Théo's sister walked up to Yumiel, positioning herself above her. « Your name is Yumiel, right? »
« Yeah, that's right, now move, you're blocking my view. »
Théo's sister lay down next to Yumiel while Théo was crying over his friend's death. « I'm warning you, if you touch his body, I'll kill you! »
« You're really not shy, are you. »
« So we're on a first-name basis now? »
« I'm older than you, just so you know. »
« I don't give a fuck. »
Yumiel kept staring at the starry sky.
« Why did you let Élise go? »
« The girl who was with Léandre, I guess? I was just too lazy to run after her. »
« Then why did you save us in the house? You could have let us die. »
« Yeah, the idea crossed my mind, but I preferred to honor my promise, especially since it was easy, it didn't put me in danger. »
« Why are you staying here? »
« Are you going to keep questioning me? I'm waiting for someone. And you, why did you come talk to me? »
A short moment of silence formed between them as they just watched the starry sky for long minutes.
« You didn't seem mean to me after thinking about it. »
Yumiel snickered at Théo's sister's words. « Go tell that to the 32 people I killed. Oh no, sorry—33. »
Suddenly, Théo's sister burst out laughing.
« Ahahahaha, you've got a sense of humor, huh. My brother and I just don't have anywhere to go anymore. »
« I'm sorry, I'm not part of HSI. » (Humane Society International)
« Ahahah, you're really funny. I'm not asking you to adopt us, just to let us stay a few days. »
« You think I'm an Airbnb? »
« Ahah, no, just a few days, that's all. We'll do whatever you want—cleaning, dishes, cooking, everything. »
Yumiel started thinking about Marie, who was alone every night, unable to cook for herself, waiting in front of the door for her to come back.
« If you manage to convince my partner, then you can stay a few days. »
Théo's sister jumped for joy, going to talk to her brother a little further away, telling him the news. Then she came back to Yumiel and lay down next to her.
« Why are you so happy? »
« Thanks to you, my brother and I might have a chance at survival. »
« But you still have to convince my partner. »
« I'm not worried about that. »
Yumiel turned her head, looking at Théo's sister. She had her eyes fixed on the starry sky. That made Yumiel smile. « I wish you good luck. »
Not far away, Théo arrived, sitting down next to Yumiel.
« What was he like before he died? »
Théo looked at Yumiel with a sort of flame in his eyes; she couldn't tell whether that flame was benevolent or not.
« What he was like… hmm… let me think. He looked like a big loser who thought he was cool. »
Théo looked at his dead friend. « He was my best friend. »
« And Élise? » asked Yumiel.
Théo's sister spoke up: « She was my best friend. Léandre and she were a couple. Oh, and if you're wondering why the four of us were stuck in that house—it's because we just ran, day and night without stopping, my brother and I, before joining Léandre in that house. »
« Do you have any other information? »
Théo's sister shook her head from left to right.
« Can you confirm you weren't aware of his magic? »
« We weren't. But for Élise, I don't know. »
Under the starry sky, the sound of motorcycles echoed in the distance. Théo and his sister stood up, Yumiel remained lying down but still looked toward where the motorcycle would arrive.
« There are really still things driving in this half-destroyed city? »
Suddenly Yumiel's radio switched on.
« Kshhh. Yumiel, if you hear a motorcycle, it's me. »
« Kshhh. I hear you, I'm coming. »
Yumiel walked into the middle of the road. She spotted Jack in the distance, riding slowly to dodge all the debris on the road, eventually reaching her after a few minutes.
Jack got off his motorcycle, turning off the engine.
« It's really not easy to drive in London right now, everything is destroyed everywhere, even on a bike I have to take detours. »
Yumiel had her arms crossed as she looked at Jack. She noticed he no longer had his big backpack or his SA-80.
« Mind explaining the motorcycle? And where your weapon went? »
« Long story that I'd love to tell you in every detail, but I think we have more important things. Where's the brain? »
Jack followed Yumiel as she led him to Léandre's body. Going behind the burnt house, they reached the garden. Jack could see Léandre's body on the ground, pale. Beside him stood two humans, a man and a woman.
« Are you part of HSI? » asked Jack, looking at the two humans while laughing slightly.
« Ha, ha, very funny. Can we continue now? »
Jack walked up to Léandre's corpse before looking at Yumiel. « What do you want from him, information? If so, tell me about what. »
Yumiel sighed: « Actually, I've got several questions. To start with, this man was a shifter. He could use magic. Can you recover that ability? »
Jack thought for a moment: « I don't control that ability. I could very well eat his brain and get his cooking talent. And I'm not sure that by eating shifters' brains I'd get their powers. »
« Shame, really… let's go with the first option then: look for information related to the name Kate. »
« Alright. Though you could've warned me you were fighting a shifter, it could've been dangerous. »
« I should have, but he was very weak for a shifter. I don't think he ever really used his magic. I expected to become much stronger by drinking his heart. But I think the fact that he never trained plays into it. »
Jack said nothing, tearing out Léandre's brain before slowly starting to eat it. Yumiel walked away from Jack, lying down again in the grass of the garden, and this time looked not at the stars but at the moon.