ILOMILO ━ ? applyfic

LORALIE

PANTING, I DODGED my opponent, turned sharply to the side, and ducked under the petite girl's sword. With a quick flick of my hand, I touched her hip with mine. Before she could reach me, I held my sword against hers to block it. With concentration, I moved to circle my opponent in a 90-degree turn and touch her again from behind with my weapon. Not two seconds later, and just in time, the referee's whistle sounded.

I dropped my sword and halfheartedly shook my opponent's hand before quickly removing my mask and briefly glancing at my trainer.

He just nodded, which I took as satisfactory. Seeing him smile would require a feat, and since I'd never achieve that, I'd probably only ever see a nod during my training.

In the locker room, I quickly jumped in the shower and then put on a black sweater, thermal pants, and jeans over it. I then put on my jacket and a black and gray striped scarf. The weather had changed incredibly dramatically over the past four days. A moment ago, the sun had been shining and it had been incredibly hot, but now it was cold, and there were many clouds in the sky. Let's just hope it wouldn't hail or blizzard—although that wouldn't be uncommon.

Despite the still more or less acceptable temperatures, I left the building shivering and made my way through the dark, destroyed city to my equally destroyed home: an old three-sided courtyard from 2009.

I was rarely outside at this time of the day anymore because it was just too dangerous in the dark, at least that's what my mother always told me ever since I was a child; but today she wasn't able to pick me up because of a doctor's appointment. My head held high, I walked down the narrow street. The clouds in the sky had cleared away, the moon was now quite visible above us, illuminating my path a little.

And then I saw a manhole cover open in the glow of one of the rare street lamps – someone was emerging from the sewer. I immediately felt tension in my limbs and ducked out of the pale light of the lamps. Because at this time of night, it could only be rebels wandering through the dark passages beneath the city. No one in their right mind was going outside in the dark anymore. Well, except for me, of course.

But back to the rebels; they were probably planning an attack, which wouldn't be uncommon – I was just the last thing they needed: a witness to whatever the hell they had planned. I watched as three people climbed out of the hole in the road.

At that moment, a delicate shadow suddenly appeared on the street. The girl, who, like me, was dressed entirely in black, had apparently just stepped out of the shadows of the trees and into the light of the streetlight.

It took a lot out of me to not curse out loud.

Before I could think twice, I moved toward the girl as inconspicuous as possible and, in one swift movement, pulled her out of the light, my hand pressed over her mouth as a muffled squeak sounded. With more strength than I would have given her credit for, she pulled herself out of my grasp and raised her fists as if for a fight before I could even say anything. Her eyes were blazing at me, and I immediately realized she was about to lunge at me.

"Be quiet," I hissed to keep her from that, pointing ahead, where the three shadows were hurrying down the street. "Unless you really want to die in such a boring way."

She dropped her hands and followed my gaze, her tension never leaving her.

Her eyes flicked back to me, still with an angry glare in them. "How the hell do I know you don't want to kill me too?"

"A simple thank you would do it," I remarked, pulling my bag tighter around my shoulder.

Ahead of us, the rebels disappeared into the darkness, and I felt a surge of relief wash over me. A snort came from the girl, then she turned and followed the path of the three people. Either she was just tired of life or had some stupid urge for adventure. I shook my head and walked after her. Since I was almost a head taller than her and had longer legs, I quickly caught up with her.

She glared at me angrily. "Do you really have to play the savior?"

"I don't know, do you need one? Cause it seems like it," I simply replied, raising an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I won't kill you."

She snorted again. "I'm not worried."

I believed that.

"Nice to meet you," I finally replied with a certain ironic undertone.

Then I saw the turnoff to an old three-sided farm appear ahead of us. The girl just kept walking when I stopped, ignoring my goodbyes, so I just watched her slowly disappear into the shadows.

Good luck, I guess.

I turned around and walked down the narrow path to our front gate until I noticed something strange. The gate was open. And by open, I meant forced entry.