Chapter 60

Kaufman leaned forward and glanced at William. Anna was too preoccupied and far too lost in her drawings and sketches. She lost her mind minutes ago, no longer making words matter.

“How has been your life?” Kaufman touched upon an easier subject first. “It isn't some petty question by the way. I am very interested in your past and most of history is full of it. Dawn created an interesting world, so I wonder what you, boy, have to say.”

“Um, it was normal for what it could be, I guess.”

“Guess? So far, you are far from normal, boy.”

“Should I've said something else? What do you even know? I don't know you... eh, sir.”

“How about a story? I very much want to hear how you survived that mess, or how you kept it going for a decade. The amount of struggle must have been incredible. An orphan at your age, with Emblem in his grasp, it feels young and like a Bliss for Darks.”

“What are you trying to say?” William said, hands itching on his lap. He wasn't watching Kaufman, though his words made up for it.

“How to know you. The destruction of the Ontario region and borders ten years ago left deep grinding wounds.”

“You are asking the wrong person. I was young. I don't know. I don't want to talk about it.”

“Why not?” Kaufman asked, frowning and looking hurt.

“It is personal. I don't trust you to hear my story. You sound like a person who likes to take advantage of others.”

Kaufman chuckled. “How blunt. I like you, but it is also false. I want to help you out in this place that might trouble you. It has nothing nerve-wracking behind it.”

William looked at him with doubts in his eyes, meeting them, and it. He jerked but watched, sizing this old man. “Help me? I think not.”

“How so? Don't you want to ditch the Federation and Mi-Yung? If you go under me, I swear you won't regret it.”

“Is that an invitation or a kidnapping?” William inquired and remembered Kaufman's previous kidnapping comment that offended Luke.

“Hey, I am not forcing you or anything. I just ask and don't even know your talent or affinity, or what you are hiding. Hunhc of this old man can make some difference. Take it as an interest of this old man or leave it.”

“Well, I am more curious about Mi-Yung. Not you.”

Kaufman sighed, figuring that kids these days were as stubborn as when he started. “Fine. That is good too. Refusing for someone inferior is also a choice... Bad choice, I mean.” Kaufman couldn't be more petty and disappointed. William didn't feel bad at all, even though he had no idea who was before him. “Traveling to wherever is safe, you went through camps and deaths, until you latched in our web.”

“You know quite a lot, sir.”

“I know what matters, boy. Ages come with that, while some people don't. The reports that mentioned you, I've read them and figured a lot out of it. I bet she did as well. A lot of information connected to others, until the net was secure. If it hadn't been for the last two years in Roshwell, this wouldn't happen.”

“You say it as if it is a bad thing. If not you, I would end up as a Walker anyway. Not in the Federation, I guess.”

“Oh, so you don't know about the Examination, do you?”

“Not much. I get from it that Emblems can mature before eighteen years of age. Some examinations and tests are viable but Walkers aren't.”

Kaufman realized he didn't know the truth. It aimed at how undeveloped Outside was and how some things were.

“Very well. At least you remember some bits of your past, right? Your parents. Mother. Father. Without knowing them, we wouldn't get you, so what can you tell me about them?”

“I can ask you the same thing.” William firmly said and heat spread from his arm. His eyes firmed up and his body straightened. He suddenly felt less pressure and more power, yet it didn't want to surge. It was curious instead. Careful.

“Ten years, boy That is a long time, and your childhood wasn't simple from the bits I've gotten. That is that, while the time with your parents is what?”

“We lived in camps,” William said a half-lie. He was certain he did, but for how long, where, or how had he lived wasn't in his mind. He didn't know things; he barely remembered the face of his mother.

“Just camps?”

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“We traveled as well. I remember fewer things about where. Sorry. I don't know.” William struggled and gave up. His memories were too blurred for that.

Kaufman was disappointed again. “And your Emblem?”

“What about it?”

“Did it make it or did something?”

“What if it did or didn't?”

“I am just curious. You've disappointed me already.” Sighting, Kaufman leaned further in the chair.

“I had an interesting life, sir. Life Outside and even further has its ups and downs. Everyone has that. Surviving does that sort of thing, so what sort of answer do you want from me? I am not who you've expected, I know. Sadness or pity is not something I want either, and taking advantage of anyone is just a petty problem for the wrong people.”

“Right. You are also a stubborn teenager. How great! Was it the mother? Well, there is no choice because of things like this,” Kaufman adjusted his hands which had been resting on the chair for a while. This action revealed more of his Emblem on the opposite side of his right palm.

It had a crystal image of a sphere, looking like a small planet with atmosphere and clouds within his hand. It swelled from the skin, shining in a white color of energy inside that was much more significant than a regular light from the window. It seemed lustrous and larger than an eye.

William wasn't surprised to see it; he had seen it immediately and felt it even more now that it looked at him. “Pretty...” William mumbled, and couldn't notice how Anna shifted her gaze and began to draw something else.

“Is that so?”

“I saw very few visible Walkers outside. Do they hide theirs like me, or are there simply too many people?”

“You hide because of something else. Hiding it is not mandatory but preferred. Life in the military is a burden for some people and Walkers. Pretending to be normal is an excuse many do. It's not really a shame. It just is.” Kaufman casually replied, resting his right hand on his temple.

“Burden or shame, what does it matter?”

“Everything. Every one of us has been living the lives of the Walkers since we were around your age. Expectations rose eventually, with people taking advantage of us until losses came and time moved on. Now, there is this place, but what will come afterward? What will happen in two decades, or another century? Will there be people in charge of Walkers again, or Walkers will be like skies above them?”

William didn't like his tone and changed the topic.

“Is it true that shackles are put on Walkers?”

“Oh, yes. Some have more responsibilities than others. Most have a perception of freedom as long as their Rank is high enough. It is burdensome, or fake. Strength is relative, after all. Accomplishments matter. Some don't have them so they don't have enough freedom. Some can have it all but work and their chains might be too heavy so they have no choice but to go and try removing them. But they couldn't. They are wrapped in them out of violation of their time, so they have to do their diligence over and over again. Once Outside on a mission, you are no longer a regular citizen of the Federation. You are a beast. You are a Walker. You walk through the death of your comrades and friends, and through them, you overcome yourself.”

“I don't understand...” William winced and underestimated himself. In truth, he was a realist and had no intention of relying on wishful thinking.

“Right. Right. You are as clueless as a beginner could get. That is hilariously terrible. What will come out of you next? That you have two Emblems?” Kaufman laughed and taunted William a little.

William didn't like it and showed him his Emblem. Crimson light clashed against the bits of light and the curtains behind Kaufman began to move restlessly. Then, William felt as if he began to drown and fell weak as if this motion dimmed and weakened his body and Emblem.

Of course, William didn't mind it, even if this was a strange feeling. “It was with me all this time, sir, unlike my parents. It is their memento, right? Red like blood, it is like a fire in my arm. It crawls out from time to time.”

“Metaphorically, I can see that. Unfortunately, it isn't much because you don't know much.”

“I plan to change that.” William asserted with a surprisingly confident tone. He promised it.

“Change? Well, if anything, you need knowledge. I could get you into my library. I was its associate for quite a few years. You can spend some weeks there to make some friends or even learn what it means to be Walker or understand what I've talked about. I meant it. You need it more than some training.”

'Yet you wanted to kidnap me.' William thought, perked up a little, and eyed this old man who suddenly offered something very lucrative. “Library? I still won't follow you if you are trying to pull some tries or offers. I got them a lot before. I refused every one of them.”

“Oh, sharp boy, aren't you? That went on until you couldn't, so who has to say that you won't accept me? Well, that's wrong. No. I don't ask for anything in return. In a sense, it is something you are owed.”

“Why?”

“For the start, your knowledge base from Outside has some crucial components that make you lucrative, so your reality isn't very bad. It is enticing. For the start, you know what is life like out there, unlike many Walkers who are brought from a young age under the wings of the Federation. More than three-quarters of them are like this. They don't really get the Outside like those bathed in Madness. It isn't a shame, but a necessity in training and something that people decide. No Walkers, unfortunately. Outside still have some Walkers though. They might stay there because they aren't part of the Federation, or they are out of our eyes. You get it, I suppose.”

“Yes. There is some suffering in strength, right?”

“You.... well, probably,” Kaufman sounded surprised and shrugged afterward. “The last thing I want from you is being a clueless brat. Learn and we will meet again. If you won't change your mind then, I don't care what. I want to be beneficial to what has to come.”

After a deep breath, William released his fists. He agreed his knowledge was lacking in many parts. Walkers were wide in conditions, and how to be one wasn't as simple as crushing those beasts. How to kill and survive against Darks were vastly different concepts Outside then simple training.

And William was surviving and living through that Outside for the past decade. There was no doubt about what Kaufman said or offered.

Considering the development of the Federation and Walkers in rule, he expected to learn a whole new world when he saw this place from that helicopter. He knew it even if he didn't want to admit it. It was a new world, and he needed it a lot.

Stories in the camps made the Federation into a paradise. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of details went further than that, and the harsher reality of Walkers and the people couldn't shift too much. It was still a utopia, in the sense of the whole Outside.

That was enough to elevate the Federation into a critical position with incredible merits.

“As a future Walker, I will work hard to get my knowledge up to the common standards in the Federation,” William resolutely said.

“No, you won't.” Kaufman said sternly.

“Huh?”