Berkan

6 - 26 - 2018
He was scared inside. Unsure of if he could truly follow through with his instructions that time. "Are you sure you're still a machine? Or are you a living being?" My own words echo through my head even to this moment. I don't know which of my words got through to him, but I saw him falter. Slowly lowering the gun, I barely caught his LED flashing yellow from the brim of the hat he was wearing. Lowering his gaze to the floor, he seemed even more scared than before. The gun he was holding slowly dropped from his grip and clattered to the floor. I heard his breathing quicken from where I stood, and on impulse, I walked closer to him. When I got close enough, it was almost as if he needed something to hold on to just to anchor him in this plane of reality. Gently, I wrapped my arms around him, head resting against his. His grip on my jacket never did falter from the desperate death grip until he seemed to recover from whatever it was that hit him right then. It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts, but when he spoke he was worried and frightened.
"They're going to attack Jericho."
7 - 5 - 2018
I was laying in bed at Jericho. My room was on the upper levels of the ship. It was before the first march, I know that much. I remember just...staring at the wall in front of me. I was comfortable, but I was...sad. I know this now. Not so much then. Someone knocked at my door. "Markus? You in there?" Simon. He must need something...but I didn't feel like getting up. "Yeah." "Can I come in?" A pause, then: "Sure." The door opened, he stepped inside and closed it behind him, only to turn around and freeze. "Hey, you doing okay?" I shrugged with a huff. "I don't...I don't know, Simon." "Well, I just came to check on you. The others...they're nervous, worried about you. North sent me to check on you to see if you were still brooding." I blinked and turned to look at him. "I do not brood." He chuckled and sat down at the foot of the bed. "I'll take your word for it. But seriously, what's up? Just a couple days ago you were so....gung-ho to help out those around Jericho." I sighed and returned my gaze to the wall. I was quiet for a while, but he was patient. "I miss him." "Hm?" "Carl. I miss him." I took a moment to take a deep breath before continuing. "He was like a father to me. He'd still be here if his son wasn't so greedy---" My voice started to waver from anger, so I paused to calm down. I felt Simon place his hand on my shoulder. "I couldn't go to his funeral because I was in the junkyard, and I can't visit his grave because...well, how would I get there? I'm still not used to blending in with the humans, I'd be so awkward that I'd be found out." I sighed, and Simon spoke up. "Well, if you'll let us, we can help you. With blending in, I mean. Besides, we need you to be awake enough to help us--we can't do this alone. So if you ever need to get something off your chest, you can come to find one of us. We'll listen." His words made me feel better. "You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Sheepishly, I shook my head. "Markus, you've been in here for three days and haven't slept?" "It's been three days?" "Markus do me a favor and try to sleep. I'll let the others know that you're okay." I smiled at him and watched him leave the room before I went into sleep mode.

---

"Simon, what are you doing here?" North's voice cut through the haze of sleep I was in. I didn't feel like getting up, so I just listened.
"I...was making sure he was actually sleeping." Wow, Simon sounded flustered.
"Uh-huh. Listen, I know you used to come up to this room to hide whenever things got to be too much for you, but at least respect Markus's privacy."
"...Alright. Next time he's around, I'll ask him. The view's always been nice here."
Things fade out again as I hear the door shut. I could faintly hear North teasing Simon about something as they left.

---

The events of the game take place across five, six days. I don't think that was the case with me.