. There is no hatred. It was purely a strategic move to get Evelyn mentally because they couldn't be hit physically.

"America's influence, and how it's changing the world ......" read the current affairs headline. Evelyn tossed the paper aside and turned on the TV, hoping to relieve his boredom.

' ... In recent news, the sudden arson of the Hope Orphanage remains a mystery as investigators search for the exact cause, but they speculate that the flames were started by a group of people. The names of these groups and their motives still exist and are still under investigation. Please stay tuned to these sponsors."

So they still haven't found the bastard responsible for this. How incompetent.

His fingers flicked against each other as he began to grow impatient.

"Bah! How much more do we need to do?!"

"What else can we do but listen to Ezell." Gail replied with a surprisingly shy moan.

Admittedly, Ezell did say to stay indoors and let it all go up in smoke, but ......

"That doesn't necessarily mean we have to listen." Evelyn replied with a smile.

"That doesn't necessarily mean we have to break the rules." Gail countered, making her position clear. "And, God knows what you'll do."

"Oh?"

Evelyn snapped her fingers harder and looked back at the boy hiding under the covers.

"You could hurt more people ...... just like the father."

"Sometimes you need to protect yourself and your family. I just did what I did in the name of my family."

"Then please ......" he poked his head out from under the covers and gazed at Evelyn's soul with fear. "...... Don't hurt me."

Evelyn just stared at the boy as he worked everything out in his mind. As far as Evelyn knew, Gail was a logical boy who would use his brain to solve every problem that came his way.

So now, he's probably thinking of ways to deal with Evelyn in case he does anything.

"Oh my God, why would I do that?! The probability is almost zero!"

" The 'probability' is a 27% chance."

"Where did you get these figures?!"

Evelyn raised her fists to the sky like a bickering housewife. For a moment, even this little skit almost brought a smile to Gail's face. But once again, he shrank himself under the covers and hid.

Ah well, maybe some other time.

Evelyn looked back at the television, which was showing some advertisement about automatic coat hangers.

Maybe one day I can see my last remaining family smiling again.

He could almost convince himself to the point of blindly believing anything, but Gail herself was not like that. It was always with a bit of stubbornness that he followed the boy. In the end, he always followed what was right and logical.

Maybe that's why his brain was injured? There was a slight attack on his consciousness.

"Hey. Fast hitters: are you mad at your parents about this?

Although curious, Evelyn was a little sheepish to ask the question. Sure, he did kill his father, but it was really about survival. And as for Mum...

"Of course not." He said faintly, keeping silent as if he were hesitating. "Well ...... I know it's not you, but that doesn't change the way I feel about them."

"Do you love them?"

" - only love." He hastened to add. "No hate."

"Oh."

It was impossible, but tough little brother. He thought.

The TV continues to babble like a madman trying to sell them anything he can.

Gayle lifted the sheet and out of the corner of his eye his body perked up.

"But they are not the main object of my attention. It's Freer ......"

Frere. The world has been given a precious gift from heaven, only man is not ready for her.

"I really like her. I mean, not like that! Or, I mean, I don't like her as much as some people do! No! I mean ...... I mean ...... well ......!"

Gail moved his little body frantically, trying to find the right words to end it.

"Love?"

" L. Love ......? How can I follow that? She's not the father or the mother, so it's not possible-"

" - so you do love her."

Gail's face flushed red. Instinctively, he pulled the covers over his face.

"No, no! I mean, yes, I think I did? But wait, I don't even know what it's like to have ten points?!"

Evelyn chuckled softly, releasing her fingers from their tapping prison. "Calm down. I'm sure you love her."

"Yes ...... I did."

Gayle lifted the covering from his face to reveal a small parallel stream running down his face. A moment later, he collapsed to the ground and buried himself once more.

"Why did she leave everyone? Did she work herself to death by overworking on a project? Why can't I do anything? Why...?"

The more questions Gail spat out, the more nervous he became. His hands began to tremble and he felt a choking sensation come over him. That is, before Evelyn reached out and patted him on the head.

"Don't think like that or you'll cause a snowfall of thought. Take some time to rest on her, but I'm sure you know best that we must move on from this."

"Yes ...... please don't rub my chest. It feels weird."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

He lifted his hand from what he mistook for his chest. After smiling awkwardly and apologising, Evelyn turned to face the television.

Forget about it, right? Because that's exactly what I can do. To hell with it, I can never leave Evvryn.

Just as his thoughts were fully enveloped in his musings, the previous news network needlessly returned to the programme: the

'Good evening, Heath City! This is James, your news presenter, and today we have received some information about the orphanage case, as well as instructions if you are in the following position

Evelyn focused on the words while Gail's ears poked out from under the covers.

'For this story, we have Chief Detective Inspector Knox providing known and available information about the case. Detective Inspector Knox, if you can.

A man Evelyn had never seen before approached the microphone. He hadn't thought of it because he'd never seen him before, but he noticed that Gail was acting differently. His mouth froze in the air and his gaze fell fully on the man's body.

"Ahem, yes. While we don't have much information right now, we can keep a few. Firstly, we know that the orphanage St Hope's building burned down and almost every child currently living there was found dead or murdered. Almost, with one exception. Now, under normal circumstances, regulations prohibit us from releasing the names of children for safety reasons, but in this case we agree that this is the best decision."

Chief Knox took a deep breath and stared into the camera as if he was looking at something specific.

"The child is Gaerlander and our intelligence tells us that he is currently in a dangerous situation. A week ago we entered the estate looking for the Evelyn-only lunatic who was involved in an incident earlier this year and we confirmed his connection to recent visits to the orphanage and other incidents. With this information, therefore, we have reason to believe that he is the prime suspect in this case, and we want any eyes on him to be immediately alerted. That is all-"

"BULLSHIT!!! Why is he putting the blame on me?! I didn't do anything here, so why bring me up?!" Evelyn burst out, while the chief was still announcing his speech.

" - our current formation. Please bear with us and provide any tips to the police immediately. Thank you for your time."

The detective looked down at the camera and then walked away completely.

"That ...... son of a b***h! How did he know I was there before?!"

"I know he's reckless, but this is crazy right now."

"Do you know this bastard?!"

Evelyn quickly turned to face Gail, who was staring at the screen. Although he might not know it himself, his expression was one of pure annoyance.

"I had the chance to see him once. He turned up from home and asked if you'd turned up."

"Did you answer him?"

"I tried to take care of you, but that guy really knows how to get into your head. He gets into mine easily."

Gail collapsed onto the bed and embraced the cosy green sheets he had grown to appreciate.

"Did you notice the way he spoke and acted?"

"Hmm?" Evelyn responded, unsure of what Gail was talking about.

"He was looking at the camera, sure. But to me, it's more like he's staring at a specific person. That person is you."

"Why do you want to do this?"

"I think ...... no, I know he knows everything he just said was a lie. He wants more people to pay attention to you. That's why he said everything."

Surprised that anyone would go to so much trouble to get him, Evelyn felt his hands tremble. Shaking with anger.