10 years later, within another space, another camp.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
“Open the goddamn door, you stupid muppet!“ Shouts an angrily sounding voice of a teenager.
From underneath the bedsheet in the room, uncertain and lazy arms unravel and glide to the ground. A black-haired boy's head follows afterward.
“I hate the mornings...” the boy complains. His whole body glides from the bed to the floor before changing into clothes. Opening the door, he looks at the sudden visitor at this morning hour.
“What took you so long?” a youth with pale skin and unnaturally bright eyes says to this boy.
“Alright. Alright. You know how much I hate the mornings.”
“You are going to be a bloody Walker and you talk in such a tone? Do you want me to slap you like when we were young?” The youth tells with a complicated, yet friendly manner to this boy who could not be more bothered with him.
“Give me a break Dann, I feel it is not so easy.” William turned his attention around and walks back to his bed.
“What do you mean, easy? Do you know how many people would take an opportunity to get a chance such as you?” Danny says in return, as he could not take such an easygoing approach from his lifelong friend any longer.
“A lot? I am one of them. Sure, but I still won't go there to get some fame or the life that I don't want to have.” William answers and shakes the bedsheet vigorously. A flat piece of some gem-like object fell from the cloth. The unassuming shine of the gem-like object is quite noticeable in the dark room.
William takes it into his hand and shoves it into a partial opening in his arm. It neatly curls inside as if it was always there. He grunts in displeasure afterward, as it is not that pleasing to shove it to his arm.
“Does it hurt?” Dann asks, as he has already seen this countless times. An Emblem.
“You ask it very often, yet I am telling you the same answer every time. It is like a small cut made 10 times more intense in a couple of seconds.” William explains while pulling a long sleeve over the Emblem.
Meanwhile, Dann opens the curtains and reveals the shiny start of the new day. It is looking quite nice this day, as it was a general summer for this new home of William and Dann.
They are a part of an orphanage that had to move throughout the times and places that could no longer be sustained. The dangers of the Dark beings caused them to move location quite a few times. Some orphanages were even straight destroyed in the past. His current one is being a completely new entity that is taking care of the young Walkers, and regular kids alike in the Outside world.
“Looks like a good day.” William reaches out to the only window within his room by the side of the standing Dann.
Checking his hand one more time in the sight of shines of the sun. Within his right arm is a strangely shaped part of the crimson gem. It has three shaped sides which almost resemble a coin. Not round nor sharp, but polished in a triangular form with some curvature. There is also a floating magical matter that is inside of the gem.
Dann looks at William's arm once again, before sighing and shaking his head.
“You almost lost it again, William.”
“Nah, this would never leave me.”
“I know, but what's up with that anyway? I know the rest of the young Walkers never lost theirs like you.”
“Don't ask me questions that I have no idea how to answer.” William bluntly answers before he yawns.
Dann was not the lucky one to get Emblem when he was born, but he lives with someone who had such luck. William is not the only one with the emblem in the orphanage. Young Walkers are usually cared for much better than regular children.
Wiliam already spent almost 10 years together with Dann. Traveling and surviving as orphans of the Dark was not an easy life.
And these two are the luckier people, to say the least. Not a lot of lives are saved from the locations which are breached or completely wiped out by the creatures of the Dark.
William, unbothered by the sight of his friend, put a long sleeve across his arm and punch him to the shoulder.
“Ouch, don't hurt me you lunatic.” Dann jokingly complains.
“What? Are you glad that you are at least alive?”
“Give me a break. The last time was barely enough for our lives to be saved by the military.”
“True, I don't think there is a safer place than the Federation.”
Smack!
Dann punches William's shoulder this time.
“S-sorry...”
“I hate this talk about the so-called Federation! They are a bunch of nations of the past that are trying to return the world to its previous glory. In fact, the past nations were also not that great, by the way!” Dann says in agitation, as he learned some tips and bits about the past. Just a few things that are shared by common folks throughout the flowing time, and the survival of the rest of mankind.
It is easy to get information about the past. Perseveration of the history of the early 21st century was quite robust. Most information made it to the current years of the 22nd century. Albeit hectic and dangerous, a century with a significantly smaller population.
William did not understand what sort of expression to make, as he knows what sort of things happened to Dann.
“Don't fret, my friend!” Dann pulls his arm around William's neck and cheered the sudden expression on his face. As a friend, he knows what sort of expression he does.
“Are you just saying it because of me? I know what are your feelings about it.”
“I do, or I don't. I think it is very impressive that I even managed to befriend you. What is there to worry about, William?”
“Heh... You are a real piece of work. Wanna meet madame Anderson?” William smirked and thought nothing of the worries of the past.
Although he remembers some memories himself... of an uncertain past where he could not know the day he would live, or die the next day. These were the bitter and hopeless memories that he would rather forget.
Although it is also a motivation for the current him, to never get to that point ever again.
“That is the reason I woke you up! Of course.” Dann shouts and took his arm off of William, before walking out of the room.
What a friend.
William pulls down the sleeve on his right hand and looks at the Emblem with shiny rays of the sun once again. An expression of grief, opportunity and hope are equally on his face. He knows this is an object of incredible value in this age and time. He will have to grab this chance to at least live decently.
That was a promise he made to Dann a long time ago. The two little kids within the destruction of the city crossed their paths. At that moment, William unwillingly revealed his Emblem to him.
His parents were lost as well, with Dann seeing the direct deaths of his parents. Dann was slightly older than William while he watched his parents being munched by Hellgars right before his eyes.
Dann could not forget the screaming and terror that he felt at that moment. Even the safety of the military did not help. He learned they were late to the city because of some obstruction. It pains his heart to this day.
William knew it was almost 10 years ago, as he was only 5 years old at that time. It made sense to him, as everything that happened that day is the everyday life of a ton of people at any current moment. Even if a family is blessed by the baby with the Emblem, it doesn't mean much.
If the place they have is not sufficient for the right upbringing, it matters very little. A lot of foster parents and orphanages were, and still are, managed for the future of such children. Their upbringing is directly under the protection of good people. Usually with government aid, or programs for the children of Emblems.
After all, the Emblem poses the aid of the future. They are highly regarded as the only path to solving this apocalypse once and for all. That is at least believed by many people. Many nations include the hope that could fuel the order of the past, right to the present.
Taking care of the potential Walkers for their own benefits and the future of humanity.
William is currently at the point in time where he is holding an option at the crossroad of his fates. These include the Federation, Emblem Academy, and many military departments. Some were in charge of less talented Walkers of the Emblems, while the Academy is the most famous for their Walkers.
Less talented Walkers are usually born in a place where they could not work early on with the Emblem. Manifesting its magical properties is usually harder for them.
William is one such kid. At 15 years old, an Emblem of unknown rarity or affinity left him with a sour taste in his mouth. The bad taste could be also caused by the upcoming troubles. What would happen if he chose either of these organizations? He knows every one of them is bothersome for him.
But the world already gave him this bloody Emblem, so he has no choice but to grit his teeth and move on.
Putting on some shoes, while washing his face in a basin of water, he walks right to the first floor of this building.
With the room being on the 5th floor of a certain rough-looking building complex. It is built from wood and cheap cement, but even with that, it is one of the better buildings that he could remember. This place is under the organization of the Safety Orphanage. An organization that is taking care of many children throughout the region. Taking them to a singular and safe place as far from the dangers.
On the first floor, Dann is standing aside by a wall and trying to talk cheerfully to an older-looking lady. With a chill expression on her face with a frown, she is emitting quite a fearful expression. The only other strange thing about her is her stature of almost 2 meters. She is towering above the Dann who is not the shortest for his age. Undoubtedly, this woman is terrifying and menacing to all young children from her appearance.
“Good morning, madame Anderson.” William politely greets madame Anderson, who in return shoves Dann aside. Walking to William, she pats the head of not-that-tall William.
“Good child.” She sternly says, with a still frozen expression on her face.
William knows that this woman kept her warm heart for anything in her life. It was the case of some disease where her facial expressions were frozen from some shock. It could also be something else when she was younger.
“Dann said that you wanted to see me?” William asks while being continuously patted by her. William knows that he is not the only one with the Emblem within this building. However, he is the oldest, so it is about time to get out to the wild world.
“I think you know what is this about. You are a clever child, my dear boy. It has been only 2 years since coming here since the last disaster. It pains my heart that you are about to leave your home for an uncertain future.” Madame Anderson says with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“It is inevitable, madame Anderson. I am sure a wonderful future will come to you since you were always good to many children like me.”
Dann smirks and secretly chuckled behind the back of madame Anderson. William is quite good at feeding the pleasantries to adults. He taught him at least that much from being the older kid than him. It is something that orphans have to do since their lives are mostly their only possessions.
Madame Anderson stopped patting William's head. She looks around the corner as a figure appeared from the other room.
A military-looking man in his 40s with a dark purple uniform. It consists of tough leather boots, and fiber-class trousers, with a similar military-grade-looking jacket. The whole appearance of the man looks quite nice.
“Wow. A soldier from the Yondu Division?” Dann blurts out loud as he was quite a chatty person. He was always like this since he never wanted to feel alone ever again in his life after losing his parents.
The soldier, unbothered by the questionable stare from Dann, turns towards William instead.
“William Gale?”
“Yes, mister?”
“Luke Irwin. I knew your father, Victor.” Man bluntly says, while looking at the uncertain look on William's face.