[Always the savior, never the saved] READERXEKKO

V

This felt so wrong, getting your resources from retarded shimmer addicts or whatever the fuck they did with shimmer..

But it was a necessity, you needed your hands on some medical resources and fast.

Every step on your way to the shop was heavy, your head hurt from all the thoughts swarming in there. Your hands clutched the paper Ermit gave you.

─Sigh, you had to do what you had to do..

The air became thicker the closer you came to your destination, people started to look way more dangerous in the area..You only felt one feeling right now─you didn't feel safe, at all. You started to get a little more nervous. There was some graffiti on the walls, geez if they were trying to make art they surely failed.

...

You looked in front of you, here it was, the shop. It looked dirty, and you didn't know if it was just you, but the place reeked so disgustingly weird, it creeped you out.

You mustered up some courage and opened the door, the owner was just as you imagined, a shimmer addict, probably a shimmer dealer too. Geez this place looks like a mess, everything was scattered around...The man's bloodshot eyes barely met yours as he leaned lazily on the counter, his nails caked with grime. A faint shimmer splotch sparkled on the wooden surface, making your stomach churn. You resisted the urge to hold your breath—it would only make you look weak. You sighed and returned your confidence.

Just get your resources, then get out of here. You let out a cold breath and walked towards the shopkeeper.

─"What brings you here, little girl?"

The shopkeeper's voice was gruff and low, it gave you chills.

"I─need medical resources.."

"─ugh"

What an asshole reaction was that? Eugh, you felt like kicking that man's ass.

"It's over there"

The man leaned on his hand, he pointed to a med-kit in the distance with his free arm. You felt relieved, they had a med-kit.

You walked towards it, you heard a little thud in the distance yet you didn't think a lot of it.

You took the med-kit and returned to the shopkeeper.

The med-kit made a loud noise as you slammed it on the counter.

"How much for this?"

"60 silver coins"

"60?!─"

You were surprised, you could afford it, but damn that med-kit was expensive if you'd be a normal Zaunite.

You groaned and searched for your coins in your pocket. You eventually felt a little purse with coins and reached in there to get 60 silver coins. You threw the coins on the counter.

"Hm"

The man hummed distrustingly and counted the coins.

"It's 60, just like you asked"

"Yeah, I can see that"

"Oh I thought you were too dumb to count.."

You muttered sarcastically.

Suddenly another man, probably working for the shopkeeper, rushed towards him.

"SOMEONE SABOTAGED OUR SHIMMER DELIVERY─"

He said urgently. So the shopkeeper WAS a shimmer dealer, just as you expected, just as Ermit told you.

"WHAT?!"

The shopkeeper shouted and rushed towards the backdoor, the other man following behind him. You were alone in the shop now, it wouldn't hurt to 'borrow' another med-kit right?

You took another med-kit and whistled softly as you left the shop.

"Tch, idiots"

You chuckled as you made your way back to your place. But you stopped in your tracks, you wondered who was so brave enough to sabotage a shimmer delivery. You kept wondering and you've let curiosity win. You sighed in defeat and turned around, walking the complete opposite way of your home. It was eerily quiet in this part of Zaun, a small hum of machinery in the background could be heard but for the rest, it was dead silent.

You just kept wondering who did the sabotage, oh yeah that's right, Ermit told you something about a kid on a hoverboard. Could it be that? No, probably not─

CRASH

There was a loud thud in the distance followed by a scream, a scream of someone in pain. It was a horrifying sound to say the least, especially in a place as silent as this. You took a deep breath. Should you check it out? You hesitated, but eventually took another step towards where the sound came from. You started to pick up the pace.

Running and running...until.

There it was, the person who got hurt. They wore a distinctive mask, they hid their face, just like you did. You had a bad feeling about helping this person. They had a broken machine right beside them, it was made of tech you've never really seen before. You took a step closer, your footsteps making a crunching noise. Which caught the person's attention. Guessing by their behavior, they were wary of you.

You reached out your hand, showing a sign that you meant no harm.

"I─"

You tried to reassure them but you got distracted by a green glowing streak in the sky. It was fascinating. Your eyes kept lingering at the place where you saw the green streak until you heard a faint humming noise getting closer and closer to you.

You became nervous, what did all of this mean? Did you walk into a trap?

You took a step back.

"What─What does all of this mean..!"

You panicked, this was bad..

Maybe you shouldn't have gone back...