Not having any useful counterattack to use to fight back, Alex remained open-mouthed, trying a couple of times to speak, but ending up only to produce a series of not very manly sounds. Realizing then that he was doing nothing but digging his own grave even further, and no longer able to stand Mario's barely suppressed amused grin, he finally decided to concede the match.

"And how should we split it up?" He commented immediately after clearing his throat, doing his best to maintain a relaxed expression on his face, and later adding, this time turning directly in the direction of his attacker, in an inquisitive (unconvincing I must stress) tone, "We don't even know if we're really the only people in this building. Considering how fucking big it is, it would be strange not to find anyone else. In that case, wouldn't it be better if we stuck together? At least there's some kind of... Trust, maybe? Or maybe not? Well... You know what I mean!"

The answer, legitimate for goodness sake, was taken with the right seriousness, at least as far as Roberto was concerned. Despite the desire to make him suffer a little, even he realized that at the moment the important things were quite different. Also because, hoping everything went well, surely in the next few hours there would be other occasions to have fun at his expense.

Even the girls listened without jumping immediately to his throat, letting him finish what he wanted to say and waiting for someone else to take over. Sabrina in particular, but also Camilla if a little less, were afraid at the moment that another one of his proposals would be sawed off in the same way as the previous one. A lack of aggressiveness, or maybe we could talk about tact I guess, that left the field open to the three gunmen of the health insurance company.

"Actually... you're... not wrong..." Jumped out in surprise Mario making Alex jump in surprise as he was now on the edge of his field of vision. However, his entrance wasn't accompanied by a thunderous voice, as he could have done considering his size, but with a relatively high-pitched squeak forced by the effort. An effort derived from his impetus not to burst out laughing in the face of his new companion. In fact, as much as he sometimes seemed to be more of an imbecile than normal, there was something sweet about Alex manner that made him sympathetic.

That said, after realizing how his own voice was coming out of his mouth, he took a deep breath to calm himself and relax his lungs. A vigorous cough, the kind that scrapes the throat as if it had been sandpapered, and then everything managed to settle down allowing him to continue saying: "But I agree more with Roberto's way of thinking. If we lose the day wandering around aimlessly, tonight we will be forced to sleep on the ground. But, at the same time, sleeping comfortably without knowing what might be hiding just a few feet away from us would be nerve-wracking. Looking for a compromise seems reasonable to me."

Another time, poor star, Alex was faced with a wall called logic and reason. His interlocutor, at first glance a behemoth whose nourishment seemed to have gone far more to his muscles than his brain, had cornered him effortlessly. Both his contenders, a very childish way of describing the situation but that was how the boy saw it so I bear no pity, had obviously thought about what to do far more deeply than he had.

Indeed, those damned seemed to have had enough free time to think of an intelligent way to express their ideas. Mario in particular had amplified the other's proposal on the spot, in such a way as to quickly win the argument and move on to action.

Whether it was really what had happened or all those mental shenanigans were nothing more than the result of a soul afflicted by a little, but really a little, inferiority complex no one could ever know. Oh God, considering the guy's protagonist attitude which, of course, heaven forbid ever gets laid... Also called Alex by his friends; I personally would bet on the opposite horse. But we're digressing here.

"Do I take this silence as a positive or negative answer?" Roberto asked as he rose from his seat, meanwhile the psychology battle raged on. Stretching before waiting for the audience's decision without rushing anyone.

"It's fine for me." Said Mario meanwhile, finishing the last sip of the can in his hand. "Mn," just nodded poor Sabrina without replying. Meanwhile Camilla allowed herself a few moments to think about the pros and cons, but in the end she ended up moving her head in Alex's direction and waiting for him to say something. A habit that if it went on like that would almost certainly kill her sooner than later.

"I..." The boy began to speak, stuck between the instinct to want to question the proposal and the realization that he had nothing else to offer. However, realizing that he had something more important than his own pride to protect, he reluctantly decided to accept, showing the others a sign of agreement.

"Very well," Mario rushed to add, then moving his neck to the side and asking Roberto with a sadly serious expression on his face, "How would it be best to divide us up? I'd like to avoid as many accidents as possible." Again, the concern was legitimate and even the tone in which it was stated could be considered unproblematic, but still Roberto's eyelids squinted slightly as if there was something wrong in the air.

In truth, there was nothing wrong with his way of doing things, but he certainly preferred it when he voluntarily exaggerated his reactions, actions or emotions; at least in that way it made him feel less intimidated. He had met someone like him before and would gladly avoid another ride on that carousel.

"Since we're talking about setting up this store and maybe even blocking off the entrances, just in case, I'd say you need someone who can move the debris without getting a hernia. Plus, there's also cleaning and maybe making beds and finding blankets outside. A few changes of clothes wouldn't hurt either, I'm not keen on smelling like a goat. Oh, right, I guess there would also be some thinking to do about the bathroom. Let's save that for last, we'll make do somehow."

Despite having those thoughts on his mind though, he still looked up and accepted eye contact. He also explained the priorities he was most interested in at the moment in the same way, making this a sort of negotiation between just the two of them. It was a change of atmosphere that made Sabrina, who was busy observing the expression of both of them in silence, shiver. The fact that she didn't feel able to understand what was going through their minds managed to put her in awe very quickly.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Well," Mario resumed the word, trying to go for one point at a time and running away from the direct confrontation first, while looking around to calculate how much work there was to be done. "From your description I'd say that the one best suited for throwing away this destroyed furniture is me." He continued then after approaching the remains of some sort of overturned cabinet, lifting it from the side grabbing the edge with his right hand.

Having no reason to do so, he avoided using that opportunity to show off, tipping the cabinet over or putting it back on its feet, but instead he simply rested it on the ground once he had finished his investigation. Now he was more than sure that all the weights in there must have been perfectly within his reach and, satisfied with the discovery, with a smile on his face again, he put his hands in his pockets and said to the two girls: "As for cleaning... I imagine that a couple of mops will turn up in the storeroom or in the warehouse behind the store. Camilla, Sabrina, can I count on you? It would really hurt my pride if I saw you guys exploring or moving weights. I'm a pretty sexist myself, didn't you know?"

They, much more than the other evil genius, understood what he was trying to say. The way he had decided to send the message wasn't the best, frankly speaking, but they both blamed it on the stupid instinct that led most men to want to show off in front of a woman. Whether that could be called an effective method, or efficient even, or just a waste of time was all to be proven; but they appreciated the gesture.

"Yeah... We'll take care of it. We won't make you feel worried." Camilla answered him with a sincere smile, holding Sabrina's hand tightly in the process. She nodded a second time without saying anything else, slowly moving her eyes downwards in the direction of the other girl's trembling hand.

"Then I think we're good, right?" Mario concluded, shrugging and already beginning to wonder if there was any hope of finding a pair of work gloves in the warehouse. Wood or glass splinters might have been bastard after all.

However, having fallen off the pear tree, Alex lifted himself out of his torpor the moment he realized that therefore it would be him and Roberto who would have to go out in search of dreams, hopes and a chance to lose their lives. A bullshit assignment and a bullshit team on top of it.

"Wait! Wait a minute!" He declared forcefully as he got to his feet with a thump, even suffering some sort of backlash to his back on top of that. An imbecile, but let's move on. The anxiety of having to take part in that dangerous adventure had already dried up his mouth, delaying the moment in which he would be able to pronounce new words containing a logical sense.

No matter how much, in fact, he kept calling new saliva and moving his tongue around spasmodically, the voice still struggled to come out. However, that was actually good news for him. Removing in fact the initial shock at the news, now that his brain had had time to process something more about the equation that put his own safety on one side and his beloved's on the other (oh, a Celebron from a decade ago has its very honest limits), he chose to swallow his own complaints.

Coming to be even calmer thanks to a shot of courage conveyed by the voluntary action of suppressing his own survival instincts, he thanked the other two lunatics for bringing the situation to its present shores. He didn't even care if there was some kind of self-interest or other subtlety of the same breed behind those choices, just the fact that they had made sure that at least Camilla could stay safe was more than he himself would have been able to do on his own.

Of course, leaving her alone with that behemoth he'd just met didn't make him crazy as an idea either, but she wasn't a girl so weak as to let herself be attacked without doing anything. If something like that had happened, Mario would have had to be careful not to get an ear bitten off. Not to mention the fact that he now practically owned a gun that was always ready to fire.

With those kind of unflattering thoughts in mind, he shifted his attention for a moment in the girl's direction in a last desperate, and involuntary, attempt to retrace his steps and avoid laying his neck in favor of the axe. It is unfortunate, however, that the human mind often manages to be capable of wonderful feats, especially when it comes to suppressing some of the most primal instincts in favor of someone else.

Or, perhaps, we are over-analyzing the situation and in truth the process that led him to breathe deeply and accept his destiny had less to do with human nature and more to do with a simple matter of pride. Since I had the opportunity though, throwing the possibility out there I doubt it hurt.

"Great..." Roberto sighed once he saw that the part about complaining was over, not having too much desire to explore the unknown either. Not so much out of some idea of glory for the welfare of others, but simply because information in war determined who died and who stayed alive.

However, since Alex had ruined his expectations and, consequently, his enjoyment, he made sure not to leave him without that bit of psychological torture that made life rosier.

"Well," He said in fact after taking the time to scratch his head and cluck his tongue, subsequently pointing his finger at the discount hero. "I'll take him then, I might need him." The tone in which he said this came across as rather flat, dare I even say rude. Camilla, however, also had a last-minute change of heart, realizing, at an early hour, that it would not only be Roberto who would be walking around the building.

In a way, those two had definitely found each other.

Getting serious again; prompted by that mystical revelation, she decided to get brave and raise her voice to take his place. Such a stance would obviously have made the poor moron's efforts completely futile, but it often happens that more damage is done when we start off biased. He, for once really smart, miraculously managed to notice this in time and quickly intervened to close the matter before his ardor failed him.

"Then we can go!" He shouted, leaving her stranded on the spot like a cat on the street would have done when faced with bright headlights. Even Mario understood the inner conflict of the couple and, unlike Roberto who was enjoying it a little, took advantage of the moment of calm after the storm to approach the girls and start saying phrases such as: "We'd better start moving our hands, otherwise we'll sleep with our asses on the glass tonight," or: "Let the sexists do their sexist jobs. All while, with a flick of his hand, he pushed his partner onto his back so as to give him the signal to start.

Alex, for the last time, swallowed his own saliva and then rushed towards the exit, calling out with a long look the asshole named Roberto.He, in response, huffed a little and then came to his side, quickly exiting the room and continuing down the hallway of unknown possibilities. "When I said I needed you anyway, I wasn't kidding," Roberto warned him for the last time as he surveyed his surroundings, causing an emotional response in Alex that was hard to describe and leading him to move his neck to the side to observe Roberto facial expression.

"Throwing out juicy bait is always a great plan when it comes to distracting vicious beasts."

Oh, I had said it before that a little psychological torture always makes life happier.