Welfare and Warfare

Chapter 12

Day: 3129

Days Left: 2351

Lives Saved: 17

Kai could not sleep. It was impossible; he had too much on his mind, too much he had wanted to say to Dex, but the guy needed to sleep for his big day, for his release from the Eternal Abyss. They had decided to have one last sleepover at Kai's, with Kai on the bed and Dex on a pile of pillows on the floor next to it. Kai wouldn't have minded sharing the bed; they had done so in the past when sleeping rough in a cave, Kai, Dex, Klei, and Wendy all lying on the ground in a small, narrow corner, sharing the blankets before Corinna came along and built them a house with separate rooms. Kai regretted the decision years ago to have their own house in the Warren; even though they saw each other most days, Kai had never gotten accustomed to living alone. It felt too empty, reminding him of when he had no one, surviving in the Eternal Abyss alone before he met Klei and Wendy. But he wasn't alone now; even when Dex leaves, Kai would still live in a city surrounded by hundreds of people. He would still have friends, but his best friend would be gone.

Before Kai even realised it, the morning bell sounded, signifying that it was the Eternal Abyss equivalent of 7 a.m. Only some people got up at this time, depending on their job, their habits, or if it was their day off. Since Kai had just had a night shift as a patrol guard, he would lie in until the 10 a.m. bell, but Dex was leaving that day, and Kai wanted to spend as much time as he could with him as possible.

They headed to the large food hall to get breakfast, with Dex getting a special meal service from Oscar. Kai had wanted to enjoy their last meal together and talk. Still, everyone crowded around Dex, likely wishing to have their final moments with him despite everyone having supposedly said their peace last night at the party. When one person left, another came over, or maybe two, and Kai no longer sat opposite Dex but sat so far away as more people joined their table. Dex barely had time to eat his breakfast with how much he had to reply to people. Meanwhile, Kai had finished his food ages ago, wondering if he should leave, maybe give Dex an excuse to come with him and escape, but perhaps he was selfish. Whilst he and Dex had the most history and were closer, it didn't mean he could monopolise all his remaining time in the Eternal Abyss to himself. He had plenty of chances for that earlier and wasted it out of hesitation, fear, and awkwardness.

Kai was dedicated to staying and waiting, toying with his empty bowl and cutlery, chatting with his friends, until eventually Dex managed to finish his food amongst the chaos. He headed outside, waiting for Kai, giving a small smile and about to say something, but the horde of people followed, too.

This was it. They would never have another moment with just them; last night was the last.

It wasn't long until Dex's assigned release, so everyone headed over to the centre of the Warren where the pit was, the numerous portals above the Land of the Lost opening and closing for a fraction enough time to drop someone's discarded junk from the human realm. Usually, the Land of the Lost was restricted access to only those who worked there as scavengers; however, when someone was released, a small group of citizens were allowed to head down to give a proper send-off at the bottom of the pit. Dex had already chosen who he had wanted to see him off; Kai was one of them, the others being everyone who had been a part of the village they had settled before the Warren and then a few of his colleagues in construction.

It was odd seeing everyone gathered like this; when was the last time that they were all together? Everyone had gotten so busy with their duties or gained new friendships that it was pretty nostalgic.

The first to arrive had been Rin, who, not being a hugger, gave Dex an awkward hug, which was expected as the two, whilst having known each other for years, had never been that close compared to everyone else in the group.