Chapter 35: Welcome Home, Craig

"Huff,"

Once Craig’s hunger dropped to just 3% and the danger status vanished, Clyde, Casca, and Corie sat back peacefully, resting against the tunnel wall, all three releasing their combat forms while keeping their eyes fixed on Craig lying before them.

After a few moments of silence,

"Where to next... are we heading south, Brother?" Casca asked.

"Yeah... we have to find Celes right away, my gut is telling me that, I don’t know what happened... but I feel like Celes is in danger," Clyde answered.

"Are we going through this path?" Corie asked, pointing down the tunnel.

"I don’t know... I honestly don’t know myself... but this is weird," Clyde said, turning his head to look down the tunnel.

"Weird how?" Casca asked, confused.

"Why would there be a train, where did that train come from, and where did those passengers come from, back then Mary said the only remaining human city was Neo Ark, to be honest, it only just occurred to me because we were so tense trying to stop Craig that it made me curious instead," Clyde answered, staring into the dark tunnel.

"So... you plan to head back to the station, Brother?" Corie asked.

"Yeah... there’s something I need to ask, you guys remember what Selma said when we watched that video about the machine zombies she showed us?" Clyde asked.

Casca and Corie nodded, staring at Clyde who sat between them, waiting for Clyde to continue his words, but suddenly Casca seemed to recall something,

"Oh... that’s right, Sister Selma said... that broadcast happened five days ago," Casca answered.

"Exactly, so if Craig was in this state just now and came here somehow, that farm might be located outside this tunnel... or at least close to the entrance of the tunnel," Clyde replied, pointing toward the tunnel.

"Um... you want to go to that farm, Brother?" Corie asked curiously.

"If necessary," Clyde answered briefly while staring at the still unconscious Craig.

The three fell silent once again, merely gazing at Craig who appeared calm, his skin having returned to normal and no longer grey, his fur having vanished, leaving behind what had fallen to the ground—and no longer as dangerously thin as before. Suddenly, several flashlight beams shone upon them, causing Clyde, Casca, and Corie to turn their heads, raising their arms to block their eyes. The heavy thud of many footsteps began to echo inside the tunnel, and numerous people could be seen running inside.

Clyde, Casca, and Corie stood up to greet the people, who appeared to be rebel soldiers, before taking positions near the still-unconscious Craig.

"Hey... are you guys okay? What happened?" asked a male soldier in his 30s.

"We’re fine, sir, just look over there," Clyde said, pointing down the tunnel.

The man turned his head, spotting two soldiers before pointing ahead and nodding his head to signal them to move forward, both soldiers nodding back before slowly walking toward the tunnel with their weapons raised. A few moments later,

"Gasp,"

"Cough... Bleurgh,"

The two soldiers could be seen vomiting and trembling from afar at the sight of the two massive giant carcasses, and as several other soldiers moved up to join their two comrades, naturally some could stomach the sight while others couldn’t. The man standing near Clyde, Casca, and Corie looked back at the three of them, then over at the lying Craig, crouching down to extend his hand and check Craig’s neck before standing back up,

"Let’s head back to the station, it’s too dangerous here, carry him," the soldier said.

"Alright, sir," Clyde replied briefly in relief.

But before he, Casca, and Corie could even move, "ugh," all three turned their heads downward to see Craig moving, and the three immediately crouched in a circle around Craig, who slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw being the faces of Clyde, Casca, and Corie surrounding him, his eyes immediately widening as he sat up, crawling backward in utter terror until he bumped into the soldier’s legs.

He turned around to see an armed soldier looking down at him, turning back around to crawl backward away from the soldier in a panic, but then, Clyde grabbed his shoulder and leaned his head forward,

"Craig... calm down... it’s me, Clyde," Clyde said.

Craig snapped his head over, his face still filled with fear, but this time his eyes darted back and forth studying Clyde’s face before narrowing his eyes, then raising his hand to point at Clyde,

"Brother... Clyde?" he asked.

Clyde didn’t answer, merely smiling and nodding, and then Craig looked at Casca and Corie who were also beside him,

"Casca... Corie... is that you guys?" Craig asked, bewildered.

"Yup... that’s right, Brother Craig, you remember now, don’t you... we’re your pretty little sisters," Corie said.

"You’re finally awake, Brother, I was so worried," Casca added.

Both Casca and Corie instantly threw their arms around Craig, who hugged them back even though his face still looked bewildered. Clyde then gripped his shoulder, prompting Craig to turn and look at him,

"W... what happened? Wh... where is this? What about Lyra... Nate and Dana?" Craig asked.

"I’ll explain everything to you, you’re still confused, so stand up for now, let’s head back to the station first," Clyde answered, squeezing Craig’s shoulder.

"A... alright, Brother... but... I’m so happy to see Brother Clyde... Casca and Corie again... Sister Celes... oh right... Sister Celes... she... she vanished... I... I don’t understand... she just said... look for me... she’s waiting for us," Craig said.

"Take it slow, don’t force yourself to think too hard, let’s head back first, and then you can tell us everything," Clyde said.

"That’s right, Brother, don’t push yourself," Casca said.

"We’re going to look for Sister Celes anyway, so don’t worry and we’ll talk about it later," Corie added.

Craig looked confused, when suddenly he raised his hands to his head and held it, his face growing a bit calmer again as his breathing began to even out,

"This melody... I know this melody... we used to listen to this melody all the time... I remember," Craig said.

Clyde, Casca, and Corie remained silent, the reason being that they were hearing the exact same melody playing inside their own heads.

"Let’s move, Craig, you can stand up, right?" Clyde asked, slowly standing up and reaching out his hand.

"I can, Brother," Craig replied, grabbing Clyde’s hand.

Clyde pulled Craig to his feet, their heights turning out to be the same, and judging by his physical appearance, Craig’s age was also 15, the same as Clyde, Casca, and Corie. However, Craig’s frame appeared visibly sturdier than Clyde’s.

Clyde put his arm around Craig and guided him forward, while Corie wrapped her arm around Craig’s waist and Casca wrapped her arm around Clyde’s waist, the four of them walking back toward the station together. The soldier who had previously been standing frozen in complete bewilderment finally cracked a smile as he watched the four walking arm in arm, turning around to catch up with his comrades far ahead. As they walked,

"Hmm... hmm... hmm,"

"Na... na... na,"

Clyde began to hum, as did Casca and Corie, and Craig, whose face was initially stiff and tense, finally began to relax, a smile appearing on his face alongside tears that fell and trickled down his cheeks. He then wrapped his arms back around Clyde and Corie who were holding his waist,

"Brother Clyde, Casca, Corie... I’m home," he said.

Clyde, Casca, and Corie looked at Craig who stood in the middle with Clyde, all of them smiling, their memories flashing back to the dream they shared when they escaped, and then in unison,

"Welcome back, Craig," Clyde, Casca, and Corie replied together.

Casca and Corie began to cry, though wide smiles covered their faces, and Clyde was no different; even as a single tear escaped and traced a line down his face, he wore a broad smile, gazing up at the ceiling of the tunnel,

"Now we’re coming to get you, Celes, wait for us," Clyde thought in his mind.

And so they walked on, continuously humming the melody that kept swirling in their heads, bringing them peace.