After the tense conversation with Barton, Leon and Eva received orders to prepare before the red fog would creep in to fully shroud the city come nightfall.
The two walked through the crowds at Riverbend's open-air market. The cacophony of trading echoed around them—rickety stalls selling junk of every kind, from rusted weapons and wilted produce to charred mutant rat carcasses skewered on sticks. The stench of dust and smoke mingled with the smell of questionable food, hanging thick over the entire area.
Leon glanced briefly at the rusted pipe in his hand. This thing worked well enough against the rats... but what if they had to face something bigger? The thought had been circling in his head ever since Barton mentioned the "Guardians."
He stopped in front of a shabby second-hand shop, his eyes fixed on a weapon displayed prominently on an old canvas tarp. It was a wooden club made of hardwood, sized just right for his grip. Its surface was studded with sharp metal spikes that looked wickedly effective. This could do a hell of a lot more damage than his pathetic pipe... at least it might actually hurt whatever they faced.
Eva, who had been following close behind, spoke up when she saw him staring at the spiked club without blinking. "Hey Leon, what're you shopping for around here? Or are you just interested in new toys?"
Leon glanced at her sideways. "Why are you following me anyway? What I want to buy is my business," he replied curtly, trying to brush off her interest.
"Jeez, how cold can you get?" Eva pouted, then immediately changed the subject. "But anyway... what do you think about what old Barton said earlier? About the Guard—"
"Hey old man, how much for this one?" Leon didn't wait for Eva to finish. He bent down, pointing at the spiked club.
The elderly shop owner looked up from the pile of goods he was sorting through. His cloudy eyes gazed at Leon with a distant look. "Kid... what're you gonna do with something like that?"
Leon frowned slightly at the question. "I'm part of this city's patrol unit. I'm buying it to beat the shit out of those filthy rats that like to show up at night."
The old man seemed to have Alzheimer's like everyone in the market said. Even Leon, who was well-known among the patrol units, wasn't remembered by this guy.
"I'll take this one, old man," Leon said, pointing at the club again. "I'm not gonna buy it to play baseball around here or anything."
"Oh... uh... that one... one hundred fifty-five FreshCoin," the old man replied in a mumbling voice.
Leon's face looked like he'd swallowed bitter medicine. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small cloth bag, pouring metal coins into his palm. Counting back and forth, he only had ninety-eight FreshCoin.
"Uh... old man, you said ninety FreshCoin earlier, right? If that's right, I'll take it!" Leon looked up at the old man with a smile that didn't look particularly sincere, extending the coins in his hand.
The elderly man looked confused for a moment, then nodded vaguely. "Yeah, yeah... ninety... thanks a lot, kid."
Leon quickly stuffed the coins into the old man's hand, grabbed the spiked club, and spun around to walk away from the shop rapidly.
"Hey! Leon! How is that even right?!" Eva, who had been watching the whole scene, exclaimed quietly but hurried to follow him.
"Come on, it's just a little thing. The old guy doesn't seem bothered by it," Leon replied without turning back.
"Kid! Wait a minute!" the old man's voice called after them.
Leon quickened his pace even more, waving his hand behind him without looking back while running his other hand through his hair absentmindedly.
The elderly shop owner could only stand there scratching his head, watching them go with confusion, before looking down at the coins in his hand and muttering, "Eh... whose money did I get...?"
Leon and Eva walked away from the market's chaos into a relatively quiet alley, with only the afternoon sunlight filtering down in beams. Eva continued to look at Leon with an unreadable expression.
"You know..." she began, then sighed softly. "Sometimes I really don't understand you at all, Leon."
Leon stopped walking and turned to face her. "Don't understand what?"
"Well... both what you just did, and how you seem like you don't care about anything, but when it really matters, you..." Eva couldn't finish, searching for the right words.
Leon raised an eyebrow. "I what?"
"You... you worry about other people deep down, don't you?" Eva finally said, her eyes looking at him seriously. "Like how you always listen for sounds for us during patrols, even though you complain about not wanting to do it. Or how you secretly share food with the kids at the orphanage, even though you don't have much yourself."
Leon turned his face away, feeling his cheeks burn slightly. "Don't talk nonsense. I just do what needs to be done."
"Really?" Eva smiled faintly. "So you buying this new weapon is just 'doing what needs to be done' to protect yourself too, right? Nothing to do with what we might face with those 'Guardians' or anything more dangerous than rats in the red fog?"
Leon was quiet for a moment. He looked at the spiked club in his hand, then looked up to meet Eva's eyes. His gaze seemed softer than usual. "Maybe... yeah," he admitted quietly. "I don't know what we're gonna face in there. But if it helps... if it gives us a better chance of surviving, it's worth trying, isn't it?"
Eva listened silently, then a wide smile appeared on her face. "There's the Leon I know!" She patted his shoulder lightly. "Don't worry. Whatever we face, we'll get through it together like we always do."
Leon looked at Eva's smile. Some warm feeling formed in his chest—something he didn't often experience. Maybe... having someone by your side in this crazy world isn't so bad after all, he thought, before quickly brushing the thought away and putting on his usual stern expression.
"Don't get all sentimental on me," he said as he started walking again. "Let's hurry and get the other stuff ready. We'll be cutting it close."
Eva laughed softly and hurried to walk alongside him. "Got it, Mr. Leon—cold but kind-hearted."
Leon made a "tch" sound in his throat but didn't deny anything else. They walked side by side down the narrow path, their afternoon shadows stretching long across the old brick ground. Unlike usual when Leon would walk ahead or keep his distance, today he felt that having Eva walking nearby wasn't as annoying as he used to think.
"Hey Leon," Eva spoke up, breaking the silence. "If... if there's something in that fog that's scarier than we think... what would you do?"
Leon glanced at her, seeing the genuine worry in his childhood friend's eyes. He sighed softly before answering with a voice heavier than usual. "Fight, I guess."
"Fight? That's it?"
"What else would I do?" Leon shot back. "Run? Where the hell could we run in a world like this? Besides... I don't like running." His last words carried some meaning that Eva could sense, but she didn't ask further.
She smiled faintly. "That's right. You never give up on anything easily."
"What about you?" Leon asked back. "If it's really scary, what would you do?"
Eva was quiet for a moment, looking straight ahead. "I'd probably... be scared," she admitted honestly. "But I'd fight too. Especially if you're next to me." She turned to smile at him again—a smile that seemed to chase away the darkness in Leon's heart for a brief moment.
Before Leon could respond, the sound of multiple footsteps came from the intersection ahead, along with voices calling their names.
"Leon! Eva! There you are! Old Barton sent us to find you. Time to assemble!" It was Ken's voice, one of the senior patrol members.
The relaxed feeling from moments before vanished instantly. Leon and Eva's eyes met briefly before both their faces turned serious again.
"Let's go," Leon said curtly, gripping the spiked club tighter.
"Yeah!" Eva nodded firmly.
Both of them ran after Ken to the assembly point, leaving their personal feelings and worries behind temporarily. Because a dangerous mission full of mysteries was waiting for them ahead, and whatever would happen in that veil of red fog, they knew well that... tonight, nothing would ever be the same again.