Light spilled down
Ciara’s eyes, filling half of her vision white. Ciara nuzzled her nose on the
soft, cottony fur and rolled around, only to feel something strange
lying beside her—a particular male body. The dream was pulling her in, and for
some reason, Ciara didn’t want o let go.
Hard muscled arms
wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her close to someone’s face. The air that
surrounded her had turned warm, though the winter cold continued to seep inside
the blankets. Ciara slowly fluttered her eyes open.
Her pitch-black
vision turned into a clear bright grayscale. She stared at the ceiling and
noticed the bright white light beaming to her left side. It’s morning. Ciara
thought. I need to get up.
But as she turned to
move, the arms wouldn’t let go her. Ciara blinked. Then she noticed that
something heavy was on top of her, hugging her. Liam. She could hear him
snoring lightly, his face right in front of her. Ciara blushed. Even with her
new improved vision, she still couldn’t see Liam’s features. All she could see
was a white outline of his jaw, the dark color of his hair, and the blurry
surroundings right behind him.
“Liam,” Ciara
muttered, and the arms around her tightened. It was getting harder to breathe.
Liam didn’t respond. He must be having a good dream. Ciara thought.
Carefully, she skimmed her hands around his bare back to feel rough bandages
wrapped around his stomach. And then her hand stopped on, what she could feel
was deep long scars protruding from his back bone. The scars are deep, Ciara
noticed, they’re not just ordinary scars…it looks like he’s been….Ciara
swallowed. Whipped…one…two…three…six…long whip marks.
Ciara froze. How did
Liam manage to have whip marks? Was he tortured? How could anyone do this to
him?
“Liam,” Ciara
repeated. His forehead touched her cheek, and it was burning hot. Ciara pressed
a hand on his forehead. He’s got a fever. Ciara noticed. “Liam, you need
to wake up…you’re running a fever.”
Liam groaned. Ciara
blushed. She didn’t realize that Liam was too close to her, and his weight was
crushing her. Ciara tried to struggle, but it was useless. “Liam,” she
repeated.
“What…” Liam said in
an irritated tone, and after a few seconds, Liam’s body was gone. Liam
protested. “C-C-Ciara! What are you doing in her—ugh?” Liam groaned, and Ciara
saw him clutching his stomach. “My body...it hurts a lot.”
Ciara sat upright,
“Are you alright?”
“Alright?” Liam
sniggered, “The question is. What are you doing in my bed!?” she could sense
Liam stuttering over his words. “Seriously…” Liam continued, “You should have
asked for my permission first, you know. Did you molest me in my sleep?”
That question made
Ciara’s face beet red. “I-I-I-I-I…” What was she going to say? That she was
scared being alone in her room? That she wanted company?
“I-I-I-I…” Ciara bit
her lip to control her anger. “I w-w-would never do that in a million years!”
Liam burst into a
laugh, “So cute,” Ciara felt Liam’s hand on her shoulder. “I was just joking,
you know. Don’t take it seriously, Ciara.” And then Ciara felt his arms
wrapping around her, pulling her in, so her face was leaning against his hard
chest. Butterflies swarmed inside her stomach. “Thanks for saving me.”
“…how did you
know…?” Ciara muttered. Liam chuckled.
“I’m the handsome
thief, right?” Liam said proudly, and Ciara could feel his slender fingers
tipping her chin up. Her cheeks flushed red. Liam continued, this time his
voice had been dark. “I’m sorry for not saving Victor and Madam Fier.”
Ciara’s eyes
half-closed. You are destined to be the Candidate. Madam Fier’s words
echoed her head. Kill me! I deserved to die. And then soft lips touched
hers. A spark of heat tasted in her tongue. Liam’s lips were soft, adding a
sense of calming sensation to her worries.
Their kiss broke off
when they hear someone yawning very loudly.
“Good morning…”
Chase mumbled, and Ciara could hear him rubbing his eyes. Ciara suspected the
younger brother hadn’t seen their kissing scene yet, because she could still
hear the furs being shuffled and tossed on the floor, “Ouch, my body
hurts.”
“Same with me,” Liam
said, and after a few minutes, Ciara heard him groaning in pain.
“What’s wrong,
Liam?” Chase asked worriedly.
“My head hurts,”
Liam said his hand on his head, “I don’t feel well…”
“That’s because
you’re having a fever,” Macie said as Ciara heard the door swinging open, “Your
face is beet red, you’re wounds are starting to reopen, and you’ve been getting
up without asking for the doctor’s permission first.”
“I don’t listen to
anyone, you know,” Liam clenched his teeth together, making growling sounds as
if he had been feeling a deep pain on his stomach. Macie was right. Ciara could
already smell a small spot of blood flowing in the air.
“Really…if you don’t
listen to me, you won’t be able to heal properly,” Macie said, her voice
already sounded like a doctor. As Macie’s outline begun to move forward, Ciara
took her time to memorize her appearance. Macie has short dark hair…wearing
a white dress…maybe not a dress, but a lab coat…Ciara observed. She didn’t realize
that Macie was the same height as her.
“Macie,” Chase said,
and Macie stopped, “Thank you for saving us. I’m extremely grateful for your
help. If there’s anything I can do to repay you…”
“N-No need!” Macie
squeaked. Ciara could already sense that Liam was smirking at Macie. She still
had a crush on Chase, “I’m just doing my job. Anyway, why don’t I take a look
at your wooden leg? It's almost getting rusty.”
While Macie was
checking the Crude Brother’s condition, Ciara stopped, when she heard something
noisy outside the clinic walls. What is that sound? Ciara thought as she
carefully moved closer to touch the walls. She pressed her ears on the cold
wall, and closed her eyes. Noises…not just one voice, but there are hundreds
of them outside. Ciara thought. There’s something going on outside. I
can hear them roaring, shouting and yelling.
“Ciara?” Chase
asked.
Without replying to
Chase’s question, Ciara quickly opened the door and escaped through the
hallways. The noises that she heard boomed across the tunnel. Ciara pressed her
hands on her ears. It’s too loud…
It was hard
adjusting to her new vision, now that she could see the intersections and
pathways. The world seemed to revolve around her when she took one step
forward. Since she wasn’t used to it, she closed her eyes, letting her instincts
drag her to the direction of the sounds.
Her eardrums hurt.
The voices were like thunderous sounds pounding across her head. Ciara clenched
her teeth as the pain grew stronger. What are you doing, Ciara!? Her
conscious complained.
Ciara shook her head
to dismiss her conscience and moved forward, but since she had been distracted
by the loud cheering, someone had bumped into her. The impact threw her off the
ground, and after that, the noise completely went silent. The throbbing pain in
her mind died down. Thank the noise was gone.
But unfortunately,
something dark blocked her sight. Something taking the shape of a human—a girl.
Ciara groggily looked up. The girl is tall…something white is covering her
shoulders…and the rest of her hair and attire are darker gray. Ciara
observed. Who is this girl?
At first Ciara
didn’t know who this girl was, until she heard the swish of leaves, and the
swaying of fur. Fear swarmed inside her stomach. Kyra.
With one lift, Kyra
took Ciara by her front shirt, the feature of her face blurry in Ciara’s eyes.
Kyra snarled, “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Kyra continued, “It’s
the Blind Candidate.”
Then the next thing,
pain exploded Ciara’s jaw. Ciara skidded on the ground, and felt half of her
jaw shattered by Kyra’s fist.
“That’s what you get
for disobeying me, again.” Kyra growled. “You useless girl."
What is
she talking about? Ciara
thought.
Something shiny
flickered across Ciara’s eyes. A weapon, taking form in the shape of a long
line in Kyra’s hands. Kyra started to walk forward, as Ciara could hear the
clacking of metal and the sound of leaves rattling.
After a quick
second, a sword had stabbed the ground, missing Ciara’s ear by millimeters. Her
heart throbbed. How did Kyra managed to attack? Ciara thought. Did
she miss my face on purpose?
“First you disobeyed
me and broke my rules,” Kyra growled. Tching. Another stab of metal near
her left ear. Two Swords. Kyra continued, “Second, you let everyone get
involved in your stupid fight against Virgo. If it weren’t for you, you should
be dead by now. Have some respect, blind.” Tching. Tching. Tching. There
were now six swords that trapped Ciara’s head like a tent. Even the slightest
moves could get her skin cut by the sharp blade of the swords. Kyra continued,
“Third, what you did a while ago was a disgrace to our organization! You almost
let Virgo succeed on her plan, which is an act of giving up—a loser!” Kyra
roared, “And I won’t have any losers in my organization. Only the strong shall
live, and the weak shall die, right everyone!?”
“Punishment!
Punishment!” the crowd yelled. Ciara swallowed.
“You hear that?”
Kyra said, “Everyone wants you dead. You have no use for us. A burden. A traitor
and a nuisance.” Kyra continued, “Because of you, half of my people were
killed. And there’s no escaping that. Today, you will die. Your punishment is
death!”
Ciara,
run!
But it did not do
any good. With six swords caging both sides of her head, there was no way Ciara
could escape Kyra now. Come on, move, Ciara! Her conscious said. Sweat
stung her eyes. What will she do? She could already hear Kyra’s body movements,
and her feet tapping on the wooden ground.
“Kill her! Kill her!
Kill her!” Everyone roared.
In 3
seconds…Ciara
guessed as she saw Kyra’s outline lunging toward her with a sword above her
head. I’m going to be crushed…unless. Carefully, she moved her hand,
touching the nearest sword beside her shoulder. This sword is not properly
stab on the floor, which means I can defend myself before Kyra attacks.
Then she touched the other swords. The other swords are hard to pull, so I
guess this one should do the trick.
1 second.
Using every bit of
strength that Ciara had, she pulled out Kyra’s sword, just in time to block
Kyra’s swing above her head. The blades of the swords gave an ear-shrieking
sound of metal. Both of them retreated at the same time, while the audience
gave a deafening loud of applause.
“Sneaky,” Kyra said.
“But I like it.”
She’s
heading toward this way…maybe to the right…since the sound of her coat moves to
the direction of west side. Ciara thought.
“Kill her! Kill her!
Kill her!”
Ciara closed her
eyes and silenced the noise around her. Now Kyra is on the left side. Ciara
observed the sweeping sounds of Kyra's feet. She’s trying to make me dizzy.
Right left. Right left…where is she going? Ciara sensed the air circulating
around her. She’s right behind me.
Just as Ciara
predicted, their blades clashed again—when someone interrupted them.
“Kyra!”
Ciara stopped, and
since her defense lowered, a hard object smacked into her face, throwing her
off the ground. Her jaw ached and her body screamed in pain. The sword came out
loose from her hand, and it skidded 4 meters across her.
Tching.
She could feel the
metal shaking right in front of her face. The sword. Ciara thought. Kyra
is pointing the sword at me?
“Liam,” Kyra
snarled, “How nice of you to join our fight.”
“Leave Ciara out of
this!” Liam yelled, “This is my responsibility. I’m the one who took the
mission, so I should be the one being punished.”
The blade
disappeared in front of her. She nervously looked to her right side. There, in
the center of the blurry background, was a tall, lanky boy with dark hair. Liam.
What is
he doing here? Ciara
thought. He shouldn’t be getting up…he’s still not recovered.
“Liam!” Two voices
echoed at the entrance of the room, which was located at the east side, right
next to the blurry crowd.
Slash.
Distracted, Ciara
didn’t notice something had already cut her hair off. The strands flew across
her face, the wind blowing her hair to the left side, when she heard another thud
on the ground next to her. The sword. Ciara blinked.
“Ciara!” Liam
yelled.
“Remember. Do not
lose your guard. That is the number one rule of fighting,” Kyra snarled. Ciara
saw her outline moving to the center of the room. Everything was so bright and
clear, which means there were large windows behind her. Not a single scratch
had touched Ciara's face, except for the deep bruises on her right jaw. Why
did Kyra slash my hair? Ciara noticed. She said she was going to kill
me.
“Liam. Why did you
run off like that?” Macie’s voice echoed inside the room. So those are the
two people I hear yelling at the entrance. Ciara thought. “You’re wounds
are still fresh, and the temperature of your fever is hi—”
Two figures came in
view. One was a girl—Macie, and the other boy was identical to Liam. Chase.
“K-Kyra…” Macie
whispered.
“I see you brought
some companions, Liam.” Kyra said amusingly, “Are you here to join the party as
well?”
“Stop joking around,
Kyra,” Liam growled. “Ciara wasn’t the one who started this mission in the
first place. Blaming her won't do anything good. Just because she’s blind
doesn’t mean she’s not jealous—like you.”
Everyone gasped, and
Ciara looked to see what Kyra’s reaction was. Kyra didn’t seem to move from her
position, which was odd. Surely, Kyra would get mad for anyone talking back to
her like that?
“Punish
me, Kyra!” Liam shouted, “I’ll handle it, just leave Ciara alone.”
“Hmm...” Kyra sang,
“What if the punishment is death? Will you take that?”
Liam gulped, “Of
course. I’ll do anything for Ciara’s sake.”
Liam,
no. Ciara
thought.
“Fine then,” Kyra
said, and then Ciara heard the snap of metal. Kyra is too fast. Ciara
thought. Just after their conversation, I can already see Kyra’s outline
moving in front of Liam. Thankfully, Liam seemed to have a weapon in his
hand. A long stick that glinted in the light. The sword.
“But here’s the
deal,” Kyra said, her voice drowned by the incoming chimes of blades singing in
the air. They’re fighting.
“Liam! You are in no
condition to fight with a—” Macie shouted, but Chase seemed to stop her.
“Under certain
rules, the Blind Candidate is banned to see you, or your brother, until she
passes the Rank 1 Graduation Exam,” Kyra said. Twack, Snap. Thack. Tching!
Watching them was
like seeing two ninjas shifting from time to time. It had been hard to keep up
with them because of their blurry movements. Ciara closed her eyes to try and
not make herself dizzy.
“And because of
that, she is strictly taken under the custody of my Rank 4 subordinates,” Kyra
continued, “If you two are seen together in public, I will be the first one to
kill either of you. Got it?”
The fight stopped,
and suddenly, two hands grabbed hold of her shoulders, placing something like a
lock on her hands.
“What?” Ciara
struggled, but the thing on her hands were sturdy hand cuffs. Strong metal
upgraded with Philters. Ciara
thought.
“Don’t move,” a boy
said behind her. Ciara’s heart sank. “If you do, the handcuffs will try to scar
your hands for life. Do you want that?”
“Who—”
A finger came in
contact with her skin, creating round strokes that made Ciara shiver. What
is this person doing? And then something made her realize that the finger
belonged to a person she used to know…
Small,
slender fingers…
“S-Shell?” Ciara
whispered, turning her head to look at her shoulder.
The strokes of the Shell's
fingers were delicate and smooth. It made letters like…D...o...not…talk…we…r…not…bad…
Ciara raised an
eyebrow. What was Shell trying to tell her?
“Any more questions,
Liam?” Kyra asked. Ciara didn’t hear any more noises, so Kyra must had settled
her mind into that deal. I thought she was going to kill me…? Ciara
asked herself. But why did she spare me? And why did she place me with the
Rank 4’s? Kyra said. “Have you made
up your mind?”
“Yes,” Liam said
firmly, his voice gloomy.
Kyra chuckled,
“Really? This is an act of betrayal, Liam. Agreeing on this deal means
betraying the Blind Candidate into the hands of your enemies," Kyra
continued, “My Rank 4 Subordinates are far worse than you can ever imagine. You
have left the blind girl into the den of monsters."
Monsters?
Ciara
flinched.
“I know.” Liam said.
“Liam!” Chase
protested, “Are you nuts!? You can’t let them have Ciara. They—”
“Ciara,” Liam said
sharply, causing Ciara to look at him. Her heart drummed in her chest. What
is he going to say? Liam continued, “I’m sorry…this is for my sake.”
All the hopes had
been shattered in Ciara’s heart. So he’s letting the Rank 4’s have me…
Ciara imagined the Rank 4’s were cruel people. Just hearing their title made
her shiver. If Kyra was a Rank 5, then the Rank 4’s must had the same attitude
as hers.
But
Shell is not that person. Ciara
thought.
She felt Shell’s
fingers making strokes on her back. T..r..u..s…t…us…
That questioned
Ciara’s way of thinking about the Rank 4’s. How could she trust them? They were
Kyra’s subordinates after all?
“Now that the deal
has been set off, let’s continue our feast, my cubs!” Kyra said joyfully, and
the crowd roared in agreement, “Come then. The feast is awaiting us! To the
cafeteria!”
“Yeah!” Everyone
roared.
“Blind Candidate,”
the boy said behind her, “Kyra ordered us to let you dine in with our table. So
you better behave yourself, and try not to anger one of our comrades as
possible.”
Ciara gulped. Just
as expected of a Rank 4's. Bullies.
They started to turn
her away, right across the room, until Ciara saw her team mates’ outlines
blocking their pathway.
“Please step back,
Liam Crude,” the boy said.
Ciara’s heart
fluttered. She looked up to see Liam standing right in front of her. His dark
hair was messy, and what caught her eye was the dark stain on his stomach. His
wounds reopened.
“Just one word, and
I’ll leave,” Liam said in a serious tone.
“Fine,
but be quick. If Kyra sees us like this—”
“Oh, don’t worry.
This will be really quick,” Liam snapped, “Ciara. One word of advice. They
are not what you seem to think.”
Just like that
Liam’s outline disappeared. He was already at the door, walking outside. Ciara
blinked. What does he mean by that?
“Sorry about my
brother, Kelton.” Chase apologized to the boy, "You know how he is."
"Yeah, he's a
real jerk. Still the same," Kelton said jokingly. Why is he friendly toward Chase?
"Ciara,"
Macie said, "Don't let Kyra get into you, best friend."
After that Macie and
Chase left, leaving Ciara confused by the words Liam spoke to her. Who is
Liam talking about? Ciara thought. How can he possibly leave me with
these Rank 4’s!?
“So, party time,
huh?” Kelton said, his dark voice changing into a pre mature one, "Oh,
yeah." The chains from Ciara's hand came out free. "Guess you won't need
those. That's just a decoration."
Don’t
trust them, Ciara. Her
conscious said.
z
Festive wasn’t the
right word for it. It had been a long time since Ciara was brought to the
cafeteria. She thought the Vixens were craving and fighting over the food just
like last time. But today, it seemed like everyone was behaved in their seats,
until she came along.
The atmosphere held
an eerie silence, and Ciara knew why. She was the center of their attention.
Shell began to make
strokes on her back again. Do not mind them. We r on good side.
The only Rank 4 that
she trusted was Shell. They both understood each other, because they were
disabled people.
As they make way
toward the Rank 4’s lunch table, Ciara couldn’t help, but get nervous at the
sight of three people sitting on it. So those are the Rank 4’s. When the
smell of beefy luncheon and stew billowed across the air, Ciara’s stomach
grumbled in protest. That’s Mrs. Stupey’s signature Beef Stew. She had
missed those days. The days of eating beef stew with Shell, and the taste of
juicy, beef hind from a bear.
“Hello, dearie,” Ms.
Stupey appeared to their right. Ciara’s eyes trailed down the plump woman. She
didn’t even realize that Ms. Stupey was the same size as Victor back at Tera
Hut. And the thought of her made her stomach churn in regret. I didn’t get
the chance to save them…Ciara thought. I’m the Candidate right? Why is
everyone dying for me…? Ms. Stupey continued, “So happy to see you. Been
waiting for you to test my best beef stew dish, dearie. And this time, I added
seasoned peppers to it. Hope you enjoy.”
Ciara couldn’t help
but smile at the nice lunch lady, “Thank you.”
“Hey, what about
us?” Kelton protested. Ciara kept her guard up. Don’t trust them. Even
though he's acting a little friendlier toward Chase, he's still hiding
something from me.
“Don’t worry,
everyone gets the same treat, do they?” Ms. Stupey said, “Well, don’t just
stand there. Since you won the battle, I’m going to be the one serving your
trays. Boy, you sure are lucky."
Kelton muttered
thanks to her as they continue to head down the Rank 4 table. Ciara nervously
sat at the vacant space to her left, sitting right next to a boy with white
hair and clothes. He seemed to be picking up his fork, when he paused to look
at Ciara.
An uneasy
nervousness crept inside her stomach. Just stay quiet, and do what you are
being told.
As promised, Ciara’s
tray was served by the kind lunch lady, who seemed to be the only person liking
her. A delicious scent of newly cooked beef and boiled potatoes rose out from
her bowl. Thinking about the Rank 4’s made her hungry. She began to take the
object on the table that looked like a fork, when suddenly, the boy right
across her suddenly blurted.
“My, my. Isn’t this
fascinating, everyone?” the boy's voice was very deep and low, “Having the Blind
Candidate to sit across our table must be a dream, don’t you think so?”
“Quit yapping like a
baby, Thorn. You sounded like she’s a celebrity around here,” a girl sitting to
her left side, right beside the boy with the low voice, said. “But seriously,
if I had the chance to sneak past Kyra’s gaze, I would extremely ask for her
autograph right now.”
“Well, she’s right
in front of you. Big deal, let’s just eat our stew, shall we?” the boy sitting
beside Ciara spoke lazily. “I’m tired. I just want to sleep already.”
“Hey guys,” Kelton
said, “Mind introducing yourselves to our special guest first?”
Out of the corner of
her eye, she saw Shell nodding.
“My name is Thorn,”
the boy with the low voice said, and it seemed like he was extending his hand
to Ciara, because she could see the outline of his hand. Don’t trust them.
Be careful, Ciara. Ciara thought. Ciara cautiously took Thorn’s hand,
feeling the deep scars right across his palm. “I’m so pleased to actually meet
the famous Blind Candidate. I’ve wanted to see you in person ever since you
left Sputter Palace.”
Is he
trying to trick me? Ciara
thought.
“Well, can you give
me an autograph?” the girl spat unethically, “By the way, name’s Jolly. Come
on, pretty please?"
“Uh…sure…” Ciara
muttered as Jolly gave her a notebook and pen to write. Ciara carefully pointed
the tip of her pen on the paper, and slowly traced her name up, memorizing the
position of her writing from top to bottom.
When Ciara was done,
Jolly squealed, “Thank you! I have to say you’re really talented, especially
when you analyzed your writing position?”
Ciara raised an eyebrow,
“Analyzed writing position?”
“Yeah, when you try
to write your signature, you were really deep set focus," Jolly said,
“That’s so cool. Sometimes I wonder how blind people used to write. Shell said
that you can read letters too.”
Ciara flushed. Of
course, Shell must have told them somehow…after all. They’re her friends…right?
“Gillian,” the boy
beside her spoke, “For starters, you have two swollen jaws, one broken bone
near the teeth, and multiple bruises on your chest, upper arm, and stomach,”
Gillian continued, “Through observation, it seems like your respiratory system
is not doing very well. It lacks a sentimental oxygen, but since your heart is
in good shape, there’s no need to worry about it,” Gillian continued, “Though
you are feeling tired, because the stress in your mind is weakening your
circulatory system. The red vein that holds your distant memory is somewhat
lacking of nutrients. I suggest you need to get treated right away. Maybe a Healing Swirl that specializes in
strengthening your energy?”
Ciara blinked. Amazing.
Everyone around the
table turned quiet, as expected, and Ciara noticed that the boy seemed to be
slacking off. A total genius...how?"
“Gillian, you show
off,” Kelton broke the silence. Jolly burst out laughing.
“Um…excuse me…” Ciara
shyly asked. Who is this person? For a normal person to identify the insides
of her body…one must be… Ciara swallowed, “But how did you—”
“Guess there’s
nothing to hide from you.” Gillian said lazily, and Ciara saw him placing his
legs on top of the table, slacking off. “After all, you already know what
Liam's power is, right?”
Ciara flinched. He
knows Liam’s power…No one knows that except for me and Chase...Ciara thought. I should be careful with
this one. Even though he acts like a lazy bum, he genetically sounds like a
health robot.
“To answer your
question, blind girl," Gillian blurted, picking up his fork to swallow the
soup. "Half of the people sitting in this table came from the Part,”
Gillian said, “including me.”
“Don’t scare the
girl like that, Gillian,” Thorn said, “She doesn’t even know what you’re
talking about.”
“She knows,” Gillian
said before Ciara could open her mouth, “I can read the vital messages that connects
to her cerebrum, meaning her thoughts." Gillian continued, "If a
person highly gets distressed, the red vein their heart signals a color, which
I can only understand. Get it?"
Ciara swallowed. Just
who is this guy? What is he talking about?
He may
be smart and cunning, but he’s also dangerous. Ciara thought
about Liam nearly killing her at Thinnest River. I’m a monster…Liam
muttered.
Before
we came in Sputter Palace, there were two people who came with us.
Could it be?
“There were four of
us who escaped Part. One was me, second was Liam, third was Chase, and fourth
was Shell,” Gillian counted, “They say that people who were convicted in Part
were either tortured or experimented. Well, I got to say they’re right. No one
lives in Part without being turned into a freak—a monster.”
Ciara shuddered at
that word. I’m a monster. Get away from me! Liam’s voice echoed her
thoughts.
“And you’re one of
them,” Ciara muttered.
Jolly laughed,
“Yeah, but his powers are way too awesome than Liam’s.”
“Don’t laugh at
something that is not funny!” Kelton scolded.
“I agree.” Thorn
said.
“Part has two
prisons. Cager Territory, and Sore Tower.” Gillian explained, “Sore Tower is
the prison for people with disabilities, and Cager Territory is the prison for
freaks. And you know what that means, right?”
Ciara shook her
head.
“Think about it.
They cut Shell’s left leg and right arm, Chase’s right leg, and made you blind.
While those Specialists turned us into something more indestructible—something
powerful that could actually destroy the world.” Gillian continued, “My power can
distinguish the person’s health condition, like an X-ray scanner. And Liam’s
power is internal bleeding, only when he loses his anger though.”
“Alright, we get the
talk. Can’t we just eat?” Kelton said in an irritated tone. “It feels
disgusting to have something like that discussing on the table.”
Something touched
Ciara’s hand. Shell’s finger.
T….ru..s.t..us…trust….them.
“Blind girl. Keep
this as a secret, okay?” Gillian said, ignoring Kelton’s advice. “Do you ever wonder
why the Epicenter divided the prisoners into two separate prisons?”
Ciara shook her
head.
“It’s because Virgo
wants to create an army of super heroes—like me, so the weaker ones—the
disabled people can go to Kyra.” Gillian said, arms crossed behind him, “But
unfortunately, it seems like it’s the opposite. Kyra is the one who is starting
the war, not Virgo.”
“—which means,”
Jolly joined, “They’re planning to use you guys as weapons, right?” Jolly
shivered, putting the plate down, “How cruel.”
“Blind Candidate,”
Gillian said, and Ciara snapped her head up, “Do you want to know the truth
about the Crude Brothers?”
Her heart gave out a
leap of excitement, and everyone around the table grew silent, eager to listen
to Gillian’s speech.
“Oh, I like this
news. Tell us!” Jolly beamed.
“It’s a real mystery
how the Crude Brothers came to be popular, right Kelton?” Thorn said.
“I agree,” Kelton
said firmly.
Shell traced
something on Ciara’s hand. Beli…e..ve…hi…m…
Who
should I believe? Ciara
wondered. She never trusted the Rank 4’s in the first place, but she also
wanted to know about the Crude Brothers too. After all, Gillian came along with
them. The sadness in her heart grew stronger. The Crude Brothers never told her
anything, even if Ciara was more than a family to them. They had been fighting
together for as long as she could remember…they were almost like her brothers,
so why…
“Hey, don’t get sad,
blind girl,” Gillian said, picking up his glass of water, “They have a good
reason for not telling you about this, especially Liam.” Gillian continued,
“Liam has been more uptight with himself since our escape in Part. He isolates
his secrets with his emotions. That’s how Liam is. Friend, foe, family. He will
do anything just to get away from his love ones.”
“I know,” Ciara bit
her lip, taking small sips of the flavorful soup, “Liam nearly killed me once.
It’s not his fault why he’s like that…”
Try
to understand him. Shell’s writing flashed in her
mind.
Something cold
touched her chin—a hand, tilting her head up. Her gaze was set on a blurry
face. A boy. The boy’s lips nearly touched her nose, and Ciara blushed at the
sight. Since he is right beside me, I can
only guess that this person is Gillian. Ciara’s eyes scanned at the other
people sitting right across her. But why
is he kissing me? I need to get away.
Ciara struggled, but
unfortunately, it didn’t look like Gillian was going to kiss her. What is he
doing? Ciara felt Gillian’s hair tickling her skin as he slowly moved his
lips to her ear, where she could hear him making low growling sounds.
Gillian whispered,
“Once you and Liam get back together, please don’t tell him I told you this,”
he breathed, sending a puff of warm breath on her ear. “He’s in love with you,
and yet, he wants to separate from you. Do you know the reason?”
Ciara wanted to
move, but Gillian’s hands were pressed on her shoulders, his face right beside
her ear. With this amount of pressure in
his hands, it feels like his weight is crushing me. Ciara though. Gillian has super strength too…Her heart
pounded in her chest. “Liam is the reason why Chase is crippled. He cut his
brother’s right leg, shortly after he arrived in Sputter Palace.” Gillian said
darkly, “So you better watch out for him.”
Then he disappeared.
0 comments:
Post a Comment