THE MOMENT
"Where'd you find him?" Casey blocked Ruin's path to ask the question. A couple of days had passed since the last time he saw the towering, pale man; but, it wasn't unlike him to disappear. Usually, he brought back supplies or weapons that he scavenged. Ruin bringing an unknown teenager into the camp was not something that could be overlooked, despite the man's immense help.
"Casey, this is Frost," Ruin introduced the pale teenager. He was so pallid that he almost appeared to have a blue tint to his skin. But, Casey assumed it was just a trick of light from the teen's light blue hair. "He's going to be shadowing me for a while, he won't be any trouble."
"We don't have the supplies for another mouth. Much less one belonging to a teenage boy...," Casey shook his head. He wasn't trying to be the bad guy; but, he needed to guarantee the safety of the people who already put their trust in him. The few survivors of the office building unanimously voted him as their leader. Even as they set up a camp at the base of their office building and gathered more followers, they continued to trust him.
Ruin was there from the beginning. Casey never worked with him before the apocalypse; but, he'd made himself invaluable once they found him in the office. Still, they'd already grown the camp to its maximum size. He could no longer afford to shelter every stranger that came along. They were perpetually low on food and he was disappointed Ruin didn't bring any back this time.
"He won't eat," Ruin shrugged.
"I'm sorry?" Casey shook his head. "It's difficult enough to deny his entry; I'm not going to make the people here watch him starve to death and feel guilty for it." Ruin shook his head and grinned at the shorter man.
"Have you ever seen me eat anything?" he asked. "I eat when I'm out, he will too," he answered his own question; but, it still lingered in Casey's mind.
"If I catch wind of him sneaking food...," Casey stepped aside as he gave a half-hearted warning. He was still trying to shake the previous thought out of his mind.
"It won't be a problem," Ruin waved as he walked by with Frost close behind.
"I've never seen him eat anything...," Casey mumbled to himself as he watched them venture into the camp. He looked up at the sky; the sun was already touching the horizon on its way down. Then, he looked back at the camp. It was dinner time and the day's volunteers stood by the pot of simmering stew ready to serve. But, there was no one in line.
A flash of anger coursed through him at the thought of wasted food; they were already so low on supplies. But, after a few moments, he walked forward into the camp. They were always low on supplies, even when Ruin delivered some. Casey reached the serving table. He grabbed one of the mismatched bowls scavenged from the breakrooms and held it up to the server. The man didn't seem to notice. He was about to speak up when he heard Ruin's voice coming around the fire to his side.
"...and as part of the deal, Ms. Sharp's letting me use this Server until the match. She set it up with undead to help me farm cards for my deck. They'll drop Paladin gear for you too," he said. They passed the simmering pot and Ruin stopped when he noticed Casey. The imposing man turn to look at the entrance to the camp where Casey normally was; the post was empty. Then, he turned back slowly to focus on Casey again.
"Hey, Casey, what are you doing over here?" he asked.
For possibly the first time in his life, Casey felt the need to lie. He couldn't remember any other occasion where he lied, nor even felt the need. But the impulse was so sudden and complete that a lie was the first thing out of his mouth.
"All this talk about food, I got hungry," he shrugged and held up the bowl for proof.
"What's your favorite number?" Ruin asked him.
"34!" Casey's instant answer surprised him; but, he was quick to recover. "Can I get some food now?" he asked.
"Not yet...," Ruin shook his head. He grinned as he pulled a glass card out of his black leather duster. "...that's not real food, you won't get any nutrition from it," he answered. Then, he patted Frost on the shoulder as he walked a few steps away.
"What do you mean? Where are you going?" Casey tried to follow Ruin; but, Frost stepped in front to block him.
"He's just making a call, he'll be right back," Frost said.
"A call?? He can call someone!?? WHO?" Casey's questions poured out of his mouth as several different ones ran across his mind. Is that where Ruin got his supplies from? Could he call at any time? Why wasn't he helping more? But, no matter how many questions he considered, he was still stuck on one. He took a breath to calm down, then he nodded at Frost.
"What did he mean it's not real food?" Casey asked.
"You're in the AlterNet," Frost replied. "It's a good idea to pay attention to food. If you see no one else eating it, it's probably NPC food. It'll taste and smell good; but, it won't give you any nutrition since it's made from nanos." Frost gestured at the serving table next to them. "Pay attention to the people around any food you're considering." With that final bit of advice, Ruin returned to the group, along with another new face. A teenage girl in a white suit with long, straight hair. She had a pair of red scissors stitched to the front of her blazer that matched the company logo he remembered working for.
"Casey, this is Rhapsody. She'll get you taken care of," Ruin said.
"Please come with me," Rhapsody nodded at the air next to Casey. He turned in time to see Rhapsody walk into a black hole. He glanced at Ruin and received enough encouragement to shrug and follow her. He didn't entirely know what was going on; but, he knew he trusted Ruin as much as he was going to trust anyone at that moment.
"Did you lose any progress?" Frost asked. Ruin shook his head, then turned and walked forward.
"Not a lot. But, I guess I'm going to avoid talking as much as I can," Ruin chuckled. "C'mon, I just need to reintroduce you to the Camp leader." They approached the middle-aged woman that now stood at the entrance.
"Where'd you find him?" The woman glared at Ruin; she was obviously not happy about them already being in the camp.
"Casey, this is Frost," Ruin introduced the pale teenager to the camp leader.