Chapter 13

Not only was the hole in his arm not normal, it felt wrong. It seemed like a wound that would cripple a whole arm, yet William moved his fingers just fine even when he flexed and saw moving tendons and muscles. He felt wrong about it for years.

This socket was a calm part of his Emblem anyway, where it was connected to his flesh and bloodstream, and it shouldn't disappear under any common circumstances. It was known as a Spot; a place all over the human body where Emblems could arrive and shan't leave. Inside the flesh, they will accommodate it until their deaths.

This one was empty, and it wasn't something William ever told anyone besides Dann, who was there where it dropped for the first time. He was an orphan. Both of them were.

They were survivors, withering down their lives around the camps or various other settlements Outside, looking for a way out, or a way to keep them in.

Dann lost his parents. William's never came back, or so he tended to think. They left him after the fateful day more than a decade ago, and everything changed. It was a harsh truth that hurt.

Most of this little escaping about his Emblem was Dann's and his secret. For now. Maybe it will change with his age and someone will force him to an unfortunate incident.

It was way too close and nothing ever helped. It was time to move on, much to Dann's current position and visit that he had yet to tell.

William signed when he put it back after a deep breath. The crimson Emblem neatly curled inside his arm, looking as if it was always there. William grunted in displeasure because it wasn't that pleasing to reconnect it or shove his arm towards... this. Whatever it was.

“Does it hurt every time?” Dann asked; he had seen this act many times thanks to his friendship and feeling it was not his privilege. Emblems were mysterious, so he was quite curious as to why it was disappearing from time to time. There were no points of interest or reasons or cases. Sometimes, it could go for months without leaving; other times it would leave every night. They never caught it with their own eyes. Just an aftermath.

“You ask it often, and I am telling you the same answer every time. It is like a small cut made of a hot charcoal knife, dozens of times more intense and coming like a cut and breath. It sizzles for a couple of seconds. Then, the flame spreads and it feels hot and flowy as if I want to cry and run.” William explained, pulling a long sleeve over his right forearm, where his Emblem rested. It was at the part with close blood vessels, going deep enough to touch the main bones of his arm.

As he did so, Dann opened the curtains, revealing a shiny day that had been awaiting them for a long time.

They were old enough. Both of them. Frankly, Dann was already working for the sake of their current camp because he was older. He always hung around William whenever he could and still lived close even if no longer in the same room. It was how they wanted it. They were family without family, while William's status was special and sensitive, thanks to the gem in his hand.

Outside was quite a nice day thanks to the summer that shined over the darkening apocalypse lurking all over this world.

William lived in an orphanage with quite some history. It moved through many places that could no longer be sustained due to resources or Darks.

The dangers of numbers and camps never caused to exist, but humanity prevailed. William had seen it. Lived through it. If he recalled the fateful destruction of his last family home, the Incursion was savage and irregular. It never happened again.

The current camps around the former Canada were calmer, even though they moved a little bit more to the north.

William's current home was temporary like many others. It changed location quite a few times and some were even straight-up destroyed and rebuilt. This one was an orphanage that was taking care of young Walkers throughout the decades of those camps being Outside. It was part of the process that the Federation worked with, as the birth of Walkers was important, and finding them and growing them was sensitive. It was harsher Outside, yet it couldn't be helped.

Even if young Walkers were considered irregular, they were still regular people due to their age and limits. In a broader sense, their Emblems made them worse because they could become fine snacks for Darks of all Ranks.

Being left out there, a regular kid in such a world wouldn't do much to any of them. Usually, that was, for they were bearing keys for the future.

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This was why the Federation was taking care of them at some fitting age, even before the Awakening.

William was aware of that and how this place worked. It had a connection to a significant place in this current world. The Federation was the closest, but one thing was better. The Emblem Academy. A land for Walkers to thrive.

Time will come, William thought, touching his Emblem and stretching the skin around it. It stopped itching, and its flowy interior below the glossy finish never ceased to amaze him. It looked like a crimson sea, or... something else. Deeper. William never figured out how to describe it. It wasn't blood. It wasn't liquid.

“Looks like a good day.” William lied and walked to the only window in his room and stood beside Dann.

Checking his hand one more time in the shine of the sun, he saw much more glow and flowing lines and waves. It was active or afraid. It had three shaped sides, resembling ancient coins. Not sharp, but polished and round in a triangular form, it had perfect curvature. It was a wonder how such perfection could appear via natural pregnancy. Of course, what was special wasn't it by itself. What was inside was considerable and one of the most mysterious essences in this world.

Dann looked at William's arm once again, before sighing and shaking his head. He realized William didn't care for it all that much, which was weird. He should be more worried if he lost it completely! Alas, this was how William lived with this fact every day.

What if he lost it though, Dann thought, conspiring it. What if it would seriously happen?! It doesn't happen every day, but... what if one day someone would snatch it? Federation is a vast land... filled with people. Not everything is safe. He knows it though, Dann. I know he does. He will be careful.

“You almost lost it again,” Dann whined.

“Nah. This would never leave me, unless... well, it never did and won't. Remember that one time... where was it? Three years ago?”

“Which? I don't have that many fingers to count with.”

“But you can count in mind. Also, last time I checked, you had all fingers.”

“Who do you think I am? Some kind of genius?” Dann scoffed at him, obviously aware that the current world had rather harsh conditions for schools and learning, but he knew how to count. He could even count and read and make great paintings and sketches. That was because he learned it before becoming an orphan. Some others like him never got a chance, since parents were important in this world. Losing them was like being stranded in the rough seas.

Survival was much more essential, so people with talent did what they could, while those who couldn't, had to do what they should. It was a collective decision. All camps had many compromises and normal people inside of them had to work, or deal with their struggles if they wanted to continue living. If they didn't, they would get tossed out.

One matter was a step above everyone: Walkers. They were the rulers of the remaining human world; they were also protectors and hope. People looked up to them. Relied on them.

William sighed and turned away from the sunlight. “It is these Emblems that make us great. Not me.”

“I know, but what's up with that anyway? I know the rest of the young Walkers never lost theirs like you, or... adults or... well, it is weird. When it is away, it means.... death.”

“And stopped-flow, luster, or protections. I get it. Thanks for reminding me how awful am I at being a Walker.” William added what he learned via this orphanage's occasional lessons or their own deliberate experiments. Walkers had stricter education before they came of age. Especially in the camps under the Federation than in any other place. They could become important soldiers. It was compulsory, like working in camps beforehand, training, and growing.

“Only in the expected time, of course, could it turn great. Some die off. Some stays. Why? Don't know.” William continued. “Death of a Walker means Darks. They eat them to get stronger. Me, I mean. I am their meal. Walking and waiting, or...” Dann smacked his shoulder.

“Don't go there, dude.”

“Then don't ask me questions that I know how to answer, and you know how far this goes! I can learn more things than you. Just the fact that I am telling them could give me a troublesome scolding.” William grunted, remembering that some things were away from the public like... some nasty things. They didn't know what sort of mess Walkers had to keep within them and around them. Some people knew, of course. It was inevitable.

The reality was malicious. Darks were worse. His time with Dann after crawling from that rubble and blood, and... seeing the death afterward. It never left their mind or lives.

They lived and endured it like persisting weeds trying to grow through relentless Fog.

Dann was not the lucky one to be like William, spared one great gem, but the mere point of befriending a Walker was a great way to go ahead. At least for Dann, the reality around the camps wasn't always that pleasing, so with him around, it was much better.

William wasn't alone in this orphanage. It had many normal orphans. Young Walkers waiting for Awakening were in the minority. They were rare, and that made sense to most people.

Young Walkers were very close to normal youths; the Emblem was the sole difference from the physical standpoint, while the more they approached their coming of age, the more things changed. The public didn't know everything, yet history proved curiosity and discovery.

Even Walkers need care like any regular children. How to approach them, bearing System, Emblem, and powers beyond human imagination? Education was the foundation, protection was combat and military drills, and later significance was matters of cognition, growth, and personality.

Thus, many organizations straight-up adopted young or baby Walkers and raised them somewhere else. However, not every one of them was possible to adopt. Not only was it near impossible to see their talent before Awakening, but it was often wasteful and a pain in the ass because of the sheer scale of Outside and scattered humanity. Because of such matters, orphanages performed their duties and contacts for decades, lessening some aggravating ideas, and helping when others would not.