The Last Realm of Rust and Dust

Chapter 8

In the silence following Evie's words, Anderson's voice seemed to carry a hint of amusement and lightness as he drawled, "So, little girl, feeling flattered?"

Evie turned her head away, breaking her gaze from Anderson. "You're lying," she stated seriously.

Anderson raised an eyebrow. "...Hm?"

"If you were here to save me, you wouldn't have fallen in yourself. Now you're trapped here just like me." Evie, a clever girl, analyzed the situation calmly. "I smell blood on you. I know there are people in the wasteland who are looking for you. You must have encountered them and lost the fight, then fell while trying to escape. You didn't come here specifically to save me."

Taking advantage of the darkness, Anderson openly observed Evie before replying, "Very clever. But you're only half right. Guess again."

Evie parted her lips, seemingly pondering her next words. Finally, she said, "Why should I guess? I'm not interested in your affairs. Instead of wasting time here guessing, we should think of a way to get out... Do you have any ideas?"

Anderson knew she was changing the subject. The words "I have an idea" almost escaped his lips, but he changed them to, "No, not really."

Evie's disappointment was evident, but she quickly recovered and even offered comfort to Anderson. "That's alright. There are two of us, so don't be afraid. We'll be rescued eventually." Perhaps because someone was beside her, Evie's tense emotions eased slightly. Leaning back against the earthen wall, she said, "I've encountered similar situations in the wasteland before, but I was lucky enough to get through them unscathed."

Life wasn't just about relying on luck, at least not for him. Lady Luck had never smiled upon him. Anderson thought this but didn't voice it, instead asking, "Why did you fall down here?"

"Well... I also encountered those people who were looking for you. It's the second time. They looked so fierce and cruel that I had to run away, but I accidentally fell into this pit."

Anderson hadn't expected this reason. He had assumed it was an accident. His brows furrowed slightly as he inquired, "What did they do to you?"

"They stepped on the grass, chased me, and hurt my friends who tried to protect me."

"...Oh, then they were indeed fierce and cruel." There weren't many people in the wasteland. Curiosity piqued, Anderson asked, "What kind of friends?"

"Just friends. They occasionally visit me at home and keep me company."

Anderson hummed in response, not probing further.

Evie suddenly exclaimed, "But why are you staring at me?"

Anderson had been staring at Evie for a while, forgetting to look away. Now that Evie pointed it out, he snapped out of his daze and quickly averted his gaze.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" After talking for so long, Evie felt a bit thirsty. She fumbled around, trying to find her water pouch.

Anderson reached out and pulled the water pouch, which was standing quietly to the side, towards Evie. He calmly replied, "You're mistaken."

"Hm?"

"I was looking at the water pouch, not you."

Evie let out a doubtful "Oh," then took a sip from the pouch before offering it to Anderson. She was generous, "Here, have some."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Then why were you staring at my water pouch?" Evie seemed to be waiting for his answer. "You were looking at me. Why were you looking at me?"

Anderson was speechless. This girl was too persistent.

"Are you hungry?" He abruptly changed the subject.

"Ah?" Evie touched her flat stomach, took another sip of water, and said, "Hungry, but I can bear it."

"I have something to eat." As he spoke, Anderson pulled out a pack of biscuits from his backpack and handed it to Evie. The darkness didn't hinder his movements in the slightest.

Evie felt the pack of biscuits. The food in her small storage, easy to preserve and resistant to hunger, was all exchanged from the nearest city-state. Sometimes she ate it herself, and sometimes she shared it with others. This was the first time the food she shared had returned to her own hands.

Seeing her remaining silent, Anderson teased, "If you hadn't given me food for two, I wouldn't have anything extra to share with you. I need to eat too, so don't be too moved."

"I'm not touched, just feeling sentimental. Besides, everything about you, except yourself, belongs to me; there is no need for me to be moved," Evie replied.

Anderson was speechless. Indeed, the clothes she wore were hers, the backpack was hers, the food was hers too.

"I've always had the habit of preparing a double portion of food for anyone leaving the cabin because I think the wasteland is so vast, the roads so long. With an unknown future, if one encounters another person in need of help, they can assist without worries of their own," Evie said calmly as she tore into the biscuit packaging, the plastic crinkling loudly in the silent night.

Her gentle voice was not overshadowed, "Now this help has passed into my hands. My mother once told me that when you give away roses, your hands retain a bit of the fragrance. I think that's what she meant. Thank you..."

It was only when Evie meant to express her thanks that she realized she did not even know the man's name before her.

Evie's voice was naturally very soft and pleasing to the ear. Listening to her long talk, Anderson even forgot his impatience.

Anderson thought that such naive words would indeed come from an innocent girl like her. If she entered his world, it would likely take only a moment for pure white to be stained black... Of course, she would not come into his world, nor would he allow it.

"Alright, no need to thank me, just eat," he said.

Evie finally opened the packaging. Her hand was a bit uncomfortable; she had hurt it already, and it had been scraped again when she fell. It wasn't feeling good at all.

"What's your name?" Evie asked after taking a bite of the biscuit and swallowing. She then extended the box of biscuits toward Anderson.

Anderson pushed her hand away, indicating that he wouldn't eat, and then said, "Before asking someone's name, shouldn't you tell me yours first? Little girl, that's polite."

He thought he really didn't want to know her name; his words were just to tease Evie.

"If you really must know my name first, I'm Evie." After saying this, she asked, "Can Evie know your name?"

"Anderson," he replied the moment her words fell.

"Nice to meet you, Anderson." In the darkness, Evie's brows curved into a beautiful expression, "Now we're acquainted. We're friends now, you know."

Anderson countered, "We've known each other for a while now."

"My mother also told me that friends help each other. So, once we've helped each other, we're friends," Evie earnestly said. "Isn't that right?"

Anderson thought if he countered again, Evie would certainly say, "Don't you want to be friends with me?" So he just hummed in acknowledgment.

Evie seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her tone cheerful, "I thought you felt you weren't fit to be friends with me when you didn't speak just now."

"I don't have friends," he said before quickly adding, "except you."

"What about before me?" Evie asked, curious.

"There was one, but we split ways," Anderson thought to himself. Much more than split ways, they both would have liked nothing more than for the other to die.

"Why so?"

"There aren't always reasons why. I need to rest now, be quiet."

"Okay." Evie was a very considerate girl. Hearing Anderson say he wanted to rest, she stopped eating her biscuits.

"Finish eating before you rest, don't mind me," Anderson reminded her.

"A big part of the reason is that I think food is precious, especially not knowing how long we might be stuck here, so it should be cherished," Evie sealed the biscuit bag and put it aside, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Anderson replied as he looked around at the overwhelming darkness, leaned his back against the earth wall, and closed his eyes.

Anderson was a man perpetually on alert, accustomed to picking up on the slightest signs of movement around him due to the nature of his environment. In this instance, it translated to him knowing that Evie was unable to sleep, just as he lay awake.

Evie seemed out of sorts with the unfamiliar surroundings, perhaps uneasy with the strangeness of the darkness. She wasnt accustomed to the sudden silence following their conversation, so she kept shifting her body ever so lightly.

Anderson closed his eyes briefly, contemplating something before reaching out into his backpack to fumble out an item – a small cube he had casually picked up on his way back to find Evie, intending for her to stumble upon it herself.

Hearing his movements, Evie asked in a soft voice, "Are you also unable to sleep? It's so dark here, in a foreign place; I can't seem to fall asleep."

Anderson placed the cube in Evies hand, saying, "It's a hand-cranked music box. I'm not sure if it still works, but you can try it."

"This isn't something from your backpack, is it?"

"Found it," was his simple reply.

Evie sighed "Oh," and began delicately winding the music box. With a smile in her voice, she mused, "The wastelands always hide unexpected treasures beneath."

Anderson coughed dryly, choosing not to respond.

Once Evie had turned the music box fully, she released it and in the next moment, a hoarse and ghostly wail of music shrieked harshly through the stillness, startling her into dropping the music box, which cracked in two upon hitting the ground.

Even after the music box was broken, its haunting tune did not cease. The eerie sound sent shivers down Evie's spine, and she instinctively scooted closer to Anderson.

Anderson hadn't expected such a "surprise" from the music box. He reached out, pinched the sound cylinder to pieces, and only then did the ghastly noises stop.

"It's stopped," he said succinctly.

"I'm sorry, I broke your music box, and now it's even more broken."

"Go to sleep."

"Mm."

After the commotion, Evie felt somewhat spent. She closed her eyes, feeling reassured by the presence of someone beside her, and gradually fell asleep.

But Anderson couldn't sleep.

Perhaps due to the large diurnal temperature swings in the wasteland; while the night air felt cool when he was awake, it became uncomfortably cold in sleep.

Thus, Evie, seeking warmth unconsciously in her dreams, ended up leaning against Anderson.

Anderson suppressed the discomfort he felt from Evie's sudden closeness, thinking it inconsiderate to wake her since the music box had already frightened her not long before.

So be it.

Holding onto that thought, Anderson eventually drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

The tranquil night quickly gave way, and the first streaks of dawn lit up the pitch-black pit, inadvertently shining on Evie's eyelids. Fluttering slightly, she soon opened her eyes.

Evie stretched languidly, let out a yawn, rubbed her neck, and murmured softly, "My neck is so sore."

"miss, my shoulder is pretty sore too," Anderson woke up as Evie started to stir. He shifted his shoulders, causing Evie's head, which was resting on his shoulder, to bob slightly.

Evie took a couple of steps back, a hint of embarrassment on her face, yet it didn't prevent her from asking with conviction, "If we were both uncomfortable, why didn't you push me away?"

Anderson was left speechless. "So now I'm at fault?"

There was a brief silence before Evie looked up towards the bright exit and asked, "Do you think we'll be rescued today?"

"Yes," he assured her.

"Really?"

"Do you believe me?" Anderson countered.

"We're friends, of course, I believe you," Evie responded without hesitation.

A subtle smile tugged at Anderson's lips; indeed, the feeling of being trusted unconditionally was gratifying. His tone, uncharacteristically light, replied, "Good."

"Do you think you can climb up there?" Evie asked, her voice a mix of curiosity, anticipation, and a slight doubt.

"Are you doubting me?"

"You seem a bit... disheveled."

In truth, it was more than a bit. Anderson had been in two fights before falling into the pit, covered in blood and mud, barely better off than when Evie had found him days before.

Casting a glance at himself and then at Evie, who had only a smudge of grime on her face, Anderson wisely chose not to respond. Instead, he reached out, probing the earthen wall with his hand.

Evie couldn't help but warn him, "This pit seems to date back to some war, it doesn't look very sturdy. Be careful of the loose stones that might fall from above..."

Before Evie finished her sentence, the earth shook slightly as Anderson's hand left the wall, followed by the sound of soil giving way and a rock tumbling down.

To Anderson, this wasn't much of a danger; his reflexes were incredibly sharp. He dodged aside, then, almost comically, caught another falling rock with his head.

Anderson winced, nursing a new headache.

Evie could only think, that's rough.