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I don’t need to tell you this again.
You know what you have to do. Welcome back, Sinner.
—
“Why did you do it? All of it?”
“It’s simple; you broke the deal, ■■■■. It is only right that you are punished for it.”
“But they didn’t do anything! They weren’t a part of what the deal was! So why?!”
“You’ll figure it out in due time. Get up, your deal isn’t over yet.”
—
When he first entered the bus, it was completely silent. Not in a calming silent, but rather, it was completely unnerving to the point where it felt like a trap. Beneath his feet, the bus rumbled, gently reminding Sand that the bus was, indeed, somewhat sentient— either that, or he was gaslit into believing the bus was an actual being instead of basic transportation.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time he has been gaslit in his life.
He looked around the bus; the windows reminded him of cell windows, with the inclusion of metal sheets that were sloppy with the way they were placed, like it was trying to restrict the scenery. On the top, there were empty spaces that, at least in the past, would have housed bags that people would place them in while traveling— now, they held nothing. Beneath the traveling spaces, booths were placed and lined along. They had a cushion of velvet fabric, two of them facing each other with a table separating the two. The table itself was wooden, with a few scratches on the surface.
As he checked each booth, all following the same pattern, the bus rumbled under his feet again, only further cementing the idea that perhaps Sand wasn’t gaslit and was indeed standing on a somewhat sentient bus. He shivered at the thought of what a sentient bus could do to him— keep rumbling to scare him off? Maybe it will blow the horn so loud that he would die of a heart attack? Or perhaps maybe it will swallow him whole and use his body as fuel?
“Eos doesn’t eat live bodies.” A voice spoke from the entrance of the bus, making Sand jump and spin to turn to the voice. When his eyes landed on the source of the voice, he was perplexed. He has expected an Abnormality of some kind, or maybe someone from the Corps.
What he didn’t expect, however, was a somewhat familiar face.
He had blond hair that was cut to resemble that of a jellyfish, with two strands resting on his shoulders to resemble the stingers of the aquatic animal. His eyes were dull, the few remaining sparks of blue shrouded by a metaphorical shadow casted over them. He wore a uniform that Sand had seen him wear moments before the bus was announced to him— a plain white shirt under a white vest with gold linings, both tucked into a black waist belt that downgraded towards black dress pants and same colored shoes.
What made Sand’s words die at his tongue was the large, imposing scythe that the boy held within his gloves, towering at almost double his height. He couldn’t have been any older or younger than Sand, yet the other felt as if the Wing had come to visit him and punish him via the reaper. If he wasn’t sure if the former was a human, he could have easily believed that he was part of L Corp— and not as a worker.
“So long as you don’t anger Eos, and regularly make sure to feed them, they will grow to like you.” The other walked over to Sand, shifting his weapon from hand to another. “And besides, Eos likes the bodies barely alive, as it gives more fuel than actually dead people. Abnormalities, however… eh, I haven’t tested that yet.”
Sand furrowed his brows, gathering his thoughts. “Eos? You mean, the bus has a name?”
At that, the rumbling grew harshly, making him grab the edge of the booth’s seat to keep himself standing. Meanwhile, the other sighed and knocked his scythe against the floor, slowly easing the bus to a halt on the rumbling. “Of course it has a name.” He smiled. “I’m the creator of Eos, after all.”
“You are?”
The other nodded, holding out his hand. “Daniel, number five of the Sinners.” As Sand went to open his mouth, the Sinner retracted his hand quickly. “I already know your name. We saw each other for a brief moment, and since I figured we’ll be working together, I would introduce myself now rather than later.”
“Oh.” Sand hummed. “I guess it’s nice to meet you?”
“Likely.” Daniel nodded. The bus rumbled again. “Eos still needs some time to get used to you again. Other than that, it’s a pleasure to work with you, Sand. If that’s your name.”
The other felt himself go pale. Was that so obvious? Was it so obvious that he was just playing a role of someone else that isn’t even himself?
If the Sinner saw the color drain from Sand’s face, then he made zero comment about it. Instead, he spun his scythe above his head as he walked towards the front of the bus, before laying his weapon against the wall and taking a seat at the front. The doors closed, Eos rumbling low as Daniel’s hands brushed over the panel.
Slowly recovering himself, Sand moved towards Daniel. “So— uh, what’s the plan?”
“Our first destination is K Corp’s Nest, as I received word about another Sinner.” Daniel explained flatly, pulling out a contraption of some kind. He then turned to Sand. “You happened to have a map or something that can be used for directions?”
“Does a compass work?” Sand asked, his hand already clasping towards the object that hung around his waist.
“That would work better,” Daniel nodded. “Eos needs certain directions to the different districts, unless Eos knows where a district is.”
Sand held the compass in his hands, the warmth of his EGO slowly seeping into his palm. He glanced to the side. “I should warn you… I don’t know if the compass will work.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“It’s an EGO.”
The Sinner rolled his eyes. “I’ve dealt with different EGO’s in the past.” He held out his hand. “I know when an EGO isn’t usable outside of the user’s grip. Now hurry up— at this rate, I’m sure Eos will consume us for fuel.”
Not wanting to know if the other was actually kidding or not, Sand quickly placed the compass in his hands. He turned back to the front, eyes glued to the needle that fidgeted forward. Like clockwork, Sand watched as the Sinner’s free hand grazed over the panel, putting in coordinates and all sorts of calculations that the other didn’t really understand.
It wasn’t long till his compass was handed back and Daniel leaned back into the seat. “That’s all. I suggest finding a seat for yourself.” Without giving Sand enough time to take in what he said, Daniel ordered out, “Eos! Next stop, the Nest of K Corp.”
The bus rumbled, letting out a loud horn that echoed around. The bus lurched forward, nearly knocking Sand off his feet, which was soon replaced by the soft bumps of the bus moving onwards to its destination.
“Told you to get a seat.” Daniel grinned, a laugh escaping his lips when Sand glared back yet shuffled his way to a booth that was closest to the front. The other turned in his seat, crossing his arms together. “And now we have the entire ride to know each other more.”
“Yeah.” Sand nodded, seating himself close to the edge of the booth’s cushion.
Daniel puffed his cheeks, seeming to think of what he wanted to ask first. His expression fell, exposing his lack of question to ask. “You go first, I got nothing to ask first.”
“Oh. Okay?” Sand smiled slightly. “What district are you from?”
“R Corp, District 18.” Daniel responded quickly.
“Given by how old you look, I’m guessing you weren’t around to witness The Smoke War?”
“By the time I was born, the war had started to die out by then.” Daniel shrugged. “Can’t remember much of my life leading up to here.”
“Nothing?”
“It’s a whole ‘contract’ thing I made with my EGO— for its ability, a memory must be locked away. Just so happened to be that my EGO locked away my memories as a child in R Corp.”
“What about family?” Sand questioned.
“Dead or alive. Pick whichever is your favorite.” Daniel answered. “Enough about me, what about you? Where are you from?”
Sand hesitated to answer. It’s not that he didn’t know where he was from, it’s just that he didn’t know where he was from. Feeling the burning gaze of the Sinner’s eyes, Sand muttered out, “A Corp…”
“Hm, haven’t heard much about that.” The Sinner hummed. He then pointed to his eye. “What about the eyepatch? What happened there?”
“Abnormality attack.” He replied quickly.
“That’s it? Nothing cool happens after that?”
“Not really.”
The Sinner rolled his eyes. “Okay, this is boring. Let’s just stop here.” He turned away from Sand. “Take a rest, I’ll wake you up when we reach K Corp. That, or maybe the sudden stop by Eos will wake you up.”
Sand didn’t respond. Instead he scooted himself closer to the barred window of the bus, resting an elbow on the table and leaning his head against his hand. He watched, from a limited view, the scenery change.
—
“You know you can’t change fate.”
“I know.”
“So why are you doing this? It’s better to leave those weaklings to die on their own then become another body to add to the pile.”
“They’re still children.”
“You are the same age as most of them.”
“My point stands.”
“Fine. I’ll let you accept the deal. Under one condition; don’t get attached.”
“... Okay.”