As they walked to the place, Arthur couldn't stop observing the homeless people around and decided to ask the girl about it.
"Why is this city like this? I mean… I looked ahead and saw there's a richer part of the city," Arthur said, trying to keep up with the girl's pace.
"Damn, are you innocent or just plain stupid? That's because of the people living in the noble part of the city… anyone with a little bit of brain could see that," she replied bluntly, shaking her head.
Arthur noticed that the subject bothered her a bit, so he decided not to bring it up again… for now.
After walking for a while, they finally arrived at her house.
"Do you live with someone?" he asked.
"No… my parents passed away, so I live alone," she replied, motioning for Arthur to come inside.
Arthur stepped in and looked around, noticing that the house was small and simple, but well-kept.
"Wow… this place is different from the others I've seen so far. It's really… well-preserved," he commented.
"Yeah, I built this house with… well… my own effort," she said, flashing that same suspicious smile again.
She pointed to a chair and told Arthur to sit down while she prepared something to eat. After a few minutes, the food was ready. She served the plates and sat in front of Arthur at the table.
"What? Are you just gonna keep staring at me?" she asked after noticing Arthur looking at her. "Just eat it already."
"Ah... yeah, sorry..." he replied awkwardly. "You're helping me... aren't you going to ask for anything in return? A favor or... something?"
"Chill out, kid. I'm not going to charge you for anything…" she said, this time without a smile, which made Arthur feel slightly more at ease.
They kept eating in a calm... yet awkward silence — a silence that only bothered Arthur. So, he tried to start a conversation:
"So, you haven't told me your nam—"
Before he could finish, a knock on the door interrupted him, followed by a male voice calling for "Alice."
The girl stood up and walked to the door with a smile. As she opened it, a tall and lanky man, about 6'5" with long arms, entered the house.
"Ah, you're finally here. What took you so long, huh?" Alice asked, making room for him to come in.
"There he is… I found him wandering the streets. He's one of your test subjects, right?" she asked.
"Yes… he's one of our test subjects that we forgot on the day we left this place," the man answered.
Alice smiled and clapped her hands.
"Great! You can take him. And as we agreed, I want my money," she said, smiling.
Arthur quickly stood up and assumed a defensive stance, but the man rushed forward and grabbed him by the neck.
"Damn it, I trusted you!" Arthur shouted, struggling.
"I'm sorry… but it's just business. You know how it is, right? Don't take it personally," said Alice, finally revealing her name.
The man, still holding Arthur by the neck, started walking toward the door. Alice, seeing this, decided to confront him.
"You… you're not leaving without paying me, right?" she asked in a threatening tone.
"Ah… yes, here's your tip," he replied, throwing an envelope in her face.
She opened the envelope and noticed that the agreed amount was missing.
"If you're not giving me 100% of what we agreed on, then you're not taking the kid," she said, taking an offensive stance.
The man burst into exaggerated laughter as his body twisted, becoming even taller and more distorted.
"What the hell is this thing...?" Arthur thought, feeling genuine fear from the situation.
The man threw Arthur aside with brutal force, causing him to hit his head and become dazed. Then he charged at Alice, swinging his long arms like whips.
Alice ducked under them and punched him in the jaw, making him stagger.
"It'll take more than just stretchy arms to beat me…" she said, running to the kitchen and grabbing a cleaver.
With the blade in hand, she rushed at the man, jumped into the air, and spun her body, slashing along his torso with the cleaver.
Despite the injury, he remained standing and tried to grab Alice's head with his right hand, ready to finish her. But she blocked the attack, kicking his hand down with her heel and then slashing his throat.
He collapsed to the ground after the blow, and Alice stepped in to finish him off — landing another deep cut.
"Well… you should've just paid me the right amount. Would've saved me the mess in my house," she said, tossing the cleaver aside.
She walked over to Arthur, who had passed out from the impact of the throw, and laid him down on the couch… waiting for him to wake up.