Chapter 99

Most youths in the Federation weren't working. They learned what their parents required, and did their best regardless of what rested in their bodies or not because freedom was relative.

On the floors below the culture floor, there were a lot of hard-working people across various generations. Still, not a lot of workers with less income could afford to waste their precious time. Thus, the culture floor was not popular, even if it provided some sense of fulfillment, fun, and activity. That was fine for some adults, or like a bewitching curse for youths.

Many parents ostracized the library and wanted it closed, yet every time some protesting happened, Heidi would laugh and call them idiots. Kaufman would agree because it was a wonderful place for any age, while some cultural differences didn't matter. Sure, richer kids were coming there more than to any other place, but it was a free place with great escapism that might help with unsettling reality.

Surviving or hoping for a better future wasn't so cheap or easy, so Heidi held her standards at different heights.

Life in the Federation had its purpose and traditions. It was no Outside and there were no day-to-day trials for survival. This place could get by even if a disaster would come because it was what the past decades and people built for.

William already understood it, yet he felt like a leech. He didn't belong here, but Ellie made it so different that he wondered if he might change and grow to think about it better. It was about himself, his hand, or experiences that came off from them.

Thinking about Ellie for just a second evaporated that silly angry youth out of his mind. William walked from this library without any disturbance, unlike his entrance early today.

A gust of wind hit his face. The air full of oceanic scent overpowered his senses and calmed his mind.

“It is a kind of refreshing. Not as smelly as those old sailors described. It is no great lake. It is an ocean.” William muttered to himself and remembered some stories from the past.

He recalled some historical events and legends. In the not-so-distant past, Canadian borders had some functioning fleet of smaller boats for fishing in the Great Lakes and even a secured part of the coast. Fishing was a timeless way to get food quickly and for cheap. He lived through that time for a single year before it became the past. He was too young. Too bad.

Soon enough—probably tomorrow—William will undercover the history that he never knew existed, even if he lived during some times and knew some events. It didn't change. It was he who was left in the dark. The world, Darks, let alone that great Dawn— that was as shocking as bright as daunting—were different in this place. Then, some Walkers took everything to another level, personality, or attention.

That would wait for a better or worse time. The night was yet to arrive too far, and the orange hues around the horizon were nearing. William couldn't believe it, but where else could people work nonstop? This library can manage it, though it was true that a person needed to rest, eat, and sleep, and one was unable to do most of it inside.

There were some rules about food and money and passes. William was more than aware that old things could get broken, and some books were as old as precious.

His appetite was understandable. William was a young man and needed to grow and eat. Sleeping was a cheap way of escapism, and even if some nightmares might occur because of it, he saw it as a necessary escape plan from cold nights or bad days.

After today, he figured out his need for knowledge mixed with his past. Was it up to luck, or did he need something better? He wasn't sure what he had expected. He had no specific plans anyway because this ''recruitment'' wasn't official in the slightest. Luke recommended nothing to him, let alone said how, for example, Yondu Division would want him.

It was Kaufman who pushed one choice forward Why and how? It might be more useful if William knew what to look for in that old man, but he didn't. What did upcoming Walkers need to know? How to count? William already knew that, though his math wasn't the greatest. That was common knowledge, so what else?

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He couldn't think of anything besides proper physical training, some military knowledge, or information about Darks or politics.

Perhaps his unwilling refusals ended up worsening everything because his knowledge was lacking compared to many other youths in similar positions. Like a true curse. It wasn't what-if. It was the truth.

William lived without any proper teacher besides life and Dann. One was the toughest teacher there was. The other was just a kid like him. Every moment in time, life taught, gave reason for it, or pushed mistakes as lessons.

People in the Federation were numerous, too busy, and not caring for others. They all came from somewhere and lived for the present and future. That was William's first idea which might change later as he learned from mistakes the most.

Visitors to the library were in thousands. Some people visited it only once a week, while others were there up multiple times a day. Usually, before work or after work, but that depended on an individual basis, time, jobs, or how necessary it was.

William found it strange because of his self-doubts. The importance of this library seemed much more important within the Federation than he had assumed, and he didn't even know of it before.

For him, it seemed vaster yet more senseless than his own hand. He might've misplaced this because of Kaufman or his past. Still, he understood that delving into reluctance never made him wiser. There were many underlying problems within the Federation, let alone Outside.

Assuming his naivety as ignorance wasn't fine. All of that could only change by getting to know this place better and growing not only in his body. As for Walkers, Ellie explained very few sensitive ideas about them to him today. Without even visiting the upper floors, getting some hints and words from her was incredible.

Unfortunately, not a whole of Ellie's words were up to her standards, or some of them were, but it wasn't time for such talks or reveals, or she wanted them to be even better. It was about foundation and setting expectations, and she decided to give William a splendid ride around the library.

Leaving a small leeway and unknown mountains further behind them, Ellie would never lose her ways when she knew there were many things to learn. William got that from her today.

She could allow it, thanks to the Walkers and the life she had in the Federation. Meeting Walkers every day was possible, and the library itself was like a big box with unknown depths that Ellie could imagine, yet not fear. She was brave and explained the pragmatic view of some citizens, ranging from hope and prayers to notable unawareness, to straight-up prayers how some citizens took Walkers for superheroes. Then, some viewed them as scary and necessary, or like fanatical pillars that were no longer humans.

Nothing could stop such views. Not some nukes or history. Not some silly people either. Walkers could turn back against humanity and nothing good would come to them later. Well, perhaps Darks would. or the fact that Walkers would be nothing without humanity.

Ellie was in a unique position where she appreciated and liked Walkers. She enjoyed how unique and crazy they could be, how varied they could become, and how their stories or experiences were nothing short of miracles.

They have certain privileges, powers, standing, and important history in this world. It led to the foundation of the Federation as a whole, but the truth was deeper.

Without them, there would be nothing but a selected few shelters, or just Walkers who would slowly disappear because of their lacking births.

It was a fact that some people didn't get. Perhaps it was in their doubtful veins, reluctant minds that didn't like the facts of inhumanity and how Walkers looked, worked, or lived. See and walk through the Dark Fogs, and it could talk back. See back. Haunt them! For normal people, that was an insane and preposterous idea.

For decades, the most powerful Walkers were known as Pillars in the Federation, stemming from the Assembly Island that had dozens of them. They were guarding, powering, or influencing what little could be protected or expanded.

It was late. A large chunk of the Earth was already Corrupted and it won't change in a couple of years, let alone decades. However, it wasn't a fact that many citizens needed to care about, let alone know. Knowing it by understanding should be enough to convince them to trust Walkers. It was no propaganda. It was a safe assumption to let monsters beat monsters after losing so much in the last century.

Examples to make it better weren't just Pillars. Many organizations and numerous accomplishments were behind the Federation and its diverse Divisions. Leadership had powerful Walkers as their heads for a reason, while normal people had different kinds of positions, but they could come very close to Walkers if they were able to train and offer much-needed services.

Recruitment, ensuring order, and experiences were typical for many areas. Actual war practices alongside Walkers came to the very top of the normal soldier. In the Zone, there was very little space or time for any normal people, but some would be required like pilots. It was their choice or the harsh reality that made them choose this method.

There was no president or a voting system. It was no supremacy but a mere fact that was closer to lions protecting young pups. Hence, many decisions had to be made accordingly, and someone had to make them regardless of practices or sacrifices.

Right. Walkers had to do it. Some choices could be harsh. Inhuman. It wasn't fitting for people to make some choices because history had changed from the Dawn, and what came afterward, or with Walkers, was a different world, or a new chance.