Black Equation - The Forgotten Ones

Black Equation - Chapter 4*

Chapter Four

"What is that?" she murmured to herself as she watched the bright blue flames. She muffled a cry when she realized that the screams from before came from the grotesque-looking men in the middle of the fire. She witnessed the people burning with her very own eyes. The sapphire flames danced around and engulfed them, turning their bodies into black ashes.

Beside the fire stood a tall young man, unmistakably clad in black. His eyes were sharp, with fresh blood dripping from his jacket. She saw it all but her body won't move. She was too terrified to run and too numb to yell for help. She knew she was too late. Everyone was already dead.

All she could do was to watch the dreadful flames.

*****

A mysterious - looking young man lay in the middle of nature, silently watching the chirping of the birds and the rustling of groves.

"What a sad-looking sky..." he murmured to himself. He slowly stood up, and walked away from the spot. After a few minutes, he found himself in front of a large European-style building. He sighed as he entered the place, ignoring the noise that the other students made. In his eyes, they were children, although they belonged to the same age group as him. They chattered and bantered and laughed. He didn't understand them no matter how much he wanted to. They were beyond his comprehension, because he didn't belong with them. He didn't belong anywhere.

He went inside a room.

*****

Jared knocked at her door with a cup of hot coffee on his other hand.

"Faye? Are you awake now? If you don't hurry, we're going to miss school."

No one replied.

"I know you're in there. I heard you come back last night. I'm really sorry for what I did... I didn't mean to scare you or anything."

He clenched his fist, sucking air as he leaned on the door. He knew she was angry, and it would be difficult to placate her. He felt like the worst kind of scum. He allowed his emotions to rule over him. What he did didn't really bother him. It was her rejection that hurt him.

"Faye..."

"I'm not going, Jared. Tell them I'm sick," she finally said after a long awkward silence. Her voice sounded very wrong. She sounded like she didn't sleep at all. No. She sounded terrified. Was it because of him?

"I see."

He walked back to his room in a lifeless manner. He was about to place the coffee on the table, but threw the cup on the sink instead. The cup shattered into a hundred shards, spilling the black liquid on the dish towel. He angrily grabbed his bag and left.

When she saw him leave, she gently closed her door and returned to the couch. She was trembling although she was wearing a winter jacket. She had her heaters turned on, but they had no effect on her. The man she saw last night still gave her chills.

She couldn't forget his pitch black eyes as he watched the people burning. They were cold and deadly. They were the eyes of a murderer. She knew that if he happened to see her, he would kill her. The thought crazed her. She didn't want to see that. But her memories haunted her.

What if she told the police? Would they catch him fast enough?

She could still remember every detail about the man as if it was etched on the tissues of her brain. Vividly and clearly. He was a very tall man, a six-footer like Jared, with sharp features. He looked like a half-breed, partly Asian. He had no weapons with him, but he was covered in blood. Everything about him screamed dangerous. The movie industry did no justice to the real thing

She made up her mind. She would tell the police.

With that resolution, she fixed herself and left her room. She hurried to her car, a silver 2011 Chevrolet Malibu, and went inside. The purr of the engine felt reassuring to her. She bit her lip as she drove out of the building back to the park she visited last night.

Like she expected, a crowd has gathered on the scene. She parked her car on the other side of the road and climbed down. She prepared herself and marched to the spot. She wove her way out of the crowd towards the police man.

"Sir..."

"Miss, civilians aren't allowed here." He pushed her back. He was a burly man with deep-set eyes.

"I'm a witness!" she protested.

"What? You saw the arsonist?"

"It was no arson! It was murder!"

"What are you talking about? It's just a small fire."

She looked at the scene with confused eyes. The ground, about a few meters in radius, was burnt black. Aside from that, there was nothing else.

"Where are the bodies?"

"What bodies?"

"There were six men here last night. I saw them burning!"

The police man laughed heartily, patting Faye's back. "Did you hit your head, miss? This is just a petty case of arson, not murder. This is what happens when one watch too many horror films."

"Do you think I'm lying?!"

"This happens frequently around the area. Believe me; this is arson."

She furiously left the park, cussing under her breath. She went back inside her car, but didn't start the engine. She simply sat on her seat feeling confused. She leaned her head on the steering wheel.

 "Oh god, what happened?"