"Who are you?"
She huffed and removed the claw then waggled the same finger. "Too early Sebastian, too early."
"I don't care," I snapped. "How do you know who I am and why do you keep following me?"
"All answered will be answered but first you need to come with me," she said.
"Why the hell would I follow someone like you?" I questioned.
She displayed mock hurt. "Someone like me? I'm hurt Sebastian I really am."
"Stop saying my name, I don't even know you," I snapped.
She cocked her head to the side. "Don't you want to know more about me?"
"Actually I just want you to stop following me around like a freak and remove any knowledge you have of me," I told her.
"I can't exactly do that because you're an important source you see. That's why I'm not going to hurt you," she offered.
I scoffed. "Important source? I'm not going to become another one of you."
"I am the one who saved you from that Demolisher you encountered. You would have been dead meat," she countered.
"So you're the one who sent it," I sneered.
"You were the one who followed me even though that was part of the plan," she said with a light shrug.
I crossed my arms and she started walking away. "If I wanted to hurt you I could've done it all those times before. I am probably stronger and faster than you."
"What makes me believe you won't attack me now?" I asked.
She stopped walking but still had her back to me. "Because you chose to follow me. You listened and that's one thing. Even if it's significant."
I walked a bit faster when I noticed that she was walking again. I followed her. There were so many signs that I was walking into a death trap so why did I do that?
Confused. I was still confused about myself and I know. Following a Demolisher who could rip me apart was probably not the best idea but for some reason, there was something inside of me that told me my life would change.
The walk was surprisingly silent. For someone who was so obsessed with me, she sure wasn't the talker. I obviously didn't have a problem, if anything I was relieved.
It was starting to get dark which made the scenario ten times worse than it already was. To most people, we looked like two normal adults but if anyone had a very keen eye, they would've noticed something different about the woman in front of me.
Yes, she may have appeared human and acted relatively close to one but there was something about her that wasn't normal. Her voice was smooth. Too smooth and enchanting that it didn't sound humane. Her skin tone. I am aware that there are a lot of pale woman but damn, she couldn't shine any brighter.
I didn't ask any questions, not wanting to break the silence.
After a long time of silence, we arrived at a place I did not like. It was quite dark that I had to squint my eyes.
"We're going to the roof," she informed. I turned and saw her climbing a building. One thing I noticed about the place was that it shielded out the sky which made me feel uneasy. I slowly climbed up and kept aware of my surroundings. For all I knew, someone could kill me right there and then.
I reached the top of the ceiling where the sky shone and I was able to see everything clearly. The first thing I noticed was the strange Demolisher girl. The second thing I noticed was that she was surrounded by a group of other people.
I quickly took a step back with a frown on my face. "An ambush?!" I accused.
She laughed for the first time while the others barely reacted. "You really do have that kind of view towards us. I'd hate you but you've gone this far with me that I can't," she admitted.
"Is he really the one?" one of them asked.
I stood absolutely flabbergasted. "Wait. You're all Demolishers?"
I felt someone tap on my arm and through the corner of my eye, I saw another really pale person jabs at my arm with keen interest. "Soft and warm," he said.
I moved back and stood defensively. "Stay back!"
"Easy, easy. He's a new one so take it easy on him," the woman warned.
I stared back at the person who had the appearance of a young boy. His had eyes of a Demolisher so looked more like one. They were also soulless.
"What is the meaning of this?" I asked her.
She walked up to me and stood just a few feet away. "Tell me, Sebastian. What's the real reason you're about to fight against us?"
She was smiling but her eyes were dead on me, waiting for an answer. "Isn't it obvious?" I sneered. "Killing innocent people for your own amusement."
"My own amusement? My, you're a lot of things Sebastian and a hypocrite is definitely one of them," she replied.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
She cocked her head to the side. "Really? Surrounding yourself with a bunch of people you don't like just because you want to feel belong? Aren't you doing that to gain satisfaction in your confused little life? I also recall that you don't like people making assumptions but here you are doing the same."
I wanted to grab a hold of her but resisted. "What I do is nothing to compare to what you do."
She laughed humourlessly. "Do you think any of us were just born this way? Don't tell me that you didn't know we were once human before. Just because we don't look like you, act like normal all you human clones, you then decide we're nothing more than just waste? For your information, it was your kind that made us this way. So blame yourselves."
I couldn't even hide the shock I presented. This only made her laugh more. "Wow. They really don't tell you anything at your little fan club do they?"
I frowned once more and shook my head. "Still. It's not a good excuse for what you're doing. What you all you people are doing."
"You really have no idea what it feels like to be hated."
That statement took me by surprise. I didn't expect to hear such words come out of anyone's mouth. All my life I've been surrounded by people who have always been so happy. My family, best friend and pretty much anyone I ever met always had a smile on their face and lived their lives. Hell, I even thought these Demolishers loved what they did.
She continued talking. "To be hated by so many people really does make you feel like your worthless. Not only does it make you feel incredibly lonely, but you suddenly question your living standards. I can still vaguely remember by former human life and I knew for a fact that I was happy. I was certain I had a family and friends who loved me. But everything changed. After I was contaminated, everyone abandoned me. They left me alone while I slowly changed and experienced the pain, despair, loneliness, sadness, all those agonising emotions. I couldn't recognise myself, and like you, I too was lost with no idea what to do with my life. I learnt through the hard way that you're really not as special as you think you are in the world. I thought the world could always be fixed and there was people like me who wanted to do the same. Now, I see the world in a new light. I saw past the sugar-coated Tekuni that was hiding a dark face. I adapted to this new lifestyle and learnt not to feel anymore. That's why it's so easy for me to kill and dissect humans. In terms of killing, I will eliminate anyone who stands in my way. In terms of contaminating, I only choose certain people who deserve a chance to feel and see what I see. And someone like you, I chose you to help me because I see someone who is different from the rest of these pitiful humans."
I took it all in. I took everything in. It was the first time someone had told me their views on life through a different perspective. Peter always told me to live life like there was no tomorrow and to enjoy the best things while they lasted. She however, told me she stepped on those kind of thoughts. And for an unknown reason, I was truly interested in what she said.
"How do you know who I am?" The question came in suddenly but I needed to do what I had to do.
"Let's just say I briefly met you on my last day as a free human. I highly doubt you remember me," she explained.
"I don't," he answered quickly.
"It was at a summer fest at the outskirts of Seisamo. Times were tough for me because I had to deal with the growing infections. I believe that going to summer festivals were one of my favourite things to do so that's why I went," she explained.
She wasn't wrong. I did go to a summer festival last year with Peter. He dragged me to it, claiming it would be 'fun'. I wasn't one for those kind of festivals because they were usually filled with hippies. Regardless, I also went because I thought I'd gain something. Then, I ended up encountering a hippie after Peter went to use the restroom. He ranted a bunch of nonsense about world leaders and the good they do for the environment. It annoyed me so much that I was forced to give him a speech on my own views.
"I knew nobody there so it was pretty dull. I stayed by the coaches alone with my hood covering part of my face but my eyes were still visible. That's where I saw you. I watched you seemingly argue with a man dressed in flowers and I couldn't help but feel intrigued. I turned and listened to what you were saying. One of the best things you told him was how 'humanity is so quick to judge and assume when no one takes into consideration that the greatest downfalls came from human beings.'
I gasped, my eyes expanded like saucers. It was now that I remembered everything I had said and in the situation I was in, I didn't even sound like the same person. But...I was still fighting against them so did any of this matter?
"You had no idea what kind of affect your words had on me. In my time of loneliness, you said what I had been thinking for a very long time. In other words, you encouraged me to be this person. You helped me Sebastian."
I kept quiet. My mind running through a train of thoughts. Everything she told me was leaving me in a state of shock I was falling deeper into.
"You also glanced at me for a splint second. You may not have remembered me but I will always hold that moment. I knew my name because I overheard someone call you. I followed you after that because I wanted to know more but I never made it evident. I only showed up certain times and decided to reveal myself when the time was right. After my mutation, I discovered that I had become one of the strongest and rarest Demolisher. With a new boost of confidence and lack of emotions, I lived my life doing two things: Being a Demolisher while lurking as a human," she finished.
It took five whole minutes before I could properly respond to the situation. I couldn't eve comprehend what she just told me and why she did but what thing I knew I had to do was question further.
"So you brought me here to tell me your backstory?"
She shook her head and gestured towards the people that were behind me. "These are my people. They've protected me ever since the change. Not everyone can hold onto a human disguise like I can. The new ones can only stay in their Demolisher appearance but they can still communicate like humans and think like them. Then there are the few who cannot communicate very well and struggle to keep up with the human standard. There are no wild ones here."
I gave her a nod and looked around. I received strange looks from everybody accompanied by a few glares.
"Mari."
I snapped my head in her direction and did not need to be told twice what that meant. At least she had the decency to answer my questions. "I'm still confused about a lot of things but one thing you said that bothers me is how you need my help for something. What are you talking about?"
Mari shook her head. "I, unfortunately can't tell you now because you are still very new to this surrounding and environment. If I told you what you're needed for, you wouldn't want to do it. Your mind is yet still unstable," she answered.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
"You may leave now. I won't follow you much this time around because I will be revealing myself to you more. You at least have that satisfaction," she informed.
"What if he reports our whereabouts to the Headquarters?" One of them suggested. More Demolishers then nodded their heads in agreement.
"He hates even being near us as it is. How can you just let him go? He's also a human," another argued.
Mia's eyes never left mine as a smile made its way onto her face. "He won't." She was answering their questions, even though I had a mouth, but I felt like she was directing the answer to me. She answered my own question in my thoughts.
"Besides, he also referred to us as people a while ago." With that, she sent me a warm smile and no sooner after that, I was gone.