Chapter 334
Clementine:
“Wait, so what exactly happened?” Mira asked Yorick after we met up and began searching for a safe shelter.
Joshua had run into the subway and locked the door.
We were worried about him for a while because we feared he might hurt himself, but then we accepted that he was not there with us for the Whisperer to attack him.
As long as he did not hear the whispers, I believed he would be fine.
We were now sitting outside the subway with no idea where to go. Some of us suggested returning to Fleshmingo Town, but we were exhausted.
“We left her on the other side of the North,” Troy repeated, and once again we all frowned at him.
“The other side of the North? What is that? Why have we never been told about it?” Renee complained, and Yorick lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
“Well, from what we saw, that part is the real deal. There were no signs of any living being, not even anything normal. There were no street lights, no night lights, nothing at all. There was no electricity in any of the buildings,” Haiden explained, sending shivers through us.
Ian had been sitting quietly, and every so often I looked at him just to appreciate him.
I had never felt this way about anyone, but being near him made me want to keep him safe.
I did not want him out of my sight, and I was sure he noticed me staring at him dreamily from time to time.
“So now the effect is gone, right? Now that the chain is broken. What makes you think she will not go get another one?” Sebastian complained, reminding us that we should not be sitting here doing nothing.
“Well, unless a monster unties her,” Troy remarked, pointing out that he had not simply left her there. They had tied her on the other side.
“You might think we are cruel for it, but we could not take a risk. She jeopardized our safety, our relationships, and she had no shame in trying to sleep with us without our permission,” Yorick explained, insisting that just because they were men, we should not ignore how serious it was.
“Anyway, I do not think they have done anything wrong. She has brought it on herself,” I finally spoke in anger.
She had become a danger to everyone.
The fact that she went ahead and shook hands with a monster to attack her own crusaders proved she had become one of them.
“It is nice to see you again, however,” Yorick told Ian as he extended his hand and placed it on Ian’s shoulder, giving him a small nudge.
I noticed the silence between them. I remembered that I had told them Ian had been replaced by his evil twin.
I was not sure if they believed me, but thankfully they did not mention it in front of the others.
“Yeah, same. It is nice to see you all,” Ian replied, although I knew it was partly because we still had things to discuss.
They had seen me kiss him, so of course some conversations were waiting.
“Should we go back to the safe place? I am still freaked out ever since I heard about the other monsters,” Renee whispered, and I caught her words.
I gave her a quick nod to let her know I agreed she was saying the right thing.
“Yeah, let’s go. It’s not like we can get to the station for now,” Mira stated, hinting that we still had not gotten rid of the Whisperer, so our journey was far from over.
As soon as we began to rise from the road, the subway door opened, and we all stopped in our steps, turning toward it with anxiety.
Joshua stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, looking defeated.
“Come inside. You will be safe here,” he told us calmly.
“Oh my God, Joshua, are you okay?” Sebastian and Mira rushed toward him, trying to check on him after the loss of his friend.
We stepped closer, noticing the dead body behind him, and everyone froze.
“It’s okay, everyone. If he wants to take his friend back to the mainland, we should understand,” I whispered quickly so they would not panic about a dead body being with us.
We had dealt with that before, but inside a closed space it was frightening them.
They began entering the subway, and I soon heard gasps from inside.
I assumed it was because the body was in terrible condition, but I paused briefly to speak with Joshua.
“I am really sorry for what happened. I know you don’t like me, but if you need someone to talk to, I can lend you my ear. Just don’t bite it,” I remarked, and he let out a small laugh.
His smile faded quickly, and he seemed to drift off for a moment.
“Really? You would listen to my yapping?” he wondered, lifting an eyebrow.
“Of course, Joshua. We are all crusaders, a kind of family,” I told him, giving his shoulder a gentle pat before walking inside.
The moment I stepped in, I saw what the others had been gasping at.
Oriana was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, hugging them while staring at us faintly.
“What the fuck?” I screamed.
My mates entered after offering Joshua a few quiet words of comfort.
They heard me and hurried in.
Joshua followed, sprinting like a bullet, and positioned himself in front of us.
“He got Oriana over here,” Mira shouted, her fists clenched in anger.
“What?” Troy asked, the taste of betrayal clear on his face.
None of us expected a crusader to bring back someone who had caused so much damage and left me in the North to die.
“What is she doing here?” I yelled at Joshua, trying to rush past him to get my hands on Oriana, but she began crying so loudly that Renee and Mira had to cover their ears and step away.
“I’m sorry. I said I’m sorry!” she cried through her wailing.
Oriana apologized again and again while Joshua tried to keep everyone away from her.