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"Who are you?"
A fair question. A necessary one. One that made his palms sweat and his nerves go up.
They had escaped WCKD. They had gotten out without a hitch.
He had left to find supplies, wandering into some random store. Instead, he found a girl crouched in the corner, a blanket over her body as she held a pistol in her shaking hands.
"Who are you?"You interrogate back, looking him up and down. Standing up, you let yourself lean against the wall as you point it at him.
Now he could see it clearly. The injuries covering your body. The cuts on your arms and bruises on your neck. The blood on your clothes with ribs in the fabric.
You looked awful. Absolutely awful. You looked on the brink of death.
"I'm Aris,"He answers, his hands up so you know he's not a threat.
"Y/N,"You almost whisper, your voice horse.
"How long have you been out here?"He asks gently, not wanting to scare you off.
"My whole life,"You say simply.
"Have you ever tried to leave?"
"Why? So I could die for nothing?"You almost scowl, the thought being nothing more than a dream that sent an ache to your heart. It just wasn't possible. You had never heard of any way out or surviving. This was all your life was and all of ever would be.
"No. So you can find Right Arm. They'll keep you safe,"He explains.
"Nobody wants to keep me safe. Everyone only cares about themselves. Every. Last. Person,"You insist.
"That's not true. I've got people with me, and we're all going to look out for each other. We'll look out for you too,"He assures you.
"Why would you do that?"
"To be kind."
"There's no such thing as kindness,"You scoff.
"There is. I can show you. I can prove it."
Glaring at him, you make it known that you're no less skeptical.
"What do you have left to lose? You've been out here your entire life. Why stay when you don't have to?"He pushes.
"Why would I trust you?"
"If you go with me, you'll see you can."
Not saying a word, you keep your weapon pointed at him.
"If you think something is off, you can shoot me."
"What?"You ask quickly, sure you heard him wrong.
"You can shoot me if you think something's off,"He repeats, full confidence that you wouldn't have to practically shining through him.
"Why would you offer that?"
"I'm not going to hurt you so I have nothing to worry about,"He explains.
"To be clear, if something is off I can just shoot you? Just like that?"
"Exactly."
He was either crazy or honest. Maybe both.
Or maybe sneaky.
This was insane. It was an insane thing for him to suggest, and it would be an insane deal for you to accept.
"Are you alone?"
"No. I have a group with me,"He answers.
"Are they suspicious?"
"No. They're good people,"He assures you.
"And you're a good person?"
"I'd like to think so. At the very least, I won't betray anyone."
You had never met a good person before. Only thieves and Cranks. The concept of human kindness and decency was completely foreign to you.
At the same time, he was right. You had been here for your entire life, barely even getting sunlight. You basically had no reason to live.
Maybe this would give you a purpose.
"Okay,"You nod, slowly lowering your gun.
"Okay?"He clarifies, putting his hands down as you tuck your protection into the waistband of your jeans.
"Okay."
With a small smile, he walks out backwards. Hesitantly, you follow his lead, your eyes glued to him. Keeping his nonthreatening pose, he lets you see his hands until you leave the shop.
Turning to the side, he gestures to the group of people. Just as you were taking them, and the situation you had thrown yourself head first into, in there were shouts. Two figures were running as quickly as humanly possible, their flashlights shining with the movement.
After a moment, a group of Cranks appeared behind them.
Grabbing your hand, Aris led you up the stairs with someone you didn't know in the front. Accepting the protection from an actual human for the very first time, you let him, sprinting alongside him until you got to the top of the escalator.
This was going to be an interesting journey. It was already off to a bad start, but it hadn't come from this stranger the way you would assume so.
Maybe for the first time, everything would work its way into place and actually turn out okay?
