“Okay…but how would we even do that in here? And with what money? I don’t know about you, but I lost everything in the crash. Which begs the question, how are we going to buy a car? You do know they are likely tracing your cards already, right? I doubt you have that much cash on you.”
“Car wise, I have access to money that is not connected to my name. Though, even if I didn’t, we could have always stolen one. Either way, that is nothing to worry about right now. As for shopping…you’ll see.”
Severo looked around again, and spotted a city directory right by the bus stop—super convenient. He walked over to the large floating board and tapped away, smiling on finding out there was a supermarket nearby.
“This way,” Severo exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the place.
Seri eyed him, brow raised, unmoving for a moment before he finally sighed and waved him forward.
Seri stoodthere in the shady little alleyway behind the store, feeling frankly baffled at what the agent had just suggested.
“No,” Seri said firmly. “I won’t do that. And you are literally a CEB agent, how can you even think about suggesting this?”
Severo cleared his throat. “I know it’s wrong. But what choice do we have?”
“It’s stealing,” he hissed. “I’m not a thief.”
Okay, he had stolen from Preston, but was it really stealing when the man had been holding him captive? It was more compensation than anything.
“How about this? We take the items, and once we’ve reached my friend, I’ll have him send money to the store.”
Seri’s nose wrinkled. It was better…but not by much. Ugh, it felt so wrong to just take shit. When he lived on the streets…there were programs, soup kitchens, food banks etc, to get free food, but they limited how many times you could come in a month. There were times Seri had thought about stealing, but he'd always chickened out at the last second.
“If it really bothers you that much…” Severo hesitated. “I could slip over and make myself look like someone else so we can pay…”
Seri’s head tilted. “Why didn’t you suggest that in the first place?”
“Ba!” Skya squealed, grasping at the air again, as if she saw something, causing him to worry that something actuallywasthere...which it wasn’t.Oh, paranoia was so much fun, he thought sarcastically.
Shaking his head, he frowned when he found Severo staring at the exact same spot Skya was…whichagain,was not good for Seri’s paranoia. Clearing his throat, he repeated himself. “Why didn’t you suggest that in the first place?”
The Dweller blinked, his gaze sliding back to him. “Uhh, because it takes up more energy.”
Seri glared. “You seriously chose the more illegal option because you felt lazy?”
Severo gave him a sheepish smile. “Well…”
“Just do it!” he snapped.
“Fine!” the Dweller huffed, sounding like a put-out child.
Maybe going with this guy was a bad idea…
When Severo suddenly split into two, the halves forming into two identical Severo’s, Seri barely stopped himself from stepping back. His eyes wide, he stared at them, gasping when one stepped forward and instantly became monochromatic, like all the other people still in the real world.
Seri clasped his hands together when they began to tremble, his heart starting to race as his gaze continued to flick between the two versions. His fear only grew when the monochromatic shadow version of Severo transformed into someone else entirely. Long black hair, much paler skin, blue eyes, pert nose, shorter—the second Severo now looked like some random woman. Even the clothes they had been wearing changed from jeans, T-shirt, jacket, and boots, to a frilly sundress and sandals, the nose bandage gone.
“That’s…” Seri licked his lips, and tried to take a soothing breath in, before asking, “And no one will…notice it isn’t real? Or is it real?”
The Severo that still looked like Severo eyed him with a frown, brow raising slightly. “I won’t hurt you…”
“I-I know that…”
“And it’s real, yet not real. It’s my shadow. But a shadow for a Shadow Dweller is just as much a part of us as say our hand is, which is why it is still so vibrant when separated from me in this realm.”
Seri gasped. “Its…m-mouth moved too.”
In fact, the shadow was moving in time with Severo’s every single movement.
