Chapter 24
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"Let's go," Alex said simply.
The tension that had been in the air the entire time disappeared together with the pressure. Damn it, these Jones guys were weird.
Sylvester and David Sr. remained in the circle while the caravan leader, Ronald and I took a leisurely stroll toward the forest. Our squad followed me with their eyes, surprised and suspicious at the same time. Petrovich stared at me with anger, eyes narrowed as if he wanted to pierce me with his glare. As we walked in silence, I wondered what kind of parents would call their children by the same name. I didn't think of it right away, but I guessed that was because of old Jones' pressure.
Typically, the division into Senior and Junior is used when a father and a son have the same names. Or a grandfather and a grandson. And here we had two brothers, both Davids... Strange.
"What did David show you?" Alex asked as we moved far enough from the caravan, where no one could overhear us. But Ronald, nevertheless, moved away from us and began peering at the illuminated outlines of the circle of carts just in case. Does he think someone's going to spy on us? Guess I'm not the only paranoid one here.
"Not much yet," I replied honestly. "Unfortunately, he was forced to leave us when the Reaper came."
Not a muscle moved on Jones' face. He stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
"Thanks to your son, I began working on my stats," I decided that I could sometimes be frank with this person. So far, it was good for both of us.
"David is not my son," Alex said suddenly. "He's my nephew. His father, my brother, died. My wife and I took him in and raised him as our own."
I just nodded back, showing my understanding and maybe a little sympathy. That explained why there were two Davids in the family.
"But never mind that," Alex closed the topic. "You say a Reaper has come to you? Did he kill David?"
"No," I said. If Baldy really did survive, I will find it out now. If he died... I'll get deception points. The question was how would these dangerous men react if my lies were exposed? Perhaps I was being too hasty.
But nothing happened. My deception stats remained the same. Was Igor, aka David, truly alive?
"I thought so," Alex nodded slowly. "Otherwise I would have felt his death."
Well, I'd better keep my eyes open around the Jones family and not get involved in dangerous experiments. If he was not bluffing and really could feel if his nephew was alive, I shouldn't lie to him anymore.
"Can I ask you a question, Alex?" I asked cautiously.
"Yes," he said.
My heart was pounding. Could I shed more light on the mystery of this world? Surely the merchant knew things that a simple-minded schemer like Petrovich couldn't even dare to imagine.
"Has anyone ever gotten to the exit point?"
The merchant gave it thought and noisily drew a breath.
"You want an honest answer?" he asked.
"Yes," I said hoarsely and cleared my throat. It must have looked inappropriate.
"Alex Jones has been in this world for so long that he has learned your language," the merchant said floridly. "And, as you can see, my sons are just as good at it."
"About...ten years?" I said, trying to look at the old man and not at the "Age" floating in the air. "Almost eleven thousand days." Compared with him, Baldy was, indeed, a "junior".
Suddenly, throwing back his head Jones burst out laughing. It was frustrating, humiliating and arrogant.
"You would think so," after a laugh, Alex became serious again. "Families rarely come to this world, lad. Maybe I'm the only one who got so lucky."
With a broad gesture he invited me to sit down and as he sat himself on a round boulder. I gently sat onto the cool ground thinking that it would be nice to make a fire since we were going to share secrets.
"Who's the president in the States?" the merchant suddenly asked.
Seeing my confused face, he waved his hand and continued.
"The last time I was there, Reagan was ruling our country," he paused for a moment, and I, after having done a couple of simple calculations in my mind, realized that the merchant had been here for at least thirty years! "My wife, my children and I were returning from the Independence Day Fair. We stopped at the gas station, that's where it all started."
He paused, looking straight ahead. He didn't look like the terrible trader of an unknown world anymore, or a person able to bend to someone else's will. Across me sat an elderly, slightly haggard, man who had clearly seen a lot in his life.
"There was a little supermarket," the old Jones said again, "and a lot of people… Everyone was returning from the Fair. She was there as well. She closed off all the exits and said that she was holding everyone hostage. The owner of the gas station called 911, but the connection was cut off. We were isolated from the rest of the world. No one had come to the gas station while we were there. Not a single goddamn car."
Who was he talking about? Who was the woman who took everyone at the gas station hostage? Was he going to tell about the deadly trial that led his family into this world? Was this unknown lady a goddess, a mentor, or whatever she introduced herself as?
"So she offered us a choice," Jones said. "Everyone present had to determine who was worthy of being saved. I wasn't the only one stuck at that damn gas station with a family. But I said that I wouldn't hesitate to kill everyone to save my wife and children. She then offered to blow up the gas station in exchange for the lives of my family. As you see, I did it."
I shuddered. Well, of course… I also escaped leaving my companions to die in the supermarket. But... Jones' conscious decision led to the entire station being burned down... People inside and all… Other people's families, too! I definitely did not like this guy. But what did I know about the others? About Petrovich, for example? He hadn't told anyone about his trial. And those who knew didn't share this information. And now they would never tell… Suren, Alexander and Andrei... Maybe Baldy could.
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"Let's go," Alex said simply.
The tension that had been in the air the entire time disappeared together with the pressure. Damn it, these Jones guys were weird.
Sylvester and David Sr. remained in the circle while the caravan leader, Ronald and I took a leisurely stroll toward the forest. Our squad followed me with their eyes, surprised and suspicious at the same time. Petrovich stared at me with anger, eyes narrowed as if he wanted to pierce me with his glare. As we walked in silence, I wondered what kind of parents would call their children by the same name. I didn't think of it right away, but I guessed that was because of old Jones' pressure.
Typically, the division into Senior and Junior is used when a father and a son have the same names. Or a grandfather and a grandson. And here we had two brothers, both Davids... Strange.
"What did David show you?" Alex asked as we moved far enough from the caravan, where no one could overhear us. But Ronald, nevertheless, moved away from us and began peering at the illuminated outlines of the circle of carts just in case. Does he think someone's going to spy on us? Guess I'm not the only paranoid one here.
"Not much yet," I replied honestly. "Unfortunately, he was forced to leave us when the Reaper came."
Not a muscle moved on Jones' face. He stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
"Thanks to your son, I began working on my stats," I decided that I could sometimes be frank with this person. So far, it was good for both of us.
"David is not my son," Alex said suddenly. "He's my nephew. His father, my brother, died. My wife and I took him in and raised him as our own."
I just nodded back, showing my understanding and maybe a little sympathy. That explained why there were two Davids in the family.
"But never mind that," Alex closed the topic. "You say a Reaper has come to you? Did he kill David?"
"No," I said. If Baldy really did survive, I will find it out now. If he died... I'll get deception points. The question was how would these dangerous men react if my lies were exposed? Perhaps I was being too hasty.
But nothing happened. My deception stats remained the same. Was Igor, aka David, truly alive?
"I thought so," Alex nodded slowly. "Otherwise I would have felt his death."
Well, I'd better keep my eyes open around the Jones family and not get involved in dangerous experiments. If he was not bluffing and really could feel if his nephew was alive, I shouldn't lie to him anymore.
"Can I ask you a question, Alex?" I asked cautiously.
"Yes," he said.
My heart was pounding. Could I shed more light on the mystery of this world? Surely the merchant knew things that a simple-minded schemer like Petrovich couldn't even dare to imagine.
"Has anyone ever gotten to the exit point?"
The merchant gave it thought and noisily drew a breath.
"You want an honest answer?" he asked.
"Yes," I said hoarsely and cleared my throat. It must have looked inappropriate.
"Alex Jones has been in this world for so long that he has learned your language," the merchant said floridly. "And, as you can see, my sons are just as good at it."
"About...ten years?" I said, trying to look at the old man and not at the "Age" floating in the air. "Almost eleven thousand days." Compared with him, Baldy was, indeed, a "junior".
Suddenly, throwing back his head Jones burst out laughing. It was frustrating, humiliating and arrogant.
"You would think so," after a laugh, Alex became serious again. "Families rarely come to this world, lad. Maybe I'm the only one who got so lucky."
With a broad gesture he invited me to sit down and as he sat himself on a round boulder. I gently sat onto the cool ground thinking that it would be nice to make a fire since we were going to share secrets.
"Who's the president in the States?" the merchant suddenly asked.
Seeing my confused face, he waved his hand and continued.
"The last time I was there, Reagan was ruling our country," he paused for a moment, and I, after having done a couple of simple calculations in my mind, realized that the merchant had been here for at least thirty years! "My wife, my children and I were returning from the Independence Day Fair. We stopped at the gas station, that's where it all started."
He paused, looking straight ahead. He didn't look like the terrible trader of an unknown world anymore, or a person able to bend to someone else's will. Across me sat an elderly, slightly haggard, man who had clearly seen a lot in his life.
"There was a little supermarket," the old Jones said again, "and a lot of people… Everyone was returning from the Fair. She was there as well. She closed off all the exits and said that she was holding everyone hostage. The owner of the gas station called 911, but the connection was cut off. We were isolated from the rest of the world. No one had come to the gas station while we were there. Not a single goddamn car."
Who was he talking about? Who was the woman who took everyone at the gas station hostage? Was he going to tell about the deadly trial that led his family into this world? Was this unknown lady a goddess, a mentor, or whatever she introduced herself as?
"So she offered us a choice," Jones said. "Everyone present had to determine who was worthy of being saved. I wasn't the only one stuck at that damn gas station with a family. But I said that I wouldn't hesitate to kill everyone to save my wife and children. She then offered to blow up the gas station in exchange for the lives of my family. As you see, I did it."
I shuddered. Well, of course… I also escaped leaving my companions to die in the supermarket. But... Jones' conscious decision led to the entire station being burned down... People inside and all… Other people's families, too! I definitely did not like this guy. But what did I know about the others? About Petrovich, for example? He hadn't told anyone about his trial. And those who knew didn't share this information. And now they would never tell… Suren, Alexander and Andrei... Maybe Baldy could.
"Let's go," Alex said simply.The tension that had been in the air the entire time disappeared together with the pressure. Damn it, these Jones guys were weird.Sylvester and David Sr. remained in the circle while the caravan leader, Ronald and I took a leisurely stroll toward the forest. Our squad followed me with their eyes, surprised and suspicious at the same time. Petrovich stared at me with anger, eyes narrowed as if he wanted to pierce me with his glare. As we walked in silence, I wondered what kind of parents would call their children by the same name. I didn't think of it right away, but I guessed that was because of old Jones' pressure.Typically, the division into Senior and Junior is used when a father and a son have the same names. Or a grandfather and a grandson. And here we had two brothers, both Davids... Strange."What did David show you?" Alex asked as we moved far enough from the caravan, where no one could overhear us. But Ronald, nevertheless, moved away from us and began peering at the illuminated outlines of the circle of carts just in case. Does he think someone's going to spy on us? Guess I'm not the only paranoid one here."Not much yet," I replied honestly. "Unfortunately, he was forced to leave us when the Reaper came."Not a muscle moved on Jones' face. He stared at me, waiting for me to continue."Thanks to your son, I began working on my stats," I decided that I could sometimes be frank with this person. So far, it was good for both of us."David is not my son," Alex said suddenly. "He's my nephew. His father, my brother, died. My wife and I took him in and raised him as our own."I just nodded back, showing my understanding and maybe a little sympathy. That explained why there were two Davids in the family."But never mind that," Alex closed the topic. "You say a Reaper has come to you? Did he kill David?""No," I said. If Baldy really did survive, I will find it out now. If he died... I'll get deception points. The question was how would these dangerous men react if my lies were exposed? Perhaps I was being too hasty.But nothing happened. My deception stats remained the same. Was Igor, aka David, truly alive?"I thought so," Alex nodded slowly. "Otherwise I would have felt his death."Well, I'd better keep my eyes open around the Jones family and not get involved in dangerous experiments. If he was not bluffing and really could feel if his nephew was alive, I shouldn't lie to him anymore."Can I ask you a question, Alex?" I asked cautiously."Yes," he said.My heart was pounding. Could I shed more light on the mystery of this world? Surely the merchant knew things that a simple-minded schemer like Petrovich couldn't even dare to imagine."Has anyone ever gotten to the exit point?"The merchant gave it thought and noisily drew a breath."You want an honest answer?" he asked."Yes," I said hoarsely and cleared my throat. It must have looked inappropriate."Alex Jones has been in this world for so long that he has learned your language," the merchant said floridly. "And, as you can see, my sons are just as good at it.""About...ten years?" I said, trying to look at the old man and not at the "Age" floating in the air. "Almost eleven thousand days." Compared with him, Baldy was, indeed, a "junior".Suddenly, throwing back his head Jones burst out laughing. It was frustrating, humiliating and arrogant."You would think so," after a laugh, Alex became serious again. "Families rarely come to this world, lad. Maybe I'm the only one who got so lucky."With a broad gesture he invited me to sit down and as he sat himself on a round boulder. I gently sat onto the cool ground thinking that it would be nice to make a fire since we were going to share secrets."Who's the president in the States?" the merchant suddenly asked.Seeing my confused face, he waved his hand and continued."The last time I was there, Reagan was ruling our country," he paused for a moment, and I, after having done a couple of simple calculations in my mind, realized that the merchant had been here for at least thirty years! "My wife, my children and I were returning from the Independence Day Fair. We stopped at the gas station, that's where it all started."He paused, looking straight ahead. He didn't look like the terrible trader of an unknown world anymore, or a person able to bend to someone else's will. Across me sat an elderly, slightly haggard, man who had clearly seen a lot in his life."There was a little supermarket," the old Jones said again, "and a lot of people Everyone was returning from the Fair. She was there as well. She closed off all the exits and said that she was holding everyone hostage. The owner of the gas station called 911, but the connection was cut off. We were isolated from the rest of the world. No one had come to the gas station while we were there. Not a single goddamn car."Who was he talking about? Who was the woman who took everyone at the gas station hostage? Was he going to tell about the deadly trial that led his family into this world? Was this unknown lady a goddess, a mentor, or whatever she introduced herself as?"So she offered us a choice," Jones said. "Everyone present had to determine who was worthy of being saved. I wasn't the only one stuck at that damn gas station with a family. But I said that I wouldn't hesitate to kill everyone to save my wife and children. She then offered to blow up the gas station in exchange for the lives of my family. As you see, I did it."I shuddered. Well, of course I also escaped leaving my companions to die in the supermarket. But... Jones' conscious decision led to the entire station being burned down... People inside and all Other people's families, too! I definitely did not like this guy. But what did I know about the others? About Petrovich, for example? He hadn't told anyone about his trial. And those who knew didn't share this information. And now they would never tell Suren, Alexander and Andrei... Maybe Baldy could.
