The two of them walked a lot. This helped to dry out of their rain-soaked clothes. The girl limped now and then, which made Damian wonder how badly she was hurt. There were visible bruises, but Autumn didn't seem to mind. The spear was gone too. With a simple flick of the hand, the weapon was gone - into an invisible crevice, almost imperceptible to the eye. The young man decided not to question it, even though several doubts took up space in his mind.

Autumn lived in a ten-story building. The only elevator was closed, so they had to use their legs. It was the sixth flight of stairs they had climbed; for her it didn't seem to be tiring at all, but Damian had an exhausted look on his face. He saw himself as a street dog by the way he followed her, without any intimacy to break the silence.

When they stopped in front of a door, he couldn't help but ask:

“Do you really live here?”

Glancing around, the boy concluded that the place had not been renovated for years. It needed basic care, like plastering and painting. The lighting was dim, which made the atmosphere strange.

“Yes, I do live here.”

Autumn rummaged under the rug and pulled out a loose key.

“Will you leave your key there?” he asked.

She opened the door and let him through:

“Come right in.”

When he entered the apartment, Damian noticed that it was as small as he had imagined, but clean and organized.

“You can rest on the couch.” she said, walking around the place.

Damian just nodded, walking slowly to the corner of a window, without using the sofa. Leaning against the wall, he slid down to sit on the floor. He put his hands on his head, covering his face. Yes, of course you would start hurting now, he thought to himself, feeling pain in his head. What a mess.

The boy felt the wind breeze through the window into the pores of his skin. The night was cold and dark. He heard meowing and barking. He began to reflect and came to the conclusion that he needed to make a phone call. He had lost his cell phone, his wallet with his documents, as well as his sunglasses and cap. He had only the clothes he was wearing, as well as his stained jacket.

“Can I borrow your cell phone?” he asked as he watched her walk by.

“I don't have one, but you can use the phone next to the television.” She pointed, as she walked toward the door.

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked after standing up and walking over to the corded phone. Damian judged her quickly for this.

At the door, Autumn answered:

“I'm going to ask my neighbor for some bandages. I don't have anything here, I think we need it. You need to clean yourself up, there's dried blood on your face.”

As he watched her leave, Damian concluded that he should have asked how the girl was doing. Her own appearance didn't matter much now. Had she been hurt badly?

If so, Autumn did not show it. Maybe the girl was really strong, even stronger than he had witnessed.

Pressing the buttons on the small phone, he had to wait only two rings for the person on the other end to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it's me,” he said dryly.

“Damian? Why are you calling me from a different number?” The female voice rang strangely from the other end of the line. “Do you know how many times I've called and texted?”

“I wonder.”

“Did something happen? I was really worried.”

“Aren't you angry because I didn't show up?”

“I'm not someone who feels anger easily, but yes, I was upset. Will you tell me what happened?”

“I... I had an accident.”

“Really?! You're not making this up, are you?”

“No, I'm not.”

“Oh my God, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I'm fine, you don't have to worry. The cab I was in got into a traffic jam on Route 6.”

“What? It was on the news. I can't believe you were in that accident. There are some strange videos on the internet, I can't explain it very well. But you're really okay, aren't you? Where are you? I'll come over.”

“No!”

“No?” The voice changed with the denial heard, Damian sighed listening to the door open and close. Inhibited, he decided to put an end to the conversation.

“Mia, I'm sorry. But I'll need to leave town for a few days. I'll probably be unable to communicate.”

“What does that mean?”

He paused, casting discreet glances at the girl standing there with him. “We won't see each other for a while. Until I can sort everything out.”

“That's the worst excuse you've ever given me, you know.” He remained silent. “Damian?”

“Bye, Mia.”

He put the phone on the hook, letting his gaze meet Autumn's. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, her eyes tightening. The girl squeezed her eyes shut in pity.

“Your girlfriend?”

“No.” she shook her head, almost sad at the possibility. “She was just a friend. A friend who... It was for the best.”

Autumn nodded, holding a small box in her hand.

“My neighbor didn't have much, I'll see what I can do. Do you need anything?” He said no. “Okay, then. I'm going to change, so feel free to wash your face at the kitchen sink. You don't have to sit on the floor either. I just advise not to turn on the TV, the media is trying to figure that thing out.”

“Was it recorded?”

Nothing very clear. From what I saw in my neighbor's, the cab driver you were in gave an interview.

“So, is he okay?” Damian's face lit up.

“Yes, very well. So well that he clearly spoke of a hideous creature landing on the windshield of the car. I think that's how the accident started. He even mentioned two young men who were with him and disappeared after the car overturned.”

Damian brought his hand to his mouth, thoughtfully.

“This is already out of our control, try not to lose your temper.”

She disappeared into the hallway, into the bathroom. Damian was angry for a second, realizing that there was no way he couldn't lose his temper. The boy didn't go to the sofa as she suggested, he went back to the corner where he was, on the floor. He even washed his face in the kitchen sink, but he still didn't feel comfortable. The way she was helping him was bothering him.

She had acted rudely earlier that day, unmercifully. Now, stuck in this situation, that discomfort was to be expected. The girl was making him feel worse and worse. Was it guilt, the uncomfortable feeling inside him? He couldn't tell.

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Putting his head between his knees, Damian wished for that day to be over.

Elio came to mind, then. A mixture of concern and indignation disturbed him. What was his brother hiding? Why did everything come out this way? Damian wanted to see him, to put him up against the wall, maybe to hug him.

After a while, he felt something fluffy on top of him. He lifted his head, seeing a scented blanket and Autumn without the destroyed uniform from before.

“I told you not to mope.”

The girl was wearing light clothes, pants and sweatshirt. Her black hair was loose around her shoulders. She had small eyes, like a blueberry fruit. She was not that tall, but she had an impressive physique. The bruises on her face were now covered with bandages.

Autumn walked to the small kitchen, opening the refrigerator and tapping her fingers frantically on the stainless steel.

“I'm not whining.”Damian replied, using the blanket to cover himself. It smelled good. “I'm trying to figure out what to do now.”

“Let's wait.” she nodded, crossing her arms across her chest, not liking what she saw inside the refrigerator. “Do you want water, iced tea?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“I want iced tea.”

With two cans of iced tea and packets of snacks, the girl sat down on the sofa, throwing her things on a simple coffee table. Damian just poured himself some iced tea.

“You know, the hybrid. He's going to come on stronger and angrier," she commented softly as she opened the can.

“Aren't you worried?”

“I should be, but my gun is resting for this.”

“I'm not talking about your spear, I'm talking about you. Can you do all that again?” Damian had an apprehensive look on his face. This was the kind of question I needed to ask.

“I hope so, because I still don't have a plan B for you. I have to fight you to the end of the line.” The way she spoke made him uneasy. “You don't seem to have much faith in me, even after I saved you.”

“It's not that. It's that you're still a girl and there's nothing I can do to help.”

“Well, that's true. But if it helps to know” she gathered her feet on the couch and hugged her knees. She didn't seem sure of what she was about to say. “I wasn't exactly raised like other girls were.”

Damian held his gaze on her for a few seconds, watching her enjoy her iced tea. Her voice and the words she used made him feel safe. However, the boy didn't think he had the right to feel safe. Not for her. He didn't even understand what the girl was saying.

“Why did you help me?” Damian wanted to know.

“I told you not to ask this question.”

“Then tell me what to say. Everything is upside down, I'm not in my own house, I'm not sure if my brother is alive or dead, I can't talk to any of my friends, I can't even tell them what's happening to me because they wouldn't believe me! Besides having a stamp of death on my body! I just…”

When he paused for breath, Autumn directed her gaze to the night outside the window. Stars were struggling to appear.

“Well, I don't know. I saved you because…” she took a deep breath. “It was the right thing to do. People should always be saved.”

“What does that mean? Who exactly are you?”

She listened attentively, then shrugged.

“Honestly speaking, I feel that nothing I say will answer your questions.”

“Just say something. Something that makes sense. Something that explains why you use a spear like a pencil.”

“Ninx.”

“What?”

“My spear. Her name is Ninx.”

“Ah, it has a name... Wait, why at that time I was able to take it and that creature wasn't?”

“It's because I allowed it. Ninx only obeys me. She can also know when someone is malicious.”

“Oh, so she is magic?”

“Is she magical? Ah, that's a good question.” He moved his head, searching for what to say. “When we first met, your brother drew a lot of attention to me. I could see hovering over his head a kind of energy called Refulgent. This energy means that he came from another place. It is the energy of a distant land. I only noticed it because his arrival was still recent; after a few more days, the energy would fade.”

Damian's eyes became dark and his face was like a question mark. He wanted to understand how the girl knew these things, but he opted for another question:

“What would this other place be?”

“After you left” she ignored his question. “I saw the news on TV about the crashes. People made recordings, bad recordings, but I could still see it. The hybrid, the Halvina breed. I recognized it right away.” Autumn spoke more to herself. “This hybrid also carried an intense Refulgent Energy with him, that was the only reason I could come to you. I used my Ninx to locate the nearest energy and take me there. It requires a lot of power and I hadn't done that in a long time. Believe me, I was also surprised to see that you were his target.”

“How exactly did you get there?” he asked, but she only blinked in response. Damian sighed. “And why did you want to help me?”

Autumn frowned.

“What's with your fuss about this question? Why do you want to know that so badly?”

“Just answer.”

“I don't know,” she shrugged. “Seeing you being subdued, unable to defend yourself, I thought I should do something. I also saw the two policemen on the ground, dead. I mean, at that time I knew I would regret helping you, but would it be greater than the regret that I left you there to die? I don't think so.”

Damian swallowed hard. She lowered her eyelids, pondering to herself.

“Maybe, I couldn't come home, sleep in peace, knowing I could have done something. Come to think of it, I did more for me than for you. I did it so that I wouldn't feel bad about myself.”

The boy raised one knee, propping his elbow on it.

“Still, I was rude to you.”

“At least you have a conscience.”

“Yes, I had one when I said I wouldn't let that creature kill me.”

“You're not the first person to be a jerk to me, don't think you're so special.” he spoke firmly. Damian took it as irony. “I wasn't going to let you die just because you were rude. What kind of people do you know?”

The boy didn't know what to say. Silence filled the place.

“Do you have anything else to say? Because it seems like there is.” she said, noticing Damian's prying eyes.

“This "other" place” the boy said again. “By any chance, did you used to live there?”

Autumn remained unblinking, staring at him. Damian was about to call it a day:

“Yes.”

“And why are you here?”

Your curiosity is uncomfortable.

“I just want to know, it's not like we have anything else to do.”

“Go to sleep.”

Autumn lay fully down on the couch, using another blanket she had brought to curl up on. She turned her back to Damian. The boy then lay down on the floor and did the same as her, first taking off his jacket to use as a head support.

“It's not like I can sleep.” he murmured, closing his eyes.

“It's not my problem.” she let out acidly from under the blanket. After a few seconds, he unwound impatiently, staring at the ceiling. “Every day, I wake up early, run around the block, come back, and prepare my breakfast. I watch a cooking program and then I'm ready to go to work. On the way, I feed an orange street cat that lives on a street corner nearby. When I arrive at the cafeteria, I am welcomed by my co-workers. At the end of my shift, I can have a hot drink and listen to the gossip of others. And when I finally come home, bringing back pieces of fried chicken that usually feed two people, I go to sleep with a full belly and satisfied with my day.” He paused. Damian was also staring at the ceiling. “I just hope the next day comes, so I can do it all over again. That's it. This is my life now and I like it. No other life is worth living anywhere else.”

When Autumn finished speaking, Damian had the impression that the whole speech was more about convincing her of something. And that from her mouth, he would hear no explanation that would answer his questions. He didn't know her at all, he couldn't make assumptions about the life of a stranger. Earlier, the girl was just the waitress who had carelessly soiled her coat. Yet I could sense hurt in her voice. It was as if talking about a certain subject from the past irritated her.

The boy deduced a little more about her involvement. It must have been complicated, indeed. She saved him, even though she knew about the memories from the past.

What could it be? This thought popped into the boy's head. What was he running away from so ardently?

“What are you thinking so much about?” she asked as she turned and watched him silently.

“Nothing.”

“Are you thinking about your brother?” Suddenly, Damian had no choice but to think about Elio. “How could you never realize that there was something wrong with him?”

“I thought we were supposed to sleep.” he replied distantly, a little hurt by her obvious question.

“It's just that your brother makes me curious. Who is he exactly?”

Damian closed and opened his eyes.

“I don't think I know either.”

“How can you not know? Aren't you two brothers?”

“That's not it.” He turned his back to her, like a tantruming child. “You wouldn't understand. We both spend more time apart than together. We were raised by our grandparents. But then one day, he just left. There were very few times we were a family.”

Autumn listened to him seriously.

“I understand, really …” Autumn murmured, Damian was unable to hear her.

“Elio is a normal person. At least, he should be. I have pictures of him all over the world, the last place he was in England. I had just picked him up at the airport when everything happened.”

“Did you meet again today?” she questioned, analyzing.

“Yes, that's right.”

“Maybe the hybrid followed him here. It waited for the right moment to attack you, the most vulnerable moment. But why? Why kill you and not take you as a hostage? And how did they know about you, since you are apparently ignorant?”

Damian blinked, looking back at her.

“I feel like you're having a conversation with yourself and leaving me out.”

“There are a lot of loose ends.”

“You didn't have to say it.”

The girl took a deep breath, nestling into the sofa.

“Let's forget all that for a moment...”

“It seems so.”

“... and try to rest. You do that. I dare say things will only get worse for you. You'd better consider this idea once and for all.”

Damian bit his lips and shut up for good. They entered their own worlds, quietly.