“You’ve dreamed long enough. It’s time to wake up.”
Number Thirty-One
“We need Rael, as well as bandages and medicine.”
Atom spoke -- no, told them, disregarding protocols and age, expecting them to follow, and neither of his companions reacted negatively.
Ivan and Arashi asked no questions. They need not be told twice – time was of essence. Atom was reliable, and that's all they had to know. They acted swiftly, with no trace of hesitation. They were his pawns to manipulate as long as it would ensure Abcidee’s life.
“Where now?” Ivan asked as he threw a coat over the unconscious Rael and carried him on his back.
“We escape.” Atom answered as his eyes glazed over, scanning the immediate area. This couldn’t go unnoticed by Creed, but at least leaving like this would delay them from interfering. He knew that whatever plan he conjured would never be approved by Kreuz in his current state of mind.
It would put Abcidee in risk, but it was a necessary risk. Atom doubted Kreuz would hear that out.
Arashi picked him up like he weighted nothing and threw him over his shoulder. “Lead the way, kid.”
He hurt all over. He had not yet fully recovered from the poison gas but he refused to let them know that. He closed his eyes, and searched for that area where there was only silence.
It brought immediate relief when he centered his Gift there. He had always found Abcidee’s presence soothing.
“Southeast.”
Before he could even take a breath, Arashi was already running like a bullet, Ivan not far behind. They took the stairs three steps at a time and jumped down the open window as soon as they reached the second floor. The speed jarred his bones, but he clamped his mouth shut before he could hurl or cry.
Atom had to keep his eyes closed the whole time because the wind hurt him like a whiplash.
“Turn to the left,” he said once he realized that Abcidee was moving.
“That’s the armory. If she’s there, they would have reported a sighting.”
Atom could hear the explosions getting nearer. No matter what Arashi said, he couldn’t be wrong. His inability to stretch his Gift into that region was proof enough.
“She’s there,” he insisted.
Arashi’s mind said he was in doubt, but he didn’t voice that out. Instead, its gears turned faster. “We can leave this kid and Rael here in the outskirts while we scour the buildings.”
Ivan frowned as he glanced at their surroundings. "We'll waste our time going back and forth."
"Can we safely cross the streets with them? The Bases can mistake us for enemies and open fire."
“If we get any closer, we might accidentally set off the traps and make the roads and buildings collapse.”
The Russian mapped the area in his head. He was trying to remember the plans for the defensive landmines buried to keep off the enemies. “This street as well as the 3rd, 7th and 14th are lined up in the middle with bombs. There are snipers from 5th to 8th. Tanks are stationed at intersections.”
“Can you pinpoint her location?” Arashi addressed Atom.
“I think. . . she’s underground.”
“Must be in the unused escape tunnels.” Arashi murmured. “The exact coordinates?”
“Wait. How deep are they?” Atom asked as he opened his eyes. It was so dark, the moon only offering a sliver of light in the night sky. There were flashes of light from the roaming guards, but aside from that, the place was plunged into total darkness.
And Atom hated the darkness, as much as he hated spinach and celery.
He was cold and hungry and afraid, but he was brave. He had to be. He merely tightened his grip on Arashi instead of whining.
Arashi noticed this, but again, kept to himself. “I don’t know. Four meters?”
“5.34 meters on the roads and 4.78 meters under the buildings,” Ivan answered automatically. He raised a brow at his companions’ bewildered expressions. “What? My mentor used to make me memorize these things for my Trigo class.”
Only you could pull that off, Arashi thought, and Atom couldn’t help but agree.
“She’s about two or three blocks from where we are.”
“I think we better travel underground from now on,” Arashi supplied as he put the young mind reader down. “Less eyes.”
“There are no entrances around this area. It’s all metal and concrete down there,” Ivan reasoned with a grunt. “We could go over to the left side and enter through the canal under the Thierry Bridge.”
He wasn’t saying it, but he had busted his right knee in an earlier fight, and it was too damn painful Atom took immediate pity on him. Running with that knee had to be difficult, and to add Rael’s weight on it. . .
Arashi noticed the limp that his partner was trying to hide. He merely shook his head, but deep inside, Atom knew he was worried. His voice, however, was indifferent. "I have an idea."
These two men were amazing like his brother. Atom was glad that he chose them for this mission.
Arashi took off the heavy bulletproof vest from under his shirt. “You might want to take cover and protect your ears.”
Atom read his thought and immediately yanked Ivan and Rael away. Ivan saw the vest and had deduced his partner’s plan in a blink of an eye. He nodded and picked up Atom on his other arm. As they scrambled to distance themselves, Arashi took three quick backward steps, pivoted on a heel, and then threw his vest right into the middle of the street.
And then he ran for his dear life as well.
It was dark, it was dank, and it was suffocating. Arashi held his flaming fist in front of him, his eyes carefully scanning every nook and cranny for any signs of her.
“There she is!” Ivan exclaimed, a few meters ahead of him.
What he saw made his sight darken considerably.
He couldn’t move.
“Is she – is she . . .”
“She’s alive,” Atom assured softly, trying and failing to keep the fear in his voice. Arashi was scaring him, but he couldn’t spare him shit. He was trembling in anger. No, he was overflowing with a cauldron of emotions: fury, sadness, bitterness, hatred, and most of all, pity.
To be alive, yet looking like that. He closed his eyes. I can’t watch.
He wanted to rip someone’s throat off, namely a villain called Falcon. If not for him, she wouldn’t have a reason to experience this. That man just had to die.
“Arashi! Help! I can’t get her out! She's nullifying my Gift!”
Stiffly, he moved to help Ivan remove her from under the massive rock. He felt like all the blood rose to his head. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.
It was the scene four years ago, all over again. Her, unconscious and broken. Half-alive. Barely breathing.
How many times had he seen her in the cusp of life and death? One time had scarred him. Two was pushing it to his limits.
This was worse. A lot worse.
“Dee?” he softly called out. “Say something. Can you hear me?”
You don’t deserve this. Why does it have to be you always experiencing this? Why is Fate so cruel to you?
"Dee. . .?"
Ivan jumped away to wake the still unconscious Rael. They knew he was still weak from overexertion. After all, healers were rare and they were in demand in the frontlines. And healing was time and energy consuming.
But they needed him now. Needed him badly.
Arashi didn’t want to touch Abcidee, afraid that it would cause more harm than comfort. But she was losing blood, and there were fractures he had to consider.
“Use your power on her.”
“What?” he snapped at the young mind reader kneeling beside him. Atom had red-rimmed eyes, and he was holding Abcidee’s hand like a lifeline.
“Your Gift. Use it.”
Arashi must have heard him wrong. He couldn’t be asking him to light Dee up like a human torch.
“You heard me. Use your fire on her.”
He pressed his lips into a thin line.
The boy merely smirked. “Based from your facial expression, you’re thinking that I’ve gone bonkers, haven’t you?” He squeezed Abcidee’s hands. “Her Subtractive Gift will negate Rael’s power to heal. We need to take that load off him by feeding her an equal amount of yours. Like what Kreuz Creed did all those years ago. Though, your Gift is not enough. Ivan has to join as well.”
Arashi had already heard this from the Master that time. He understood what the kid meant.
Atom continued, “You have to listen carefully to my instructions. Once I’m able to hear her thoughts, I’ll give you a signal. That means you have to keep the level of power you’re using at that particular level. No more, no less. More will kill her, less will stop her from healing.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ivan said behind. He knelt on the opposite side of Arashi and held out his hands on top of her. “You heard that, right Rael?”
The Filipino nodded weakly after getting over his shock at the sight of her body. He went to attend to her leg.
With a deep breath, he said, “Give me your best shot, guys.”
Atom stepped away to give them space. “Don’t overexert yourself, yes? You’re of no use to us dead.”
Rael chuckled, his thoughts a welcome relief to the doom and gloom that the two other men possessed. “Krad is a real bad influence on you.” And then he pressed his palms over Abcidee’s broken skin and bones. “Let’s start.”
One can never learn from their mistakes if they don’t remember them.
That was the one thing she hoped she didn’t have to learn the hard way. She had been a coward, and that only made things much worse for everyone around her. She had been selfish. She had been young and naïve.
Years had passed, and she wasn’t quite sure if she was more mature, more responsible this time. Only that she wanted to fight her problems head on. Confront them, not run. Maybe, if she does, she wouldn’t regret her actions even if the results were not what she wanted. At least she tried.
No more running, that’s what she promised herself.
So when she opened her eyes and saw their worried faces, she did the first thing that came to her mind. She pulled all of them close to her and cried.
“Dee?”
She sobbed harder. God, she’d been so mean to him, when all he did was follow his heart’s desire. He’d been good to her. Too good, in fact.
“Arashi. . . I'm so sorry.”
"Why are you apologizing?"
Ivan pulled away and patted her head. His eyes were tender with brotherly love. He didn't grin, nor did his eyes lit up in delight. Needless to say, he was tentative in threading around her.
“Are you okay? Do you feel weird?”
"I'm fine."
Rael looked like he was about to faint if Atom didn’t caught his shoulder. “I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up. It’s been an hour, and you weren't responding.”
Ivan continued to fuss over her. “Does your head hurt? Can you hear us properly? Can you move your legs?”
She missed their warmth. She missed this. She missed them.
"Never been better." She couldn’t help laughing as she wiped away her snot and hot tears. She didn’t care that she probably looked like a zombie, or that she smelled like garbage and sewerage. Happiness was spilling from her pores. She tackled all of them into another fierce hug.
She felt better, stronger . . . she felt herself.
“Thank you! Thank you everyone!” She gave a dimpled smile at their weirded out faces. Ivan squirmed, looking aprehensive. Seemed like everyone but Arashi shared the sentiment. “What? It’s so good to be back!”
Ivan's shoulders slackened as he slowly grinned. "Wow."
She scrunched her nose. "I know. I smell, don't I?" She made a disgusted face.
He pulled her up. “At least someone here is full of energy.”
She surprised him by suddenly embracing him again. She snickered at his bewildered expression. “I give free hugs to those who looked like they needed it badly.” She winked at him and then turned to Atom. “Come here, you brat.”
Atom jumped into her arms without a second of hesitation. She tightened her hold of him. “You did very well bringing them here. You’re my hero. Thank you.”
Her shoulder muffled his reply, but it sounded like a protest.
“I think you’re cool.” She looked around at the three men standing around her. They each had different versions of a half-confused, half-amused face. Someone was missing.
“Where’s Krad?”
They responded with silence. The kind that is so thick she could probably hear their heartbeats if she tried hard enough.
She clucked her tongue in comprehension. “I’m listening. Spill the bad news.”
When no one answered, she slightly pulled away from the shaking boy in her arms. “Atom?”
The young boy was bawling his eyes out. He looked so terrified. “Falcon had him. . . Falcon, he, that man is literally inside him and uses him like a puppet. Everyone in Creed wants to have him killed. I can’t have that. My brother --”
She could see in the boy’s eyes the sadness and the fear of someone losing a beloved. She understood it very well, had felt it far too often and too much. She cooed at him, hoping to offer him a bit of comfort. “It’s okay. Smart, wonderful you have a plan right?”
He looked stunned. “How did you know?”
“I just.”
Ivan interjected, his face somber meaning he was serious. Not a face she could easily get used to. “Abcidee, we have to go back to your father right now.”
Her green eyes watched him carefully. “But we’re saving Krad, aren’t we?”
The three men looked dubiously at each other.
She sighed. “Arashi, your lips are twitching and your eyes are moving left to right. You have a question to ask me, eh?”
“You. . . what happened to you?”
She merely gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“I just learned to take advantage of the two sides of a coin.”
*throws confetti*
Thank you very much for the response I got about the BE FANFIC Contest in the last chapter. Rest assured, it'll be fun to join. I mean, you get to write anything under the sun (imagine, how good it will make you feel if you can dress up Ivan in a Santa Claus suit, or make Arashi your husband, or like, torture your most hated character the way you want it).
PLUS, you get to make me happy, right? ^-^)
So, about the chapter, I think you're getting hints on what's about to happen right? I want to be nice and not give people a heart attack, so I think you can easily foresee where this story is heading.
Comments?