Before the Awakening, Hope Lake had once been a peaceful location where many family gatherings, barbeques, or fishing competitions were held. Every summer, the lake would draw in multiple people with different backgrounds and relationships who always found something to do there, and when one group of people left, there had always been another group of people who would fill in the gap soon after, so it was never completely unoccupied, save for the wee hours of the morning.
But that was before the Awakening.
Now, the lake lay unoccupied, and the remnants of past gatherings and visits lay strewn about on the lake and around it.
The only sign of activity to be seen was the flickering of a fire that had presumably been started by a human on the lake shore, and the two dark figures that sat around it.
By closer inspection, it was clear to see that one figure was very clearly taller than the other.
A big duffel bag lay half-opened next to the taller figure, exposing its contents for the world to see. They mainly consisted of silvery-grey packets, various clothes, and other metallic items that had no clear purpose for being in the bag.
The smaller figure, which sat opposite the taller one, was holding one of the silvery-grey packets and hungrily chewing on the contents of the packet. It seemed to be focused on what it was doing right now, paying no heed to the actions of the taller figure, who had now pulled out a metallic device from one of its pockets and pointed it discreetly at the smaller figure.
Seconds later, the device beeped, signifying that it had an answer. The taller figure looked at the display screen on the device. It appeared that what was being shown on the screen was something good, as the taller figure heaved a sigh, and its right hand, which had been laying on a Foundation-issued pistol, moved away from it and placed itself on the ground.
Silence returned to the party by the lake following that action.
A few minutes later, the rapid chewing of the smaller figure slowed down. It was clear that it was almost finished with eating, prompting the taller figure to lean forward and open its mouth. From its mouth, a relatively simple question came out and directed itself towards the smaller figure.
"What's your name?"
Forrester was unsure of how to react to the situation he was currently in.
He was sitting opposite to a girl that, prior to one hour, he had never seen before. The girl was now eating one of his rations with the same ferocity and speed as a beggar or an orphan who had not eaten for days.
Maybe that's who she is. An orphan or a beggar, abandoned by the remnants of society.
As the thought ran through his mind, he leaned forward and carefully scrutinized the girl's physical details. Beneath the accumulated dirt and dust, there was no doubt that the girl was cute. Her big brown eyes fully complemented her small nose and mouth, and locks of her long brown hair lay tangled and dirty on the ground and on the tattered remains of a shirt and coat.
That fact had heightened his suspicions. With one hand on his pistol, and another taking out his Companion, he pointed it at her and pressed the button on the side of the Companion. A few seconds later, with a loud beep, the result of the scanning process was ready to be read. He closely read the words that were being shown on the display screen.
NO LINK FOUND BETWEEN SCANNED OBJECT AND FOUND ANOMALIES.
He sighed and removed his hand from the pistol. Of course, he still wasn't sure whether she was entirely trustworthy. Perhaps she is an anomaly that hasn't been discovered yet, and I'm putting myself in unnecessary danger by offering food to her, he frowned as the thought buzzed in his mind.
With his thoughts in continuous discussion over whether the girl was, in fact, an anomaly, Forrester leaned forward such that she was a little closer to him, and spoke loudly enough for her to hear him.
"What's your name?"
The girl, who was still chewing on the ration he had given to her, was seemingly shocked by the sudden question that was asked, as she suddenly leaned dangerously back and almost fell over, and did not say a word. After a few minutes, the shock began to subside, and the girl responded, in a small voice, "Laura," before immediately becoming silent again.
"Laura, huh? Any last names?'
The girl shook her head.
"I'm Thomas Forrester. It's nice to meet you."
The girl didn't respond.
This is going nowhere, Forrester thought, I need to ask her something she should surely know.
"Where are your parents?"
In response, the girl named Laura looked anxiously around her, before replying, "I don't know."
"Do you know when you last saw them?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know where you came from?"
"I don't know."
"Do you remember anything at all?"
"Not from a while ago."
Forrester's hand was on his pistol again. The conversation was going nowhere fast, and he had failed to gain any further information from her apart from her name. In addition, her vague answers to his questions did not help him gain any reassurance that she was not secretly an anomaly that was tricking him.
Taking a deep breath, he tried again.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
Laura was seemingly lost in thought for a few moments before she could reply.
"It was very bright. I saw these giant things in the sky. There was screaming around me. I was scared."
Is she describing the Awakening? Forrester thought as he asked his next question.
"What happened after that?"
"I wandered around, unsure of what I was doing. After that, I saw you."
"I see."
Now it was Forrester's turn to get lost in his thoughts.
I still don't think I can trust her. She's only given us vague answers so far.
I don't know though. I still think we should help her. Look at her. She probably wouldn't survive the week if we leave her like this.
So, we're saying we should trust her?
Not definitely. We should help her first. At the same time, we will trust that she isn't a dangerous anomaly that had tricked us.
Why don't we run through the available options we have first?
Forrester silently ran through the two options that had presented themselves in his mind.
He had only one pistol with limited ammunition, a duffel bag, a map, a Companion, and some other tools that would most likely be unhelpful to him if Laura did turn out to be hostile.
The first option was to leave her. If she was an anomaly, she would most likely be able to survive in the harsh landscape, and he would at least stay alive without worrying about her or his own safety.
The second option was to bring her along with him. If she was not an anomaly, he would be able to guide her to safety, maybe even bring her back to her home, even if that meant putting her life in danger. If she was an anomaly, he would be able to hand her over to a surviving researcher for containment, and the world would be a bit safer without having to worry about another potentially hostile anomaly being loose.
It was clear to him what the obvious choice was.
Leaning forward again such that he was closer to Laura, he propositioned an idea.
"I'll take you with me. However, don't think that this means that I'll let you stick around with me for the rest of my life. I have some personal issues I have to deal with myself. So, here's the deal. I'll bring you to as far as the nearest bunker. There, you can find someone who is willing to take you in. After that, I'll be out of your sight. You don't have to find me or look for me, and I don't have to look for you. Is that a deal?"
Laura pondered the thought in her mind for a few minutes before she nodded.
The fire that had been started by Forrester had not been maintained at all throughout the entire conversation and was now dying, a plume of smoke and a few charred branches being the only things left from the fire as it had burned everything else.
With a swift motion, he stood up and kicked away the embers and ash. Turning to face Laura, he remarked, "Get some sleep. We leave early tomorrow," before walking over to the place where he was going to sleep and lay down on it.
He heard similar noises coming from where Laura was, and deduced that she was also preparing to sleep. Soon afterward, no more noise came from Laura's sleeping area, save for the breathing.
Laura was asleep, but he still lay awake for a few minutes before he finally succumbed to the release of sleep. As he lay awake, one thought continuously ran through his mind.
Can I really trust her?
He fell asleep after a few minutes of thinking the same thought over and over again.
The researcher glanced at the never-ending pile of paperwork that still lay on his desk. The mountain of paperwork had accumulated over his short vacation, and it now stood, a daunting obstacle he had to tackle before the end of the week.
Sighing and grumbling, he started to take on the mountain, deciding that he would tackle the hardest ones first before he moved onto the easier ones. He felt that that strategy had a better payoff than the other options.
It was after midnight that he finally finished the first report. He was mentally and physically exhausted. He closed his eyes and wished that someone would help him with his reports.
"Need some help?"
Hearing that voice, the researcher knew that he was saved.
He opened his eyes. His mentor was leaning against the cubicle wall, smiling.
The researcher smiled back, and responded.
"Thank you, doct-"
Forrester opened his eyes. He was still lying beside the lake. It was the middle of the night, and there was no sound to be heard other than the rippling waters and the gentle breathing of his new companion sleeping near him. He checked to make sure she was still alright and, silently hoping that he would have better dreams when he fell asleep again, closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him once more.
The girl stood in inky blackness. Having no clue as to where she was, she let out a quiet whimper and squatted down, hiding her head in her knees.
She called out for help. No one responded.
She called out again. No one responded.
She told herself that she needed to be brave. With hesitation, she stood up and took one step forward.
After that first step, she stopped. Her foot had hit something. Gulping, she slowly looked down to see what she had hit.
There was nothing to be seen at first, but she was able to eventually see it.
A dead body, with its eyes rolled back and its mouth open in a scream, greeted her.
Filled with shock and fear, she screamed.
Laura opened her eyes and glanced around nervously. She was lying beside the lake. The sun was not up, but the sky had lightened considerably for one to know that it was going to rise soon.
She heard a sound behind her, and gulping in fear, she turned around to identify the source of the sound.
The person she had met a few hours ago was sitting on a wooden log, looking at her. As she cautiously kept silent at what he was doing, he opened his mouth and spoke.
"Bad dream?"
She nodded in response.
"Me too."
Following his response, silence fell again. After a few minutes of continuous silence, he stood up and zipped up his large duffel bag.
"Moving out soon. Hope you are ready," he said as he tossed a silvery-grey packet to her.
Hurriedly grabbing it, she nodded.
After a few hours, Forrester stopped and glanced around to ascertain his location, with the girl, Laura tagging behind him.
At first glance, it was easy to tell that he was standing in what used to be a small town that had since been abandoned. Rows of slightly damaged buildings stood around them, with pieces of debris and abandoned possessions lying on the streets.
To him, it was unknown whether the damaged doors and broken windows on the abandoned buildings were caused by anomalies freed by the Awakening, or humans desperate to survive.
Either way, it did not matter to him at all. They were just going to take a short rest and move along, since there probably was not going to be anything left in the town that might benefit them.
As he found a spot that was safe for the two of them to rest, which was a building that he believed was a toy store, he sat Laura down and wandered around the store in search of interesting items.
As he passed through the aisles filled with rows of dusty model trains and board games, scanning the items that he found suspicious, one of the toys caught his eye.
It was a brown teddy bear.
From a customer viewpoint, it didn't look incredibly appealing to the eye. One of its eyes was missing, and there were multiple tears in the fabric, which allowed some of the stuffing in it to fall out. However, to him, it wasn't important. In his mind, several thoughts began to collide with one another.
Should I give this to her?
Don't you think that she might be a little too old for that?
It wouldn't hurt to try.
With his decision made, he picked up the teddy bear and walked over to where Laura was sitting.
Tilting her head up at the sound of him approaching, she glanced at him before she shifted her gaze downwards to look at the bear.
She did not respond. Instead, she stared at the bear, as though she was unsure of what it was.
Unnerved by the silent response, he cleared his throat and began explaining.
"I thought you might…enjoy this."
As confirmation, he laid the bear down and pushed it towards her. With hesitation, she picked it up and examined it. After a few minutes, she appeared to accept the gift, as she clutched it close to her chest and seemingly refused to let go.
With a soft voice, she stammered, "T-thank you."
With a smile on his face, he replied, "It's alright."
"C-can I ask a question?"
The pair had left the town and were now walking along a rusted railway bridge, deliberately taking extra steps to ensure that they didn't trip over any of the overgrown weeds or discarded trash lining the railway tracks.
Laura had, out of the blue, suddenly asked the question, causing the concentrating Forrester to miss a step and stumble quickly to avoid falling down. Picking himself up from the shock, he turned to her and responded.
"Yeah?"
"I-I was wondering-"
Laura seemed to have great difficulty in asking her question, and her right hand was nervously twisting one of the teddy bear's arms with unnecessary force, causing a small tear to open in it. After a few moments of stuttering, she blurted out the question.
"What's the Foundation?"
Shit, Forrester thought as soon as he heard the word, she must have seen me fiddling around with the device. What should I say?
Closing his eyes and thinking on how to give a reasonable answer, he eventually settled on 'It's just a thing that I wrote. In a book. Yeah.' as the best possible choice.
Laura seemed unsatisfied with the answer, as she repeated the question again.
"What's the Foundation?"
"I told you, it's nothing."
"What's the Foundation?"
"I told you-"
"Please."
Forrester sighed. He did not wish to give in to her, but at the same time, he knew that he had to satisfy her, or she would persist in her questioning.
"Fine, fine. You win."
Walking slowly along the train tracks, he responded.
"The Foundation…was a group that specialised in capturing and experimenting on anom-specimens that which could not be explained. We operated over multiple places in order to search for the specimens, and we kept them so that people wouldn't know of their true existence."
"We had friends. We had enemies. We faced difficulties. But we still managed to survive. That was, until the Awakening."
"What's that?" Laura asked.
"We don't know. Perhaps we'll never know. We were displaced, with minimal support. Now, we have to fend for ourselves."
The pair walked on for a few more minutes before Laura spoke again.
"Where are you going?"
Forrester responded, with a hint of hopefulness in his voice, "I'm heading to the Origin Point. I hope to find answers about the Awakening there. Maybe I can finally figure out what I want to know."
He paused for a brief moment before continuing, "And maybe I can find Dr. Grey."
"Who's that?"
"She used to be my mentor. She always had all the answers I needed to know, whether it was about work or even the most simple problems, so I always looked up to her as the one who had a grasp on what was going on all the time. I wanted to be like her."
"I'm hoping that I can find her because I know that she must have known what happened on that day, what caused the Awakening, what brought down the Foundation. If anyone would know, it would be her. I hope that it would be."
"What if she's dead?" Laura asked, her voice a little lower.
Forrester shook his head at the question, and replied, "I don't think so. I know that she would have survived. I know that."
The pair had reached the end of the railway bridge and were now standing near a lookout point that was from the park near the bridge. If one stood and looked from that point, they would see a startlingly decimated landscape, highlighted by the large plumes of smoke rising out from the tiny grey dots that dotted the landscape.
As the pair looked out over the landscape, Forrester's gaze unwaveringly stayed on a large plume of smoke in the distance and the grey dot producing it.
Just a few months ago, the dot had been where his mentor was working at. The dot was also where he had seen the wings coming out of.
With his eyes fixated on the dot, he muttered softly to himself, in the hope that Laura could not hear him.
"Please, doctor. Please live. Please tell me what happened, doctor. Please…please…"
He broke off, deep in thought, before he finished the sentence.
"Please tell me you had nothing to do with all of this."
Per 
