With the heavy gear on her back and a thousand thought on her mind, the young scavenger dragged herself across the streets as she kept looking for a clock. "If he rode that train almost fifteen minutes ago, he should be back in another fifteen minutes. Giving him more ten minutes to come back to the city-center, he will be on my track in about thirty minutes…Fuck.." Merit thought to herself as she kept reading the requirement list only to realize that she was only an errand girl with useless equipment that she would not even use. It was apparent that this so called "gang" was nothing but a scavengers' web with a fancy uniform to impress god knows who.

"Shops, warehouses and more shops!" She muttered, "What was the point in giving me all of this then?!" She continued as she gritted her teeth angrily.

She ran, one shop after another and a heavier baggage with each turn. She thought to herself how stupid it is to wear that uniform thus, she quickly worse her jacket to cover it. Nobody noticed that little hand slipping in the tiny corners of each shop, quickly snatching the required item, and dissolving into the crowds again. The clock ticked, and the danger became imminent.

The anti-climatic quest.

The thrill slowly faded away, and Merit's anger towards that drunken gangster grew intense but she remembered that it was her fault to agree in the first place. Now that she had ticked off each item in this list as quick and professional as she could, she believed she had the right to bargain. Her fees should be paid by being given that gear, at least the handclaw. She should have a secure journey across the skylines before her pursuer arrive, and so, her sweet talk and beggars' tone begun to warm up in her brain as she approached the scavenger's' hideout with her list ticked off entirely and only about ten minutes till the chase begun.

"This is very uncomfortable." Merit stopped midway as she arrived, crossing her arms in an angry demeanor as she turned around. "I felt your eyes on me the entire time, you creep." She muttered as a boy appeared behind her with a very calm look as if he had done nothing wrong. "Relax, I was only making sure you don't get hurt." He said with a smug look on his pale face. It was the same boy from the roof and Merit believed he was on her trail all along. "Huh?! Do I look like a lost kid to you!?" Merit growled as she walked towards him with a boiling red face.

"Yes, you do." He maintained the same cold attitude that pissed Merit even more. He wore the same uniform but didn't have his gear. He was around twenty years old and had a visible scar on his right eye.

"You know what? I am not even wasting my time here, so fuck off." Merit exhaled aggressively as she went up the stairs without looking back only to hear his footsteps match hers perfectly. She imagined ripping off his face with her handclaw but the sound of the clock became louder and louder in her head. She was running out of breath and her back felt sore from carrying all that metal. At some point, she didn't feel her back at all from pain. Once she turned around the boy would still be behind her looking menacingly, leaving her even more angry yet helpless.

"Finally.." Merit sighed as she finally felt the fresh air of the rooftop caress her face. She gently took off her bag and went over to the man who now seemed sober.

"Its all done, please check it quickly and take that thing off me!" Merit breathlessly said as the man smirked while he opened the bag. Merit bent down gasping for air but suddenly she saw the bag thrown into the ground.

"Who do you think you're fooling, kid?" The man hissed and Merit's heart fell. "Excuse me?" She asked as she looked up to find the man with a frowned face and a clenched fist that was about to welcome Merit.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Merit cried as she evaded his fist and ran across the rooftop where she was surrounded by as much as ten kids her age. They rounded up around her like a circle and Merit felt the world closing on her as that man seemed determined to beat her up. "How did you think you're going away with it, huh?!" He shouted, "I don't get what you're saying! I did all you asked for!" Merit cried as she felt her inner clock tick the final minute. The pursuer must be in the city.

"Tell what she did, Jules!" The man shouted and the stalker boy came close to him. "Tell him! You saw me picking everything!" Merit cried in a begging tone as she addressed Jules. Jules gave her a reassured look which was unlike what she saw of him. He walked closer to her and signaled the kids to move back. He leaned close to her, "I can get you out of this only if you agree to come with me." He whispered and Merit frowned back at him, "What do you want from me?!" She muttered at him. "I need a favor, you'll be safe." He replied, "I don't trust you, I need to be out of this city in minutes or I'll be dead!" She whispered back as the man's face grew even more angry. "Fine." He sighed.

"She slacked-" Jules said as he was interrupted by Merit's cry, "I'll do it!" She continued, pinching him as he smiled in victory. "We swapped our bags, unfortunately, there you go, Killy." Jules said, throwing his bag to the man who now had a name, Killy. He counted each item and glared at Merit who was almost held captive by this boy called Jules. "Why did you do this? And..how?!" Merit asked, "You're not the only one with a light hand. I only took the items off your bag earlier, but its still the same. Your personal belongings are safe." Jules said, "Fuck, my camera!" She gasped, running to Killy and taking her bag off the ground, inspecting it carefully.

"I almost has a heart attack.." Merit wiped her tears as Killy aggressively grabbed her wrist and without any warnings, he extracted the chip he put earlier.

"Ouch, you drunk geezer!" Merit cussed as she held her wrist In pain. "Don't come back here again. A scavenger should NEVER be tricked so easily like that. Here, fifty Eullers is all you get." Killy scolded Merit as he handed Merit less than half the pay they agreed on, but Merit felt so powerless and stepped on that she couldn't muster the strength to ask for her share. She walked off with Jules with her eyes stuck to the ground in shame.

Loop of madness.

Merit zipped her mouth and walked with Jules obediently as they walked down the stairs. The pungent vinegar smell was stronger than ever, and smoke came out of each corner blinding her swollen eyes as she felt her pride fade with each step she took besides that strange boy.

It has always been like that for Merit, fighting battles she was too young and naïve to indulge in. It always ended with her dignity in pieces. She might have been young, lonely, and helpless but the pride of that vagrant was much more precious than that of anyone else. Her glances at her companion made her heart fall deeper into her chest. That large scar across that unpleasant face affirmed his profession, yet, she stayed silent.

"You must be very curious about what we are about to do." Jules said in a delighted tone as soon as they reached the main street. Merit's eyes inspected her surroundings carefully as she ignored what Jules had to say. She was already securing an exit from the street away from both Jules and the pursuer.

Merit's passage exit was secure and there was no sign of the maniac on her trail, but, comparing her very little size to that of Jules she understood that once Jules get a grip of her, she will seize to exist.

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"You don't seem interested, are you really that careless?" Jules belittled Merit who quickly paid attention again once she made sure her plan would work. "What's it you want, you big piece of trash?" Merit smirked, knowing she's in the safe zone, she dared to cuss him as she believed it was her right. "You choose to be a bitch, I'll have my way to handle it well." Jules sighed as he glared at Merit who felt threatened yet victorious. "I am not blind; I know exactly what you want. You saw that bag and what's inside it, and then here comes the bigger prize and now you're feeling greedy, isn't that right, scarface?" Merit yelled, "You're kidnapping me. Look at you, your face just confirms it, but I have had my fair share of bullshit today and I'm not letting you do it. Goodbye, asshole." Merit retaliated and quickly ran to the crowds, using her blending skills, Jules was too late in grabbing her. He was few inches behind her but she kept zigzagging through people until he was losing sight of her. "He may be big, but he's just as stupid as I am." Merit though to herself as she raced to reach the train station. She ran all the way through Steamhall in minutes and aimed to go back to the place where she was sure the pursuer would be. It was not a very well-thought plan to drag two enemies into one place, but if Merit could jump back in the last train ride for the day, she would safely escape both enemies. Unless the pursuer was already on the train.

Point blank.

Right before the train station, among the busy market, Merit kept her eyes rolling around like a camera. Jules was no longer in sight. Merit felt eyes of the passers' bye crawl on her skin like worms. She had always believed that the world was a big conspiracy that revolved around everyone hating her and watching every step she made. There was no one to put down that fire growing inside her, and the current situation she was in fed into her fear, by the time she had find a safe spot to catch her breath, the beast of uncertainty had dug deep into her heart leaving her breathless and nauseous.

"N-now i-isn’t the right time..." Merit trembled as she felt the chills rush through her tired body. It was not the first time she had this feeling. An overwhelming power of unexplainable fear that would not listen to human reason. A pain that manifests in physical and mental agony that would take a human's body as a host like a parasite. It fed off Merit who barely had any strength left in her, in fact, that monster fed off everyone walking around her, but it always tortured some more than the others.

Merit's legs gave up on her, and in that dark alley, she fell with her back to the wall. She was curled up like a ball with her sweat drowning her deeper into that disconnection she felt with the surrounding world. It trapped her, telling her she couldn't leave. Merit was crying to that voice, begging it to let her go as her life was in danger, but the more she talked to it, the more persistent it became to hurt her even more. Merit's breath was louder than the world around her, and her heart beats became much faster than her the footsteps of the passer's by. She was paralyzed, and her time ran out.

"I knew you would do this." Jules said, approaching her from the corner. Merit's heart almost stopped, she struggled to get up and run but the parasite refused to give her back control.

"Just leave me alone, I wil-will p-pay y-you! I am in big trouble, d-don't make it worse." Merit stuttered as she kept dragging herself away from Jules who slowly walked towards her in with a threatening pose.

"I wish it was that easy, Merit." Jules sighed, Merit kept stepping to the back of the alley where she felt her back exposed, and her existence threatened. Once she heard her name, she realized the situation was much worse than she thought. She never told Killy or Jules her name.

"I never told you my name, who are you?" Merit asked as she finally realized running was not an option this time.

"You didn't, but he did." Jules moved slowly closer to the light, showing Merit what he had in his hand, which was, surprisingly, not a weapon. It was a book instead.

"Don’t move any closer! And what the hell are you talking about?!" Merit shouted, looking around her anxiously as she feared a deadly encounter would happen sooner or later.

"Jackson.. Jackson Manning Jr. How come you don’t know that name? and how come you don't recognize this diary?" Jules doubtfully asked as sudden confusion appeared in his tone as well. The two of them seemed to be lost and none of them understood what the other wanted.

"I stole this diary from your bag back at the old house, I was the one who opened the door for you." Jules said, and Merit suddenly saw that Jules was turning out to be an ally rather than a foe, however, there was no guarantee he wouldn't turn the tables and kill her in seconds.

"I stole it because I knew the name." He continued, "I don't even know this man..I don't understand how did you get to know my name from this book?" Merit stammered, "Merit, how did you get this?"' Jules asked, "I stole it! If you want to have it, its all yours, but I don't see where you're going with this! How did he mention my name?!"

Jules sighed and walked closer to Merit who took her precautions and held her pocketknife which Jules noticed right away yet stayed silent.

"Merit has always been the one to calm me when it was over. I have met her a thousand time in there. She was a kid but had a much stronger had than I did. Merit's white hair reminded me of Alice. I want to repay her." Jules opened the diary and begun reading from a certain marked page. Merit's eyes widened once she heard her name and as well as the mentioning of her white hair.

"This could be a coincidence! I am sure I'm not the only girl with white hair called Merit in Ilusia!" Merit trembled and Jules turned the pages.

"This time, it manifested in the image of a hurricane. Taking everything in its way. Poor Merit had found me curled up like a child. I loved that even though she was a child, she was braver than an adult. I was a bad influence on her, but she and I somehow are decoding this enigma together. Merit won't remember, but I will." Jules read another page, and Merit couldn't help but feel the world closing on her, leaving her breathless and tangled in her ignorance.

"This man had his eyes on me for almost a year now. He and his dull face won't let me rest, the black hat he never takes off. He doesn't know about Merit, the last day I saw her she had a huge scratch mark on her left arm, as usual, It took me ages to make her trust me to treat her. What a terrifying world she lived in." Jules read one last page before he closed the diary and gently grabbed Merit's wrist, inspecting it carefully as the two of them starred in silence.

"It's there" Jules said.

"I don't remember..." Merit mumbled as she covered her wrist.

"You and I have business together, Merit." Jules said as he handed her the diary.

A mystery after another, and a hundred door closing on her as she drowns further in the maze. Merit's entanglement in a world she doesn't remember goes deeper and now Jules reached out a hand, and its either a hand of gold or a hand of deadly poison.

"This time, it manifested in the image of a hurricane. Taking everything in its way. Poor Merit had found me curled up like a child. I loved that even though she was a child, she was braver than an adult. I was a bad influence on her, but she and I somehow are decoding this enigma together. Merit won't remember, but I will." Jules read another page, and Merit couldn't help but feel the world closing on her, leaving her breathless and tangled in her ignorance.

"This man had his eyes on me for almost a year now. He and his dull face won't let me rest, the black hat he never takes off. He doesn't know about Merit, the last day I saw her she had a huge scratch mark on her left arm, as usual, It took me ages to make her trust me to treat her. What a terrifying world she lived in." Jules read one last page before he closed the diary and gently grabbed Merit's wrist, inspecting it carefully as the two of them starred in silence.

"It's there" Jules said.

"I don't remember..." Merit mumbled as she covered her wrist.

"You and I have business together, Merit." Jules said as he handed her the diary.

A mystery after another, and a hundred door closing on her as she drowns further in the maze. Merit's entanglement in a world she doesn't remember goes deeper and now Jules reached out a hand, and its either a hand of gold or a hand of deadly poison.