Ulqora: "You're... you're lying. Take me to Jaser!"
Arnold: "Are you..."
Kassius nods his head with a disappointed look on his face.
Arnold: "Ulqora, I'm-"
Ulqora: "You're trying to take me away."
Arnold: "No. I'm trying to help."
Ulqora: "Leave me alone!"
Tears start to drop as she backs away from him, afraid. She runs away towards the forest.
Arnold: "Ulqora!"
Arnold freezes as a loop of his sister's words plays in his head. 'Leave me alone'. Over and over. His brain overwhelmed.
Arnold (in head): "Why... again? Why can't I help when it matters most?"
Kassius stands there silent and doesn't move an inch, just looking at her run away. He turns back to Arnold.
Arnold: "We have to go after her."
Kassius: "We will. But stop for a second. Are you alright?"
Arnold: "I'm fine. Forget about me. Let's go get her."
Kassius: "We can catch up to her anytime. But we can't force her, you know. Maybe she needs to see this."
Arnold: "What?"
Kassius: "It was just his time. It's a normal thing Arnold."
Arnold: "What?"
Kassius: "People die. We have to accept it sooner or later."
Arnold: "Stop it..."
Kassius: "Why should I? I'm just saying the truth. This is more than the girl, right? Your sister... she is dead and you can't change that."
Arnold angrily punches Kassius in the face. As blood gushes out his mouth, Kassius spits on the floor beside him and stares at Arnold.
Kassius: "Is that it?"
Arnold gets even angrier and punches Kassius in his gut. He throws Kassius to the ground and grabs him by the neck.
Arnold: "You have no clue... it's my fault. Mine! She's dead... all because of me..."
Kassius: "I... killed my mother."
Arnold: "What?"
Arnold looks in Kassius' eyes. These were not words of desperation. Not words of comfort. But words of truth. An ugly truth. One of relation. One of understanding. And suddenly, he realises why Kassius did not fight back.
Kassius: "I never wanted to say it out loud. But I did. And I accepted the truth. Because all that rage... all that anger... it would never fix my mistake. We have to move forward."
Arnold: "How can I? Why... do I get to?"
Kassius: "Because that's all you can do. They may be dead, but if we keep remembering them, then maybe... maybe they're not truly gone."
Almost like an arrow to the chest, Kassius hits him deeply. He lets go and Kassius gets back on his feet.
Kassius: "That girl is not your sister. You can do for Ulqora what you could not do for her."
Reaching into his pocket, he throws his wallet to the ground, right in front of Arnold.
Kassius: "That wallet, is my sign of moving forward. When you're ready to move forward too, bring it to me. As a partner, you can trust me, so I hope I can do the same."
Kassius runs off, chasing after Ulqora. Knelt on the floor, Arnold stares at the wallet. Its poor quality, unattractive to most. But Arnold knew. How much the wallet means to Kassius. The value it holds. And the weight of the words he spoke. Tears fall from his face as he grabs onto it. Over in the forest, Ulqora runs awkwardly as the hunger gets the best of her. Suddenly, she hears men in the distance.
"He couldn't have gotten far!"
Just as Ulqora walks further, Kassius grabs her by her mouth and hides her behind a tree. Too shocked to speak, she looks up and sees his face.
"The boss is going to freak out!"
"Hey, pass me a water."
"Tired already?"
"We had the Crim run around for us. Why did the boss have to kill him?"
These words rushed to Ulqora's ears and stung her. Eager to move and yell, Kassius holds onto her, keeping her still. The group head away, far enough to not hear them anymore. Kassius finally lets her go, and she begins to cry again.
Ulqora: "He's lying, right? They didn't..."
Kassius: "I'm so sorry. Aljaser... he told me to protect you. Both me and Arnold. And I promise we will. But we have to leave."
Ulqora: "But my friends, the others..."
Kassius: "I wish I could help them, believe me. But I can't. Not now."
Seeing the look on Ulqora's face, he kneels down to her level.
Kassius: "One day, they'll all be saved. But today, it's you. And we have to make sure you get out fine. It's what Aljaser would've wanted. And I think what your brother wanted too."
Truthfully, Ulqora could not disagree. Although she wanted to know where her friends... her people were, she knew going back was too dangerous. As Kassius helps walk her back, an upset look remains on her face. Up ahead, a figure walks past a tree. Natural instincts kicked in and Kassius prepared to fight, but he immediately lowered his guard as they both see Arnold. He walks up to Ulqora and kneels in front of her.
Arnold: "I'm sorry, Ulqora. I promise, for however long it takes, we'll protect you and find you a safe home."
He tries to lighten the mood with a smile, as forced as it was. Ulqora, through her own pain, forced one as well. Arnold gets back on his feet and pulls out the wallet.
Arnold: "I'm sorry for before."
Kassius: "Hehe. Don't be. We're friends. We should always trust each other, you know?"
Arnold smiles hearing this.
Kassius: "Let's get out of here. Maybe another train is coming soon."
As they walk back into Ritetown and head for the station, Arnold points his finger on the map.
Kassius: "And he said there's a village there?"
Arnold: "Yes, we should be able to find people willing to help."
Kassius: "It's quite far. And we'll have to cross the border."
Arnold: "Also, checklook at this"
He pulls out the flyer and shows Kassius. His eyes light up as he reads more and more.
Kassius: "A red diamond?!"
Arnold: "There's only one chance to take it before it's gone. It's happening in the capital in a week."
Kassius: "We have to get this."
Arnold: "I was thinking... maybe we split up temporarily. You go for this, and I'll bring her there."
Kassius: "Oh, hard pass. We're doing this together. Either we both do this or not."
Arnold: "I guess so..."
Kassius: "Hmm... you know, why not both?"
Arnold: "What?! That's crazy. It's risk enough that moving her around is illegal itself."
Kassius: "Relax. We can keep her safe. Plus, we can't take her to the border then get the diamond. It'll be too late."
Arnold: "Maybe we should forget about the diamond this time."
Kassius: "No, no. Trust me. We'll just keep a strong eye on her. We steal the diamond, then escape to the border. Plan?"
Arnold: "...If you're confident we can... I'm ok with it. But no publicity for this one. In and out."
Kassius: "Deal."
Finally, they arrive at the train station. They walk up the stairs and reach the waiting platform. Sat down, the eerie emptiness no longer spooked them. The quiet was actually the better part of Ritetown. The more sound they remembered, the more disgusted they got of the place. Coming in from the distance, the train finally pulls into the station. This time, it was not the Maldone Express, but the Maldone Overcity. Wasting no time, they walk into the train. Looking around, they see seats slightly more filled than the other train, and the space less narrow. The colour is also more vibrant, with streaks of red and white across.
Arnold: "Find a seat, I'll be with you."
Almost magnetized to it, Kassius and Ulqora quickly find a two seater in the train, Ulqora sitting window seat to hide further. As the train doors close and it begins to move, Arnold finds them and sits on the two seater adjacent to theirs, across the footpath.
Speaker: "THIS IS A LINE TO UMOJA..."
As time passes by, none of them speak to each other. The silence helped them all relax. Suddenly, Kassius' stomach rumbles loudly, waking him from his sleep. Irritated and hungry, he turns to Arnold.
Kassius: "Yo, Arnold. You awake?"
Arnold: "Hmm?"
Kassius: "How much money do you have left from that man?"
Arnold: "Not enough."
Kassius: "I'm a bit hungry."
Arnold: "We have to save money. We'll eat later."
Although hungry, he did not reach the stage of irrationality. Lying back in his seat, Kassius closes his eyes again.
"On more local news, a lookout warning has been sent out by a Ritetown officer on an unidentified boy."
Kassius' eyes burst open. Looking around, he sees an old man up ahead, holding a radio.
Radio: "The boy in question is involved with trespassing, harassment and disruption of private affairs. No name has been provided but a description of his appearance includes..."
As they describe him, a smile slowly climbs on Kassius' face unwillingly. But it slowly fades as he looks to his side, seeing Ulqora lying asleep. He turns to Arnold, seeing his eyes shut, slightly infuriated.
Kassius: "Hehe... At least they didn't get my name, right?"
Arnold: "..."
All remnants of Kassius' smile drops from his face immediately. Arnold reaches into his bag and throws Kassius a jumper. Understanding immediately, he puts it on, pulling the hood over his head.
Radio: "We've just got an announcement from Thari. The interview of the G8 is about to begin."
The silence in the coach suddenly turned into murmurs all around. A small group forms around the old man.
Kassius: "Hmm?"
Arnold: "Seems like something important."
Kassius: "I'll go check it out."