T'balt couldn't remember a thing about what everything was for. He'd spent so many iterations saving her—things that she'll never see or likely ever hear about, only for things to turn out like this. Him alone. Him with no one at the end of the world.
His family was gone. They wanted nothing to do with him. He had no friends. There was only Chosa. The one person in all the world who had shown him a monochrome of hope and kindness. He had to now believe that it was all faked.
For a house that he never wanted to begin with.
He was always a shy kid, never the most popular in school, and when he graduated high school, he never bothered to keep up with the few friends he did have. And he never even attempted college. It was all too much work, and there was no career that was worth four years of free labor to him. So he stayed living with his mom. Dad was never in the picture.
But he could always talk to his grandparents. Ever since he was little, he always did. They never cared about what his goals were or whether or not he was working. They spoiled him regardless, and when it mattered, they didn't treat him like a kid. And so he spent most of his time over their house, smelling the old incense lit on the balcony. It was a smell he grew to love. Otherwise, he'd be stuck with the stench of garlic from their old skin.
And eventually, his mom got tired of it. "You shouldn't be bothering your grandparents all the time. It isn't normal. Why don't you hang out with some people your own age?" She seemed to take that matter into her own hands.
She met a nice young woman at a career fair at the school where she taught. She was the cutest thing, and she was dying to be introduced to him. T'balt obliged her with a phone call and a first date that ended up going nowhere. The girl's name was Chosa, and he was sure that he'd never see her again.
But then grandma passed away from natural causes. Then some say by the connection in their hearts, granddad let go months after. T'balt cried for days, but no one seemed to want to let him mourn.
Grandpa and Grandma Ferrier had a nice bit of wealth saved up, and everyone needed to figure out what was going where. Then a stranger called T'balt on the phone to let him know that his grandparents' house was now entirely in his name and most of their money had gone to charity.
It wasn't something he asked for. In fact, he never spoke to his grandparents about their will. But not even his mother believed that. The curses went slinging as everyone was left with nothing but him, who had a house fully paid off, which set him well for the rest of his days, given he kept up with it.
His relationship with his mom deteriorated. And they couldn't be in the same room without her getting into a yelling fit. Then she started attracting more people to her side. Cousins, aunts, uncles. He was made an outcast. And he was never one to fight back. He didn't even go to their funeral since he didn't want to upset anyone there.
So he was all alone in a big empty house, and not even his mother was willing to speak to him. But then he got the strangest phone call. "Hi. It's Chosa. Can I see you again?" He couldn't believe it. And when she did, she was so kind and understanding, like no one but his grandparents had been. A bright spot of comfort in an empty shell. A shield from all the hatred and jealousy. And he thrived in that comfort. She had moved in weeks later.
Now she was gone, and an empty shell was what remained. What a joke he was.
He felt something warm taking his hand. It was soft and small. A woman's hand. "Chos.. Oh." It was Ellie. She was holding his hand in hers, taking great care not to move him too roughly.
"Sorry. I just wanted to see if you were okay." T'balt pulled his hand away.
"I'm… fine."
"You should eat." There was a bagged ham sandwich lying next to him that had gone untouched for hours.
"I'm okay. Thanks."
"I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Sorry.. I just… I need to be left alone."
She leaned closer to him. "You know, once when I was an EMT. We got a call one night about a man in a car accident. When we got there, the damage was bad. He was hardly breathing. We were all sure that he was going to die. There was nothing I could do but hold his hand and try to make things easier for him.
"To be honest, I heard it in a song once. If I'm dying, hold my hand and don't let me go. It was the corniest thing, but it was all I could think to do. So, for minutes, as the others were marking the time of death, I held his hand, humming the song as it came to mind. And then by some miracle. He opened his eyes again, and he started panting and talking like he had just been redelivered from heaven.
"I couldn't believe it all. People started saying I had the angel's touch. I started to think I really did. I spoke to the man. And he said that as soon as I held his hand, it was like I pulled him from the light. He'd always thought he was gonna die alone, so he wanted desperately to see who was holding his hand, and he rushed back into his body… It's only superstition really, but sometimes a hand is the only medicine that people need."
T'balt suddenly felt embarrassed for acting the way he was. The way Eliie laced their fingers together made him feel a warmth that he hadn't felt since Zero Day began. But for some reason, it only caused more tears to flow. He tried to hide them by turning his head, but she could see right through him.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"Don't apologize. You know, I could really use some more of your help around here. I never told you how grateful I was for the healing gift you gave me."
T'balt wiped his face. "It's not a gift. It's loot," he stammered.
"Loot?"
"It's not some godly thing. That's just a lie Monan made up. It falls off those beasts when they die. That's how we got them."
Ellie's eyes widened, and T'balt immediately thought that he shouldn't have said that. "Is that really true?" she said.
"I'm surprised you really believe me, considering no one else ever does."
"Would you be able to show me?"
T'balt had second thoughts. But there was a determined look in her eye that she hadn't shown to him before. But was it the right thing to do? But how had Monan managed to hide that fact for this long?
That's when the rumbling came again. Everyone immediately took cover behind whatever they could find. T'balt grabbed Ellie, shielding her from falling debris. "Is it happening again? Another explosion."
But then another revamped hit came, and this felt far more direct. Like a car had just crashed into the building. Everyone was panicking, running for the stairs. T'balt took Ellie and ran unconsciously, still holding her hand.
The people of the church were in a full-blown panic. Another impact. This time, accompanied by fire and a strong bolt of lightning flung through the cracks of the wall.
"This isn't a random bomb. We're under attack," T'balt said.
"By what?" Ellie asked.
"Monsters?" He ran outside to check out the scene. He still had his speed loot. Any monsters outside he could deal with, even if it was just him. But the view outside was faded with elements and magic being hurled from both sides. He still couldn't tell what was happening.
He asked one of the men outside. Hiding behind a barricade. "What's happening? Where are the monsters?"
"What monsters?" The man panicked. "We're being raided by bandits."