It's been an hour since the encounter, and Lucas has been pretty quiet the entire time. Thankfully the injuries he sustained weren't life threatening. Ashly has noticed that Lucas has been repeating the same word over and over again in a whisper. He seems to have taken the whole situation poorly as he looks very sad. "Sorry…sorry." Is all he could say, Ashly doesn't seem too keen to speak to him as he is acting weird.
Lucas has been very tired and restless, his eyes seem heavy, but he won't close them. They are a bit red and he doesn't seem to care at all, he doesn't stop looking forwards. That's all he has been doing, and Ashly is as far from him as she can in the horse. She doesn't feel like Lucas is in the right place. What if he snaps all of the sudden, is what Ashly is currently thinking about Lucas
She knows that if she doesn't speak up to him, Lucas will be unable to be useful to her. Ashly clears her throat loudly which thankfully made Lucas stop muttering. "You know Lucas, that shot you did back there. It was a good shot, couldn't have done it better myself. I knew you were going to help me, and I put my life on your hands. That's something that you want to hear right Lucas?" She said not looking at him, instead she is more focused on checking out their surroundings.
"It was an instant kill, right through his head. If only you were like this much earlier, I would be putting on a smile." Lucas then covers his mouth with his hand, he is feeling much worse now after being reminded of him killing someone. Ashly is confused by how much worse he is getting. "Why are you acting like that Lucas? Isn't a compliment a good thing, I thought you would like it. Besides you should listen to that guy's advice even thoughI think he is a bit shady."
"Yeah maybe you're right." Lucas says with a low voice, his left arm is holding onto the leash while his right is resting. "He does seem to be speaking from experience. Maybe he is trying to give me a way to cope with this, I think this is how he handled it." As he says that he seems to be getting a bit better. Ashly looks at him, and all that she can think about him is, how pathetic he is still acting.
Ashly decided to not say anything as she might drag him down. He does seem to genuinely try and get over it. "Well then, good for you Lucas. Don't act this way anymore, it's… not a good thing." She doesn't know what to say, Ashly really does want to call him a name.
"I'm sorry Ashly, it's just that I can't control it. I'm sorry that I'm being so sensitive about killing a person, it's not something I wanted to ever do. This is the first ever time I took the life away from someone, it's nothing compared to the many you have killed." He looks at his right arm, specially his fingers which pulled the trigger. He actually did murder that man, he is now a dirty person. He has committed a huge crime, his first ever crime to be exact.
"It's just that I never knew that there were this many criminals out there. I never knew how evil people truly were, I know I spent some time with you but still. I just didn't get used to the fact that you were almost killed." He turns to look at Ashly. "We are never told about how much crime happens around. There are many people out there who are facing trouble yet they go unnoticed."
Ashly gets angry. "So you're telling me that the only reason I'm suffering, was because they weren't doing their job properly. That's a load of bullshit, no wonder you acted so sheltered. What a mess of an organization, so small that you can't properly protect your land. No wonder why this place has two gangs, no one is bothered to check."
"Listen Ashly, I haven't check on the map in a while. I don't know where we are, but the first thing to do is to go get medical help. The next thing is to find out our location. Ashly, it would be good to know where we are. I hope were we are going isn't too far from the path I drew. I want to make it as smooth of a ride as I could. Well maybe I might have to reconsider a few things." He says still feeling uneasy, but as he sees the town just in the distance. He puts out a forced smile which was to reassure himself more than anything.
"This is where we are going to stay for a while…well unless we are forced to leave early that is." He says as he stares at Ashly. Ashly notices it and she mouths a swear at him. Lucas then turns and slaps himself. "I just don't feel comfortable around you Ashly, I don't want to say what I'm feeling anymore."
"This is a very small town, probably no more than 40 residents. Compared to the other places I have been to, this might not be too terrible. Don't worry about me crashing it this time, it seems like I can hide inside. Just like the other place we stayed at, probably better at least." Ashly says, "It's giving me some sort of feeling that I was already here, no, all small towns are the same to me."
"No, there is a chance you might have gone here, maybe you just forgot about it." He says as they get closer. "Maybe you lived in a small town, that could be another option."
"Not possible, from what I was told at least. I'm not from this district, I don't trust those jerks as they were proven wrong every time something bad happened."
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner Ashly, this is very important information." Lucas says.
"Well I never thought it would be this important, besides I don't remember what district I was from. All I know is that I could be from where we are going, and I will be none the wiser."
"Alright Ashly, I just beg you to not cause any trouble. I don't want to handle any more messes after this, I don't feeling like I could even if I wanted to." Lucas said, this of course offended Ashly a lot. She smacks the back of his head. "Ow! Don't act like I have no reason to believe in what I said." Lucas says to Ashly.
"Alright Ashly, this place is safe from any gang activity. This place is very far away from the gang you abandoned, and it's like you said. It's too small for any form of crime to be going on inside it." Lucas says as they are just on the outskirts of the town, they get off the horse and walk around. They find a stable, and rent a place for the horse to stay at for the meantime.
As they enter the town, Luca immediately asks for a nearby hospital, and they point to a building. Ashly watches as Lucas disappears into the hospital, and she just waits outside. Ashly knows Lucas is just a thread away from leaving her behind. She decides to ask around for a place to stay at, and hopes this is enough to get back to Lucas's good side. "Hey you right there, is there any inn or place to have a temporary stay. I'm here for a short visit, and I have nowhere to stay at." She said to an old man, he told her the directions to a place and she leaves.
Ashly has stolen a few coins from Lucas when he wasn't looking. Now is the time to use it, and hopefully have Lucas forgive her for stealing from him. As she finally rents the inn, Ashly returns to the outside of the hospital. She decides to sit down, and wait for Lucas to get outside.
What seems like an hour has passed, it's already way past midnight, and Ashly just leaves and returns to the inn. "Why did I wait, of course he wouldn't be fixed in an hour. I should of just stayed, and slept and nothing would of changed. I wasted sleep for some stupid gesture." She says as she enters the inn. Ashly gets on the bed and lies down, as she does her eyes close and she falls asleep.
Ashly wakes up the next morning, and decides to go to the hospital. As she does she spots Lucas already outside speaking with someone. She approaches and overhears their conversation. "Of course this is a very safe place, you are in Baxsol"
"Baxsol, that's the town where the SDA main building is closest to, am I correct?." Lucas says and the man nods. "Wow that's great to hear, as you can see by my injuries that makes me feel relieved." Lucas then leaves, and he spots Ashly. "Oh Ashly, well I finally know where we are at. Can you tell me where you put my bag, I need my map to see where this town is located."
"Yeah sure Lucas, it's on that building on the left of the furniture store." She says and Lucas begins to walk pass her. "I overheard a bit of what you two were talking about, so this place is definitely safe."
"Yeah it really is Ashly, don't cause any problems. I really need to take a break, my injuries aren't bad, but I won't be able to do much. I need to rest for a week, I'll tell you where we are once I get the map." Lucas then walks passed her.
As Lucas is approaching the building he bumps into a man. "Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." The man said and then he took a look at Lucas. "It seems you aren't having such a good day." He the stops what he was going to say. "I'm sorry that I'm talking to you in such a manner."
"It's alright, it's not as bad as you might think you sounded. I'm honestly kinda glad you did ask me about myself." Lucas says as he begins to walk to the inn.
Ashly watches as Lucas disappears and sees the man who spoke with Lucas approach her. Alright if she just keeps the talk short then nothing will happen. "Oh hey, I noticed you two are new here. I want to say that it's nice having new people visit this place."
Ashly sees his smile which she doesn't suspect anything. "Yeah I know, but can you like leave me alone. I have been outside for way too long, and I just want to rest again, I didn't sleep much either."
"Oh yes of course, I'm sorry for bothering both of you. My name is Richard, and everyone here are nice people. If you need any help just ask around." Richard said to Ashly who has already began to walk into a random direction.
That was very weird, she wanted to say something but didn't. Ashly feels very weird, this town is so much different already. Why is that so? Is it too peaceful, no it couldn't be there is a reason to why it is quiet. Maybe it's because she is near the SDA that can arrest her if they found her.
Ashly returns to the inn, and sees Lucas who has already marked their current location. "So your already trying to find us a route aren't you?" She mentions which catches his attention.
"Yes I am, and I just don't feel like talking today, I hope I feel better tomorrow." He says and he continues to check the map, Ashly decides it's best to not push him.
She begins to think about her current situation, she enters the room she is renting and sits down. Lucas is right, with the three weeks they have been on this journey. She has caused too many problems that may as well made the journey feel like forever. Within just a day, Lucas has lost a lot of trust in her. This means she won't be able to take advantage of him as much as she did before.
Ashly sighs and lays flat on the bed, this is going to be troublesome. How can Ashly regain his full trust, specially his naivety that allowed her to take advantage of him. Can he really blindly trust her ever again and if so, how much of a hassle would it be to have him be as useful as he was before.