Wow, these blankets are really fluffy. I could lay on them forever.

Rooms were given to all citizens of Piss Hole, for the village has taken a rather socialist direction. Rudy was given a tiny room with a desk, office chair, and a full bed. Yes, the full bed would be in much better use if it had two people laying on it, but as with all things he's been given, might as well cherish it while he still has it. He would most likely throw up if another person had to stay with him anyway.

Man, it does feel great. You can barely tell where it begins and where it ends.

He didn't understand why he came back. He's already done the only thing he could do right, and even that is debatable, since he did it too late. There is nothing else he can give back to the people. Well, maybe The Heart, but he's only an extension of it, Soaker already proved you can use it by itself. No, they didn't need Rudy.

It's not even what he hasn't done, 'cause at least then he would be in a neutral position. No, he's actively had friends put in danger, for his sake, and he didn't give a hint of a care. For what? Survival? Then what?

If he ended up living through the end of the world, what would he do? What would he feel? He certainly wouldn't feel happy. There wouldn't be anyone to be happy for him. Other than G'sha. Actually, after his "victory" over the human race, G'sha would, at some point, end up over that high. He'd probably go back to mingling with his snobby brethren.

For all Rudy knows G'sha could still be out there. He's seen his powers used for teleporting and.. Bringing people back? Whatever G'sha did to his people, he can do to himself.

I've already tried! I've already done what I could! I've shown what little loyalty I had, I've given the last punches I could give, I've hoped all I've hoped, but all this isn't full-proof.
All this has left me with a headache.

The warmth, the quiet, this might as well be the height of my life.

How much of an exaggeration would that be? Problems surround me and I make no effort to fix them. The few that I fixed were too little too late. I've- I've barely got any friends left, and those who are left most likely call me friends out of pity and ignorance. There is proof from people who've known me longer than them that I am no good--

Yeah... No good. I haven't been any good at all. Even my own father- My dad's final moments were seeing the coward that I had become. The coward that I am.

Here, I feel safe. I am safe from the outside, and the outside is safe from me. Without any outside contact, everyone else can go on with their days as they always did. It's a solution too simple to be real. For them, it's a return to normalcy. For me, it's a satisfactory conclusion. A happy end.

A few knocks on the door, a few delicate calls. The first day was quiet. Had Rudy gone somewhere else? Well it's become quite late. Had Rudy already gone to sleep? The door wasn't heard opening. No matter, it is rude to wake Rudy at such an hour. Though it wasn't the latest of hours, nobody knew how late or early his sleep has become.

Second day come, and so have the knocks. The guy hadn't gone outside, said hello, shown any sign of life. Not even an eye through a door crack. A bitter greeting is still a greeting better than none. The longer the silence remained uninterrupted, the more worrisome it become.

For as uncivilized as it may be, they got hold of a spare key. Ways of apologizing already came to mind. Maybe offer a snack in return, it had been one of the reasons for such ruckus. The door unlocked, the doorknob turned, and the door didn't open.

The door wasn't only locked. It was barraged.

Alright. Well, not ideal for the person inside, that's for sure. There weren't any tools to deal with this. A- A screwdriver? No, no, this is a barrage, the door had already been unlocked. A butcher's knife? That'd leave a scar on the furniture as well as on Rudy's mind. No, no, no, what do you mean the construction workers can't come? At least one! Damn it, are there really that few?

Third day come, no time to complain. Someone else will deal with the future emergency alarms, today we figure out what became of this man.

Yes, a saw is arguably more horrifying than a butcher's knife, but it is not associated with butchering. A cut took about 24 minutes. By the end was heard a small thunk. The desk lost balance with each half standing on just one leg and it collapsed. The room can finally be walked into.

The room looks the same as before Rudy moved in. All looks tidy with the exception of the bed. On there was wrapped up, almost mummified-looking lump of blanket. It had to be him. Rolling off the layers left with an unconscious Rudy. Far from a corpse, humans are much tougher than that, but he was surely undernourished.

Despite the success, whispers had started floating around.
"The construction workers were lazy bastards."
"Action should've been taken since day one."
"They invaded his privacy."
"He wanted what was coming."
Why can't everyone shut their mouth? This is miles away from being their business. The darn guy was hospitalized! Oh, but we all love sticking our nose up other peoples lives, don't we? Pesky gossip.

They didn't matter, this didn't matter. Enough was learnt today, and although nobody truly knew what led him to this point, enough was known to prevent this.

Rudy was given a couch in a house's living room, where 3 others stay in their own separate bedrooms. No, it was not ideal, for with every person that walked by he could feel his stomach squeeze inside out, but with a familiar face surveilling him, and a bathroom at arm's length, this was good enough.