Yo Chio Crew! Here’s the second (and final?) part of Radon and Gil. Next week we’ll be back to regular comic pages! Delade and I might revisit these two characters in the future, so we hope you’ve enjoyed this little interlude while I took a break.
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Here’s the story in regular text:
Radon and Gil: Part Two
By Delade
They went through the door and found themselves in a hallway lined with other doors—and, oddly enough, other Chios: some were sandy-colored like Radon while others were dark, matte colors. Radon froze in the doorway at the sight of more Chios while Gil tentatively approached one scurrying back through the hallway, a small one with bright gold fur and white spots. “Hey!” He said to them. “What’s going on?”
“They let us out,” the other Chio said.
“Who?”
“Who do you think?”
There was a commotion at the far end of the hallway, causing the other Chio to scamper off away from Gil. “Wait!” He called back. “What’s going on?”
He was ignored as other freed Chios quickly opened their doors and fled in the same direction as the others: towards the commotion.
Radon looked on from the doorway, watching the Chios move from one end to the other and felt the urge to go with them. There was always safety in numbers, and when a crowd went somewhere there was usually a good reason to do so. Gil, having been abandoned by the other Chio, moved back to Radon.
“Where’s everyone going?” He asked.
“Like I would know?!” Radon balked. “I literally just got out of this room; how the heck would I know what’s going on right now?!”
The commotion among the other Chios peaked in a palpable, noticeable stammer as they all collectively stopped moving out of the hallway and huddled in place. Hushed whispers began filling the air around them:
“…is she dead?…”
“…they’re all gone…”
“…I liked her…”
“…why doesn’t she wake up?…”
“Who are they talking about?” Radon asked.
“Like I would know?” Gil repeated. “I think it was a White Coat up ahead, judging by how everyone is acting. We should go investigate.”
“But there’s all these—”
The crowd of Chios began to break apart and filter en masse down the hallway.
“Lead the way, boss,” Gil said, glancing back to Radon.
Groaning, Radon advanced down the hall next to Gil.
Following the Chios, they went through another junction and approached a large open door. Radon had seen this door only a few times, and it was usually when he was busy running for his life after awakening in a large amphitheater with a bright, ethereal Chio that barked a strange language at him.
Still…this door…he knew enough to know it shouldn’t be open like this.
They followed the crowd through the doorway—
—and found a dead White Coat just inside.
The White Coat was a dark skinned woman with a brightly colored headband. Her lab coat was splayed open to reveal a simple outfit underneath, stained red with fresh blood. Something sweet was dancing in the air, a sort of smokey aftertaste that haunted Radon like an invisible phantom.
“Oh no,” Gil said, instantly joining a small group of Chios by the body. “Oh…oh no…”
“What?” Radon asked. “What is it?”
“It’s…did you…you didn’t know her, did you.”
“It’s a White Coat; they all look the same.”
“This one was…special,” Gil said carefully. “She was…kinder than most. She took care of us with a few of the others, but this one was…” He trailed off as he joined with the other Chios around the body, looking on with a sad, haunting look in his eyes.
“Radon,” Gil said slower, “I don’t…I don’t feel good…I don’t feel good at all.”
Radon looked from Gil and the other morose Chios back to the corpse on the ground and tried to make sense of things. Clearly this was someone Gil recognized but he didn’t. She sort of looked familiar, but it wasn’t enough that he was circling his own brain demanding an answer of who it was. As much as he was annoying, Radon looked at Gil with compassion. He didn’t know who this person was or had been, but he knew that his friend was sad at their loss.
“Kal-Way,” one of the other Chios muttered under hushed breath.
“We will miss you,” another said with a sniffle.
“Good…good-bye…”
There was another loud boom, and Radon looked around to see that the other Chios they’d followed into this room had long since left; it was just him, Gil, and the handful of others that had gathered around the body.
“Look,” Radon said to them, “I’m sorry for your loss, but we should probably get out of here.”
Gil looked from the other Chios back to Radon, then turned back and nodded at his friend. “Kal-Way would want us to be safe,” he said to the group. “We should avoid danger and live on. We will remember her always, but now is the time to run. We mourn later.”
There was a silent agreement among them, and the bunch of them gathered behind Radon as they fled down a hallway where they could still hear other Chios.
