Under the cold silver light of the full moon, the penthouse looked like a luxury mausoleum. Shadows lengthened in the corners, turning expensive furniture into menacing silhouettes.
[No… No, please…]
Carla's delicate voice was the only thing breaking the silence, which, far from being cozy, felt suffocating.
[Stop…] she insisted, her voice choked as her knuckles turned white clutching the sheets. [Help… Astrad…] she called out, sitting up abruptly, her chest heaving as if she had just emerged from underwater.
[Ah… ahhh… ahhh…] Her body trembled. [Ahhhh…] With difficulty, she calmed her breathing. Her hands clutched her chest in search of comfort that didn't come, as her eyes welled up.
[Another nightmare?] asked Sophie. Her voice was fragile from her own mattress.
[…Sorry, did I wake you?] replied Carla, quickly hiding her face, wiping away her tears in embarrassment.
[Wake me? For that, I'd have to be able to sleep first…] Sophie's voice was a bitter thread. [Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces. The way they looked at us when...]
Sophie stopped mid-sentence, swallowing hard. Carla understood immediately. The sensation of the bat impacting the refugees. The wet crunch.
[What about you, Ana?] asked Sophie, sitting up on her mattress and hugging her knees.
[I sleep in spurts…] replied Ana, also sitting up. Her silhouette in the dark seemed shrunken, her voice barely a whisper. [I still feel the weight... The sound his face made when I hit him with the club… it won't stop… sniff…]
Jennifer, on her own mattress, turned over abruptly, giving them her back, pretending to sleep.
[Ahhh…] Carla finally let out a resigned sigh and hugged her knees. [Yumi and Grandpa say we'll get over it, that we did what we had to do… but…]
The girls quickly realized it would be a long night, and soon they all formed a circle.
After all, the adults' words were useless against nightmares.
But, just as the room was plunging into the melancholy of shared guilt.
Bang!
[Bitches, since you insist, I'm here to bang you against the wall.]
With tremendous momentum, Astrad entered the room, almost kicking the door down.
[[[[KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]]]]
Immediately, the girls screamed, the sudden fright breaking the tension in the worst possible way.
[WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?]
[[[[WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU!]]]]
The girls immediately shot back at Astrad, but he ignores them.
[Whatever, line up to receive the Rati-Power. I'll allow it] he said and struck a strange pose, before starting to move his hips suggestively. With each pelvic thrust, he hopped further into the room.
[Rat, tar, Rati-Power. Rat, rat, Rati-Power.]
[[[[GET OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT!]]]]
[AND NOW WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SCREAMING?]
[[[[YOU'RE STILL ASKING? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN OUR ROOM? PERVERT!]]]]
[I CAME BECAUSE YOU WON'T STOP CALLING ME, DAMN CLOSET NYMPHOMANIACS.]
[[[[WE DID NOT!]]]]
[YES, YOU DID. The Rat Kid heard it all. It was "ahhh, Astrad, come and hold me with your manly pecs, ahh, ahh".]
[[[[KYAAAAA, SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!]]]]
The girls scream desperately, covering their ears not wanting to hear any more.
They knew they definitely didn't say that, but they also knew that sometimes they had called out to Astrad in their sleep, so, in fact, they were worried.
[THE RAT KID IS THE VICTIM HERE; MY CHASTITY IS IN DANGER. But it's okay, I'll allow it.]
[You are a…] Carla was about to curse him but stopped dead.
Looking up, the moonlight bathed Astrad. His mocking smile couldn't hide the reality: his chin was stained with fresh, thick blood. His legs were shaking, straining to the max just to stay upright.
Some of the parasitic weeds still clung to him; the leaves, normally vibrant, looked withered and dull. In his arms, he carried the two goblins, completely knocked out, hanging like rag dolls.
[Y-You, idiot, what the fuck do you think you're doing?] Carla demanded. Her anger was replaced by panic as she rushed to support him before he collapsed.
Immediately, the others remembered the situation and joined her.
[Kekeke, I knew you couldn't resist.]
[[[[THIS IS NOT THE TIME!]]]]
The girls complained, but they also helped him lie down on one of the mattresses.
[Ahh, come to think of it, the Rat Kid has no strength, but you can help yourselves. I'll allow it] he said once lying down, pointing to his crotch with a gesture as if saying "bon appétit."
The girls' hands clenched. They really wanted to hit him, but seeing how pale he was, the rage dissolved into concern.
[Ahh, what are you up to?] asked Carla, finally resigned. The rest of the girls also looked at Astrad curiously.
[Dunno? Why are you calling me?]
At the question, the girls gritted their teeth for a few moments, looking away, but in the end, they opened up.
They told him how they felt. The torment of having killed people. The crunch of bones. The empty eyes of the attackers. The sticky guilt that wouldn't let them sleep.
That they had already talked to the adults, but even understanding that they did what was necessary, the guilt wouldn't subside.
[We know… we really know… but every time we close our eyes…]
Carla clung to her knees beside Astrad, her eyes assaulted by tears.
The others were in a similar state. Sleep had been scarce these days. The burden of having taken a human life, the worry for Astrad. It was simply too much to process.
[[[[…]]]]
The girls looked at Astrad. For an instant, they expected the comforting words they had already heard over these two days.
[What? That was it?] unexpectedly, Astrad's words were not a comfort nor even his usual sarcastic reproach. Just the indifference of someone who has heard something stupid.
For someone who only knows Astrad's bad side, his indifference might not seem entirely strange.
But for them, who knew a deeper side of him, who knew about that side capable of even comforting little goblins...
[[[[And what does that mean?]]]]
Irritation couldn't help but surface. Their cheeks were already puffed out, looking at Astrad with reproach.
[Why are you getting mad at the Rat Kid? If it's just that, the answer is easy. Don't blame the Rat Kid for your stupidity… Ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.]
Irritated by his words, but unable to hit him properly, the girls pinch Astrad.
[Will it kill you to say nice words to us too?] complained Ana finally.
[Slander against the Rat Kid. Why am I the bad guy if I'm healing you?] Astrad.
[Ahhh, really? How so?] Sophie raised an eyebrow, skeptical.
[Easy. Get comfortable. Today you can sleep on top of me] replied Astrad, adjusting the goblins to make room.
As a result, the girls looked at him with disgust as they backed away.
[I always knew he was the type to take advantage.]
[Never doubted it.]
[Scum.]
[Astrad.]
[Bitches, another word and I won't heal you.] Astrad complained about the girls, but still kept his arms open.
Seeing his insistence, the girls looked at each other confused.
[Ahh, whatever] said Jennifer, finally resigned, taking a step forward to lie on Astrad's left arm, hugging one of the goblins.
[But if there are no results, I'll sit on your face as punishment.]
[Why does the punishment sound like a reward? The Rat Kid demands a review.]
[Hmph, well, somehow you always manage to win, so…]
[Bitch, are you admitting you don't want to give me anything for my work?]
[So what?]
[Tsk.]
Carla and the others watched the interaction with a mix of confusion and resignation, but in the end, despite their better judgment…
[Well, it's not like he can do anything in that state anyway…] said Carla, and the other two nodded, finding a space next to Astrad.
[…Okay, now what?] asked Sophie after they all got settled and a few seconds passed without anything happening.
[Now you sleep.]
[And then?]
[The Rat Kid enters the dream and busts those assholes in there.]
[[[[HUUUUUH?]]]]
The girls screamed in disbelief. Although they didn't get up, they looked at Astrad's face as if they couldn't believe the nonsense they just heard.
[[[[That doesn't make any sense?]]]]
They couldn't help but complain.
[Your stupid crisis doesn't make any sense either and I'm not complaining to you about it. GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!]
Astrad moaned in pain mid-sentence when the girls pinched him without mercy.
Even so, they didn't pull away from him.
[[[[…]]]]
Silence returned to the room, but it wasn't uncomfortable or stifling. Just that calm on a peaceful night. As their breathing slowly synchronized.
Finally, Astrad's voice echoed in the tranquility of the night.
[Who said you had to face any of this?] he said, his voice calm. His question didn't seem to seek an answer.
Calmly, he stroked each girl's head for a few moments.
[If the problem is the weight of the decision, then let's just say I made the decision. Send those sons of bitches to complain to me and leave the rest to me.]
Astrad's words didn't seem to have a deep meaning, but they echoed in the girls' hearts.
Their chests warmed, and that unease that had tormented them slowly faded as tears spilled onto Astrad.
[[[[Idiot…]]]]
They murmured finally. No other sound besides the sobs, which slowly died down to become steady, deep breaths, was heard that night.
From the shadows of the hallway, Margareth stopped recording and left satisfied.
Yumi and Flora also nodded with warm smiles and went to their room.
The girls, effectively, dreamed again.
Upon them pounced the people they had killed, their faces deformed by hatred, demanding an explanation amidst wails.
But before they could even start to get scared, from behind them, a boy stepped forward.
With a petulant stride, he approached the attackers, making sure the girls were covered behind his back.
His smile was, as always, arrogant. His fists fell without asking questions, and from his mouth came only curses for 300 generations of those poor people's families.
In the end, none of the girls woke up until dawn.