Cold Blooded

Secret Whispers

Weeks went by and things only got worse. Three took the time to make sure Saya received a new photo of Gisei and his report after every mission. She could see another piece of his soul shatter in every image. She kept the photos hidden carefully in Chongyun's pile of treasures, but never had the courage to look at them again.

Chongyun's dosage was doubled and his cries of pain only rose with it. He thrashed and kicked as they pushed it into his veins day after day. He curled up besides Saya as he grew larger and shivered despite the heat in the room. Three brought in new people for Chongyun each day. Chongyun attacked and feasted on them, but was always still hungry. He needed more, but he never hurt Saya.

Every day was the same as the one before, but worse. She and Chongyun awoke to Three's voice and twisted grin. Chongyun would be injected with more yin and then someone would be let in, and Chongyun would feed. Saya received a small piece of bread and a cup of water each day as Chongyun tore through flesh and drank blood. Then Chongyun would make his way over to his horde or items and curl up to fall asleep.

Each night it seemed as if Chongyun grew younger. He hardly looked any older than eight or nine now. It was like his body was fighting the yin energy, but in a way that Saya couldn't understand. What was going on inside of him?

-<>-

Chongyun scratched the side of his neck. He was always itchy, but he didn't know why. He felt better when he was with Misses.

Chongyun sat at the edge of the mountain and kicked his small legs as the breeze blew about. He liked the mountain and the way that all you could see below was a sea of clouds. It felt familiar to him, though he didn't know why. Maybe Misses knew, he should go ask her.

"Misses?" Chongyun stood up and looked around for the woman. He spotted her sitting on a stone not far away. She looked right at him with a soft warmth in her eyes. Chongyun loved Misses and she loved him. "Misses!"

Chongyun bounced over to Misses and looked up at her soft grey hair and her sleeves that seemed to hold the entire night sky. She was beautiful and kind. She picked up Chongyun and placed him on her lap. Slowly and gently, she brushed her fingers over Chongyun's hair. The itching stopped.

Darling?  Misses whispered, brushing her hand through his hair again and again. How old are you?

"Me? I'm-" Chongyun thought about it for a moment and tried to remember. How old was he? He looked down at his short legs and chubby fingers. Finally deciding on a number, he raised his hands to show Misses. "I'm eight years old."

Hmm, how interesting... Misses hand stopped and she slid her hand under Chongyun's chin, slowly lifting his head so that their eyes met. Her eyes were suddenly different from their usual warmth. Her eyes were filled with fear and concern. Her voice twisted and sounded different than it usually did. It shook and sounded strained. Do you remember, Chongyun?

"Remember what?" Chongyun suddenly knew that something was wrong. This mountain was wrong. None of this was real. This wasn't real. Chongyun stumbled out of Misses' arms and tried to run for the edge of the mountain, he had to get out of here. She wasn't real. This wasn't right. This wasn't real.

My Child? Misses' eyes and voice returned to normal, and suddenly Chongyun couldn't remember why he was standing at the edge of the mountain. He couldn't remember why he was running. Why he had ever left Misses' embrace.

"Yes, Misses?" Chongyun asked with a grin, his neck was itching again. He was so silly. Why would he ever run from Misses? She loved him and he loved her, right?

-<>-

Chongyun jumped in his sleep beside Saya and rammed his head against her side. Saya jumped back and then looked at the sleeping child. Fear and pain contorted his face before it melted away to a calm smile. Saya shook her head and rubbed her side. Her fingers brushed against a small indent in her pocket and Saya remembered the second note that had been tucked into Teucer's present.

She pulled out the piece of paper and carefully read the words. She read over it again and again, until she finally saw it.

"To hisaya and chongyun,

Right now, you probably hate me and i understand. Unlike you both, i'm a selfish jerk that only cares about myself. So if you hate me forever i get it, i just wanted you to know that my family will be safe because of what i did. This time next month, you'll never see me again and i'm sorry for what i did but i don't regret saving my family. Make sure that you do whatever you're instructed to do and never try to escape; it won't work. Eventually, everything will work out; you just have to accept all of it and get it over with.

-you know who

Saya ran her handover her face and sighed. This man was going to be the death of her. Ajax was obviously the writer, because of how messy it was and the way that he didn't capitalize any of his eyes. It seemed like just a stupid message telling her to give into Three and do what he wants, but there was more to it than that.

Believe it or not, Ajax appeared to be helping them. He must have gotten his family out of the nation and was only now willing to help them. "This time next month." That was when he would help them. If that weren't an obvious enough hint, all the capital letters spelt out the last words he had whispered to Saya: TRUST ME.