Kris had to think fast. They were mere steps away from the city, but didn't Lay say something about belonging to a tribe in the journal? He had heard of rumors about mutants and outcasts banding together to form tribes or small civilizations, but no one had ever come up with anything solid on the matter. No one would ever investigate, because none of the soldiers liked to stray too far from the dome. There was too much danger out here to foolishly go exploring. He doubted that Lay's village could be far though. Surely, the members of this tribe would not stray far from their village either. He looked around frantically as he feared that Lay may be losing time. Kris shook his head. Despite the guilt he would feel in his heart forever if Lay did not make it, he could not endanger Misu by possibly getting the two of them sent into exile for smuggling. When he spotted what looked to be a lighthouse in the distance, he followed it with Lay in his arms.

Running at full speed all the way, Kris reached the lighthouse within ten minutes, and hoped that it wasn't too late. The lighthouse turned out to be an old bell tower that seemed to somehow have survived the blast from years ago. There was a light shining brightly on top of it, but the light went out after a few seconds, so Kris couldn't tell what had been shining. It was dark now, as it always was dark outside the domes without any light from the sun to shine. Surrounding the bell tower were ruins of buildings, small huts, and three larger, more cabin-like structures. It was a small, eerie looking town. No one seemed to be around at first. That was probably because he just couldn't see them. Along with it being dark, the respiratory mask he wore covered his entire face, and it was hard to see through the goggle like part over his eyes. He jumped and held Lay closer to him, more protectively, taking a defensive stance when he heard a voice speak from the darkness. "Intruder! What have you done with Lay??", the voice said. It seemed to be angry with him.

"I've done nothing, but bring him back to you. A snake bit him and he collapsed. The body of the snake was black and dark purple if that helps....", Kris replied quickly and then offered Lay's body to the mysterious voice. "He was bitten ten minutes ago... Please, I'm sure that we must act fast. Take him and help him. I must go..." he said and set Lay down gently on the ground. He set the journal on top of Lay's chest and then got back up. A dark and shadowy figure stepped towards them. The figure picked up Lay and then retreated into the shadows.

"We will of course take care of one of our own. Now go back to the city from which you dwell and never return, nor breathe a word of this place to another soul. I will show you mercy only just this once. Now begone!", the voice commanded in a roaring voice that showed he was genuinely serious. Kris nodded and turned around. He wanted to head back, but he could not see the dome. The wind had picked up now and dirt whipped around at high speeds. With all that dirt and dust flying through the air there was no way he would be able to see his way back to the city.

"I can not go back yet.... There is not a trace of light to lead me... Please let me stay for the night. I will not bring any harm to your people. I will stand guard if you wish or help tend to Lay as means of repayment." Kris tried to bargain with the voice, because he knew that if he went out there now anything could easily catch him off guard and attack him. After Kris's plea, there were a few minutes of silence and then hushed voices that made incoherent whispers in the darkness.

The voice eventually spoke again,"Turn the lights back on.", is what it said. The town was then filled with soft lights. Lanterns were lit and hung from every rooftop. The light revealed a crowd of about twenty people gathered around him. Some carried spears that were aimed at him. There was a man in the center of them that aimed a shining silver revolver at him. Judging by the elegant and elaborate flower crown on his head and how he seemed to be dressed slightly nicer than all the others, Kris guessed that this was their leader. "Search him...", the leader ordered one of the men who was holding a spear. Kris held his hands up to show he would cooperate. The man approached him, still cautiously aiming his spear at him. Then he started to search him when he got close. The man took everything from Kris's pockets and searched for concealed weapons as well. He wondered if their leader had been in the military, because he seemed to be as cautious as someone who had. Their leader didn't seem to have the physical strength to have been a soldier though. He was very slim and had soft features rather than the usual rough ones that soldiers acquired through facing gruesome times.

After they finished searching Kris for potential weapons, the leader made a gesture with his hand for Kris to follow him. He hesitated at first, because he wasn't quite sure if the gesture was directed towards him or not. Then when no one else had moved and the leader made the gesture again he moved forward towards him carefully. He followed the town's leader and the man who carried Lay to one of the three cabin-like structures. Overhead was a board across the entryway with a red cross on it. If he could remember correctly, back when life was good that symbol meant that there was usually a doctor around. "You can help tend to Lay.... Unfortunately, Lay is our only medic, so all we have to tend to him is his apprentice... Do anything he asks of you, and never forget you are being watched. My people do not like the presence of a city dweller amongst our midst, so they may take it upon themselves to keep you in check if need be.", the leader warned him and then left. The man who had Lay set him down on one of the several cots that lined the walls to the right and to the left. That man left afterwards and a young boy, a teenager really, came over to the cot from the desk he had been sitting at by the back wall. Kris was fixated for a moment on the boy's short silver hair, because it of course wasn't often that he saw something like that.

"Your hair is beautiful..." Kris couldn't help but say.

"Thank you... I never give it really much thought...", the boy awkwardly plays with a lock of his own hair as he examines it.

"What are his chances? The snake was black and dark purple... I don't remember what that head of it looked like, because I quickly blew it away to pieces.", Kris turns his attention back Lay. He watches as the boy examines Lay carefully, but a little nervously as if he isn't quite sure about his suspicions. After a few minutes he goes back over to his desk and consults a couple books. When the boy came back several minutes later he pressed a cool compress to Lay's forehead.

"I found a few snakes that fit the description in the books.... But to differentiate between them I would have to know what their head looked like... One had a diamond on it's head, another has gray eyes... And none of this information is completely accurate, because it's only notes from Lay's studies... Snakes could have mutated and reproduced thousands of new species that look alike...", he said nervously and pulled up a chair beside Lay's cot. He pulled another chair up for Kris on the other side of the cot before sitting down. 

"Okay, relax kid... Now, is there anything we can do besides panic?", Kris asked him calmly and sat in the chair the boy had provided for him.

The boy took a deep breath to calm himself down and then shook his head. "All we can do is wait. From what I've gathered in his notes... He'll either die within the hour, or he'll be completely fine.", he replied and held Lay's hand. After that, there was only silence. Kris looked down at Lay's unconscious face and gently brushed some hair out of his face. He didn't even really know the guy, but for some reason he felt bad that a beauty like him could go to waste. When he first saw Lay it had seemed like the sun had finally come out, because there just seemed to be a natural glow of light attached to him. He did not want this new light to his world to die. Somehow, he found himself wishing for Lay's recovery silently. Was this perhaps human nature taking over? He had not felt all that human until now, and it felt strange to him. He found it a bit comical actually, the thought he had for a second that maybe he had a heart. Kris nearly chuckled, but of course stopped himself, because that would be inappropriate. Why would he care though if he didn't have a heart?

Kris found himself a bit perplexed, so he pushed aside his self centered thoughts for now. Instead, he helped the young boy whenever he could by changing the compress. They checked Lay's pulse every five minutes or so and recorded the data along with any changes in his condition. His heart rate stayed stable for a couple hours, so it was safe to say that Lay would be okay. He had not awoken yet though, so everyone kept their distance to allow him some rest. Kris went out of the cabin to find the town's leader and report on Lay's condition. After asking around and getting very little more than a dirty look from the townspeople, he eventually found their leader on his own. It wasn't hard to pick him out of the crowd since he so obviously stood out amongst them. "Lay seems like he will be alright... And I must ask... Where would you like me to sleep tonight? I don't want to burden anyone and I'm sure none of the townspeople will welcome into their home anyway, so that leaves me with limited options...", Kris said as he approached the town's leader.

The leader seemed to be contemplating Kris's predicament as he looked around. A few minutes later he reached his final decision and looked back at Kris,"You'll stay in our hospital. There are plenty of free beds there and Toshiro has an open mind, so I doubt you will run into much conflict or objection with him.", he answered and then gave Kris a more stern look as he warned him,"Don't go on and get close to him though. He's very naive and impressionable. So don't play around with him, because his heart is frail and he falls in love with many over the smallest things. You won't be here tomorrow past morning, just remember that.". Then the leader goes into the middle cabin where another board is over the entrance. Painted on this board is a crown. It made Kris wonder if he was supposed to call him 'your majesty'.

Kris headed back to the hospital that was really the cabin on the right. He entered just as Lay started to wake up. Lay slowly opened his eyes and groaned. He stretched a bit before sitting up and blinked a billion times as he looked around the room. "Toshi...?", Lay said in the weakest voice Kris had ever heard, and he looked so pained while speaking the name. The boy stood up and hugged Lay. Kris could tell by the tears in the boy's eyes that started to roll down his cheeks a bit that the two were very close. He just stood still in the doorway and watched the two of them.

"Please, don't speak... I know it hurts you. Lie back down and rest. Everyone is doing fine, so there is nothing for you to work yourself up over...", Toshiro, Lay's young apprentice said as he gently pushed Lay back down by his shoulders. Lay kept his mouth shut, because there was nothing really for him to object with. He laid back down on the cot and looked around more. When he noticed Kris he smiled slightly and gestured for him to come over and join them. "This man brought you back to the village. Do you know him? It isn't like you to wander as far as near the city..." Toshiro asked Lay and kept his eyes on him. The boy had seemed somewhat shy earlier, but now he was as talkative as ever. Maybe it had been his worry that had silenced him. Lay simply nods and makes a few gestures with his hands to Toshiro. It seems to be sign language of some sort.

"Do you both communicate this way?", he asked curiously as he watched Lay's hands. Toshiro seemed to nod slightly as if he understood everything Lay way trying to convey.

The boy nodded again in response to Kris. "I'm the only one in the village that is able to fluently use sign language. I taught Lay enough to go about daily life with, and act as his voice or his interpreter most of the time." Kris wondered how Toshiro had learned sign language, but decided against asking personal questions. As he had been warned, he was only to stay until morning. He wouldn't want to stay much longer anyway. Kris had Misu to get back to. It made him feel uneasy that he may be back later than he said he would and he did not like leaving Misu by himself for so long. Misu is only a small child after all.

He sighed and tried to push that out of his mind too, because there was nothing he could do about it. "Your leader, king, mayor or whatever told me I can stay here for the night if that's alright with you two..." he told them. Neither Toshiro nor Lay had any objections so he picked a cot two down from Lay's and laid down on it. He didn't really know if he'd be able to get much sleep though. Kris didn't trust anyone here of course. He'd learned better than to trust anyone from the chaos that ensued after the world collapsed and from all the orders he'd blindly had to carry out as a soldier.

Lay spoke to Toshiro using his hands again and the boy translated for Kris,"Lay says you never answered his question from before... Whatever that was...", he said and looked over at Kris, who was staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I became a soldier, because I thought they would be the upcoming force that would restore order to this new hellhole of a world. I thought that they would protect the people from those that tried to take advantage of this great time of hardship and from the forces of nature that all seem to be against us. I thought being a soldier would restore order to my own sinful life as well. I wanted to be as good as a soldier I used to know.", Kris answered with a shrug. He tried to give a sufficient answer, but leave most of the more personal details out. He wasn't really one to often put out all his thoughts, feelings, and hardships out on display.

"And what do you think of being a soldier now?", Toshiro asked on behalf of Lay.

"My perspective has changed since then, because of certain circumstances.... I think that what I thought before was just the foolish thoughts of an arrogant man", Kris showed much indifference on the subject. It was not like he'd never had someone ask how he could become one of these city leeches before.

"Circumstances...?", Toshiro now questioned out of his own curiosity.

Kris closed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest,"I suggest we get some rest now.", he said, simply avoiding the prodding into his personal life.