- Zion Water

We meet again, this week.

And I’ve brought you an unusual poll system for this part.

Last part’s poll ended with a tie, so only one option was picked.

Silent Tower would be the best place to head next. They could even heal Markus there, too. But there’s one thing that stopped him from deciding on Silent Tower: John and Virgil. He didn’t know if they would follow his thought train and head to the Silent Tower. Virgil would be easier to convince to join him, but John?

The longer Markus remained unconscious, the heavier Carson felt. Sure, he had all the excuses to punch Markus in his face, but still…

“You’re still thinking?” asked John, snapping Carson off his trance.

“Hmm, how about Silent Tower?” Carson asked. He could almost hear an audible “What?” from John, with the way he blinked and looked at him.

“Sounds good,” Virgil said, as he prepared to carry Markus.

Looking at Markus’ state, Carson offered: “I’ll do it.”

Once Carson carried Markus on his back, John grabbed Markus’ clothes and covered him with them. And they left the building, with Virgil carrying an umbrella that could barely fit four people beneath. Some rain poured on the other two as they tried to fit Carson and Markus in the middle. Carson wouldn’t want Markus to get wet, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty for the other two.

When the three stopped at the Silent Tower, Markus was brought away by a few medics. They hadn’t recognized Markus, from what Carson had seen. And then they left for the night.

Once the three headed back to Ironport under an umbrella, Carson took a moment to visit Ace’s house to tell him about Markus, but Ace wasn’t there. Afterward, John and Virgil dragged Carson back to the household’s regular schedule—like getting cleaned up, eating dinner, and heading to sleep.

At least Carson didn’t have to fall asleep with two other people—there’s only Virgil who decided it was a bad idea to sleep in the dining room tonight. But despite that, Carson didn’t ‌fall asleep so easily on a night like this, unlike Virgil. As he stared at the ceiling, he remembered something.

A certain feeling that made Carson’s stomach churn, and his skin crawled. All the noises he couldn’t make out. And a grip on his arm, dragging him away. At the moment he remembered how rough the floor felt—he heard a crash behind.

Instead of seeing Virgil on the bed, he was lying on the floor instead, followed by pained groans from him.

“You okay?” Carson asked as he watched Virgil lying there, still not attempting to get up.

“Yeah, just let me lie down for a bit. Did I wake you up?”

“Eh, sort of.”

As Virgil finally climbed back to the bed, he noticed how Carson was still wide awake. “Need a hug?”

Carson just sat there, unsure of how to answer. He’s not used to this. Where’d that come from?

“Nevermind.” Virgil patted the headrest behind him, as he plopped his head onto the pillow. “Forgot you don’t really like that.”

Carson snorted as he was a bit relieved, from what he recalled earlier before Virgil fell off the bed. He didn’t have the face to tell Virgil this anytime, but he’s pretty reliable if Carson wanted to get his mind off something.

Once Virgil told him goodnight and fell asleep again, Carson was still awake. He knew he should’ve slept too, but something about staring into the ceiling and furniture reeked of unease—like they were staring at him, preparing to strike him at any moment.

As he turned back to Virgil, he was sleeping still. But with the peaceful look on his face, he didn’t look like he could strike him ‌soon, right?

After looking at Virgil for a while, Carson plopped into the pillow too, as he placed an arm on Virgil’s body. He’s a nice armrest, and he’s definitely alive—with the way his body shifted with each breath. And he closed his eyes.

After breakfast, Carson was about to visit Ace’s place again, but John suggested he could’ve gone back to work. He didn’t like how John sounded, but hey, that was useful enough for Carson—who felt as if he’s back to his dumbass self again. The self that didn’t feel the need to survive and deceive—just the one who simply followed his instincts, or more accurately, his emotions.

When Carson said he was looking for Ace at the Silent Tower, the commissioner said Ace had been waiting for him upstairs. Once he figured out where Ace was and entered inside a room, he only saw two tables, chairs, Ace giving him a look of acknowledgment, and Markus waving at him. For a room big enough for a crowded meeting, seeing only two people in it felt funny.

Carson sat down on a chair, placing himself between the two. He wasn’t exactly sure of what to do next, now that they had said nothing. “So… what are you guys doing?”

Ace replied, “Ask him things. He could some things relating to the Crescent Squad.”

“Uh.” Carson looked at Markus, who didn’t seem to be angry at him at all. He was rather relieved to see Carson again, and there weren’t any bruises on his face. “Wait, who healed you?”

Markus touched his face, at where Carson punched him. "I didn’t catch the healer.”

He didn’t seem bothered at all.

“Hey, Markus. Sorry about that punch,” Carson said. “I… I don’t have any excuses for this one.”

“Eh, better than getting stabbed. It’s all good.”

“But… Didn’t I knock you out? When you didn’t want to fight?”

“Whatever, I’m not mad. I mean, I was expecting you to still be pissed when you stepped in here, but you didn’t.”

“…Right. Yeah. I’m feeling better, somewhat. How’d Ace treat you?”

“Honestly, he’s better than expected. I like him.”

Carson glanced at Ace for a moment as Markus commented on him. And he’s still sitting there, unaffected by the compliment. Or rather, he’s only waiting for Carson to ask the question:

He almost forgot he had to ask Markus something. Something he’s been wanting to know, and something he wanted answers for…