Not Alone

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Stern

Clatter. Clatter.

Was that a horse? No, horses. A carriage must be passing by.

Yeah, that's probably it.

…

Footsteps.

That grew closer and closer.

My eyes flashed open.

“Hey, miss!”

“Hmm?”

“You want these exotic berries? They're cheap and delicious!”

“Sorry, man. Not interested.”

It was just a fruit seller.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

I turned away, and kept walking.

Down the same path I’d seen thrice now.

Then my foot stopped. I looked back.

No one was there anymore. Good.

I gripped my chest tight.

The gash was gone. Like it never happened.

Yep, never doing that stupid stunt again.

Third attempt.

No money, no ship and no crew.

I muttered a few curses at reality and began wandering.

Money. That was the first goal.

Stopped near the notice board in the town centre. Apparently, it was a good place to find gigs.

That's what I've overheard locals saying.

Spotted a poster. Pinned to the wood with a… toothpick?

It had a dolphin seal. Wearing a sailor hat.

“Sign up for the Royal Vanguard overseas?” My eyes darted across the words. “No way, last time I got on a boat I ended up dead.”

I read a few more, but none of them really caught my eye.

Turning the opposite way, I thought I was pretty calm for just dying.

My eyes glanced downwards.

Fists clenched.

…

Well, dying probably wasn’t the reason for that.

Not a step closer to that damn necklace.

It was the town centre now.

Saw more people walking down the streets. Laughing, chatting.

Nearby, there were a few wooden benches. Same place as when I first met her.

Sat down on one, back pressing on the wood.

Not a clue what to do.

My hands covered my face. Dying takes a lot out of you.

I let my eyes drift for a bit.

Then a yawn.

Stopped looking around.

-XXX-

A finger pointed towards me.

“Do not worry! Lone traveller!”

I slowly looked up at her.

“What?” 

I’d fallen asleep on the bench.

“You seem in great despair!”

And thanks to whoever you are, it’ll probably get worse.

“Join me and all your worries will disappear!”

Shit, is this a cult recruitment?

“Not interested.”

Her mouth turned into a frown.

“Why not? You don’t look like you’ve got anything else to do.”

All the things I have to do are much larger than dealing with you.

Too tired, a phrase slipped out of my mouth. “I need a boat.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Well, good news! I’d been looking for a partner to join me on the seas!”

…

“Seriously?”

“It’s more fun with another person.”

“No like, why didn’t you start with that?”

“With what?”

“Forget it.”

“So, is that a yes?”

I sighed.

“Suppose so.”

My hand reached out.

“Scarlett.”

A blank look appeared on her face.

“Why are you showing me your hand?”

Waving isn’t a practice here... I see.

“Ignore that.”

“You’re weird.”

“Excuse me?”

“And your name’s weird too!”

“Are you going to tell me yours or not?”

A smile tugged her lips.

“Loulin.”

She stood all high and mighty, eyes shut and head facing upwards.

What an idiot.

“HWAH?! How could you say that?”

…

Did I say that out loud?

Whatever. Why should I try to stay on this pink headed dunce’s good side?

-XXX-

My eyes fluttered awake.

Had I fallen asleep?

Now? Out of all times. I haven’t even secured myself a coin yet.

Drew a long breath, pushing myself off the wooden bench.

I have better things to do than to sulk around.

Maybe I should've just joined that overseas thing.

Scouted around a bit more. Found nothing.

It was evening now. And I was ready to go back to the notice board.

The sun started to lower. The streetlights began to flicker with a faint glow.

I’d fully turned around. Heading back to that poster.

Made my way through the streets. It was more crowded now.

More hooves hit the gravel as carriages went by.

I didn’t pay much attention to my surroundings.

Then—

A blur of black hair.

Flashed by the corner of my eye.

I stopped right there.

I’d never seen anyone with that hair color here.

My foot switched direction.

And I bolted behind her.

All I could see was her back, and I could tell I’d never met her before.

But the way she dressed.

I’d seen it a dozen times before.

She dipped in and out of the crowd. It wasn’t easy keeping track of her.

At this rate, she’d disappear before noticing me.

I’d had to do something fast to keep her in place.

An idea struck.

I puffed my lungs.

…

“EARTH!”

She froze.

Head turned, painfully slow.

“Are you from…” Her voice spoke.

“Why else would I shout that?”

She ran up to me.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes.”

On a closer look, she was a bit taller than me. Straight black hair draped past her shoulders.

Her hand clutched my arm.

“Wha—”

Sprinted again, dragging me behind.

“Sorry! But a thief stole my wallet...”

“Why am I being dragged?!”

“I don’t know the roads here!”

“You think I know them any better—”

She dove to the right. An alleyway where the light didn’t reach.

“How do I get there?” Her arm frantically waved somewhere.

“What?”

“THERE!”

“WHAT’S THERE?”

“THE THIEF THAT STOLE MY WALLET!”

“WHERE’S THERE?”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M ASKING!”

In a snap, her head turned.

“He’s moving!”

“How do you know?”

She fled deeper into the alleyway, still pulling me.

“He’s like right-ish north!”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know!”

I dug my feet into the ground.

Right-ish north… that’s where the main street opens up again.

“Here.”

Took a left turn.

“Left?”

“Yep.”

After that, we darted straight.

Then a right.

Boots kept hitting small stones and pebbles.

A few more paths.

Noise grew louder.

Until—

The light almost made me blind.

Running in the dark alleys didn’t help.

The open street.

That thief must’ve blended in with the crowd. It’d be a lost cause to look now—

“There!”

She pointed, tugging on my sleeve.

A short man, covered in a brown cloak. Dashing like his life depended on it till—

THUD.

He ran head first into a tall man in a brown uniform.

I recognized it as one of the town guards.

A carriage passed by, blocking the sight.

Rushed my way through the crowd, the stranger following my steps.

Found myself at the other side of the main street.

There the thief was. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he talked to the guard.

Black hair shook its way out of the crowd.

“There you are! Give me my wallet back!”

The man jumped, instantly breaking into a sprint.

His cloak was pulled back by the guard.

Wallet dropped from his grip.

-XXX-

Roasted meat, spilled ale, and odd music followed by a sting of laughter.

Catching a thief wasn’t one of my plans, neither was being dragged to a tavern.

But it was the best option we had.

After that little cat and mouse scene.

People were giving us some weird looks out there. Can't blame them.

So, we had to find a place with more… privacy.

“Two beers, here!”

She waved her hand, then looked back at me.

“It’s pretty busy.”

“Thanks for the help.”

In hindsight, meeting someone from Earth wasn't really that impossible of a scenario.

Who knows how many people that thing sent here?

I should’ve known.

But despite that…

A smile crept up my lips. “No need for that.”

Wood creaked as I leaned back.

“So what did you do back home?”

She jumped a bit at my question… for some reason.

“Back home? Well—uh, I was—”

Sweat began to drop from her face.

“A medical student…” She answered, in a droopy voice.

Just then, the beers arrived. Pretty quick for a busy place.

“Neat.”

Picked one up. Took a sip.

“...What about you?”

“Me?” I pointed. “Well, I was in high school. Before, you know.”

“You're a high school student?”

“At this point, I would've graduated.”

“Man, must suck to die at such a time.”

“You were a medical student, it was worse for you.”

Sweat began to trail down her face, again. “Yeah…”

Ok. Things were getting suspicious.

Clearly something was up with this girl being a medical student.

And I had no idea how to figure out what that was.

…

Or maybe I did.

There was a book I read a long time ago.

Never thought I would be using anything from it.

Considering the title was… “The Secret To Being That One Person Who Knows Everything Dark Psychology Tips and Tricks”.

Terrible read. And a mouthful of a title.

It had a page on somehow being able to intimidate people into telling you shit by just staring at them…

I did exactly that.

And it worked. Somehow.

A few seconds later…

“Icheatedonsomeofmyexams!”

Stared at her.

“Ok, maybe all of them—”

I continued to stare.

“I used AI for my work too…”

…

“Well, nice to know you, med student.”

I reached my hand out for another sip. She grabbed my wrist mid-motion.

“You shouldn't be drinking!”

“And why's that?”

“You aren't old enough.”

“Then why'd you bring me here?”

“I didn't know I was bringing a high schooler.”

“I don't see how that makes a difference.”

“You're not old enough!”

“I've been drinking since I was 16!”

“THAT'S ILLEGAL!”

“DIFFERENT COUNTRIES EXIST!”

“Oh, right.”

She let go of my wrist.

Only to grab it again.

“But it still doesn't feel right!”

We weren't even on Earth, and probably never would be again. There was no need for any of this.

But my hand was starting to ache, so I pulled back.

She let go a second later.

Can't believe I just got lectured by someone who faked their way through life.

Picking up hers after denying me from mine.

Whatever.

“So, how'd you die?”

Her hand froze right as the beer was next to her lips.

That might’ve been a bit too blunt.

“You don't have to answer—”

“It's not that! It's just kinda stupid.”

She took a sip.

“I got hit by a truck.”

I waited.

“While walking on the street.”

And waited.

“That’s it?”

“That's how you respond to someone who just told you how they died?!”

She glared at me, like I'd insulted her entire lineage.

“Then tell me how you died!”

“I got pushed in front of a truck.”

 …

She coughed.

“Well, uh, truck deaths are more common than I thought.”

“You don't have to feel bad about it.”

“I don't!” She stared down at the floor.

Out of all the humans that were ever sent here, this was the one I met.

…

Shrugged. Could’ve been worse.

“What was your name again?”

“You forgot my name already? I told you like 5 minutes ago!"

“Name?”

“The audacity!” She flailed her arms around. “It's Laurel. Laurel Ains. Don't forget it!”

“So, Laurel.” I cleared my throat, looking at her face.

Even though, there's something definitely not right with you. To meet someone from Earth after spending months in this strange world…

It’s better than not meeting anyone.

But there’s still something that could make this even better.

The crystal lights cast a warm glow on the wood of the table. Beers gleaming atop.

Taking a deep breath, I asked.

“Did you meet anyone before coming here?”

She blinked. Staring.

“Nevermind, ignore that—”

Her back pressed against the chair, leaning back just enough for the light to fall on her face.

A small smile tugged her lips.

“Guess I wasn’t the only one.”

~Not Alone~

Characters:

Scarlett Ernest (MC, and the POV)

Loulin Biene (Appears in the flashback)

Laurel Ains (The fake med student)

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