War of Praisers

Chapter 20

I sprint back the way I came, as I run in to the hall where I left the battle. I expected to run into the heat of battle, not find the hall completely silent. The ones left where the dead ones. The guards lay dead, as do many of the Praisers. I watch the still bodies, confusion and sadness overtakes my mind as I do. What happened? Why did you just attack out of the random? Why did Ewan- I franticly search the faces of the dead and I calm down only little when I do not find his face. Though the panic remains. Where is he then? Further down the hall I see another corpse of a guard and guess the best chance is the head up that direction down the hall. I follow the trail of dead guards and Praisers, though not many, there were enough to lead me to an empty room. But it wasn't empty. Ewan stood in the mid of the room, motionless and unresponsive to my entrance.

"Ewan." I linger at the door, unsure if I should approach him. "Ewan?" My voice is hoarse, I advance towards him. My eyes piercing his turned form, I can only see one side of his head. I proceed until I am before him, I watched his lifeless eyes. His eyes, which used to be a mesmerizing blue, are now dull to the point where they look grey.

"Ewan, speak to me." I glare at him now as I growled.

"He can't hear you." I gasp and whip around the voices owner. The gruff voice belonged to Lord Kane.

"Why?" I choke out.

"To show you that they will never except you. They will always blame you and your kind." he approaches me slowly with his calm voice.

"What else ere they supposed to think when we attack them?" I snap at him.

Kane only raises a brow and his sinister grin wider.

"Not all of you did attack them, and all of you claim that you had nothing to do with this." I remember Yakov, and then I remember the dead Praisers. All of them, as their lifeless eyes staring into the nothingness. I imagine Ewan as one of them, then Gloria, Mike, Robin, even Grace.

"Are you the one behind the assassinations?" I question forcefully. But why? How? He is one of the seven leaders, why would he kill his own co-leaders? I furrow my brow at him. He wants power. That's all they ever want these days.

Kane doesn't answer my question, because he knows that I know that he is.

"How? How did you manage do to it to all of us?" He couldn't have tracked each and everyone of us at a time. Unless he had all of us together at once, helpless, and unknowing. He was there, he was one of them who bread us. "You made us." I exclaim aloud.

He looks pleased that I seemed to have figures it out. "Why yes, I did." he chuckles, "Well, indirectly." His movements around the room are slow and graceful. I on the other hand did not move a muscle. "I had help of course, genetic alterations and all those kind of boring stuff. All of you, apart from your looks, are the exact same."

He stops suddenly and looks me in the eyes. "All except you, Jade." He spits my name out. "I never liked that name for you, Jade." He spits it out again. I can't help but be offended, my name is what made me special in the Facility. What name did he then approve of? I shake my head slightly, I shouldn't be thinking this. I should not want to please him by changing a name which has stuck with me for my entire life. It's my name.

"Different, am I? How so?" Even I can hear the worry in my shaking voice.

He ignores me and just continues on. "I have watched you grow up, improve, and fight. I made you different for a reason, a purpose you cannot escape. Not as long as you live." He speaks joyfully, and uncaring of the topic. My eye twitches in annoyance, I desperately wanted him to answer my questions, but I am not sure if I really do want to know the answer to myself. Is it the reason why I take joy in killing, and like the darkness of things? But that is illogical, you can't change peoples minds that way. My genetics are different than the ones of the others. I am stronger and faster than any other Praiser. He did that for a reason. And I need to know that reason.