"A bunker? That's like an underground vault for people, right?" Cullen asked as he and Riven walked alongside the men they saved. The group walked on towards the coastline, heading towards one of the shoreside settlements. The "Panish"-speaking men were chatting among themselves, while the two English-speakers did the same.
"Thank God you speak English, although I wasn't expecting to find one here in this wonderland. Are there more of you who got out?"
Riven shook his head.
"No. I think I'm the only one. Or maybe they all got out before I did. I don't know..." he trailed off as he wondered about the other inhabitants. As far as he'd seen, he was the only one in there and judging by the bones, some possibly didn't make it.
"Did'ya know anyone in there?" Cullen asked.
"No...I can't even remember anything before I woke up in there...although I think I knew someone who owned these..." Riven replied as he remembered the pair of glasses he found. He opened the medical bag and pulled them out.
"Huh," Cullen muttered as he looked at them. "May I?"
"Sure," Riven replied as he handed Cullen the glasses. The man examined them, fumbling with the pair as he scrutinized them. He took note of the symbol on one of the arms, but dismissed it as some kind of design.
"So...who owned these?" he asked Riven.
Riven scratched his head as he remembered the memory it triggered. "Well, when I found those while I was trying to make my way out of there, I...I saw a vision? N-No, a memory? I'm not sure how to put it but...I saw girl-"
Cullen raised his eyebrows and looked at Riven as a wide smile appeared on his face. A girl? The topic piqued his attention.
"Hmmm hmmm! That's interesting! A girlfriend or something?"
Riven looked at him, unsure of how to react.
"Ahahaha. Sorry, kid," Cullen said as he saw the confused face. "Please continue."
"Anyway, she called me a 'sen-pie.' What does that mean?"
Cullen handed back the glasses. "Eh, beats me. I've never had a pie of 'sen' before. Maybe it means something in a different language because that's definitely not 'Panish'."
"I suppose," Riven said as he put the glasses back in the pouch.
"What a coincidence that two guys who can't remember the past very well would meet in a place like this. Heh," Cullen muttered. Riven raised an eyebrow at the statement.
"Pardon?"
"I've been traveling place to place for a long time, kid. It feels like a blur, you know," Cullen said to him as they walked.
"Going settlement to settlement, staying for few days or a week or so, the occasional woman or two..."
Cullen chuckled softly as he said the last statement, eliciting a "Huh" from Riven as they both focused on walking on the frozen soil.
"That's how things are for me, chancin' when I can just to make it to the next day. Not a comfortable life, but it sure is a fun one..."
They both fell silent, long after the other men did and continued walking until they could see water not far off. A few more minutes and a significantly bigger settlement with much more houses could be seen on the shore.
"Oye, héroes," one of the men said while motioning Riven and Cullen to come forward. "Ahí está: El puerto," he said as he pointed at the settlement.
"Una vez que lleguemos, dejemos que José hable con estos tipos. Ese tipo no puede hablar español por mierda," one of the men whispered to another.
"Sí. Sí. Estoy de acuerdo."
"Comprobemos si él está allí primero."
"What are they talking about?" Riven asked Cullen, who was trying to leaf through the book to understand.
"Ugh. I knew I shoulda read this before going around here," he muttered. "But we're at a settlement with a boat! Maybe we can finally get outta here!"
"That's good. I'm freezing out here!" Riven thought to himself, relieved that they had found a way to leave. His trenchcoat wasn't doing much against the cold. He couldn't even feel his feet!
The group continued on, making good time until they reached the shore. A ketch-type sailboat was moored next to an improvised pier. Compared to the previous settlement, which only had the men from earlier, this one was a tad more populated and lively. Most of the people were other men, with only a few women tending some of the houses and the only trading post. All of them were wearing old, makeshift winter gear.
The men led them deeper in, eliciting looks from the people who muttered to each other in their language. Cullen and Riven tried their best to not make eye contact due to the awkwardness of the situation. Despite that, the people continued their duties.
Eventually they reached a shack near the cobbled-together pier. Several men were carrying and pushing crates and barrels to sleds made of wood and metal for transport into the small seaside town. One of the men escorting them tapped the shoulder of another man who was supervising it all.
"Hola Luis. Has visto a Jose?" he asked the "supervisor".
"Por qué?" the "supervisor" replied.
"Tenemos algunos hablantes de inglés aquí."
"Qué? De dónde son?" the "supervisor" responded in clear surprise.
"No lo se. Tal vez uno de esos asentamientos en el otro lado."
The "supervisor" sighed and called out loudly: "JOSE!" which was met with a "SI, LUIS?". The person who replied was a slightly older, yet still young man who was dressed in a used fur coat that looked like it had seen it's fair share of use. He approached them as he was holding two crates, one stacked on the other.
The "supervisor" pulled him aside.
"Estos tipos aquí pueden aparentemente hablar 'Inglés'. Ve a trabajar tu magia," he said to "Jose".
"Qué? Hablas en serio?" Jose replied in a mix of disbelief and amusement as he put the boxes down.
"Solo sigue con eso. Haré que Carlo recoja tu trabajo," the other man said to him as he walked off, leaving Jose with the saved men and the two.
"Buena suerte con ellos, José! Hahahaha!" one of them said to him as they slapped him on the back.
"Gracias por la ayuda otra vez, por cierto! No olvidaremos esto!" another said to Riven and Cullen as they left for somewhere else in the town.
"That...was something, I guess," Cullen said to Riven as they watched the men leave. Jose, on the other hand, was more than surprised to hear him speak.
"English! Oh Dios mio you two can speak English?!" he exclaimed as he gawked at them.
Riven and Cullen both stared at him in disbelief in return.
"YOU CAN SPEAK ENGLISH?!"
Cullen and Riven were being escorted by Jose to a small tavern not far from the pier. Along the way, Jose eagerly spoke as he asked away about themselves.
"Dios mio! I can't believe it! People who can speak English well! You won't believe how long I've waited to meet English-speakers!" he said in near-perfect English (Albeit, with a slight accent).
"Well you seem very eager to," Cullen said to him. "But why is that anyway?"
"I've always known English. Don't know how I learned it, but I've known the language for a long time. Can't say the same for most of the people around these parts. Most of them barely know the language."
"So everybody here speaks that other language?" Riven asked him.
"Yes, Señor. We call it, Espana," Jose replied as they passed through an alley.
"'Espana?' I have a book here that says it's called 'Panish,'" Cullen said.
"Really now? I'd like to take a look at it if I can - oh Lord I almost forgot! I haven't properly introduced myself! My name is Jose Martinez. And it is a pleasure to meet you two!"
Jose put his arms around both their shoulders as they walked.
"Errr...well, I'm Cullen aaaand this guy here is Riven."
Riven just meekly said "Hello." They arrived at the tavern shortly after.