Zach was in a room while waiting for the preparation. He recalled all the memories that were just returned to him.
It's in his mind how it all began. He's aware of all the dangers he had been through.
It's true his love for her had put him in the brink of death more than once, but it was also his love for her that kept him alive.
He has no doubts. He has no regrets.
Claire is not just a girl he loves the most. She's his breath, his warmth, his sunshine, and his world.
He knew it's not about being blinded by love, because he could see and understand it all clearly. He knew very well what he wanted that moment. He wanted her back, and he'll do it whatever the cost, whatever the consequence.
He recalled her last words.
Claire wanted him to never forget her love for him. She wanted him to always remember it.
Then, her smile, the sad smile she gave him. It was imprinted in his mind. It gives him strong urge every time he sees it in his memory.
His body would quiver not because of fear but because of combined anger and impulsion.
"Just wait for me Claire... I'm coming... I'll get you out of there, if it's the last thing I do." he whispered.
Then, a knock on the door came.
"If you're ready, Dr Filbur is waiting for you in his lab to give you instructions." Per told him from the doorstep.
She tried to make her voice calm to avoid increasing his tension, but when he looked at her, she found no single fear nor hesitation on his face.
He stood up from the chair and walked towards her.
"Take me to him now." he said without second thoughts.
After hearing that, she nodded and headed the way.
In the lab, Per, Ark and Zach sat on chairs around a small steel table. Filbur remained standing.
Then, he gave his eyes at Zach. Zach understood it and immediately gave his attention.
"Well Zach, let me first tell you what's going to happen before we put Cerro's wings on you... See that?"
Filbur pointed at a big silver container safely placed in a secured compartment behind him.
"The wings are your ride to Henthel, but you still need a key to get in, and that would be it." he explained indistinctly.
"What's in there?" Zach asked.
"Cerro's Angthen blood" the doctor answered in a serious tone.
Zach gave him an expression that tells him he already knew what it is all about.
"If I read your mind correctly, yes Zach. We will put Cerro's blood in your body. That's the only way we can fasten the wings on you. The wings will only follow the same blood it carries." Filbur explained.
Per noticed Zach's bothered expression.
"Cerro permitted this. There's no need to feel guilty or skeptical. He also wants to save Claire." she told him to strengthen his will.
Zach took her words, but he was still confused about one thing.
"Is that possible? Mixing the blood of an Angthen into a human?" he asked.
"It depends to the human. It depends to you. Now, let me tell you the rough part. The truth is, it's not easy to fuse the blood of two different beings. Angthen blood is ten times thicker than of a human. It means the process will give you terrible, terrible pain. In other word... a torture." Filbur said with traces of menace.
He wanted to be true with all that he needed to go through before they could make a step into their plan.
"If you can survived it, you'll become one of us." he assured.
"You mean... I could die in the process?" Zach asked.
"Yeah, but... we will not bring you to this part of the mission if we know you can't." the doctor asserted.
Zach looked at Per and Ark. They were looking back at him with their strong beliefs.
"It's the only way Zach... If you really want to see her again." Ark spoke.
Per released a deep breath and lowered her stipulation.
"But... we're not really forcing you to do it... We're just..."
She was undone when Zach interrupted.
"I'll do it... I don't think I can go on with my life without her anyway, so... I agree."
He was not nervous that moment. His loneliness had already taken all his emotions. It was only urge and will that still circulating in his bloodstream.
《••◇•••••••○•••••••◇••》
Zach together with Dr Filbur, entered another room. It was large and has only one thing inside it, a fixed medical bed on the center.
The walls and the whole floor were both covered with thick rubber, like as if it's a room for a mentally disabled person.
"Remove your shirt and lay down on the bed." the doctor instructed.
Zach followed.
Once he's on the bed, Ark came pushing the silver container on a metal trolley. He placed it beside the bed.
"Just remember that you will see her again after this. It's a good prize for your sacrifice, don't you think?" he said trying to light up his friend's tensed feeling.
Zach gave him a pressed smile and a nod. Ark smiled back, then he left the room.
From his pocket, Filbur took out a small black case and opened it. Zach saw a syringe inside it. Filbur took it and lifted it in front of him.
"This will make you sleep for an hour... When you wake up, the pain will start. This room is made for this day. The pain will make you scream, make you hurt yourself and make you go completely crazy... Once the blood enters your body, there's no turning back... Now, let me ask you one last time... are you, with all you heart and mind, willing to do this?" the doctor asked firmly.
"I already died once... I'm not afraid." Zach answered.
Filbur saw strong determination in his eyes. He knew he was indeed fearless that moment.
He then grabbed his arm and inserted the needle in his skin. The liquid entered Zach's body immediately, and in just few minutes, his eyes closed.
《••◇•••••••○•••••••◇••》
"I'm worried Ark. Did we really do the right thing?"
Per was beginning to feel doubtful.
"It's too late for that, but you know what Per? I learned something the day they took Claire... After witnessing that, Zach asked me if to love is a wrong thing to do... I realized then, there's no right nor wrong anymore if what's at stake is the most important thing to you." Ark paused for a moment, then he returned his eyes at her.
"For you, do you think it's evil to make wrong right because you have no other choice?" he asked.
Per gave him an uncertain expression.
"I don't know. Do you?" she asked back in a very low voice.
"When you're in the verge of desperation, I guess, that's when you will know the answer." he answered in a heavy but convincing tone.
It was then that Filbur returned to the lab.
"Fil!" Per called.
"How is it?" she asked right away.
"The transfusion is done. All that we can do now is to wait." he answered.
To be continued...
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