Chapter 52: Chapter 52 - Aftermath
The trip back was quiet.
Well, it was mostly because Oliver passed out after he managed to wake up for just a few seconds. It was understandable that Rynold wasn't in the mood to be glad either. After all, he just received a bombshell of news just now.
Shyft had killed his parents and Skye. He even planned to kill Oliver if Rynold didn't manage to stop him. As much as it hurts him to say, but it might've been the wrong move to leave him alive. Even though Rynold wasn't in a well enough condition to stop him easily, he could've still tried.
However, the soft spot for members of the family certainly got in his way of doing what he needed to do. Say what you will, the insanity that Shyft suddenly showed was unprecedented.
Rynold knew that some people would eventually go insane. In the New World, this shouldn't be a new occurrence because of the sudden dawn of the apocalypse. People would go mad, this was an unstated fact.
But for it to happen to someone that was close to him in a familial way had caught him off-guard. Rynold didn't know if he could do what it takes to kill someone that he had a personal connection with.
Shaking his head, he decided to focus on what was up the road. Even though it was dark and the moonlight provided somewhat dim lighting, he had to look at what's ahead and focus.
Oliver was unconscious on a cart and Rynold was pushing the cart forward. It would be bad if they got jumped on by ghouls but Strider was there to stop the low-leveled ones pretty easily.
The rescue party was slowly moving their way back to the radio tower.
During the short journey, Rynold radioed in the channel and thought of speaking to Jack but changed his mind in the end. They couldn't alert their position to Shyft especially with Eileen there. The battle could get messy and the fatalities could double.
Slowly but surely the party moved back the road from whence they came and, not soon after, arrived.
They took some time getting there but at least they made it back in one piece.
Rynold carried Oliver off the cart and noticed that he had managed to recover quite a bit. His complexion no longer as pale as it used to be when Rynold had found him.
Arm over the shoulder, Rynold carried Oliver back up with Strider following not far behind. The night was quiet and rather peaceful but the sound of Rynold struggling to drag Oliver certainly broke that illusion.
'Man, did he gain weight or something?' Rynold thought to himself while he dropped Oliver to the ground, "accidentally."
He caught his breath halfway up the stairs. The benefits of the system in terms of Stamina and Strength certainly helped him but it was still an arduous task just to carry the guy up a few flights of stairs. Rynold secretly thought that he would much prefer a drunk Oliver because at least that guy could stand on his own.
Once he recovered, Rynold put Oliver's arm over his shoulder once more but this time he asked Strider to support him in carrying Oliver's weight.
The two managed to progress much easier this time around and they reached the top floor in just a few moments. The door opened with a loud swing and Jack rushed towards them, helping to support Oliver and settled him on the ground.
"Did anything happen to you guys?" Jack asked, hands on his hip.
Rynold sat down on the ground to rest and answered, "nothing much. What about you?"
Jack sat beside Rynold while Strider made his way to Oliver's side and curled up to sleep.
"Same ol', same ol'," Jack answered but the expression on his face wasn't his usual one. The cheeriness of his usual attitude was gone and seriousness took over.
Silence ensued. Neither Jack nor Rynold didn't want to address the elephant in the room but eventually, they had to. It was just uncomfortable to break the silence.
So, Jack decided to give it a shot. He took in a deep breath before opening his mouth, "I... It's Shyft, isn't it?"
Rynold was surprised at the words that Jack suddenly said. His eyes widened for a split second before returning back to his prior solemn expression and didn't say anything.
That was the sign that Jack took to acknowledge that he had hit a sore spot.
He had his earlier suspicions but, Rynold coming back with that look on his face, just made him drive into his suspicions even more. And the silence was the nail in the coffin.
Basking in the silence, Jack tried to break the silence once more with a more simple approach this time. He scoffed.
Rynold looked at Jack and, even though his mind was wandering elsewhere, he asked, "what's that supposed to mean?"
Jack shook his head and smirked, his usual cheekiness showing, "It's just funny. Every time you talk to me it's always like you're serious. No, you didn't even have to talk to me. Most of the time you have a serious look on your face that looked like you were constantly trying to pee. But now... It just seems weird, you know?"
Rynold raised his head to look at the stars and scoffed at Jack's remark. He knew that the guy was trying to take his mind off things but it was near pathetic the way he tried to do it. Most people would've reacted differently but Rynold would've much preferred if he was directly confronted.
But that didn't mean that he didn't appreciate Jack's approach.
He shook his head and stood back up, his back turned to Jack. "Yeah," Rynold coughed, "sorry about that," and walked to where X was situated.
Approaching the sitting Mech Knight, Rynold noticed that Eileen was talking to X. It was something straight out of a portrait that would only exist in science fiction but it looked like a good moment for him to crash.
"Hey, buddy," Rynold spoke while patting his Mech Knight on the shoulder, "what's going on over here?"
"Hello, Master. I am speaking with Miss Eileen about what happened," X responded in his usual mechanical voice.
"Hi, Eileen," Rynold forced out a smile, "you okay?" A question Rynold wished that he didn't have to ask a child.
Eileen nodded and mumbled, "Mhmm. Will Skye be okay?"
Like daggers to the heart, Rynold couldn't bring himself to answer that question. It was just dead air for a little while because he wouldn't lie to a child about a person she had just met.
"She's gone, isn't she?"
Eileen broke the silence by going straight for it. Rynold was surprised at first but only nodded to answer.
Familiar with the concept of people leaving her, Eileen was well-adjusted to the fact that Skye had passed. She was grieving, naturally, but she was sympathetic all the same. A child shouldn't be able to understand things like these but somehow Eileen did.
Rynold picked up Skye from X's arms and carried her to Oliver's side. Jack managed to clean up any sort of blood that lingered when Rynold went to find Oliver, but her collar was stained from the red and the cut from her neck was clearly seen.
Jack stood up while Rynold placed Skye beside the sleeping Oliver. He watched as the couple reunited but both unable to acknowledge it.
Once Rynold was done, he stood beside Jack to watch as well but he couldn't bear the thought of what happened. He looked away as soon as a second passed.
"What do we do now?" Jack asked while he looked at Oliver and Skye before staring off into the empty town.
Rynold faced the door before shifting his gaze to where X and Eileen were talking.
"I... have no idea."
He broke down. It finally reached a point where he couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to the ground, tears welling up.
Rynold punched the ground and cursed inwardly at how useless he felt. He slammed, punched, and cursed well into the night. Gritting his teeth and tears were falling down his face, wishing someone could save him from this hell but there wasn't anyone out there who could.
Jack didn't bother to look at Rynold as this was a problem that he had to solve on his own. Instead, he took a deep breath and spoke in a voice just barely enough to get through to Rynold.
"Take the night off and go get some rest. I'll keep watch for tonight."
Jack didn't show it but he felt guilty as well. He could've done something to at least change the stakes. He tried to reason that it was an acceptable casualty but the time that he had spent with Skye while Rynold and Oliver took off was some of his most cherishable moments.
The town was empty and the night was quiet.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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