《The Withering of Gold Vol. 2》 Tremors of love Love -An emotion everyone wants to experience. Hell, who doesn¡¯t? Unless you''re some lone wolf kinda person, love is something every person looks forward to with crazed puppy eyes. It can come in many different shapes and forms, whether it be normal feelings for someone you genuinely grow feelings for, or an easily mistaken spar of the moment lust.. Love also varies on whether people will always enjoy the experiences brought by it, or if they end up getting hurt in the end no matter what.. It can be one of the most lighthearted, wholesome times of your life, or it can be a very painful time, one you dread every second of hoping dear god, when will this finally be over with¡­ But at the end of the day, humans always crave love. Whether it be from a partner we hold dear, a family member, a friend, or from somebody you can¡¯t have-everybody yearns to be wanted. Some may have their lucky person with them, sharing their emotions with each other every night, and wishing luck to each other for yet again a week without snags.. And while others may not be so luck or ballsy, they still might have a family member or friend-someone-out there who loves and cares about you. So, with all there love there in front of you, question yourself how long are they going to be here? What if I leave for a long time? What if something happens and I can¡¯t see them for a while? What if something happens and I can¡¯t ever see them again? The answer¡¯s dumbly simple when you think about it: Stop thinking about it, and live your life with them. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Tell them how you feel, how much they mean to you. Even if it¡¯s just a small thank you, it can go to show how much they mean to you, because you just might never get the chance again if you don¡¯t. Show them, express to them, that they mean the world to you. Little hugs, or taking them out-it can go to show how much said person means to you. Because if you miss your chance, and you can never get the chance to tell them again¡­ ¡°Sir, his heartbeat is slowing, and his nerves are responding less and less, what should we do?!¡± ...it¡¯ll be like you died inside yourself. ¡°Inject him with this, and give him a defib! Pronto!¡± The emotional weight will be heavy, forever lifting on your shoulders. Thoughts will storm your mind with: I should have, I could have, why didn¡¯t I? If I could have just¡­ ¡°Ready...Now!¡± It hurts, it really hurts. My face, my arms, my legs, my body. There¡¯s pain everywhere¡­ ¡°Didn¡¯t work. Again!¡± Please, stop...I don¡¯t want to feel this pain anymore¡­ Darkness. Pure darkness enveloped Effryns mind as the sound of fading rushing and beeps, along with an intense feeling of pain were his only two senses he could notice. He felt a small sting, but it faded away shortly after. ¡°Again!¡± Don¡¯t...just let me¡­ Another sting, but this time¡­ ¡°Hurrah! Good job fellas, he¡¯s got a weakened pulse, but still alive!¡± Sounds of cheers filled his mind around him. Each one sounded happy, as if they had accomplished something they were proud of. But Effryn didn¡¯t feel that. The opposite, actually. His mind began to go completely blank, further fading away from the reality of the world. He felt himself dying, almost as if he were mere seconds away. But his ¡®saviors¡¯ had dragged him back, forcing him to stay in this pain filled world, without the person he cherished the most. The person he spent everyday with, no matter how long or boring, was gone now. She¡¯ll never come back. Evvryn was dead. The drugs they must have injected him with were working, and with great speed. He knew in a matter of seconds he would sleep, only to awake in some hospital. He grasped onto the memories of Evvryn¡¯s last moments of life, reliving them like a tape being forced to be played over and over again. Until¡­ ...you should have just let me die¡­ ...he fell asleep, knowing the place he¡¯d wake to, was a world without Evvryn. 1. From nightmare to hell Memories burned in the mind. Never ending loops playing. The same loop playing. Over and over. Never ending. Stop playing. Stop playing. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop Stop¡­ Pain rang throughout his entire body, echoing from limb to limb. It was dark; he saw, felt, heard, thought, of nothing. Nothing, except for the moment she died, being played over countless times. He didn¡¯t know if he was dead or not. Maybe it was purgatory? Then, he felt a sharp sting. He didn¡¯t know exactly where, like it was everywhere on his body, but he couldn¡¯t point it anywhere. His mind was a complete blur. He began to slowly regain his senses. His thoughts trickled in, forming small but understandable ideas. Evvryn...don¡¯t leave me¡­ His thoughts repeated, until he felt his mind turn numb. His pain soon followed, leaving behind everything except a husk. The only thing that remained was the same memory in his mind, replaying over and over. Everything had gone numb, but the sorrow remained. An empty trench had been engraved on his heart, with a seemingly endless bottom. ¡°Did you give him the shot?¡± ¡°Yes sir, the anesthesia should be taking effect.¡± Effryn heard voices from outside of his else, or somewhere far away from his mind. Sound must have come back. But along with sound, came the timbre echo of a gunshot. The same shot that killed Evvryn, playing over in his mind. I want to wake up¡­ I want to wake up. I want to wake up! ¡°Well, all we can do is let him rest.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± The voices spoke, then dissipated. He was all alone, without anyone. Only his poisonous mind keeping him company. He felt like crying out, yelling out, to anyone. Anyone even willing to listen. Nothing. His heart was empty, with nothing to its name. Why would anything come out? And even if he did cry out, who would listen? Would he want anyone to listen? He wanted to cry out, but to only one person. Someone who had took care of him, practically raised him. He wanted to cry out only to Evvryn. But no matter how loud or sad he would sound, she would never come to his side again. Evvryn¡­ Evvryn. Evvryn! A rush of emotions filled his head, dumping it with sadness and a sense of loss. Why? Why leave me? What am I to do now? ¡°How is he doing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still resting, and shows no signs of waking.¡± More voices erupted from the outside. They seemed to be talking about someone, probably Effryn. But he didn¡¯t care. He couldn¡¯t. His mind was filled with the same view of Evvryn in her last moments, replaying each time. He didn¡¯t know how many times he saw this, but each time he went through it, he criticized how he could have done something. Something to stop her from dying. Something to help her survive, even if it cost him his life. ¡°Well, I guess all we can do is wait. Any information on who this boy is?¡± Leave me alone. ¡°All we could find was some school records, but that¡¯s about it. We did hear he was pretty close to a friend named Evvryn, but we couldn¡¯t get in contact with her.¡± Stop talking, get out. ¡°This boy has to be from somewhere. He couldn¡¯t have just appeared on the side of the road. He had to have jumped from a vehicle or something, maybe like some kind of stunt?¡± Get out!! His mind, filled with rage, would give anything to rid the voices outside of his head. He didn¡¯t want to hear anything about what happened, or how he got there. ¡°Either way, he was in pretty bad shape. But I digress, lets allow him to continue resting.¡± The voices stopped once more, and Effryn was left to his haunting mind. His mind where the memories of his last conscious day play on repeat. Each rerun, he screams out her name, hoping he could go back in time and change the outcome. Evvryn! Evvryn!! Evv- Until the nightmare¡­ ¡°-ryn!¡± ...became a reality itself. Effryn, now awake with wide eyes, reached out to the nothingness of his room. He reached out for Evvryn, hoping to grab her in his night terror. But nothing came of it, and only stared at the plain white wall gazing right back at him. The whiteness stared at him for god knows how long, until it eventually began to get blurry. Water filled his vision, until he couldn¡¯t see much of anything anymore. Evvryn¡­ Curling himself up, he could feel tears drip from his cheeks. He didn¡¯t understand. Why was he still here? He should have died. -No, he should have been dead. But here he lay, although numb all over his body, he was alive in the end. Effryn lifted his head and scanned the room with teary eyes. There were machines all around him, with a heartbeat scanner keeping up with his pulse, and a tube connected to an IV bag going into his arm¡­ ¡°...why?¡± The off set beep echoed in his head, as he stared at the heavily bandaged arm. Checking his other arm, he saw it was the same as his left. He looked at his legs, lifting his medical robe to see his chest covered completely. How bad does this actually hurt? Effryn felt more of his body to look if there was any part uncovered, but couldn¡¯t find much of anything with how numb he felt. He searched, and he searched, until¡­ A face with everything covered except for his brown eyes and black hair. ...he saw his reflection in the heart monitor, staring at him with a dead expression. Then the thought came to him. It didn¡¯t matter how much this would hurt it, he was already hurt enough inside, so how much more could physical pain inflict to him? The reflection had tidal waves of tears raging down their face, until Effryn noticed he was crying too. He hated this. Not having to feel anything on the outside, not even his own tears. But on the inside was an entirely new story. Everything hurt inside: his feelings, his thoughts; nothing was sane inside his mind. He curled himself up into a ball and let the tears fall from his eyes. He didn¡¯t know if time was going to pass for him, or if he was stuck in a perpetual singularity forever. Effryn would lie there, crying until god knows how long something come his way to force him to move, or until he would die. With passing time, Effryn eventually heard two light hearted taps. He waited a moment to wait for them to leave, but instead of hearing nothing, he heard the door creak open. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, are you awa... Y-young man! How long have you been awake?!¡± Effryn didn¡¯t budge from his curl. Instead, he only reinforced himself. ¡°Excuse me sir, but how long have you been awake? Can you explain how you are feeling?¡± Leave me alone. The person in his room must have been a doctor, or someone that was looking after him. But Effryn didn¡¯t care. He just wanted to be alone, thinking only to himself. ¡°We administered anesthetics for you, so the pain should be reduced, but can you please tell me if it hurts anywhere specific?¡± I want to be alone. ¡°Oh, right! Someone was asking for you right now, but since we don¡¯t have any records of there being family members, we had to refuse.¡± The doctors tone changed with slight confusion, questioning him if he knew of such person. Eizer, maybe¡­ ¡°He was an older male, and had old fashioned clothes, maybe forties?¡± The words echoed in his mind, making Effryn question the doctors words. He didn¡¯t know many people in the first place, and he definitely didn¡¯t know anyone older than him who was a male other than father at the orphanage. But even that was a stretch, as father only ever stayed in the background, cooking and getting everything prepared for the kids. Lifting his tear drenched eyes, Effryn shrugged off the old man. ¡°I¡¯m sorry...but I don¡¯t know who it could be. Tell them to go away.¡± Slumping his head back into his curly ball, Effryn wanted to exit the conversation entirely and go back to his mind. Effryn had no reason to talk to anyone. Why would he? Everything he knew was taken from him, and forced out the window. ¡°That¡¯s fine sir, but they might be someone you know who wishes to check on you. For the time you have been asleep I wouldn¡¯t doubt people would start to miss you.¡± ¡°Time¡­? How long have I¡­¡± ¡°Nearly two months. We found you near christmas, and it¡¯s february now.¡± Those words only bounced around his brain for a moment, until he brushed them off realizing What''s the point? Even if he were in a coma, it didn¡¯t change the fact that Evvryn was still gone. Effryn didn¡¯t say anything, and kept his mouth shut, making the room devoid of any sound. The doctor stood still, writing down on a noteboard, until¡­ ¡°Doctor? The visitor from earlier is getting more demanding about seeing this patient. I know you told me to refrain him from doing anything, but¡­¡± The voice of an out of breath nurse bursted through the door, bringing back the earlier dead question of visitors. ¡°Miss Yain, I told you to keep him until I got the patient''s agreement. I...oh well, let me handle the situation.¡± Effryn noticed the doctors sense of irritation edging his throat, but he was able to calm himself. The doctor reaffirmed his posture, and motioned the nurse out of Effryns room. ¡°Now then, shall we finish this later, sir?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Letting out a small laugh of defeat, the doctor slowly closed the door, with echoes of footsteps moving away. Effryn was all alone, like he wanted. He could cry freely without any restraints. No annoyances bothering him. Just him, and his island surrounded by ocean. For the rest of the night, or rather life, he could stay curled up in a ball. Sooner or later, he could probably die from dehydration, or maybe even hunger. It didn¡¯t matter to him; whichever gets the job done the fastest is preferable. But his mind still had some things lightly hanging from its brain. For one, the bandages covering his entire body. How badly is his body damaged? He feels fine now, but how much pain are the drugs covering? Then number two: the two month gap. He¡¯s been asleep for nearly two months, and how is he still here? He was sure the people responsible for all this would have come back to finish him by now.. Then finally three, which is most important is who were those people? Why care so much about a pair of kids hardly even known? Why? Why¡­? She wasn¡¯t even that big of a person. She was hardly known by even a gamestop, so why would she need to be targeted? Why not...me? Thinking back to that moment, Effryn prayed, wished, hoped, he could change that outcome to do anything and everything in his power to keep her alive. Anything, even if it meant trading his life. ¡°Why¡­¡± Interrupting his thoughts, Effryn saw a bright, greyish light reflected on the window near his bed, filling the darkened room with a moonlight. It was the moon, or rather, night. Slowly the moonlight filled the room, almost like the moon was directly outside of Effryn¡¯s window. Then, out of nowhere, the silhouette of a body shone in with the beauty of the moon slowly appeared from the corner of the room. ¡°G-great, first loss now delusions.¡± Effryn felt no fear towards the shape. After all, other than the oppressiveness of the drugs, his mind was on an entirely different thought than mind tricks. Watching the appearing shape lazily, Effryn thought of it as nothing, and waited for it to eventually end as some trick of the mind or some kind of bug from the drugs. But as Effryn watched, a bridge of feelings built up in his mind. The contours of the figure soon began to color, with an all too familiar look: A pale toned skin all around, long streaks of golden hair reaching down to the waist, and the aurelian iris he grew up with. ¡°E...Evvryn?¡± The figure looked around at her environment, but only momentarily, before staring at Effryn with a blank expression. Nothing went through Effryns thoughts. Only the shape of what looked like Evvryn was on his mind. Or rather, it had always been. ¡°E-¡± ¡°-You must hide.¡± It even has her voice. Before getting a chance to say her name a second time, the figure spoke with a chilling, but soft vibration. It was quiet, yet Effryn could understand it perfectly. ¡°If you don¡¯t hide soon, it will cost you.¡± ¡°Hide from what? Do I even have a reason to hide anymore? And besides, the doctor said no one was allowed to visit without my permission.¡± Effryn surmised he should be pretty safe. And even on the offset chance he wasn¡¯t why should he care? He was talking to a ghost of someone he grew up with, and even loved; it seemed his sanity was already low as is, if it gets any worse, he may as well consider himself dead. ¡°Open the window.¡± The figure of Evvryn spoke softly as ever, but this time, with a more demanding tone. ¡°W-why should I-¡± ¡°-Open the window¡± The figure of Evvryn interrupted, repeating herself in the same tone. Not knowing whether it was impulse, or the fact it was the figures face itself, Effryn opened the window like it wanted. ¡°Grab your bed sheets and tie them into a rope. Then, swing it out the window. Hurry.¡± The soft voice of the figure spoke again, followed by more demands for Effryn to follow. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, but why do I have to listen?¡± Effryn had no reason to listen to some figure that appeared in his room. More so, he should be angered. It was his room he needed for recovery. There was that, and the fact it had the indecency to use an identical body as Evvryn¡¯s. But the figure gave no direct answer. It only replied with the same soft, chilling demand. ¡°Hurry.¡± Effryn didn¡¯t know why, but he obliged. He compacted the sheets together, and made a knot connecting to make a long, durable rope. Or a poor excuse of a rope, that is. It could at most support the weight of a child, if that. Effryn hurried to the window and tossed the rope out, while keeping hold of one end. He looked out at the window, and saw a heavily spread forest, with the city in the faroff distant, sleeping under the dead of night. He then focused his attention on the rope dangling from the window, and saw it barely grazing the ground from three stories up. Looking back at the figure, Effryn had a face of shock and dumbfoundedness. ¡°What now, tie this rope to the bed and slowly descend, hoping it doesn¡¯t snap the second I touch it?¡± ¡°It should be fine where it is now. Hide underneath the bed.¡± Effryn had clearly lost it. What was the point in making a rope in the first place if he wasn¡¯t even going to use it? Confused, Effryn tried to make sense of the situation. ¡°But wait, if I made the rope thingy, then shouldn¡¯t I at least use it?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. If he made the rope, the least he could do was make use of his efforts and actually use it. ¡°Incorrect. If you did, the poor attempt of a rope would surely collapse on itself, causing you to fall three stories high. It would definitely cost you.¡± Ignoring the remarks on his knot tying skills, Effryn still wondered what the point in making rope was. And furthermore, how would he hide with this, and from what? ¡°Cost me what?¡± ¡°Hide underneath the bed. Immediately.¡± Effryn wanted to ask more questions, like why should he have to follow the orders of something that was possibly just a figment of his imagination? But deciding to trust his gut feeling, Effryn made sure to tighten the rope on the curtain hanging from above the window, and hurried off underneath the bed. The figure had been glowing in the corner of the room ever since it first appeared, but the moment Effryn hid under the bed, he felt a chilling presence next to him. -It was the figure of Evvryn, leaning over Effryn with a finger over its lips. ¡°Hush now. Stay extremely still, and they won¡¯t notice you. If you play this perfectly, nothing will cost of it.¡± Effryn wanted to ask it something, with words being just around the corner of his throat. -But before any sound exited his mouth, the door was rammed open, with a few or more people storming in. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Look over there, is that¡­¡± ¡°Damnit, it¡¯s a rope!¡± Voices barraged his room, with each person gathering over the window. ¡°Do you think he made a run for it?!¡± ¡°Use your brain dumbass, what else would this rope be. That damn smart bastard, how did he know?!¡± ¡°No point thinking about that now. Lets just find the boy, and kill him before he gets any further.¡± What...kill? Feeling his own heart beating in his chest, Effryn held himself tightly, making sure no sound would exit from him. ¡°Excuse me, but you are not permitted here! This patient requested no visitors!¡± Out of the sea of voices, Effryn picked up on the doctor who had been taking care of him. It sounded like he didn¡¯t want any people visiting Effryn, like he requested, but he failed. Effryn heard the doctor shoved away into something, before the footsteps of the men hurried off into some other hall. Feeling the sense of calm enter his body, Effryn relaxed his muscles, and glanced at the window. I see, so it wasn¡¯t a way for me to escape, but more of a decoy type of thing. But how did she know¡­ Having forgotten the ghost the moment the men entered the room, it was almost as if it had disappeared entirely. ¡°How did it...know what to do? Could it really be her?¡± An emotion began to rise in Effryns heart; one he had thought died two months ago. ¡°H-hello, I wanted to ask you, or it...are you Evvryn?¡± Effryn asked the now dead silent room, such an empty question. He knew logically what the answer was, but he knows what he saw. It was her. So maybe, just maybe¡­ ¡°No.¡± What? ¡°I am not Evvryn.¡± The soft, chilling voice of the figure was behind him, now visible. It was underneath the bed with him, but with no signs of breathing, or any other kind of noise following it. It replied with cold responses, ripping apart the last chance of hope he could have ever had. ¡°Then why do you look identical to her?!¡± ¡°I am not Her, though I admired her.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer anything!!¡± Effryn felt a myriad of emotions. Anger, hate, betrayal, sadness, loss. But he didn¡¯t know the direct one he was feeling the strongest. How could this figure represent Evvryn¡¯s appearance almost perfectly, yet not be her? And her admiring Evvryn, it didn¡¯t make any sense to Effryn. Yet the figure only stared blankly at Effryn, and put a finger to its lips once more. ¡°Shush. If you are loud, the bad people will return.¡± Effryn didn¡¯t know how to take these feelings. Someone who he grew up with, loved even, is right in front of him. But then again, she¡¯s not. ¡°And so what if they do? I don¡¯t really care anymore. I¡¯d prefer them coming back, actually.¡± His entire body ached as he picked himself up from the bed, only to slump against the wall. He thought maybe the drugs were wearing off, but with the numbing in his head, he couldn¡¯t really tell anymore. Effryn looked at the figure, or ghost, with him in the room. It claims it isn¡¯t Evvryn, but is that true? If not, then why use her body? It has her exact same body, with even the same voice. The only thing different was her tone, which every word was deadpanned. ¡°Your eyes look empty; something in them, or you, has died.¡± ¡°Well yeah, when she died, everything else pretty much died along with her.¡± ¡°Effryn...there is water dripping from your eyes.¡± Effryn felt the very essence of time being frozen as those words exited from the ghosts¡¯ lips. Her same voice, except now soft and chilling, echoed through the atmosphere. ¡°Why do you know my name, and why her same voice?¡± The water she mentioned earlier began to downpour as he asked his question. It was too much. Everything was too much for him. He just wanted to disappear, and be happy with Evvryn like before. Before, when the days were simple. Before, when all they had to worry about was what kind of game they would play. Before, when both were still alive. They were much better times, with anything being a possibility... While thinking on every missed chance he had, he felt a slight nudge on his sleeve. ¡°If you don¡¯t leave now, it would be costly.¡± ¡°Evvryn, I don¡¯t care-¡± ¡°-I am not Evvryn.¡± The ghost interrupted with the same neverending soft tone. ¡°And you should, there are a few more things needed to be done before you can fully rest.¡± No matter how much Effryn wanted to sit and cry, the ghost sounded like she had different plans. With these words, it sounded more like she knew exactly what Effryn needed to do. Thinking more about the short time he had been awake, Effryn grew suspicious about the being before him. Can I really trust her? She may look like her, but she may not be her. But before Effryn could put any thought into words¡­ ¡°-Now.¡± Her tone. It was exactly hers, which was enough to make Effryn clutch his chest, and run straight out the room. Remembering from looking out the window, he was on the third floor. Knowing this, he ran to the nearest stairs.. ¡°That way is costly. Find another.¡± But the ghost whispered in his mind, from which Effryn picked up as some kind of warning to not go down. Turning back, Effryn searched for another exit down the building. He sprinted down the hospital hall in his gown, and searched down adjacent hallways for another exit. ¡°There, an emergency exit. Take it, and wait quietly.¡± ¡°But what if there¡¯s someone there?¡± Effryn was curious on how the ghost may have knew its information, so he questioned if it was correct. But all he received was an empty response. Effryn had didn¡¯t know what else to do, so he trusted the ghosts¡¯ word. Behind the emergency exit was a set of spiral stairs leading both Y-planes. Effryn took the negative route until he reached the base floor. ¡°What now?¡± Effryn wondered what was next, but the ghost was nowhere in sight. The floor was like any other hospital lobby, with benches for waiting and a main desk. But with it being night, there usually aren¡¯t too many people up an about, so it was pretty much empty. ¡°Evv-er-Ghost?¡± He called out to the being, but someone other than it responded. ¡°Sir, are you okay?¡± The voice erupted behind him, and had a similar tone from one he heard earlier. It was the first face he had seen since waking up-the doctor. He was a tall man, with many medical garments covering his face, like as if he was about to begin an operation. His expressions told Effryn he had many questions, but he held them all back for whatever reason. ¡°Y...yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± Effryn was timid about the doctor seeing him, with everything he¡¯d experienced thus far from only just waking up. He didn¡¯t know who to trust anymore, or who was actually on his side. He figured his own mind must have been playing some sick game on him now, which meant he couldn¡¯t even trust himself at this point. ¡°That¡¯s good sir, but I have to ask, who were those people? And why did they want you in such a hurry?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry...but I don¡¯t know.¡± Although there was the doctor and the ¡®ghost¡¯ that helped him so far, he still didn¡¯t trust them enough. There were only two people he could officially trust in this cruel world, but he didn¡¯t know how far away they were from him. Thinking about it now, he actually had no idea where he was. The only thing he could go off was that he was in a hospital. Based on what he saw from out the window, it wasn¡¯t the usual city he had been living in before, but more on the edge of of town. -Effryn was somewhere he had no clue of and didn¡¯t know how far the city actually was.. Then again...home had practically no meaning anymore. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you rather not tell me. But I still wish to help you, with you being my patient and all.¡± The doctor reached out his hand waiting for Effryn to take hold. Effryn hesitated taking his hand, before slowly reaching for it. That was, until he stopped in progress while looking down at his trembling hand. Oh yeah...I¡¯m pretty broken. He remembered how his body was nearly completely bandaged from top to bottom. How his body had been numbed beyond belief, to the point of complete void. Effryn looked down at his bandages, feeling the small amounts of numbness wear off. He felt strange, like a feeling of dead, but a small ache being rammed into his body slowly, yet surely. ¡°T-thank you, lets go.¡± I might as well at least take use of him. It¡¯s not like I could have gotten far myself. Deciding it was best for him to follow the doctor, Effryn washed away his timid feeling and took hold of the hand awaiting him. ¡°We should hurry, before they decide to come back.¡± The doctor lead Effryn down to the main desk, which lead to a door labeled ¡®pharmacists¡¯. ¡°Oh, and from before...I would recommend if you could keep from crying in front of others. It could be seen as a sign weakness to others.¡± Shut up, Effryn thought, wiping away the tears with the bandages covering his arm. After his sudden encounter with the doctor, Effryn found himself in the pharmacy room. Inside, were closed cabinets alongside every wall except for the main desk. Where ever he looked, there were cabinets with different colors. The room had been filled with them. ¡°Here sir, you should rest.¡± The doctor pulled a chair from the main desk resting it alongside a darkish red cabinet, which was closest to Effryn. ¡°T-thank you.¡± Murmuring a gratitude, Effryn allowed his body to rest. His body, but not his mind. He still had many questions. What did those people want? Should he trust the doctor? Is there anyone he could trust? But one question loomed over the rest. What can I do without her¡­? And the more he thought about it, the more of the same questions spawned. Can I even go on without her? Can I...even keep living, without her? The more and more he let his mind slip from reality, the more he really pondered on these questions. How can he live without someone who had been there for him since nearly the beginning of his time. Who grow up together and breathed the same childhood together? With everything he experienced so far today, it was a miracle he was still going. He pushed on even with the feeling of emptiness building up in him. -But...was there even a point to it. Evvryn was dead, so there should be no point in running away from anything. Actually, it would be better if he was caught. Maybe then, they would do the same to him as they did her¡­ ¡°Pardon me sir, but is something on your mind?¡± The doctors question snapped Effryn back to the harsh reality of life with a genuinely worried expression. ¡°Eh, it¡¯s nothing. Sorry to bother.¡± The doctor stared at Effryn for a few seconds, before completely flipping his mood around to an eccitrinc aura. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s none of my business. And please, my name is Dr. Zylar, but you can just call me Zylar.¡± Dr. Zylar reached out his hand, which Effryn figured it must have been a greeting handshake. ¡°R-right, Dr-sorry-just Zylar and nice to meet you. And mine is¡­¡± Before saying his name Effryn wondered whether or not it was truly safe for him to disclose his name to someone he¡¯d just met, and so willingly at that. ¡°....it¡¯s Cayde.¡± ¡°Cayde, is it? Well nice to meet you, Cayde.¡± Using the first name that came to his mind, Effryn lied to Zylar about his name. He thanked a certain looter shooter for the quick impromptu name, and continued his conversation with the Doctor. ¡°Well Cayde, for whatever reason those people are after you for, I¡¯ll do my best to keep you safe and hidden.¡± The doctor lifted himself up and began opening a light blue cabinet, which were three away from Effryn. He reached inside and pulled out some yellow marked bottles, and lifted it sideways to release two capsules in his hand. ¡°But we have a more urgent matter presenting itself, and that would be your wounds. Please, let me go and fetch you a glass of water so you may digest your medicine with ease.¡± ¡°S-sure thing.¡± Effryn answered with a soft squeak, but only because he could feel his entire body start to slowly hurt all over. It burned from his eyes, to his chest, to his legs, to his brain. Everything started to burn. ¡°Okay, please wait one moment while I get you a glass.¡± Effryn nodded his head as Dr. Zylar headed for the door with ¡®Pharmacist¡¯ as a handle. But before he could fully leave, Effryn had a question on his mind. ¡°Doctor, I know you might be the one in charge here, so this could be your own room, but...where are your nurses?¡± It was a valid thought, or at least Effryn thought so. The only nurse he had seen was the one when he first woke up. But ever since then, it¡¯s only been Doctor Zylar. ¡°Ah, I sent the others home after those rude barbarians rushed in here without any manners. But don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t leave you tonight.¡± After saying those words, Effryn only heard the sound of Zylars soles as the door close behind him. So...he sent the others home due to a sudden hazard popping up? That¡¯s cool and all...but what of the others¡­ But before getting a chance to start on thinking of his surroundings, Dr. Zylar kindly opened the door. It had only been at most a minute since he left. But here he was, with an already filled glass of water. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late Cayde, but I brought a glass for the numbing medicine.¡± ¡°Y-you haven¡¯t been gone for two minutes....¡± Effryn rested his bandaged hand on the dark red cabinet, or the one he had been closest to. The doctor set the glass of half empty water next to Effryn¡¯s arm, even putting a small straw for him drink to out of. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the medicine, I already administered it into the drink.¡± That was way fast. Way, way fast. Effryn thought. He didn¡¯t see any water fountains nearby, or at all actually, in the waiting lounge. He saw a bathroom sign down the hall...but even that¡¯s too much of a stretch for only a minute. Where did he get this? Is it pre-prepared? Questions stormed Effryn¡¯s head as he stared at the water. It seemed normal enough, but even a calm gentle vibration could be handling something completely unknown with danger. ¡°Is something wrong? Or would you rather have a soft beverage?¡± Looking up to see the doctor, Effryn only saw a gentle smile. Effryn wanted to say something. There were many things flitting across his mind, begging him to question what was inside this. But the more he tried to think, the more his insides burned. -He felt like he had been ignited from the inside. ¡°Cayde, are you feeling ill? You seem to be shaking?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Effryn knew this wasn¡¯t normal. The feeling of stinging, the shallowness of each breath-something was very wrong. Just...a sip. Maybe everything will go completely numb again. Taking hold of the glass, Effryn took a few sips before feeling a rush of relief all over his body. ¡°Better now?¡± The doctor raised his head with a soft smile, seeming almost as relieved as Effryn was. The pain, the burning, his breathing-Everything was coming back to normal. ¡°Y-yes, a million, actually.¡± -Every pain stopped. He became completely numb once more to every feeling. Maybe even his mind, if only for a moment. Effryn slopped over the dark red cabinet and enjoyed every second of feeling at peace. ¡°Thank you doctor, or actually Dr. Zylar. I feels like I¡¯ve been partly reborn! It¡¯s amazing what a little medicine can do to someone.¡± With the feeling of nothing reigning over his body once more, he felt a new found love for doctors and medicine being born. Maybe I can trust the doctor, at least. I don¡¯t know about the ghost, but maybe the doctor can do¡­ But in the middle of his only happy moment after waking up, the doctor only remained silent. Silent, until¡­ ¡°Ahh...it¡¯s amazing how much a small dose of epinephrine can do.¡± ¡°U-hh, yeah. Medicine surely has grown in the last few decades.¡± Not knowing exactly what type of treatment the doctor was talking about, Effryn just went along with it. He really had no other way to think about it. One minute earlier, he felt like he was on the urge of either suffocating, or being freshly peeled from the inside. But now, everything was nearly completely numb. The only thing still loose was his peace of mind. Ignoring Effryn¡¯s last question, the doctor stood up, reaching for something in a cabinet further away from Effryn. It was of a deep black color this time, and was one that stood out from the rest. Zylar opened the doors while pulling back on his face mask. ¡°Do you know, Cayde, the difference between the bite of an insect and a spider?¡± ¡°Err¡­¡± Not knowing what else to say to such an out of the blue question, Effryn wondered maybe if it was some kind of metaphor to something. ¡°It can be any kind of insect, say let''s go with mosquito for instance. Do you suppose they have any kind of differing variable?¡± The doctor kept asking questions to which Effryn had no idea what they meant, no less what answer he was supposed to give. Effryn only kept quiet while the doctor searched inside the black cabinet. ¡°The answer could be anything like the marking of the bite, although what I¡¯m specifically asking for is what is inside the bite.¡± What is inside the bite¡­? Why does he care about this? Effryn thought, wondering why the doctor had a sudden fascination with insects. Only one thing came to Effryn¡¯s mind when it came to the differences between the two bites¡­ ¡°If I had to say...it¡¯s poison. Spiders are poisonous, and mosquitoes are just...pest.¡± The doctor let out a small chuckle to himself, before continuing his search inside the black cabinet. ¡°You¡¯re partially correct, spiders do have poison. But if you look at mosquitos very closely, you can count the diseases they carry with them as poisonous.¡± Then as if he found what he was looking for, the doctor let out a sigh of relief before finishing. ¡°A disease can be a kind of poison, depending on how you look at it.¡± So based on what Zylar was saying, based on what you someone thinks on poison, then they could compare it to actual venom. -Or so, that¡¯s all Effryn was able to surmise thus far. ¡°I guess so...Hey, Dr. Zylar? What exactly are you trying to say about this¡­?¡± Effryn could hardly keep up with what Zylar was saying, and any more would just make him completely lost. He thought maybe the doctor would elaborate more if he asked what exactly he was getting at, but¡­ Ding...ding...ding¡­ Doctor Zylar reached from the black cabinet, pulling out a small round silver container. He gently grazed the sides of the metal with his gloves, occasionally flicking the lid softly. ¡°-Itching¡­¡± Ding¡­ ¡°-Swelling¡­¡± Ding¡­ ¡°-Asyphixiation¡­¡± The doctor motioned his index finger to to lightly tap the lid once more, but stopped halfway through, and looked deadeye at the completely numb boy before him. ¡°D-doctor¡­?¡± Effryn stared at the masked man before him, who was entirely covered in medical attire from top to bottom. But he received no vocal answer. Or, at least one he was expecting. ¡°-And we can¡¯t forget...the feeling of burning. Those are the usual reactions to an insect.¡± Zylar began unscrewing the lid of the can with his bare finger tip, before removing it completely while gripping something. ¡°...do you see the difference now, on how poison can very?¡± ¡°Doctor Zylar¡­?¡± Effryn had a feeling of uneasy swarm his feelings, or what was left of feeling. He knew something wasn¡¯t right; especially with what he held in his hand. His only notion was to stare, waiting for the doctor to release his hand, until finally¡­ ¡°You see, Cayde, or rather, should I call you by your birth name, Effryn¡­?¡± ...a small, bright yellow ribbon softly landed on the table. The doctor may have not know the significance of the object personally, but to Effryn, it meant everything. ¡°H-how do you have that?¡± Effryn begged, with a raspy tone. But Zylar only ignored his question to look further into the black cabinet. ¡°The answer to my question is actually very simple: it¡¯s the time to kill for each effect.¡± ¡°How do you have her ribbon? Who gave you that?!¡± Effryn tried to put forth every bit of anger he could muster towards Zylar, but the more he tried, the more numb he felt. Emotions trickled back into his brain, reminding him of the world without Evvryn. -The short yet always beaming bow on the table had belonged to Evvryn, and was the last one she weared from her little collections before that day. ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°Calm, young Effryn, as you are currently very weak.¡± Zylar pulled his arm out from the black cabinet, but this time held a syringe and a small improvised bottle beside it. ¡°And if you keep up this rush of anger, it might be enough to trigger your blood for an anaphylactic shock.¡± Effryn pulled himself with every ounce of strength he had left, gripping the seams of the chair. He had to do something, anything, before Dr. Zylar had a chance to perform whatever sick injections he saved for him. But try as he might¡­ ¡°Forgive me, Effryn, but science calls!¡± The lunatic doctor exclaimed bursting into a maniacal laughter as he rammed Effryn back into this chair. Effryn felt a small sting arise in his chest area as his body impacted the chair. Feeling the area, Effryn felt a long metallic like pen lodged inside his chest. He had been stabbed by the doctor with a syringe, and no doubt was injected with whatever hell the doctor concocted up. ¡°W-wh...you¡­¡± Words tried forming on his tongue, yet none were ever able to materialize. Only nothingness, followed by gasping, escaped. ¡°Let¡¯s have ourselves a little experiment on the effects of direct dual injections to a human being, and see how long it takes the human body to defend itself before it collapses from the unknown attacks!¡± The world around Effryn felt drowsy, like everything were moments away from being washed away into another life. ¡°The rash and bumps from the Culex mosquito were a bit too much at first, which is why I had to bandage your entire body. I couldn¡¯t let the other nurses get any ideas from my lifestyle by a simple road injury, now could I?¡± Dark. The world surrounding his vision grew darker with each passing word the insane doctor spoke. ¡°So before you sleep, I should let you know you have both West NIle Virus and the venom of a Black Widow surging through your veins right now. I¡¯ve set up a timer while getting everything ready, but I doubt it¡¯ll reach ten minutes before your organs stop functioning.¡± Effryn¡¯s heard a loud thump coming from under him, until he realized it was him who caused it. He had lost all strength to even lift his body at this point. ¡°Now then, I should hide you away for the time being before those annoying wanna be fetch dogs come back, angry at me for them losing a target they missed. Now what since does that make, even if said target never left in the first place!¡± By this point, Effryn felt his conscious disconnect from the world once more. He had been inject with kind of poison venoms, both of which were considered extremely deadly. But even with this threat, Effryn felt a bit at ease knowing that now, even if it may be scary, he can finally die. Wait on me, Evvryn. And as Effryn¡¯s mind nearly ceased all functions for the time being, he heard the harsh voice of the doctor. ¡°And for Heaven''s sake, how can one boy cry so much?¡± 2. I want to see the morning rather than mourning A dark cold feeling ran through the space along with a presence. It spoke in a soft, kind whisper. ¡°Awake.¡± It was one familiar to the boy. One horribly familiar. One he¡¯d rather die than listen to. It spoke in the same manner as it always had, never changing for whatever reason. ¡°I¡¯ve helped remove some of the poison, but if you don¡¯t wake now it will heavily cost you.¡± The voice was sort of like a heavenly muse; along with a stabbing curse. Part of it helped ease the boy, making him remember his old life with someone he had once grew up with. While the rest mocked him for using the voice of his dead friend, which was one of whom he eventually grew to love. ¡°Now awake, Effryn.¡± The young boy was dragged out from his dreaming interlude back into reality, which to him, was a completely dark, cold, and metalish feeling. Effryn felt the coldness biting his skin, but only barely. As he grew more aware of his surroundings, the more his feeling of everything became disconnected. He felt like his body was there, but not his entire mind. Only a fraction was there, laying on some cold tray in a dark space. The part that was there wanted nothing more but to die. It could vomit at any moment, blood vessels could burst like a rhythm game, his like could slip after the next breath. The right of wrong was right, and wrong of right was wrong. H-h...ey...w-...what is¡­ th-...is? He questioned his body, or maybe even to God- Effryn didn¡¯t care at this point anymore. Only the yearning for the pain to stop was on his mind. ¡°Hurry and take this, immediately.¡± A voice rang out in the space of time, yet no sound waves echoed. Suddenly, a moonlight hand gently placed a small plastic cup before Effryn. ¡°Drink.¡± Wasting no time, Effryn weakly gripped the cup with every bit of energy left in him, but just enough to not make anything pop. He didn¡¯t care what it contained; he merely followed the voices orders. As the mellow taste of sweetness rushed down his throat, Effryn felt a sudden surge of recovery in his entire body, as if it had negated every negative effect in him. ¡°W-what did...how did you¡­?¡± Effryn was in complete awe. Not only did the small drink remove nearly every feeling of pain in his body, it also worked as some kind of stamina potion. Although there were a few constant stings here and there, it felt like a miracle no less. ¡°I gave you enough help to wake you up, but it seemed like it wasn¡¯t enough to keep you alive for much longer, so I gave you a little more.¡± ¡°I feel it, and thank you, but still...how did you just create somethi-¡± ¡°-Shush. He returns. Keep quiet and you¡¯ll make it without cost.¡± Although he built up many questions in his head to ask the ghost, the sudden materialization was definitely up top before it interrupted him. He kept quiet and listened to word of the ghost. It¡¯s not like he had much of a choice to listen. She just saved his life, twice, in a matter of seconds. Then again...he thought, remembering the doctor when he had found him. The doctor ¡®helped¡¯ me and still stabbed me in the back. Weighing his options of getting betrayed by either the crazed insect doctor, or the imitation of Evvryns ghost, he decided it would be slightly better to be killed off by some ghost. While thinking of which side would be the better bad ending, the sound of footsteps approached the room, along with some chatter. ¡°Doctor, how sure are you this young man ran out the back? And if he didn¡¯t, then the deal is off!¡± ¡°Gentlemen...are you blaming me for your incompetence in capturing an injured patient?¡± It was Dr. Zylar and an older man having a somewhat heated conversation. And the main topic was on Effryn. It sounded like the person other than the doctor sounded pretty distraught, and voiced his anger publicly. Yet the doctor calmly answered the man''s questions, and threats. ¡°But if we can¡¯t find him, then don¡¯t you think it¡¯s partially your fault for letting him get away?!¡± ¡°As I recall, it was not requested of me to lure the boy to a specific point; only to point you men to the boy.¡± ¡°Argh, damn you! You¡¯re coming with me to find this boy, as a new found part of the deal, doctor!!¡± ¡°Fine, but only for a short while. I still have some work needing attendance.¡± A door burst opened by a rage of rushing footsteps, which were followed by a much calmer set of steps. But before everyone had exited the room, Effryn heard the soft tapping outside of Effryn¡¯s space, alongside the whisper of a truly crazed maniac. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my dear Effryn. I shall come back very soon after I deal with this annoyance.¡± The doctor uttered, before slowly walking away and leaving the room. After that, it was complete silence. Not a sound enter Effryn¡¯s little safe zone. Not anything outside, atleast. ¡°Good. The problematic doctor left for a short time. Let me get the hatch for you so you can slide out.¡± ¡°Excuse me ghost, but what exactly am in?¡± Effryn asked with full sincerity not knowing what trap he was in this time. The ghost answered him as a small hatch pried itself before Effryn. ¡°You are currently in the morgue incinerator, but once you slide out, you¡¯ll just be in ¡®the morgue.¡¯¡± ¡°D-did he plan to burn me alive?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing his plans involved you not coming back, so I assume after a short while-yes.¡± Mentally thanking the ghost for saving him, Effryn found himself now standing dead center in the aforementioned ¡®morgue¡¯. It seemed to have only one purpose based on the only item in the room. ¡°This room only holds a single incinerator¡­¡± ¡°Such is the purpose for a room like this.¡± Effryn dusted himself off and took a better look at himself than around him. Everything seemed perfectly fine; exactly opposite from what he felt before. ¡°G-ghost, what exactly did you give me?¡± ¡°A special regiment touch from a Zelio, and a rare one at that.¡± Anything but logic spewed out from the ghost all which Effryn knew exactly nothing of. So he did what any person would do and summarize it into his own words. ¡°A what now...nevermind, you gave me a cure all potion.¡± ¡°Whatever name suits best. Now then, befo-¡± ¡°-re you finish, let me ask some quick questions so I can get a better understanding of where I am.¡± Now that he had been physically replenished, and found himself a little safe point, Effryn used this time to get some information while the opportunity presented itself. ¡°I...suppose so. Although I would recommend you ask in a speedy manner, as time is currently fighting both sides.¡± And just like the miracle it was, the ghost of Evvryn appeared in full body again, with the same moonlight aura. It was her face before him once more, yet the polar opposite of her. Effryn clenched his teeth trying to hold back any sadness from publicly showcasing itself, and prepared for the questions. ¡°Ok, first throw. I¡¯m not brain dead enough to not know you have some kind of end goal your trying to reel in, with me as your hook.¡± With his first question already striking the iron hot, the ghost merely shrugged off any expressions in her response and answered monotonically. ¡°As it is implausible to give out exact coordinate reasoning, all I can inform is your the only one capable of pushing the child to complete the synchronizer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t think I can follow yo-¡± ¡°I am sorry, but I can not inform you any more in due terms violations to the current ?-?-Tz?-.¡± ¡°Wha¡­¡± Although he had able to somewhat keep up with it before, Effryn lost his railing entirely as she finished her words. It was as if she created another language off the bat. ¡°Agh, screw it. Next question.¡± Effryn took a deep breath and readied himself. ¡°Following up on the first, why me?¡± It was a simple yet key thing making Effryn wonder why would some other worldly being would chose him out of the other eight billion bastards on the planet with him. He could try and rule out some possibilities like him being the closest to the child or he had some crazy built up power within him, but it would be pointless to grasp at a cup of infinite straws when there¡¯s a perfect straw with a definite answer before him. ¡°Because you have you best relation with the child, thus I reasoned it was most logical to make contact with you.¡± ¡°Why go through the trouble of bringing me when you could have gone to her yourself?¡± ¡°Because the watchful one in this space would notice such a direct change.¡± The ghost¡¯s response surprised him. Not only did the ghost have a reason for acting, but there were consequences for these actions. It couldn¡¯t get to the child directly, so it used someone who was close to them instead. ¡°Can we prepare to leave? I fear our time is growing short.¡± The ghost flatly said, interrupting Effryn¡¯s train of thought. ¡°Fine, but before we do so¡­¡± As Effryn walked up to the door, he slowly looked back at the moonlight in the corner of the room. ¡°...tell me...why chose her?¡± Why...why her, out of all the people? ¡°It was someone you were comfortable with, were you not? I merely borrowed their body af-¡± ¡°-Stop talking. Forget I asked.¡± Not wanted to talk with it anymore, Effryn opened the door and quietly left. The ghost remained in the morgue for a short time after, tilting its head as if it were puzzled. ¡°Perhaps I made an erroneous decision in choosing this catalyst? Everything seemed fine until his last question. He had done fine on resisting crying until then.¡± And after pondering the strange young key needed for the trove, the moonlight faded, leaving nothing but darkness in the morgue. The hallway was dark as the kiss of night, with the only lighting path being a dim blink from the elevator floor level they were on: B2. ¡°Here is the only way to return to the main floor.¡± The ghost spoke to Effryn, yet with no sound waves were heard throughout the hall. ¡°Only one huh? This could be a bit tricky.¡± ¡°Luckily, no one should be around to make this costly for you, so all should be fine until then.¡± ¡°Sure thing future holder.¡± Effryn cautiously walked towards the elevator and timidly pushed the call elevator button. A dim light followed by a light ding signaled the elevators descent towards them. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Do you think this could alert anyone to us?¡± ¡°I fear that is the risk for using such a loud contraption. If things go awry, I suggest you run.¡± ¡°What about you¡­¡± His voice trailed off remembering the past experiences from when he had contact with other people. Every time someone came into the same room as Effryn, it seemed all traces of the ghost would vanish, leaving nothing behind; not even the fragments of her voice. ¡°If you are concerned for my safety, there is no need for worry. For one such as I can easily hide any and all form of my existence from another being.¡± Effryn processed the words she spoke in his mind as he watched the floor lights slowly ticking down from five to the basement two. So the ghost could essentially hide from any situation it wanted to, evading every social interaction possible. Effryn felt a slight bit of envy form, but let those feelings die once the elevator reached his floor, opening the doors for him. The elevator itself was a completely brown room, with railings on every side except where the doors open. The lights were flickering on and off, like darkness was slowly cutting light itself out. ¡°You should hurry. That doctor could return any moment now.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. We need to go to the first floor, then¡­¡± As he was looking at the list of buttons ranged B2 to 5 from lowest to highest being top to bottom, a another ding sound came from the walls, and the doors began to close shut. Going up. ¡°W-wait, hold on?!¡± The Elevator slowly started to rise in floors, passing up the first basement floor, then the first floor¡­ ¡°This is problematic.¡± ¡°Oh really? I wonder why?!¡± Someone was calling the elevator from one of the higher floors, but it was anyone''s guess on who.. Then again, it didn¡¯t matter who it was, they were probably going after Effryn either way, so they were all the same in that form. ¡°You need to hide, immediately.¡± ¡°And where do you expect me to hide in an elevator?!¡± The numbered lights reached its way to the fourth floor and kept moving, which meant someone had called on the top-or the fifth floor. Effryn looked around to see any place worth any damn to use as a hiding place. He noticed a vent on the side, but it seemed to small even for his size. There were the small walls he could use as a blind spot next to where the doors open with his size, but the flickering light would make him easily visible. ¡°Arg¡­¡± Panicking, Effryn looked up at the small flickering light, illuminating only part of the elevator. ¡°If only that could just stop existing for a mere moment¡­¡± Floor five reached. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the light, you hurry and hide.¡± The ghost voiced in his head with a little more enthusiasm than before. Effryn hid tightly next to the wall, while watching the only light start to furiously shake, until it collapsed completely. The room was now enveloped in entire darkness. The doors slowly opened, revealing the passage to the next room. ¡°Ahh, I suppose you won¡¯t be getting much use of your gift anymore? Please, allow me to express the deepest of sympathies as you endure this feeling.¡± ¡°W-hy...you pi-ce of...shhhit¡­!¡± Effryn heard the laughter of a man who was enjoying every second of time, while the other sounded like he was suffering a horrible chill. And it was one he grew to know to be very dangerous. -The man was doctor Zylar, who sounded like a calm maniacal machine when talking over the other person. ¡°You know, it is quite rude of you to speak in such a poorly manner. But dread not, for this should shatter all thoughts of feeling in a heartbeat.¡± Effryn could only see faint shadows of the two men, until it seemed as if one had kicked another right into the elevator. The man in the elevator had needles stuck in him everywhere; from his neck down to his chest were only twenty to begin with. The further down you looked down his body, more syringes were covering him. The man twitched in intervals, using all his strength to get one last look at the psychotic man. He opened his mouth, but nothing left. It was then he realized foam was overfilling his insides pouring out from his mouth. His eyes were growing more bloodshot by the second, with streams of blood flowing from his eyelids. Effryn witnessed this sight, and did everything possible to keep still and quiet in his blindspot from the slight. The man before him was a good example of what would happen if he moved even an inch. ¡°Well, there¡¯s one down. Wait here as I retrieve your other friend.¡± Effryn stared at the shadow of the doctor, who seemed to pause in his movements. ¡°Ahh, well I guess I need not worry on your behavior. Your heart failed, after all.¡± Doctor Zylar easily walked away while humming a fast tune he¡¯d never heard before. ¡°Quickly, you must return to the first floor and leave immediately.¡± He heard the words of the ghost echo through his mind, but he could only focus on the body oozing a greenish blood from his pores. ¡°D-did the doctor really do this?¡± ¡°Who else but the doctor could concoct something as vile? I advise you to hurry.¡± ¡°...Fine.¡± Effryn turned around and pushed the first floor button he had leaned on to hide. Afterward, the elevator made another Ding sound, along with its other routine work, and began moving down. More liquid rushed out from the man lying on the ground. Effryn did his best stepping around the blood, but it grew increasingly difficult as the elevator floor was nearly painted with a minty crimson. ¡°What is this?¡± Effryn questioned out loud. ¡°I believe this is another kind of mixture of poisons the doctor had made. He then used it on this poor soul. And to think he seemed perfectly fine since the last we heard him and the doctor speak.¡± ¡°Wait, THIS was that guy?! It had to have been no more than twenty minutes!¡± This person, who was gutting out blood from every seam of his body, had before sounded like he were in near top shape, That means either he had been injected before, or¡­ ¡°Doctor Zylar is creating some kind of hyper poison injections, capable of killing somebody in very short amounts of time. At least, that¡¯s what I think.¡± The corpse was no longer twitching, and remained dead still as the elevator floor lights were the only illuminating factor showing the body. ¡°But if he died this fast, then how come I¡¯m not gone yet?¡± Asking on how he could possibly be alive if this man had died so fast, he realized that the cure all the ghost had given him must have had to been some kind of God potion. ¡°...so you really need me, don¡¯t you.¡± He knows the ghost had said it was a rare potion, but maybe it''s ¡®rare¡¯ was on a different level. He knew medicine they had were advanced, but there was no way any of it compared to what the ghost gave him. If they had an instant cure, then maybe... Floor one-base level. The sounds of the robotic elevator voice dragged Effryn back from his mind. The lights from the elevator cut out, making the entire thing grow dark. A bit of rumbling happened, and the door slowly creaked opened, allowing light to seeth in, as well as for blood to flow out. ¡°Now you must leave at once. Take the front doors, for they are the fastest way out.¡± Watching his step, he swiftly evaded the blood and exited the elevator. But instead of leaving, Effryn hurried off down a different hallway looking for something with higher priority. ¡°This is-why are you choosing somewhere else?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave without something important.¡± He found the room he had first been drugged at, and entered the door with the sign crudely labeled ¡®pharmacy¡¯. He was again greeted by the myriad of cabinet colors. Now where is the tainted one¡­ he thought straining his mind ot find it. There. Effryn rushed over the black cabinet the doctor had previously been opening, but was stopped in his tracks. ¡°It¡¯s locked?!¡± ¡°Why is this container of importance to you? Right now, you should be prioritizing your life.¡± ¡°Well right now, my life prioritizes what''s inside this cabinet!¡± The only thing surging through Effryn¡¯s mind was getting into the cabinet, and getting Evvryn¡¯s ribbon. Ever since he saw the doctor holding one of the last remaining pieces of her, he knew right then and there he had to take back her fragment. He tried banging, hitting, even locking picking to some degree-all to get one hair accessory from Evvryn. ¡°This is very illogical; is this item really of high importance to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d compare it to my lifeline.¡± The ghost remained silent for a moment as Effryn kept banging away, until he could have sworn he heard a ghastly sigh, followed by a click. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why something could drive you as far as to do a costly move, when it¡¯s much safer to just leave before increasing risk.¡± The cabinet door fidgeted, then slowly swayed open before Effryn. It had been magically opened by the ghost. Looking inside, Effryn saw the box the doctor had before and grabbed it without a moment''s hesitation. He opened it revealing the same yellow ribbon Evvryn had wore the last time he¡¯d seen her. It was minorly scuffed, but apart from that it was in nominal condition. If Evvryn were to see it, she¡¯d probably go along the lines of ¡°Is this ragged ass of a cloth really belong in my hair?¡± or something¡­ Stop. Don¡¯t think about her, just keep going. And now I know she really can influence the physical world around her at will¡­ ¡°May we part now? If you stray any longer¡­¡± ¡°I know; we¡¯re leaving.¡± Effryn gripped the ribbon he held in his hand tightly, and reassured himself that all he needed to do next was get out alive. Why, the only thing in his way are a group of people out for him, and a cynical doctor. What more could he ask for? ¡°Where to?¡± He asked the ghost for exact directions knowing now his old route might be comprised. ¡°I¡¯ll direct you, but I beg of you: Actually listen this time.¡± The waxed floor reflected him in its glimmer, as if it were going to reflect his very sins. He crouched behind a water fountain, hiding from two search men with flashlights checking around the bathroom area. ¡°No sign of the brat here.¡± ¡°Either here. Have we heard from jake?¡± Effryned honed in on their conversation as they searched for him. ¡°Not since he went with that doctor for some tip on the kid. Ever since, he hasn¡¯t messaged anything back.¡± ¡°Should we go check on him? I don¡¯t know about you but I feel like the doctor¡¯s been playing us sideways ever since we found him.¡± ¡°Honestly, he kind of scares me. I don¡¯t know why, but it might be the way he wears his medical clothes. And how he hasn¡¯t showed us any part of his face-or even body for that matter!¡± ¡°Hey, you know what? Screw the doc! Let¡¯s go show him who¡¯s boss and make him reveal his face to us!¡± ¡°Dumbass, we have to search!¡± ¡°You think that, but what if he is hiding the kid? I mean, he already gave us two reports from which both beared nothing! I swear he¡¯s hiding something.¡± ¡°...you actually might be right about something for once. Let¡¯s go make some sense in that man, Kaid.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The sounds of footsteps signaled the cost was clear to continue moving deeper in the hall. ¡°May those two souls find peace soon after. Left.¡± Following the instructions of his guiding cheat code, Effryn obliged every order he was given. It would tell him when to stop, go, hide, whatever the best thing to do in the situation. ¡°Keep straight, then look for an exit. Once you find it, wait for further word.¡± ¡°Aye-aye.¡± So far, everything went smoothly on the ghost¡¯s word. Effryn wondered on how it was able to know where people were, and when it was safe to go or not. He deducted it couldn¡¯t be right-out future sight, or it would have predicted when he was captured by the doctor, or when he left for the ribbon. ¡°Look, right there. Now wait patiently.¡± So it had to be, or at his best guess at what it was, is human sensing. The ghost could sense humans from a distance, or through walls. ¡°The lock has been removed. Let me inspect¡­¡± As for the physical movements, he was still completely clueless on what it was. The only thing popping in his mind was a pultagest of some sorts, but that¡¯s about it. ¡°Wait...why is..?¡± The ghost¡¯s mimicked voice of Evvryn had a slight change of tune, something he had yet to see. It was a slightly higher pitch version, inching a small way to Evvryn¡¯s original. ¡°Is something wrong? Did we take a wrong turn?¡± ¡°No...you need to ru-¡± ¡°Effffffrrryyynn! Where did you run offffff tooo?¡± The halls echoed with a vile sound of insanity, shaking the ever-looming aura of death in the hospital. It was the doctor, but he sounded more crazed than ever. ¡°Ghost where did¡­ Right, damnit!¡± Remembering the ghost disappeared whenever the doctor was on him, he knew it was pointless to ask for its guide now. ¡°I¡¯ll take a shot at the dark and guess you were going to finish with run, so I¡¯ll do just that!¡± Effryn bolted for the door hoping to finally escape this nightmare of a supposed heaven. But as he ran for the one chance of surviving, his eyes locked with the doctors, who was in his regular medical attire leaving no trace of his skin. A feeling of despair grew in Effryn as he watched a wicked smile form along contours in a surgical mask. ¡°Boy, I don¡¯t know how you did it, but you defied even the medical enhancements of a God! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW! Yet here you are, standing as if nothing happened!¡± Effryn said nothing and ignored the mad doctor, slamming into the door. The impact was rough, but he could barely feel any of it, so why did it matter. There was a hallway after the door which went on for a short while with a door neatly placed at the end. ¡°Nothing is making sense right now! You should be dead. Not even a miracle could cure that!¡± The doctor went on and on, showing that he was clearly pissed. The medicine was the only reason why he was alive, and it was a kind of cheat. It was no wonder why the doctor was struggling on how he could have survived. -It was higher than a miracle. It was a blessing from a being on par to God.¡± The sounds of night became more audible the more Effryn drew to the end. He was in the home stretch. ¡°You have something, don¡¯t you?! You have to, nothing else explains it! You somehow acquired a resource higher than a miracle! Fine by me, but just know, Effryn, that I, Zylar Von Labour, will inject you with a mix of diseases unlike any other! I shall endure the hardships of waiting until our reunion, and until then, I shall prepare the best mixture possible just for you!!¡± The fanatic screams of the doctors own will pierced the hallways as Effryn sprinted. It was pure nonsense, but he technically hit the nail deadon. Zylar suspected foul play, and he was right to. If it weren¡¯t for the cure all, he would definitely be with Evvryn¡­ Evvryn¡­ The thought of her made his everything weak; especially his mind. But¡­ ¡°Sorry doctor, but I can¡¯t. Not now, not ever!¡± He felt a surge of inspiration overwhelm the past despair he felt, making him feel a small touch of light he¡¯d lost ever since the day he lost her. Effryn slammed on the exit door with all his built-up energy, and revealed the dark hallway to a dancing night sky. Part of his finger bandages became undone, but he could care less. He was free from hell, and had found a goal in life. -No, he thought, running into a forest behind the hospital. This is my only reason for living. ¡°It¡¯s the mummy kid!¡± ¡°Do we have to catch him or¡­¡± Effryn could hear two men further back as he lost himself in the trees. The further away he got, the more they yelled. ¡°We didn¡¯t get clear instructions, just to nip the kid!¡± ¡°So nip can mean either grab, or shoot, right?¡± Run. Run faster than fast. Her life depends on it. Effryn ran and ran throughout the forest he was in. He didn¡¯t know where or what forest it was, but it didn¡¯t matter. Only him running was what counted. He jumped over and under branches, dodged trees as if they were oncoming traffic; all the sorts to keep him going. There were some times when he could hear small yells of the men further behind, but he couldn¡¯t hear much. ¡°...-it, we can¡¯t find him, he-...¡± ¡°...-ere did the brat run off t-...¡± Small nitpicks like that, but they were enough to keep him alert. If it weren¡¯t for them then he wouldn''t know if he was safe or not. He kept on going, until the only thing on his mind was pure survival. If it meant something, he would make sure to vitalize everything down to its element if he could come out with his life intact. -And so, he ran¡­ 3. Flicker of hope ¡°I assume you should be safe now, especially since you sprinted here.¡± ¡°We...ll, ...it was...my...flight response¡­¡± Effryn said holding himself on his knees, panting. Somehow, some way...they ended up in a lit up city. The City of Heeth-the place where Evvryn and him were living in. -Or now, where they had lived in. Currently Effryn had no idea if their apartment were still theirs. If everything left by Evvryn had remained before their lives flickered in sorrow, then there might be more fragments of her. ¡°We¡¯re only a distance away from where you need to be. We should act quickly, before anything else can interfere.¡± Before them was a city filled with the livelihood of a lustful night. There was no doubt some people were having a grand of a time, with a few exceptions. But Effryn didn¡¯t care for them. He had a new found base for living to work for, even if it took his soul to complete. ¡°Now...I believe you must follow the right path for some time and-¡± ¡°-Sorry, but I have something to see before anything else.¡± Effryn spoke in a nonchalant tone, wanting to do one last thing before anything else. ¡°Wha¡­ Excuse me, but we have more pressing matters. What else could you require?¡± ¡°A motivational push, and remainder.¡± Effryn was sure the ghost didn¡¯t understand, and probably wouldn¡¯t ever, why Effryn wanted to go somewhere else. But he felt ok with that. He was incontrol, not the ghost. ¡°Do you know how illogical this is? What if you run into more trouble, like the hospital pigs, or the doctor?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure it is...but let me do this first, then we can continue.¡± The ghost went mute for a moment as Effryn began his quick side stop, until it sighed with a hint of annoyance. ¡°Ahhh. It¡¯s not like you are giving me much of any choice in this. Fine, do as you wish. ¡° ¡°Yay!¡± cheering with a forgotten smile, Effryn relished the feeling of being able to express happiness after a while. ¡°Now then, onward!¡± ¡°Is this the location you wanted to visit?¡± Effryn heard the question, but took a minute to let his emotions settle from the scenery. It was nothing special, really. Just a plain apartment complex next to a somewhat busy street. There was the usual smoker he saw every five other minutes, the dog who nobody really owned, but it just kept roaming around, and kids who would scream and shout inside their own rooms even past midnight. Yet this place held something dear to him. More than all the other aspects could ever think to graze at. Effryn slowly began walking up the same metal stairs he had always passed, reminiscing the starts or ends of his day. It was a signal to when the day started, or when it was winding down to a slow. ¡°Are you sad to see this place?¡± ¡°Why would you say something like that?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re crying.¡± ¡°Be quiet, your voice isn¡¯t helping.¡± he said, wiping the strands of water with his sleeve. A breeze pushed upon Effryn¡¯s side, filling the air with a cold touch. He wasn¡¯t even sure if their room was still there, or if it had been occupied by someone else. If the latter were true, then where would their stuff be? Reaching the top, Effryn could see the scuff door he¡¯d grown use to after moving out of the orphanage. But there were a few more noticeably larger markings, like those from a larger blade. Effryn moved closer to inspect them. ¡°I don¡¯t remember these¡­¡± ¡°Maybe it was new inhabitants?¡± ¡°Doubtful.¡± Effryn double checked the small sign underneath the room number, which still read both Effryn/Evvryn. ¡°Can you do a human sweep?¡± ¡°A what? Oh, I see you¡¯ve structed a name for my instrument in keeping your body out of cost¡¯s way. Fear not, for none wanders.¡± Hearing the area was clear, Effryn timidly reached for the door knob. He was scared of seeing his home, and coming back without Evvryn. A feeling of uneasiness lingered telling him not to expect much after two months from being absent. Other people had to move in by now; the landlord had to make money after all. It was basic business. Effryn braced himself for whatever was behind the door. Whether it be nothing at all, our stuff is still there, or there are residents living here but they¡¯re not here, and we¡¯re just breaking and entering, I¡¯ve still got to be ready emotionally, so, here goes nothing! Taking a deep breath, Effryn willed himself to enter his old apartment, filled with memories¡­ ¡­ ¡°...I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°Is this your old quarters? It¡¯s a dreadful mess in here.¡± In the moonlight of night, was resting the old apartment of Effryn, with old pots and pans scattered everywhere. There was the kitchen Effryn had always used to prepare the meals after a long day of life, although most of the meals were mostly eggs. After that, was the room barely even eligible enough to be called a living room.The consoles must have been stolen, as the old monitors were missing as well. Here...we wasted our lives away here, didn¡¯t we, Evvryn. Along the walls were more markings similar to that of the door, except here were more intensified. They were sporadic enough to judge someone insane had been here, yet some were barely enough to be eligible, such as ¡®He awaits¡¯ and ¡®God calls.¡± ¡°Such a horrid sight. Why must one feel the necessity to ruin another''s home with madness.¡± ¡°Here...we spent so much time next to each other, yet we were always in different worlds from each other.¡± Effryn walked around, calmly tracing his fingertips along the walls. ¡°God...why didn¡¯t I talk to her more. I should¡¯ve been more active, had more conversations, done more things with her.¡± Next he checked their old sleeping room. It was dark as always, but his old sleeping mat was shredded to pieces, while Evvryn¡¯s was attached to the wall. ¡°And here. Even if we both slept on small mats, it was still comfortable enough to fall asleep. As long as we had each other, and the night was high, then we would fall asleep anyway.¡± A strong feeling of remembrance came over Effryn, bringing back old memories of Evvryn. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaa, I cut my finger!¡± A small boy squealed at the sight of blood. ¡°Miss Lynn, Effryn got an ouchie.¡± ¡°Effryn, I swear if you can¡¯t cook then what else can you do? Let me see before Lynn comes.¡± ¡°N-no wait, I think mother should check.¡± Tiny Effryn tried to reason how an adult would be a better and smarter thing to do. ¡°But this might be my chance to reveal the hidden doctor within me!¡± ¡°Do you even know a thing about stuff like this?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll come to me when I take a closer look.¡± Giving in to the demands, Effryn allowed the girl to examine his finger, which was still profusely bleeding. ¡°Hmmmm...oh man, that''s a lot of blood. I give it a hours before we¡¯re burying you.¡± ¡°Stop messing around!¡± ¡°Dear, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The ¡®mother¡¯ of the orphanage returned to the kitchen, hand in hand with the brother that dashed to get her. ¡°Effryn cut himself peeling the potatoes!¡± ¡°Evvryn dear, we shouldn¡¯t tease someone who¡¯s giving it their all, now should we?¡± ¡°I guess not¡­¡± Replied the sly young Evvryn. ¡°Now then, how about we fix that nasty scratch right up!¡± she happily announced, clapping her hands. The mother cleaned the finger off, with Effryn flinching to the stinging water¡¯s touch, and placidly wrapped a bandage around his finger. ¡°Yay, your all healthy Effryn! Now you won¡¯t die in three hours!¡± ¡°Excuse me, Evvryn?¡± ¡°It was from a professional viewing, don¡¯t you worry! And Effryn, stop crying so we can play!¡± Whether it was from the burn of the water, or just the shock of seeing blood, it was undeniable that tears were streaming down his puffy cheeks. ¡°Heh, sorry!¡± ¡°Was that a fond memory?¡± Snapping back into realty, Effryn focused looking around to see if anything was salvageable. He was a slight bit annoyed that the ghost could apparently see memories, but it is what it is; no point in getting angry with a higher being. ¡°It sure was. That day I had so much fun cooking for everyone. Then after I cut myself, we played for hours in the dirt. I¡¯m honestly surprised I didn¡¯t get an infection afterwards.¡± ¡°I would reckon you two were close then?¡± ¡°More than anything.¡± Effryn responded immediately, leaving no room for thinking. ¡°I looked up to her so much, it was scary. Even if she was a major pain, Evvryn was still the greatest to me.¡± ¡°I can assume so, specifically based from your sorrow for my choice on using this body and voice.¡± Effryn felt like he should respond, but he didn¡¯t care about it. True, he felt sad hearing her voice, with him feeling at times he was being mocked at. But it did somewhat have a calming effect, releasing stress almost instantly whenever the ghost spoke. And it doesn¡¯t bother him as nearly as much as it use to. Whenever he first heard the alluring trap of his dead friend, he felt a glimmer of hope-only for it to be drowned away. After a while of digging through old closets and dressers, the ghost broke the silence. ¡°I can understand your grief for a loved one, but you must hurry. If we stray for too long, the doctor or the human hunters might return.¡± ¡°I know the risk of coming back, but I need to find it. Just give me a bit more time.¡± He had to. It was the rest of the ribbon set Evvryn had always worn. Even if he had to leave this room filled with memories behind, he could at least bring pieces of Evvryn with him. He searched and searched, but found nothing. And with all this moving, someone was bound notice¡­ ¡°Effryn, I sense a presence.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s is it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware I am unable to tell specifics; only life itself.¡± I guess this is the most logical place I¡¯d return to. Ah, damnit. It¡¯s either those group guys, or the psyched doctor. Having his time limit slowly swindle down, Effryn knew he had to face his visitors even if he did find what he was looking for. ¡°Where are they now?¡± ¡°Unlocking the door now.¡± Unlocking? But when did we¡­ The door stood frozen in darkness, with only a slight clunk coming from the handle. Until only a moments notice later it flew open. ¡°I SWEAR IF YER CAUSING ANOTHER WRECK, I¡¯LL-¡± ¡°-E-E-E-Excuse me, ma¡¯am?!¡± Jumping at the sudden shouting and banging from the entrance, came someone Effryn didn¡¯t recognize. ¡°Now who in the hell are you supposed to be?¡± It was an old woman, at least in her eighties, if lucky. She had deep a southern accent, and held a¡­¡¯worrying¡¯ weapon, to say the least. ¡°Y-yes ma¡¯am, my names Effryn.¡± Doing his best to watch his next words carefully, he could only stare at the end of a double barrel shotgun, praying his next words weren¡¯t his last. ¡°Who the...you look nothin¡¯ like Evvryn!¡± ¡°W-wrong person! I¡¯m EFFryn, who old roommate.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The crazy lady stiffened her aim, but then lowered her weapon, realizing Effryn was anything but an enemy. ¡°So you knew that useless good fer nothing shit? She ain¡¯t ever cough up enough for me, so why didn¡¯t you come and do the paying for her? Are you scared of a granny who¡¯s only a feathers fall from death?!¡± So this was our landlord. Did she do anything to you, Evvryn? For the two months they had lived here, Evvryn insisted she go pay the rent money. He didn¡¯t understand at the time, and only took it as her just being nice. -But he should¡¯ve known better. He knew kindness was, if not ever, a rare sight to see in Evvryn. She was doing it for him. She didn¡¯t want him to see the harsh and overly southern person they owed money to each month. ¡°I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am, but you¡¯re an asshole.¡± And for the first time in a long while, Effryn said what was on his mind. The granny was surprised with an expression as sour as could be, but she erupted into laughter. ¡°He...hahaha, I see you ain¡¯t just no normal boy, but one filled with no shortage of surprises!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s her things?! What did you do to them?!¡± Effryn wanted no more of the granny. He knew she was only going to be a hindrance, with no use or value. But she only responded with more twisted words and disillusioned thinking, to which Effryn understood none. ¡°You worked up boy? In the yonder times, men like you were tied to the roads of insanity.¡± ¡°What? Nevermind, I¡¯m nothing like them!¡± Feeling prideful on his new lead to pull hope, Effryn expressed himself proudly, knowing he wouldn¡¯t fail like others. He couldn¡¯t. But as he felt a newborn strength within, a cold burnden only relaxed itself as the granny calmly twisted her lips in a grin. ¡°You think you have something others don¡¯t, but just you wait. Despair chases everyone, until you fall from losing pressure. It ain¡¯t nothing special; it¡¯s just life.¡± She doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯s talking about! This hag probably can¡¯t begin to understand the powers of a ghost! Effryn felt only one emotion, and he best summed it up as anger. He was angry at her for how she thinks about Evvryn. He was angry at her for how he must have treated Evvryn. He was angry at her for hiding away Evvryn¡¯s belongings. ¡°Those eyes...you¡¯ll only get so far with a look like that.¡± Grunting, she rummaged through her overall pockets, and tossed something at Effryn. ¡°Here boy, I ain¡¯t have no purpose for this.¡± Catching the item with pure guess from the lack of light, Effryn congratulated himself for something slightly cool, before realizing what exactly it was he held. It was a box, and one he knew, even if he only ever held a handful of other times. ¡°This is her ribbon box...why do you have them?¡± Opening the ribbon casing, it revealed three other colors ribbons-blue, purple, and red. These were her neglected ones. She just loved her yellow one too much. Man, I¡¯m sure these would have looked amazing on her. ¡°She was a lousy payer, but I can admit when I see a young lady before me. And besides, they oughta go to you now.¡± It wasn¡¯t much, but Effryn felt most of his feelings brushed away from three small hair accessories. So...three memories, plus one fragment. I¡¯ll keep all four safe, Evvryn. ¡°T-thank you. I¡¯m sorry for all the trouble we caused.¡± Effryn slightly bowed to thank his old landlord, but mostly it was an excuse to hide his crying. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it boy. I¡¯m gonna get some bed, so hurry and leave before those rowdy bastards come back and ruin more business¡± ¡°Woah...is that what the shotgun¡¯s for?¡± ¡°Stand your ground is beautiful, don¡¯t ya think?¡± It made more sense as to why the granny brought a full-fledged double barrel. And technically, he wasn¡¯t paying his rent anymore, so in one perspective or another, he could be considered trespassing. The landlord started to exit the apartment, but stopped midway, muttering under her breath before leaving. ¡°Hatred...it¡¯ll drive you to ruin, boy.¡± The door closed with a soft bang, leaving Effryn alone with the serenity of darkness. With the ribbons he held in his hand, he had no further need to stay. Well...before fully leaving. ¡°Ghost.¡± Waiting for a moment in the dark, a response with a chilling aura came from the emptiness. ¡°She has abdicated, what is it you require from me?¡± ¡°You have the capabilities of healing my...everything, so let me ask.¡± Holding on tightly to the ribbons, Effryn calmed himself. ¡°I do, even if only limited. Why must you ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just gonna cut-is resurrection possible?¡± Using every bit of will in him, Effryn let his hopes hang on this one question. A question that had been his only driving force to this point. It was one he needed to know in order to keep going. ¡°The power of resurrection...why whether I please of the existence or not, such a thing does exist. Why must you ask?¡± His only thread of hope loosely hang from the tiniest chance of such of possibility. But even so, a possibility was better than none. ¡°I want to bring back Evvryn-I need to. I won¡¯t be able to do anything else in life without her, so do this for me, please!¡± It was an impossible request in normal circumstances, but a ghost with cure alls wasn¡¯t exactly normal. Especially if it took the form of Evvryn, it was only right to bring her back as a reward¡­ I shouldn¡¯t beg. I should demand it, after all, it did take her appearance. It¡¯s only right to bring her back afterwards. But the ghost only responded with the same, swift monotone Evvryn voice like always. ¡°Is this a major concern for you? Humans aren¡¯t worthy to return back.¡± ¡°What do you mean?! This means everything to me!¡± A feeling of boiling came over Effryn, thinking of anything to get the ghost to agree, even if it meant taking away all pride. ¡°You know, you need me for this, I¡¯m sure of it! If you don¡¯t teach me how to bring back Evvryn, then I won¡¯t do what you tell me to!¡± Effryn was confident the ghost had to agree, whether it be in one way or another. Effryn eagerly waited for the response from the often reserved being, without realizing a smile was plastered on his face. ¡°Humans truly are knowledge hungry creatures. Fine, I will explain to you the secrets of resurrection upon completing the requisite task.¡± Peace of mind. It swatted his mind, rendering every negative emotion numb. There was no reason to be sad anymore. Everything could be fixed with the help of another being. The being that mimicked Evvryn. Ever since waking up, everything''s been so hard. Maybe the injects and crazed people were secondary, but coming to the realization of losing someone I loved, that hit the hardest. But now, Effryn thought, now having a resolute mindset. I have an opportunity to bring her back. All I have to do is follow what ghost says, and don¡¯t die. Simple enough. If the ghost said reach the ends of hell unscathed, he had to obey. Even if there was no leash actually restraining him, the cost of following orders held the greatest price of all-Evvryn. ¡°Sorry to intrude on your inner celebration, but I suggest you leave soon. This area is a prime location for pursuers to inspect.¡± Bringing Effryn back into reality, he understood the logic of the ghost. This was his old home, so it would make sense for him to go back. Heck, he was there now, wasn¡¯t he? ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. But first-¡± Picking his little legs up, Effryn walked through the remnants of his old home to his closet. ¡°I should change out of the hospital gown.¡± Lucky enough, the clothes seemed to be unharmed from the house trashers, though Effryn didn¡¯t own many clothes to begin with. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you remove the bandages? It would seem less conspicuous.¡± The ghost asked a fair enough question, one even Effryn thought about. But ultimately decided against it. It was a sign of the messed up things the doctor did to him, and maybe he needed more time to heal. But truthfully, it sounded much better if they were battle scars, so he kept that story. ¡°There, much better!¡± ¡°Normalized clothes, yet why all black?¡± ¡°Jeez sorry I¡¯m not fashionable!¡± Crying out from the judging ghost, Effryn patted down his hoodie and sweatpants, and tried dusting away anything that may have welcomed itself after two months. It was the same thing Evvryn had always pressured on him, even when she had everything yellow. I¡¯m sure you would bully me right now for this, wouldn¡¯t you? ¡°Right, we should leave.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bound to you, so anytime.¡± Courage filled Effryn¡¯s hopes. A new dream was possible, and it wasn¡¯t artificial. This dream could actually be reached, unlike all others. He only needed to utilize the ghost with him, and bring back Evvryn. He walked through the house, opening the door, but before he fully left out, he looked behind one last time. It was his first ever place with Evvryn since moving out from the orphanage. He worked long hours to live there, as did Evvryn. He was proud of every moment. Good bye for now, old memories. But I swear, I¡¯ll bring Evvryn back. No matter the cost, she will return. And he left his first and last place he lived with her, hoping to soon return with the person he loved. ~Police headquarters of Heeth city~ ¡°Chief, we¡¯ve got a report at the Naki Hospital down in Rivertil. And by the sound of it, something major¡¯s went down there.¡± Resting firmly in his seat, he gently lit the bud of his cigar. ¡°And what does ¡®major¡¯ entail?¡± ¡°Well sir, reports state there were multiple gunshots heard in the Naki district, and when officers arrived on scene, we found three unidentified bodies and multiple gunshot holes throughout the area.¡± ¡°So what calibre were they? Any news on the type of weapons used?¡± Puffing the inhaled smoke, the chief calmly exhaled. ¡°Well for certain, we discovered they used primarily colt¡¯s, but...there¡¯s a catch.¡± ¡°Oh, and what might that be?¡± ¡°The three unidentifiable bodies mentioned in the reports, each one states there is no correlation between the bullets fired, and the corpses. One report even states the bodies look too mutilated a bullet would have been a miracle for them.¡± ¡°Then what was the cause of death?¡± ¡°About that sir, the forensics have been going crazy trying to find the cause. They reported each body excretes a green like color substance, but they have different smells and textures.¡± The chief takes another puff, trying to fit this information properly. ¡°What hell went down there?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still looking into that now, but the forensics team also mentioned signs of injectionss in areas around the neck and back.¡± A hospital, three unknown corpses unrecognizable beyond belief, a shootout...why at a hospital to begin with? ¡°Was there anyone working night shift at the hospital?¡± ¡°Well sir, there was supposed to be one, Dr. Zylar Labour. But no one ever personally found him. We checked further records, and the nurses that were working over time were asked to take leave for the night. One of the forensics said the three bodies could possibly be Dr. Zylar, but there was no evidence fully validating it was.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of Zylar still being alive.¡± Still, the chief thought, resting the bud on his lip what could be so important at a hospital? ¡°Were there any patients at the time?¡± ¡°Yes, there was one. But he was nowhere to be found once officers arrived.¡± ¡°Give me more information about the patient.¡± ¡°Right sir. He was born from a middle class family, but the parents were too unstable to support themselves, let alone a child, so child protective services had him placed at the Saint home orphanage. Then, at the age of seventeen, he moved out to an apartment complex for two months, until he was found on the side of highway 7 unconscious and injured. He was then admitted to the hospital at Naki, where he lay comatose for two months.¡± A boy, who suddenly disappeared after being in a coma for two months suddenly on the same night of a shootout. How would he fit in? ¡°What is the name of the patient?¡± ¡°His name was Effryn leo hein, but it was requested to be removed once placed at the orphanage, and no further name was brought up before or after the overhaul of the orphanage, so they decided to keep it Effryn.¡± ¡°I want you to keep digging up on Effryn, and get me more information on this person. Also get in touch with the nurses who was scheduled to work overtime. Dr. Zylar might also have a role in this.¡± ¡°Yes Sir! Anything else?¡± The chief put out the burning bud of his cigar, and stood. ¡°Nothing else. The patient and Doctor are our two leads, so follow them carefully and thoroughly.¡± ¡°Right! I¡¯ll excuse myself as I¡¯ll continue looking more in those two.¡± With one of his division officers reporting the situation, the chief still wondered what the motive of the entire thing even was. Gun shots, three bodies, two missing people...reports said the bodies were a no match with the missing, so what could have¡­ Then suddenly, Chief Knox pushed his desk while as he stood. That idiot never mentioned the bullet count! ¡°You noobie, come back here Watt!¡± The chief yelled as he pushed his way through office workers. ¡°This should be the seeds resting ground.¡± ¡°H-here? But how¡­¡± After a while of strenuous twist and turns, adding in with other minor error of directions, Effryn finally arrived on this so called ¡®world needing change.¡¯ He knew the ghost was a being with knowledge of healing all wounds, but to think it had a poor sense of direction. But that wasn¡¯t what troubled him the most. Far from it, actually. ¡°Why here of all places? Maybe you took a wrong turn? You get lost as easily as you fade away, so this has to be a mistake.¡± ¡°I am correct on this indefinitely. No mistaking it now.¡± ¡°But the Saint home orphanage of all places¡­¡± Through every wrong turn, the ghost had finally led him to his once old home. The place Evvryn and him had been raised at; the start to their pinnacle, which was a lonely orphanage set up near the city¡¯s heart. ¡°What¡¯s even here? It¡¯s just a bunch of children sleeping?¡± ¡°One of those young lambs will create the sprout needed to nurture the future.¡± ¡°Quit with the crazy talk! These kids, they have nothing to do with any of this!¡± ¡°Yet I am certain as time.¡± ¡°Gahhh, fine. I¡¯ll take a quick look around, but not for long, these kids are sleeping after all.¡± Giving in to the persistent ghost, Effryn decided to give the orphanage a peek. Still, it¡¯s been an awful while since I¡¯ve been here. I wonder how Frael is doing? I hope she didn¡¯t worry too much about me. But wait¡­ The more he thought about it, the more he questioned-does anyone know where I¡¯ve been? It¡¯s been two months since he last seen anyone he knows. What if they don¡¯t know what happened at all? Then what about Evvryn¡­ Effryn felt himself tear up at the thought of every bright child learning about the death of Evvryn, and how Effryn was hospitalized. He never thought about it, but how would he explain a person they looked up to never coming back¡­ ¡°I fear if we linger for long, you might get suspected for indecency.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll knock and see if anyone answers.¡± Effryn faintly replied, wiping his hand at the air. ¡°But If no one answers the first time, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Effryn had no intention of over staying, and wanted the children to a peaceful sleep like any other. ¡°Then where do you plan to rest?¡± ¡°-Uhh¡­¡± Having not thought about his place to rest, Effryn was shot down without a chance to rebuttal. ¡°How about asking for shelter here instead of freezing?¡± ¡°I still have nothing for your stabbing words, and I¡¯m going!¡± Walking the same stony path he missed for his time gone, he remembered each step as he went along. The one stone with a crack down the middle. Another with initials edged in it. And many more signifying a different past, telling another story from just a few marks. Until he reached the final step, which was the stone with the oldest change-Evvryn and Effryns doodle. It wasn¡¯t anything special, considering it was only a dragon Evvryn made, and a snowman Effryn had made. Effryn thought back to the day he drew a snowman, and how he wanted to have a snowy day so badly, he decided to draw one. But with Evvryn being Evvryn, she wanted to combat him, and drew a ferocious crayon dragon burning the snowman. God, I really cried over that. He thought, as he kneeled over and gently brushed over the ¡®art.¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re crying now.¡± ¡°I know! I don¡¯t need you to remind me!¡± Brushing the tears off with his sleeve, Effryn pushed the wonderful yet stinging memories away. I WILL save you, no matter what. ¡°Prepare yourself-someone''s coming.¡± Before Effryn had readied himself, the door slowly opened. And to Effryn¡¯s surprise¡­ ¡°Hello Mr¡­¡± ¡°HOLY WOWEE, EVERYBODY COME QUICK!!¡± ¡°Long time no see...Effryn.¡± Three children Effryn hadn¡¯t seen in ages answered the door instead of Mother. Although he hadn¡¯t noted the exact time, he knew it was still way to late for any normal kid to be awake at a time like this. ¡°Y-yeah tate, tia and mia...it¡¯s been awhile.¡± ¡°Your pretty messy, Effryn.¡± Mia started with an offset expression. ¡°What have you been doing?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± But before Effryn could finish, he was soon surrounded by munchkins and barraged with questions. ¡°Where have you been?¡± ¡°So you finally decided to show your face around here again, huh? I guess it¡¯s time to test who the strongest is!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve...been gone for a long while...Effryn.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡±m glad you¡¯re all safe and what not, but what about Evvryn?! I need my commander again for more training!¡± And while being bombarded, Effryn realized one thing after a fly by. The children were completely unaware of Evvryn¡¯s death. ¡°W-wait now, didn¡¯t someone tell you guys?¡± Asking to confirm a suspension, Effryn asked the kids a simple question, to which they replied with a simple answer. ¡°Well duh, you two got hurt pretty badly, but I see you¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°If you can live, then Evvryn can get through no challenge!¡± Effryn saw it. Their clueless expressions told him everything he needed to know. ¡°Um, excuse me, but is Mother awake?¡± Effryn asked trying to hide his emotions from showing. Especially his face. ¡°Mommy...yeah, she should be. Follow me!¡± The child who answered Effryn¡¯s calling was a collective young boy, who played roles in the commander drill training as the leader of the recruits. And so, Effryn followed the joyful boy who was skipping his way to their Mother, who was also unaware of the fate placed upon Evvryn. 4. Sorrowful reunion A scornful mother and her weeping son. That is the picture the Father would have used to describe the emotions displayed by the two staring off at each other. The fireplace was lightly kindled to subdue the cold, and was small. ¡°How come you didn¡¯t tell the others what happened?¡± ¡°I felt the need to exclude loss from their lives, for the time being at least.¡± Effryn reacted quick and timidly, while Mother only responded to him in the calm, caring tone of a woman raising her child, like she always had. ¡°And how do you plan to tell them? Huh? They worshiped her, loved her, and you won¡¯t tell them?!¡± Anger rose as blood boiled within Effryn. ¡°So how do you propose to tell children their idol is gone?¡± ¡°It should come with a subtle explaining, so they can understand the concept of death.¡± Effryn thought everyone deserves the right to know what happens to someone they know, although if it comes down to it, without details. ¡°I kindly disagree. This situation is similar to explaining to a child about their recently deceased mother. One moment, they¡¯re there. The next, they never see them again, and are waving them off to the next life without a single understanding on what is happening.¡± Mother gently brushed her words onto Effryn, with each syllable stabbing Effryn. It isn¡¯t fair, Effryn thought, they should be told something¡­ A warm, gentle hand began to caress Effryn¡¯s cheek. ¡°Effryn, dear, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll explain everything to them once they¡¯re older. I already told the oldest Jaini and Leslo, and they took it pretty rough. But they promised to keep it in, no matter what.¡± Mother''s hand carefully swept away the tears slowly descending Effryn¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t know it at first while being filled with anger towards Mother, but somewhere in between, tears had been pouring as a downfall. ¡°I tried, I really did¡­¡± She pulled Effryn towards her, allowing her to fully embrace her old child. She brushed his hair through with her fingers, easing the pain in her son. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I did everything for her, and she did everything for me¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sure you both did.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know what else to do then...she had to do it for me¡­¡± ¡°Sounds just like her.¡± ¡°And when I lost her, it was like a cursed mirrored perspective on my old life. I was alone when I came back, with no idea where I was¡­¡± ¡°Shhh. Rest now dear. You are only a child after all.¡± Effryn couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. Tears released as he held tightly to his Mother, and he accepted the embrace of her warmth. ¡°I¡­ I loved her, Mother. No one else but her¡­¡± ¡°Be strong, Effryn. You have someone to look after still, don¡¯t forget that.¡± He knew there were people in the world who deeply cared about him-like Frael and Eizer. He knew it well. But it didn¡¯t make dealing with the emptiness anymore bearable. ¡°Speaking of someone, there¡¯s a brilliant little scientist who¡¯s been waiting to see you here. You should see her.¡± Mother rested Effryn upward, and wiped away any remaining wetworks. ¡°Y-yes ma¡¯am.¡± Thanks, momma. He thought, as he searched for the little scientist she mentioned before. He dazed off at the passing children, each with contagious excitement. Shouldn¡¯t the kids be sleeping? It¡¯s beyond past bedtime. Usually, the Mother was heavily strict on curfew, and wanted each child sleeping by ten. The ones caught disobeying the curfew were usually punished to have cleaning duties for a month. Yet now it seemed like the day and night cycle were merely just a myth, as the children¡¯s laughter roared through the wooden seams. Wait...did she know I would come back? Are the children supposed to be moral support? Effryn wondered the possibility of Mother knowing he would make a return tonight, but felt it was more likely to be different cause. If not, then the intuition of a mother was a powerful, yet scary thing. Thanks momma, but I have this set. I will bring back Evvryn-no matter what. The door defending before Effryn was an old door, one he¡¯d used many times. It¡¯s only job was to keep things in, or out-depending on how a person were to use said door. But in this case, it was mostly used to keep pesky children out. Attempting to open the door, the knob simply wouldn¡¯t turn. It was locked. Forgive me, Frael. It seems I may be one of those pesky children right now, but more advanced! I know how to get in. Reaching into his pocket, Effryn pulled the ¡®necessary item¡¯ needed to bypass the door. ¡°Use skill ¡®Breaking and Entering¡¯!¡± A short moment later, the door clicked, signifying it was unlocked. Thanks credit card I found on the ground, and old door with old lock mechanism. I salute you both! ¡°Thief.¡± For a second the ghost poked into existence, and made a quick jab towards Effryn. ¡°Screw you! Disappear already!¡± A push of annoyance floated in Effryn, but he brushed it off, and prepared himself to enter. He lightly knocked twice to announce his presence. ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡± Entering the room, Effryn saw pure darkness all around the room, except for a dimly light corner with what appeared to be a little girl slouching over the contours. What is she¡­ Effryn wondered the possibilities of his mind backfiring his vision, even accepting the theory for a second. But no matter how much he gazed at the spikey pearlescent girl, the candle flickered on and off as she quietly hummed a lullaby. ¡°E-excuse me, but what did you do to Frael?¡± Effryn¡¯s little brain gave no results to ideas on Fraels activities. ¡°Please leave Frael to her work. There is work needing to be finished.¡± Did she not hear me right? ¡°Frael?¡± Silence. She only tapped away at some object, and hummed away at an unfamiliar tune. ¡°Frae-¡± ¡°-You are still here? Frael clearly wished for you to leave, so please¡­¡± While persisting him to leave, Frael turned around. Effryn could only describe her expression as a somber deadman, with bags under her eyes. But the moment they locked eyes, a glint flared in her iris. Her mouth gaped as if she had a million words to say, but not one left. ¡°E-E-E-E-Effryn! Are you really here?! Is Frael awake?! I-Err-Frael is...Uuuuuuuuu-¡± Frael looked overloaded with emotions. She stumbled on her words until her brain went dead. ¡°Hey Frael. I¡¯m sorry I haven¡¯t visited in a while, but¡­¡± ¡°I-is that really you?!?! Effryn the mummy?!¡± Remembering there were still cloth covering most of his body, Effryn shyly laughed it off. ¡°Yeah, even got quite the ouchie.¡± ¡°Oh...EFFY!!¡± Frael leaped from her desolate corner into Effryn¡¯s reach. He felt a heavy stream of water come down on his arms, but he ignored them. ¡°Gosh, you¡¯ve grown a few inches.¡± ¡°E-Effy!¡± The child he cared for ever since she arrived at the orphanage cried. But he understood. Effryn gave her his old headpats, as he hummed her an improv lullubi. After a while of crying, Frael rested upon Effryn, while he merely kept watch of the candles flicker. ¡°Jeez Effy, you¡¯re such a meanie to Frael! Why stay away from her for so long?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted to! I would never abandon you on purpose, I swear!¡± Wanting his name cleared, Effryn attempted to convince her with headpats. ¡°Don¡¯t think-Uuuuu-you can bribe me with-Uuuuu-petting!-Uuu-¡± With each pat flickered a glimpse of Fraels wholesomeness, which was eating away Effryn¡¯s insides. Gahhh, how could I live without this blessing bestowed upon us from God as the redeeming human being?! ¡°Hey...Effy?¡± Bringing back Effryn from his paradise regained, Frael spoke with a tone that was lowered, and she kept her head low. ¡°Frael still has questions, like where were you went, and where Evvy is. Mother wouldn¡¯t say anything, assuring to her everything was alright. But Frael could see the stories in her eyes, telling me the opposite was true.¡± ¡°Frael I¡­¡± Effryn wanted to say something to comfort her, but nothing came to mind. Only the young girl, whose strength was that to a flickering candle, was the only thing capturing his senses. Frael continued. ¡°And it hurt. It hurt not being told the truth. It hurt being herded to believing a different story. Momma never once told Frael something with that look in her eye before, so it made me realize it was something Mother thought Frael couldn¡¯t hear. Or, didn¡¯t want to hear.¡± ¡°Frael, what are you getting at?¡± ¡°Something happened, didn¡¯t it?¡± She caught on to the missing link. Mother never told her what happened, but Frael didn¡¯t need it. She was always a bright girl, even for her age. ¡°Frael¡­¡± Effryn knew it wouldn¡¯t take her long to follow a path of clues to find out what really happened. ¡°Effy, let me ask one thing:Why didn¡¯t Evvy come with you? Or put in another way, why would you leave Evvy all alone?¡± And that¡¯s exactly what made it harder for Effryn to say anything, leading her to find out the truth from pure deduction. ¡°Frael knows Effy. He¡¯s kind and loving, yet you would always be attracted to Evvy wherever you go. Frael knows you always acted like a mess whenever you missed her, or she wasn¡¯t around.¡± Effryn didn¡¯t bother coming up with anything. He remained silent, waiting for the inevitable mind of Frael to reach her conclusion. Until finally, she peaked. ¡°Effy didn¡¯t come home without her, did he? That isn¡¯t the issue. No, it¡¯s more like Effy couldn¡¯t come home with her.¡± Frael lifted her head, and looked at Effryn, huffing in the small amount of air a child her size could. Effryn could see a pained expression, but most of it was covered in a mask of exhaustion. ¡°It¡¯s impossible, afterall. Evvy¡¯s gone, so there would be no way Effy could bring her home.¡± Crystallization of tears began to form in the eyes, but Effryn wasn¡¯t quite sure who¡¯s it was. ¡°You¡¯re too smart for your own good, you know that?¡± Effryn wanted to scold her like a big brother, but with the raspy voice cracks, and constant sniffing, he made more a fool than an idol.. ¡°Effy¡­¡± ¡°Frael¡­¡± Effryn was sick of crying. It was the only one thing he exceeded in doing. No matter what the situation was, and if the conditions were right, he could cry to anything. And that¡¯s why he was tired of the tears. That¡¯s all he ever did. He wanted to do something about something, rather than crying to something. Before there was no chance, but now¡­ Now there was something he could do. Only him, for it required the power of the ghost to pull off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Frael, I got it under control! Just you wait, I¡¯ll bring her back in no time!¡± ¡°Effy?¡± Frael sounded confused, but Effryn didn¡¯t blame her. Who would just right out believe in a fantasy tale, right? ¡°All I have to do is find some kid, make them do something, and the rest will sort itself out. I haven¡¯t planned on what to do next, but I promise-¡± ¡°-Effy-¡± ¡°-that I¡¯ll do something to bring her back. No matter what, if I just follow that ghost, then she¡¯ll have to-¡± ¡°-Effy-?¡± ¡°-owe me a debt! The whole situation sounded serious enough, so I don¡¯t doubt if I hurry this up, then Evvryn outta be back in no tim-¡± ¡°-EFFY!¡± She screamed a piercing echo. One that reverberated throughout the entire orphanage multiple times. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°What are you talking about?! Evvy¡¯s gone; she¡¯s dead!!¡± Her words stung Effryn, but he let hope guide his words. ¡°Only for now she is. But once I get this done with, she¡¯ll be back!¡± ¡°Dead is dead Effy! Freal is sure her corpse has decayed as well, so what would be the point then?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a way around it, so don¡¯t worry about that!¡± Frael jumped up and angrily dug into the corner of the flickering candle. Her tiny body was shaking clearly with anger. ¡°Here!¡± She lifted up a small headset device Effryn had seen only once in his lifetime. It was a virtual reality headset that fully worked, and he¡¯d participated in a competition using them. Evvryn and him had won it as a prize for coming in first, but he¡¯d been knocked unconscious before ever getting the chance to see it. ¡°You guys disappeared with no clues, so they had no one else to give it but to Eizer, and he decided to give it to me! And you know what, Frael wanted to do something special for you guys as a welcome home gift, so she worked day and night. Some days Frael worked on it without any naps, others she worked on it all day nonstop!¡± She was crying even more now, with a strong pout expression Effryn had never seen before. She picked up the headset, and threw it at Effryn, lightly tapping his arm. ¡°Frael. I never meant to hurt you¡­ I only want to support you in anyway possible.¡± ¡°Well just because your hurting doesn¡¯t give you the right to infect Freal with it.¡± ¡­ Frael¡­ ¡°Effy...can you please leave. I want to finish this up so I can finally work on something else.¡± ¡°Wait, Frael...?¡± ¡°Please Effy. Do it for me.¡± Effryn had no other words. He stood lifelessly, and walked towards the door, before looking back at Freal. Her head was down, but he knew she was crying in her own way. ¡°I-¡± -didn¡¯t mean anything I said, yet I meant it till my death. I promise you Frael I¡¯ll do it. Or that¡¯s what he would have finished with. Yet Effryn¡¯s mind prevented him from finishing, like it always had done when he was cornered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Effryn mustered to whimper while looking at Frael, but no response came from her. She only remained silent in her corner with the flickering candle. Why? The hallway had always seemed long to Effryn, no matter how many times he went through. Why wouldn¡¯t you believe me? But this time, it felt more unbearably time stretching than any other. Each step was a year, with each meter being a decade. Frael-you¡¯re only eleven! That¡¯s it! The wood croaked like the past, yet now each creek whined louder than the last. You¡¯re too young to understand anything! Haha, that explains it! It made sense after all. The only thing making sense. Young. The young were indefinitely ignorant. They¡¯re just misguided children who need to be reprimanded after any mistakes, allowing them to be shaped into societies lambs. Of course, Effryn began understanding. lambs lose their way every once in a while. I should understand her, yet¡­ The creeks, the distance, the herding followers-were all ringing in his mind. -why doesn¡¯t she understand me? I have the key, so why not use it? Think about it in my shoes Frael, how do you think I feel? Hurt, lost, angry, sad, pissed, empty, yet of all these, I¡¯m still me¡­ Eyes. They were everywhere. On his back, sides, face, watching his every move. He concluded they had to be with the broken sound of the floors, mixed in with the overextended hallway, with a touch of all the children not following orders down to the letter. He wanted to see them all, and control them. Then, maybe then, he could have things go more his way. Maybe he could get use out of the promised child, and use her soul to bring Evvryn back. He could sacrifice her for her sake. A useless brat for the world, it was brilliantly- ¡°Uh, Effryn? You doing okay¡­?¡± A young boy asked. Effryn thought he knew him, yet now he couldn¡¯t remember his name. Effryn racked his brain for a name, but only one name came to mind. ¡°A-are you the seed?! If you are, I need you to do something. I-I may not know exactly what, but do it! Please!¡± Desperation came over Effryn as he fell to the floor, holding the child¡¯s shirt with a tight grip. ¡°Effryn...your face. It¡¯s like a nightmare, but even scarier¡­¡± The wood croaked louder than ever, Effryn felt more distant to himself, and the seed was disobeying. At least, that¡¯s what Effryn first thought. But the look on his face said far more than words ever could express fear. ¡°H-hey now¡­ I¡¯m sorry Gale.¡± I¡¯m still me...right? Remembering Gales name, Effryn apologized and released his grip. ¡°Tell Mother and Frael I¡¯m sorry.¡± Effryn stood. He walked down the hallway once more, yet everything seemed to have calmed down outside. The wood was quieter, he reached the door in a matter of seconds, and he obeyed willingly. Everywhere was peaceful. Everywhere, except his mind. ¡°Wait, Effryn? Tell them sorry for what? I think you should tell them yourself if you really mean it!¡± One disobeyed, but Effryn¡¯s mind didn¡¯t care. It only wanted to leave the home, and escape from everything. Effryn opened the door to reveal the void of night being engulfed by the birthing sun. A bit of light bathed Effryn, yet none fully reached him. He turned back to face Gale, who was trembling from everything happening. Effryn noticed a few heads poking from the corners, so he decided to use them as extra messengers. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not strong enough. Just tell them I¡¯m sorry, especially to Frael.¡± Effryn tried his best to make a smile to comfort the children, and assure them everything would be alright, but he was sure a pained expression expressed itself too. ¡°Effr-?¡± Gale spoke to break through Effryn, but trailed off as Effryn neared the door, slumping his way. He felt bad for the kid, he only wanted to help after all. But he couldn¡¯t stand being there another moment. ¡°I¡¯m heading out.¡± He whispered to himself, saying the lines Evvryn and him would always use when going to school. ¡°So I¡¯ll be home real soon.¡± The sunlight had stretched to more than just the sky, reaching the buildings and people, who were now moving around in full momentum. He knew it was morning, just not the exact time. Although time was slowly losing meaning to Effryn, so why bother? ¡°Where are you traveling to?¡± The voice of the ghost sounded in his mind. He had been walking for a while now, so the ghost had to wonder if there was another destination in mind. ¡°Place.¡± Effryn answered back with an empty response. His mind was fried, not knowing what to do at this point. ¡°I was unaware you kept other destinations. Does this next one have an area for rest?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± He only knew of one other place to go. It was his last somewhere he¡¯d gone to only a few times, and was perhaps the most reasonable place to go. ¡°The sky.¡± The ghost was silent for a while, probably thinking about what he meant. ¡°You don¡¯t mean to kill yourself, do you?¡± ¡°Kill...myself?¡± Effryn hadn¡¯t thought about it, but what if instead of trying so hard¡­ ¡°-I could join her?¡± ...he could shortcut his way to the end without having to go through the pain. Sure, there was a chance he could bring her back, but if he would have thought of the option to join her sooner, he could have made a much quicker decision. ¡°No, you have yet to complete your object. Please, at least remain alive until the seed has completed its duty.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to listen to you! I¡¯m in control, not you!¡± The crowd stopped their busy chatter to stare at Effryn. Whispers arose, while each one around looked at Effryn. ¡°What are you all looking at!¡± The whispers died, making the area around him dead silent with a fury of glares. Then, a few spoke out criticizing him. ¡°Who does this kid think he is?!¡± ¡°He looks so dirty.¡± ¡°Why are you covered up?¡± ¡°Hey kid, do ya live in the sewers, cause you be looking like a full-on mole rat.¡± The crowd erupted in laughter. Less concern for Effryn was said, and more jokes came instead. The laughing was all he could hear, filling his mind with nothing but hate. ¡°Shut up, all of you!¡± he yelled, hiding his face with his hood. ¡°Go back home!¡± ¡°Yeah, go to your parents run-away!¡± Effryn felt a part of him snap, like a nerve being curb stomp on repeat. ¡°Shut the hell up! Do any of you know what I¡¯ve been through?! I keep taking shit from everybody for no reason?!¡± Effryn pressed on the people who were laughing, and they stepped back, keeping their distance from what they thought as a crazed boy. ¡°I have to deal with the ghost, then fight with one of the people I love most, and finally deal with waste of space like you!!¡± His felt his pulse skyrocketing with anger. Effryn watched their eyes, each one was a different color and shape, but they all told the same story. Stay away from him, they told. The crowd kept their silence and walked on, to which Effryn thought they would go on their day until meeting up with their friends, and would tell the crazy incident on their way to work. Whatever. I¡¯ll figure things out when I get there. Effryn continued on, on focusing on getting to his destination. . ¡°Humans...why gang up on you in such manner?¡± ¡°Must be nice to come and go when you want.¡± Ignoring its questions, Effryn pressed on with his own. ¡°I¡¯m dying to ask ghost: What do you think of humans?¡± ¡°Based on analysis of known data, humans are the lowest intelligent forces of life.¡± Its response was unusually quick, with a lower tone of voice than usual. ¡°That¡¯s a bit rough, but we¡¯re top of the chain. How are we the lowest?¡± ¡°No matter what occurrence may befall on humanity, death never fully follows.¡° ¡°Eh...your not making sense, but it doesn¡¯t matter. I was just wondering. It ends here, after all.¡± Effryn stopped, looking up to see a towering skyscraper still in construction. It was a place he and Eizer would often use as a chill spot to rest for hours upon end, and just talk about life. My last home¡­ ¡°Human, do you fully intend to end your life here?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Effryn felt fully prepared to die. To let go everything hurting. Especially his head. ¡°Human, or Effryn, you still have a task needing to be finished here, do you not?¡± ¡°I lost interest in living.¡± ¡°For a few minor inconvenience, you would accept ending your life? What about our deal? Your agreement was to-¡± ¡°-Find someone else. I¡¯m too tired to do anything.¡± Walking past the unfinished doors Effryn looked for the staircase. Effryn saw everything still in place, as if no work was done to complete the building. But he forgot instantly from lack of interest. ¡°I¡¯m too tired.¡± ¡°This is highly insensitive and selfish. You were talking with the seed, yet you give up when she erupts with anger at you? It seems you were the wrong choice in the end. And this ¡®Evvryn¡¯ human, she is that important to you? Even if she was, she¡¯s only one human. How can one human mean so muc-¡± ¡°-HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?!?! SHE MEANT THE WORLD TO ME!!¡± Effryn shouted enough to crush his lungs, expressing his resentment towards the ghost. ¡°I ONLY DID THIS FOR HER!!¡± His breath was heavy, taking up every bit of his voice to scream at the non existent being around him. Since there was no physical ghost around him, Effryn looked around frantically at every angle possible to show his anger. ¡°You need to calm down boy. If you¡¯re not silent, peo-¡± ¡°-I DON¡¯T CARE ABOUT NOT HAVING TO HEAR YOU!¡± Before getting a chance to finish, Effryn shut the ghost down. There was a hint of importance in her words, but Effryn wanted no more of her. He only wanted to see what life was like on the other side. ¡°Curse you boy, things are going to get costly if you don¡¯t lea-¡± The ghost cut out, as if Effryn was on a phone call before losing service. Then, the empty lobby erupted with a shout¡­ ¡°Who the hells making so much racket?!¡± Another voice went along with the first, different from the first being female. ¡°I think someone¡¯s dying down th¡¯are!¡± Effryn saw a flashlight shiver on from up the stairs, slowly descending downwards. The ghost called this situation ¡®costly,¡¯ but it wasn¡¯t much of a difference to him either way. If it meant he left, he would be content. ¡°Hello? Is anyone here¡­¡± A younger man, maybe in his twenties, held a small flashlight, and shine its light to reveal Effryn. He was baggy, with ragged stretched clothes, yet he was still pretty young and looked as if he could look nice if he tried to. Effryn wondered why such a person would look like a mess, and be in such a place to begin with, but he lost he lost interest rather quick. ¡°Jakob, did ya getcher ass stabbed or wha¡­¡± Next, a young girl in somewhat the same clothes followed down to investigate the noise, only to see Effryn. She held ¡®Jakobs¡¯ arm around her chest, as if she were gesturing fear. Are they a couple¡­? The two stared at Effryn, paused and looked in each other, before returning back to Effryn. Finally, Jakob broke the silence. ¡°So uhh...is there something we can do for you?¡± Jakob spoke in ernest, while the girl spoke in an unrefined southern accent. ¡°What in the bucket hells are you wearing? You like a goddamn serial killer!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Wondering what was so bad about the way he dressed, Effryn lifted his sleeve. It can¡¯t be bad, it¡¯s just my normal¡­ It was then, he realized he looked like a reincarnation of Jack the ripper. ¡°¡®Eh¡¯ is more like ¡®gah, your gonna die!¡± to me!¡± Bursting out in a southern laughter, she squeezed Jakobs arm. ¡°Hey Liz? If you don¡¯t let go, your sure to kill my arm.¡± ¡°Aww, fine. But only because I need your arm!¡± With a pouty puppy eye face, she obliged while immediately reviving her previous happy demeanor. ¡°So anyways, who were you yelling at?¡± ¡°Yeah, you was acting death all right.¡± Effryn heard the questions, but only stared at the two, who returned a questioning gaze. ¡°It must be nice having someone you love still standing with you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°To be with her; would you do anything?¡± Liz drew closer to Jakob, and whispered in his ear. They talked among themselves as Effryn could only watch. But his patience was burning out. ¡°I don¡¯t care about this. I just want to reach the roof.¡± Effryn walked, only looking at the floor. There was no reason to look in the eye of people he just met, even more since he had an end goal in sight. ¡°Sorry,¡± Jakob stood before Effryn, placing his arms out to stop him from going any further up. ¡°But we live up there, and we rather not have someone like yourself visit.¡± ¡°Live here¡­?¡± There was nothing but a few excess materials and given up buildings here. If they lived here, it would mean they technically were... ¡°Yep, we¡¯re homeless! But as long as my sweet Jak¡¯s here by my, then I know life would be breezy!¡± Liz wrapped herself around Jakob more ferocious than before, and seemed to suck his life out more. But Jakob didn¡¯t do anything. He accepted her embrace, even if he suffocated through it. ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t give us the down look. We¡¯re happy, so what¡¯s to complain?¡± ¡°I wish I were like you two¡­¡± Keeping his face down, Effryn wanted to be just keep moving and ignore his thoughts. But they only swarmed his mind more. What if me and Evvryn were like this, would we be happy? What if I took that bullet for her, would she be here? Would she be a screw up like me here? Would she love m- -! Effryns had no idea what happened to him; only that he was on the ground, and his face stung like crazy. ¡°Do you know the sacrifices we¡¯ve made just to be with each other?!¡± ¡°Jakob, did you have to sock him?¡± ¡°Do you?!?!¡± Effryn had no clue what just happened. His mind was for a moment thinking about Evvryn, then next he¡­ ¡°I-I¡­¡± ¡°We lost our homes because our parents hated the idea of us being with each other!¡± Without realizing it, Jakob was in Effryns face yelling. ¡°Mine thought Liz was too distasteful for our family standards, and hers thought we were to high class for one another!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like-¡± ¡°-Like what?! We abandoned homes to be with each other. We lost our families, our possessions, our lifestyles just to be with each other! Are you saying you would go through the pain we went through just for the idea of love?!¡± Jakob grabbed Effryn by his shirt, and raised a fist. The look in his eye had a flare of hatred ignited. ¡°Jakob.¡± The calming voice Liz brought his sense back, extinguishing the flare in his eye. Effryn fell down as his shirt was no longer being held, and saw Liz holding Jakob from behind. ¡°Calm down, Jak. I outta know how much your sister means to you, but I¡¯m positive she¡¯s fine.¡± She caressed his hair, while softly whispering in his ear. She meant to calm him down, and she was doing just that. ¡°She¡¯ll be alright, she¡¯s was becoming a strong girl more and more each day.¡± She went on and on behind Jakob, doing her best to calm him. Tears eventually rolled down his eyes, but she lightly swiped them off. After a while, Liz picked her head and smiled at Effryn. ¡°Sorry for that. And here, for our troubles.¡± She reached somewhere and showed a small brownie. Effryn didn¡¯t know how to respond with this gift, but she insisted he take it. ¡°T-thank you. And I¡¯m sorry.¡± Apologizing for the awkwardness he brought, he gobbled down the gift from Liz. ¡°Heh, its tangy.¡± He tried to force a smile to hide the sour taste from the brownie, but the laughter from liz told him he failed. From below Liz, Jakob peered up at Effryn. ¡°He ate it?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Effryn felt like he was being left out on something. He wondered what it was, but the taste was too sour for him to say anything. How old was that?! But it wasn¡¯t stale¡­ ¡°What did you put in?¡± ¡°Bout five Xans plus a few others!¡± ¡°Oh man, you really show no compassion.¡± ¡°Hehe!¡± Effryn slumped to the ground, holding his fingers over his eyes. He tired to keep the drowsiness away, and to keep from his eyelids from being forced to shut. But a sleepy rush completely over filled his body, slowly forcing parts of himself to stop moving and sleep. ¡°Sorry about this whoever you are, but I recommend you not make my Jak cry next time!¡± ¡°Uh, you gave him a little too much for there to be a next time¡­¡± He could still understand voices, but when he tried looking at the source, nothing moved. Or wait, all he saw was dark, so what was the point in looking? ¡°You think he¡¯s gonna die?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it!¡± ¡°We should move.¡± ¡°Already on it!¡± The voices shifted off, as did everything else. Effryn was scared of this feeling taking over, like a pool of emptiness being suppressed by gallons of numbness. But after a while, he began to like it. It reminded him of the medicine Doctor Zylar had given to him-they both made Effryn think less, if only a fraction. But any help was appreciated. But that didn¡¯t matter to him. He heard from Liz he was sure to die. He thought he should feel scared, but why bother? He was about to off himself anyways, so might as well take this in a positive light. It felt like a much more calmer way of dying than jumping off, so he was ok with this outcome more. Hey...maybe I can be useful in my next life¡­ The last thought of Effryn rang in his ears, before everything went completely numb. 5. Gale ~Saint home Orphanage~ The older kids were becoming tired. After a while of play time, sleepy time was soon to follow. The babies were already fast asleep hours ago, so there was no need to worry about their being. Ding! A loud ring sounded from the walls, starting everyone to stop in place. ¡°Mom! Someone¡¯s at the door!¡± Other kids began to enter a frenzy, and ran around home. ¡°Tia dear, can you check who¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± Tia ran off to check the tiny peeping hole near the bottom corner of the door. A rumor once spread the hole was originally an accidental bump from police long ago, but we just use it to check if any bad people show up. ¡°Aha, can¡¯t forget mister tinger!¡± And if there were every bad people, then we would have to use mister tinger to make them go away. Although...there wasn¡¯t much information given on how to use him, just press and hold. Mister tinger came from Frael, who was a very smart girl. But though she was smart, she always stayed locked up in her own room. Other kids thought having a seperate room was unfair, but mother made it very strict not to say anything else about it. She said though Frael was a smart girl, she was consequently very sick, which was also why she had to sit out on our daily warm ups. ¡°Gale, dear?¡± ¡°Y-yes ma¡¯am?!¡± Mother interrupted his thinking, but it wasn¡¯t unusual. Gale gave a timid response, waiting for mother''s answer. ¡°Frael and Effryn sure have been quiet. May you go and offer them beverages.¡± Hmm? Gale wondered if mother knew Effryn left. Usually, she was on top of everything happening in the house, but to hear this¡­ ¡°Effryn has left mother.¡± ¡°He wha¡­?¡± Mothers look was also unusually different from the others. Instead of taking a few seconds to think about something, she skipped the hesitation entirely. Instead, she wore a worried expression. And Gale could tell this wasn¡¯t like her usual mask when talking to other kids. This was genuine. Oh...what has big brother Effryn done? Gale grew slightly interested in everything going on, but kept his face that of a plain child. ¡°And what of Frale?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t know.¡± Gale expressed a downy face while slouching over. Mother held her hand over her mouth. Gale clearly saw she was deeply thinking about something. What she was thinking intrigued him. But before anything happened, Tia called out. ¡°Mom, police men are here!¡± ¡°Ah, coming dear.¡± Mother gently smiled at Gale, and walked away to greet the visitors. Police...what could they be here for? Nothing interesting happened here. Except for¡­ ¡°...Effryn.¡± Ever since Effryn returned home, things have grown more interesting at an alarming rate. But Gale thought of it as a gift, since the house held the same boring routine every day. ¡°Oh right, Gale? May you check up on Frael for a second!¡± Mother''s head peeked from the corner. ¡°O-oh, right!¡± Having been pulled from his thoughts once again, Gale picked himself up and followed the path to Fraels room. This was a pretty usual quest mother gave Gale, so it didn¡¯t bother him. It was refreshing to talk to her, especially with how smart she was. No other kid in the house could compare to Frael¡¯s smarts. Gale would always come to a close second, but she always reigned above all. Even since Effryn went missing, Frael had been seemingly more and more lonely. Kids in the house tried a few times to cheer her up, but each time she gave them an empty smile, and further burrowed herself in her room. Her lying face was enough to fool the rest of the kids, but not him. He was sure mother knew as well, because after seeing Frael disappear in her room, mother made me visit her to give her company. Now, ever since Effryn left, Gale went to visit Frael and help her with whatever crazy thing she was making now. She really is amazing...oh! Standing before him was the towing door leading to Fraels room. He pressed his ear against the door, wondering if it was alright to come in. She¡¯s not crying, so¡­ ¡°Excuse me, Frael! It¡¯s me, Gale!¡± Hearing no response, Gale pulled out a small item of cheating for these types of situations-a spare key he was able to make from a mold. Forgive me Frael, but I was told to look after you. The door easily unlocked, and Gale opened full force. ¡®Frael?¡± Gale asked the question hoping Frael would be directly behind the door, but only pure darkness welcomed him. ¡°Holy scary...Frale? Are you in here?¡± Entering the room, Gale saw Frael covering herself lying down in the middle of the room. He tried looking around, but everything was too dark to see. The only thing noticeable was some burnt out candle in the corner. ¡°Frael?¡± Gale asked, slowly approaching the downed girl. With the atmosphere being still as dark, he could hear small whimpers. He tried seeing her face by moving closer, but he realized her face was implanted in the ground. ¡°Geh, really Frael? Mother was right to be worried about you, but for you to be crying while burying your face...that''s a rare sight.¡± To Gale, he¡¯d actually never seen her like this. Sure, she was quiet and reclusive, but she always forced a smile through it all. Even when he was by her side, she never fully opened up to him. For this to happen, there must be a cause. ¡°Gale...why is Effy a dwummy?¡± Gale set himself next to Frael, and lit a spare candle to dim the room. It wasn¡¯t much light, but he had a clearer picture of Frael now. ¡°I''m not sure myself, but for whatever reason, I think he needs to be punished!¡± ¡°He has no where else to go, so why would he leave?¡± Gale thought about her words. Why no where else? I thought he had an apartment with Evvryn?¡± ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t let the sadness get you! I¡¯m sure Effryn has some things he needs before he can come back.¡± ¡°Uuu¡­ I know, your right.¡± Gale didn¡¯t know exactly what Effryn was doing, and it annoyed him. His entire being was causing a scary aura in the house, or at least with the brainer people. He knew he wasn¡¯t exactly the next brain king, but he could mostly see the difference between what people were saying, and what they were doing. Evvryn held military lessons some time back, explaining how it was important to understand your enemies plan and their adaptability to their plan, then how to form a plan based on that information. While everyone else ignored her words, Gale took them to heart, even living by those words. Still¡­ Gale thought, I feel like there¡¯s something more to everything. Like only mother and father knows. ¡°Hey Frael...what happened to Effryn?¡± Gale probed, wondering if Frael had any information. He judged based on Effryn stroming out with the look of utter emptiness, and the last place he visited was Frael, some information had to flow. ¡°No-uu.¡± Eh¡­ Frael made a short but audible sound afterwards. Is she...pouting? Taking a deep breath, Gale had a feeling Frael wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for bothering you Frael. I¡¯ll take my leave and let mother know you seem fine-¡± ¡°-wait-uu.¡± Did she pout again?! But before he could move, a nudge held him back. Looking down, it was Frael¡¯s fingers lightly grasping his sleeve. ¡°Please...don¡¯t.¡± Gale grabbed her hand, only to feel a slight tremble as she closed her palm. ¡°Frael?¡± ¡°Stay with Frael...¡± ¡°B-but are you sure? I thought you-¡± Gale felt pressure building up on his hand. At first he thought Frael might have been trying to tickle him, but now it felt more like a crushing hug. ¡°Stay with Frael!¡± ¡°Fine! I give! Just please, stop!¡± Giving in to his year older peer, Gale found himself being led by a newly made cheerful girl to the corner. There, she lit an old candle, and lit the entire area around, revealing some papers with scribblings and a glasses thingy. Gale had never seen anything like it, but it seemed pretty cool, so it interested him ¡°What is that?¡± The object was purely black, with a cover for the full face, and strap to the back. It surely had to black magic. ¡°Frael has no idea what it was supposed to be used for, so she decided to make something new out of it!¡± ¡°And how did you get this?¡± ¡°Well, Uuu¡­¡± She looked at the ground for a moment, and smiled with a fiery passion. ¡°Effy won this!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gale remembered something about Effryn taking Frael to some thingy, but that was also the last day everyone saw him. If that is so, then how did Frael¡­ ¡°His friend Eizer was kind enough to let Frael hold onto this for Effy.¡± Oh, makes sense. ¡°But, Effy took a long while to return, and Frael was really worried about Effy.¡± Gale had always seen Frael smiling to the other kids, but he knew she was often in deep thought about something. ¡°So Frael decided to test this thingy Effy won to see if its safe.¡± ¡°Safe?¡± ¡°Uuu, you know, in case Effy were to be tricked into wearing an evil mask!¡± I feel like Evvryn would actually want that just so they could lawsuit. In the past, Evvryn had always said ¡°Never let your enemies hurt you, unless a lawsuit is in your favor.¡± Not really knowing what a lawsuit is, Gale decided to store that information until there comes a need. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Frael, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s-¡± ¡°Frael is sure of that reason! That¡¯s why she outfited this trap before it can fully harm Effy!¡± Gale had a feeling he would get nowhere in explaining to Frael, so he thought he should go along with it. Frael raises the black thingy, and turns it around at every angle. It looks nothing more than an overly sized visor, but maybe it had some importance? ¡°So, does outfitted mean you changed? What did you do?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Frael turned around with a grin, hiding the object from his sight. ¡°Just a little magic, factored in with tons of science, making it more fun for Effy.¡± ¡°You reworked it?!¡± ¡°Yay, right!¡± Amazing. Not knowing what the original purpose was damaged points, but to make it do what she wants, now that adds a lot. That¡¯s Frael for you. ¡°So what¡¯s it do?¡± As if she were waiting for him to ask, Frael spinned around in a shining motion, although not too fast, to unveil the object. ¡°It is a thingy made to connect the feelings of others!¡± Huh? ¡°Huh?¡± Huh? She put the thing over her head, and worked her hands across the air. ¡°This new thingy will be able to connect the minds and parts of everybody, so we can all feel what another is feeling!¡± ¡°I uh...so how does it work?¡± With no idea of what thingy was, Gale just asked how it works. But soon after asking, Frael began stumbling on her words and expressions. ¡°Y-yeah, uuu, about that, uuu¡­¡± Her storming energy just died! ¡°Frael hasn¡¯t finished it-uu!¡± ¡°Why pout about that?! Never mind. If it troubles you then finish it.¡± She looked down at the thingy, turning it around at every angle. Gale moved to get a closer look, but she just turned away from him. ¡°Hey!¡± He tried getting a view again, which she blocked him again. What is she¡­? He moved again in the same direction, and waited for Frael to move exactly as last time. I¡¯ll act like I¡¯m going left, then¡­ Right! Gale instantly side stepped right, thinking if he tricked her to block left, then he could go right and see everything! Hah! I guess the smartest one here is...back. Back. His eyes took in straight back. Or, the back of Frael. ¡°H-how did you¡­¡± With his mouth agasp, he wondered how she saw through his genius plan. ¡°Frael figured you would try something different-uu!¡± ¡°Gahhh!¡± It drove him crazy on why she wouldn¡¯t just tell him what it is. He knew Frael was smart, but it couldn¡¯t be that life changing. An eleven year old can only do so much. -So, Gale thought about how he could help, even without knowing what it was. ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Placing a finger on her cheek, she hmm to herself for some time. Time passed. Ok, quite a bit of time. ¡°Anything?!¡± ¡°Not really, but why do you want me to finish this? It¡¯s not like its for you. This is for someone dear whos golden part is slowly growing bad.¡± Ouchie. Come on, your supposed to be someone I look up to, not my bully. And what does that even mean?! ¡°Because I want to see you smile again.¡± ¡°Eh?! Aah-uuuuu¡­¡± she squealed, squirming around into a small ball to cover herself up. Gale blankly stared at the shell of Frael. He thought through his words, and nothing seemed improper about them. So then why did she have such a reaction? ¡°Um, Frael?¡± ¡°Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! Young, dumb boy!¡± ¡°Wha¡­ I just want to help!¡± Frael threw a mini tantrum in front of him. Someone who was older, and someone who he looked up to, was acting to the root of their age. ¡°But¡­¡± she stopped mid floor slamming, and looked in Gales eyes. Gale could see his watery reflection through her flowing arctic iris. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I uh¡­ It was nothing.¡± Gale was frozen, stuck in his brain trying to think of what to do next. But no formula came. Only the capturing look in his seniors eye. ¡°Gale, dear! Some officers want to ask you a couple questions!¡± Eh! Hearing the call of mother, Gale sank back into reality, clapping his cheeks together to get his mind back on track. ¡°Right!¡± ¡°See you later Gale. And thanks for coming by!¡± ¡°No problem. Just don¡¯t give up on whatever your doing, okay?¡± There was a muffled cough in return. Gale was satisfied with how everything went. Even if he never got to see the project, or know what it does, at least he could be a stepping stone for Fraels projects. ¡°Hello young man, I¡¯m detective Knox and I¡¯m here to ask a few questions, if that''s alright with you.¡± That was the first thing Gale heard when walking around the corner to find mother. He found her, calmly standing as usual, but with two older looking men beside her in uniform. One looked as if he were only a little older than Effryn, but the man asking questions looked as old as father. What could the police need from home? Gale glanced at mother before answering the older man, to which she nodded. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry about me sport. I¡¯m just a friendly police officer here to ask some questions.¡± the detective said, taking his cap off. He got the greenlight from mother, so he could answer some questions. There was nothing wrong that he or anyone he knew did, and even if there was, he didn¡¯t know about it, so there should be nothing to worry about. ¡°The names detective Knox, and this here is my little friend Watt. We came because we were worried about your friend Effryn.¡± Effryn? So he connects? ¡°Have you heard from him in a while?¡± Shoot. If this were connected to Effryn, then not knowing could cause problems if he were to say something wrong. Calm down, Gale. Like Effryn would always tell Evvryn, ¡®think logically, not stupidly.¡¯ ¡°Hmm, sorry but I haven¡¯t seen big brother here in some time now!¡± he said, making sure to sound as kiddish as possible. He even added a finger on his lip to make it look as if he was thinking. ¡°Oh, is that so? From what I heard, you were the last to see him.¡± Eh? Shocked at the counter of information, Gale felt a nudge on lower shirt. He looked, and saw a few of the younger kids shly hiding behind him. ¡°The policeman said Effryn was in trouble, so we told him what we knew. Sorry if it''s not enough to help.¡± ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry kids. Every bit you tell us outta help in a way.¡± Crap, he¡¯s using the kids to get information out of me and fact check. Knowing the detective had used the smaller kids to gain information, Gale had a way to counteract this blockade. Luckily, he still had the ultimate trump card. ¡°Hmm, sorry, but commander Evvryn told me not to leak any info to commies!¡± The detective looked shocked, while his younger friend quietly laughed to himself. It''s a good thing Evvryn always said out of the blue things like those, even if they were complete useless and random. Immediately after saying so, the kids behind Gale cheered on for their missing commander. ¡°All hail commander! ¡°We shall salute as we wait, sir!¡± ¡°Commander will come home soon, I know it!¡± Gale calmly studied the detectives expressions, and saw he was mainly weirded out by their poor military talk. But as he lifted his hand into his pockets, his expression changed. ¡°Evvryn huh? That brings up an interesting topic¡­¡± ¡°Detective, I beg your pardon, but that is something I chose not to reveal to the children.¡± The detective had a new found look of discovery, while mother was mildly glaring at him from behind. But the detective pressed on, ignoring the mother. ¡°Do you happen to know where she is?¡± ¡°Detective!¡± mother raised her voice. Gale rarely saw mother angry, if not ever. ¡°Evvryn? Mother told me she got sick.¡± ¡°Yeah, she got hurt or something.¡± ¡°Hmm, I miss Evvryn¡­¡± Kids rallied behind Gale, each making their own wish to see Evvryn. But Gale had an unpleasant feeling about everything. Nothing made sense to him. Why did Effryn come back, but not Evvryn? Why was Frael crying after Effryn left. Why did police come to home, of all places? Gale could only think of two possibilities. One of them he despised, but a chance is never zero. So then why¡­ ¡°Why?¡± Eh?! The detective pressed his face near Gale, staring straight in his eyes. No, it was more like he was seeing right into Gale¡¯s building blocks. ¡°Detective!!¡± ¡°Sir, your being to bashful!¡± But the detective only leaned in, to the point where Gale could understand his whispers. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he didn¡¯t kill Evvryn. But what he might have done afterword might be a little naughty.¡± Kill...Evvryn? Wait, so is she¡­? ¡°You don¡¯t have any useful information, but at least you confirmed he was actually here.¡± ¡°Detective, what are you thinking?!¡± The younger officer pulled the man away, but Gale wasn¡¯t focused on that. His mind was trapped on Evvryn. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, you''re alright at observing others, but your still an amatuer. If you want to read people, you need to look at more than their faces. Their pulses, twitches, heart beats, breathing pattern, eye coordination-everything matters.¡± ¡°I...uh¡­¡± A bombshell of information erupted in Gale. The death of Evvryn, being outsmarted by this weirdo man-it was a bit to take in, but he was mainly angry with himself. He should''ve seen it sooner. There were signs practically spelling it out, but to just now see it... ¡°Please leave this house at once!¡± The house shook as mothers voice bounced from wall to wall. The smaller kids lowered their heads, and slowly started to their rooms. ¡°Fine. We got everything we needed anyways.¡± The detective pulled a long stick thingy from his pocket, along with a small metal container. He flicked a metal trigger, and a small flame birthed from inside. ¡°Chief, we should take our leave.¡± the younger officer said, pulling at the detective. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing any trouble, and you young man, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°M-my name-its, uh¡­¡± Gale was still caught in the mental tightrope from the detective, trying to struggle his way to understand everything. He pricked his brain for a response, but before any came, an angry, short, squeak erupted from behind¡­ ¡°Frael thinks you two are meanies for picking on Gale! Please leave our home!¡± ¡°Frael¡­?¡± Frael stood as menacingly as a short girl could get. Gale could see she was angrily pouting at the two officers. ¡°Your a tiny little girl, aren¡¯t you? Well, we¡¯re on our way out, so excuse us.¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry ma¡¯am!¡± I don¡¯t think the smaller officer met any harm, Gale thought, as he saw the younger officer prostrate himself towards mother. The detective tipped his hat, and left with his companion. Mother peered out to see them off, while Frael dashed over to Gale. ¡°Gale, did they hurt you?¡± ¡°Eh, if they did, they wouldn¡¯t have jobs anymore. But no, I¡¯m fine-Hey?!¡± While looking back at the door, Frael had rushed to his side, capturing him in a hug. ¡°H-hey now, Frael?!¡± ¡°Poor Gale. I¡¯m sorry for what they did.¡± What they did? They did nothing to him, and even if they did, they could sue the living heck out of cops. Or so Evvryn would always say. Wait, Evvryn¡­ Not fully realizing earlier what that fully meant, a truck full of reality drove full force into him. ¡°She¡¯s...I mean Evvryn, is she really...gone?¡± That was the possibility he wanted not to be true. The reason for Effryn coming alone, and with his expression, it should''ve spelled it out for him. Yet, Gale ignored those, and wished on everything that she was still alive. -The truth was, she¡¯s gone. ¡°Gale, dear, come here.¡± mothers warm voice sounded through Gale. He felt a comforting hand rest on his shoulder. ¡°I planned on telling you kids when everyone grew up, but now I think that would be slightly difficult.¡± ¡°Mother, I-¡± ¡°Hush now child. Express yourself as you wish for Evvryn, but we must keep moving. For her.¡± Evvryn, their commander in training, was someone every kid in the house looked up to. Gale positively knew explaining it to them would be beyond difficult, but a necessary action. But through all this, Gale had one pressuring thought. ¡°How is Effryn dealing with this?¡± From what he heard, those two were practically inseparable, as if they were glued together by some unknown bounds of nature. ¡°Dear Effryn must be taking it the hardest. But for now, we should help each other out.¡± ¡°Yeah, please don¡¯t hurt your golden part Gale, ¡®cause Frael plans to make Effy a gift to surpass all others! ¡°Hmm...your amazing Frael.¡± suppressing his feelings inside, Gale managed a smile. He peered at the glass leading outside on the top door, and thought. I don¡¯t think you killed her Effryn, but whatever''s going on, be careful. ¡°Now then, Frael shall finish her work for whenever Effy returns!¡± she proudly announced her next plan as she used her little legs to stumble back to her room. Picking himself up, Gale wondered what to do next. He was tempted to follow Frael and see her in work, but he thought she would just kick him out the instant he entered, so he counted that option out. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± As he thought, a hand rested on his head, fluffing thought his hair. ¡°Don¡¯t stress yourself, dear. Go get some rest along the other children.¡± It was mother, reassuring him as she always had. ¡°Thank you mom, I will!¡± he flashed a genuine smile as he sheepishly rushed to his bedroll. The thought of Evvryn was still on his mind, but if everyone came together, then they could properly send her and her wonderful person off to the next life. And the more he thought about it, he should probably make something to cheer up Effryn. Yeah...like a commander badge, or something? And the more he brainstormed for Effryn in hoping to gift him, the more he drifted off to sleep... *** ¡°Chief, that was a bit uncalled for, even for you.¡± Watt knew his superior and how he operated, but even that approach was a bit much. That went against protocol for countless things, so why would he do something like that to a kid? ¡°I may have not gotten much of anything, but I at least know he was there.¡± ¡°Still, it wasn¡¯t necessary.¡± Watt doubted the chief in his methods, but Knox only looked back at him with a grin. ¡°You still have a lot of things to learn rookie. From that encounter, I at least know he¡¯s in the city.¡± Watt felt a rough push on his back as the chief laughed out loud. ¡°Now come, let¡¯s follow his trail.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± ~Somewhere in the city of Heeth~ The air was cold as he inhaled the heavy sins of the city. The cold breath was visible, and left a trail wherever it went. ¡°P-please, I don¡¯t know anything about a gang! I¡¯m just the messenger boy, I swear!¡± The boy in front of him pleaded, but his words went through the man like anti-matter. The air grew colder, as did his breath. He stepped closer, with a sharp object on standby. ¡°H-hey, you know what, I have a clue for you! Y-yeah, I heard a rumor of there not only being a boss, but a few generals, or something like that!¡± ¡°Generals, you say?¡± The messenger vigorously nodded. Tears were streaming down his face, as his eyes pleaded for mercy. No doubt, they were frozen fears. ¡°I applaud your cooperation in this, but I fear my distaste in the fellow people of ruining me my career won¡¯t dissipate.¡± He raised his hand, unveiling the long edge of a syringe. ¡°N-n-no! Please, don¡¯t! I swear, I won¡¯t talk! I swea-¡± -Pfft ¡°Argg...! Y-you bastard... I s-swear, I-...I¡­-¡± The messenger, before filled with fear, then filled with anger, was now filled with emptiness, and his corpse lay foaming fluids. ¡°Sleep now, my experiment, for I shall reap my revenge. On your little mischief gang¡­¡± he paused, savouring the coldness on his lips, and enveloped an insanical smile while raising his body whole. ¡°And to my beloved child, who is cared for by the gods!¡± He moved away from the area, looking to lure in his next gang member. Don¡¯t worry my dear Effryn! Soon, I shall test every poison known to chemistry on you, and defy the power of the gods themselves! 6. Iris of insanity A tremor of pain. Mountains stacked over endorsing pain. Feelings of love, for which will never come to fruition. Bit by bit, portions of feeling came to Effryn. Parts came and went reminding him how much everything hurt. He knew it did, yet¡­ It doesn¡¯t hurt like it used to. Or rather, it just doesn''t hurt anymore. The pain felt different, or had it gone numb? He couldn¡¯t tell. What could he tell? Last he remember, he was looking to jump off his old hideout when- ¡°Son of a bitch!¡± A shot of adrenaline surged through Effryn as he sprang upward. He quickly glanced at his surroundings, only to find himself in an unfamiliar bedroom. ¡°This is a bit messy. Where am I¡­?¡± There were definitely better cleaned rooms than this, though his wasn¡¯t much better. ¡°Woah now, that¡¯s a word I ain¡¯t ever heard you use. And I ain¡¯t remember you having the allgo to scrutinize my room!¡± an all too familiar voice erupted from below the bed. Effryn was sure it wasn¡¯t a bunk bed, so he was surprised anyone was below him at all. ¡°E-eizer?¡± Objects shuffled from below, until a figure arose from the bedside. ¡°Wazzam! Been a minute, huh Effryn?¡± Eizer flashed his old cheeky smile like old times, even adding a thumbs up. ¡°Y-yeah, it has old friend. It has.¡± ¡°We outta catch up and- H-hey!? Don¡¯t you cry on me! Let me go getcha a towel or somethin¡¯, ight?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Effryn gently pressed the warm cloth over his face, removing the wet-works previously made. After finishing, he returned it and rested himself against the bed frame. There was no telling what his body took from the two drug attackers, but if he was alive, then maybe it wasn¡¯t enough to kill him. ¡°So let me guess, you went to the tower to die, ain¡¯t ya.¡± ¡°Wha¡­¡± Without context, Eizer straight-up figured out his plan. Effryn was breath taken, not knowing how to react to the sudden topic. He only sat silently staring off in the corner. Eizer exasperated a sigh. ¡°Ya¡¯know dude, if dying¡¯s the thing on ya mind, then why not come talk to a friend before doing something permanently stupid?¡± . ¡°I-It¡¯s not as easy. After everything I¡¯ve been through, I just want to call it.¡± ¡°And my feelings ain¡¯t nothing but shit?¡± ¡°N-no, I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡± ¡°Then what did ya mean Effryn?¡± Mean? He didn¡¯t know. He wasn¡¯t thinking right. Only thoughts pertaining to death alluded his mind. So then what did he mean by his feelings? He tried giving it more thought, but his mind was too numbed, nothing came up. It was like having all thought just float right out from his head. No thought was sticking. ¡°Heh, let¡¯s give for now. I can tell what went down was no normal thing for ya head. Give yourself a minute to rest down.¡± ¡°O-ok.¡± Effryn said, cautiously nodding. Moving his head caused a rush of nausea fill him. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Eizer added before leaving. ¡°Just know, I have your back.¡± Time passed, yet Effryn had no clue what the time was. The curtains were up, but there was some kind of material behind them, blocking the cue of light. Reaching for a water glass, Effryn wondered how long he¡¯d been there. It felt like he suddenly woke up by a handful of beatings from baseballs bats, yet time seemed to just pass him like nothing. And then there was the problem of how long he¡¯d been asleep. In his final moments before getting forced unconscious, Effryn remembered the two who were in the skyscraper talk about some kind of Xax, or something. ¡°Jakob and Liz. What an annoying pair.¡± He gulped down some water and rested back. ¡°Those pair of humans nearly drugged you deceasedly.¡± ¡°Deceasedly? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a word.¡± ¡°Unimportant. Although you were near death once more, rejoice, as I can detect your poison affinity significantly increased.¡± Was this the idea of a joke to the ghost? It didn¡¯t matter. Effryn yet again missed another chance at joining Effryn. ¡°I can¡¯t even die right.¡± ¡°You sulk over a perk many would die for. Your knack for escaping death is quite intriguing.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Effryn groaned, facing towards the window. Days passed on as Effryn lay in the bed given to him. Or at least he thought it did. It only felt like minutes were passing by, but there were signs to tell time was moving. Meals were given to him by Eizer three times a day, and he wore something different after every third visit. The ghost would talk to him from time to time, but he often ignored it. Whenever Eizer brought food, he would try making conversation, but Eizer would only smile and nod, before leaving in a hurry. ¡°Agh, screw this!¡± ¡°Change of spirit?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of sitting here doing nothing! I should be helping around, or at least apologizing to Frael!¡± ¡°I believe there are restrictors to your capabilities, are there not? You have yet to fully recover from those poisons, added in with many costly humans trailing you.¡± ¡°I understand the depth of everything going on. But I¡¯m going, whether or not I¡¯m scolded by a flash of light sounding like Evvryn.¡± Gripping his legs, Effryn was carefully able to prostrate himself up. Maintaining a steady standing, Effryn tried walking a few steps. At first, Everything was dizzy all around, but practice makes perfect. All he needed was to relearn how to walk. ¡°Hey¡¯a dumbass. What¡¯re you up to?¡± a voice sounded from the doorway. It was Eizer, who was casually leaning against the frame. ¡°I need...to get back to Frael.¡± ¡°Like that? Good luck with that one bud, ¡®cause it¡¯s lookin like you ain¡¯t going far.¡± ¡°Hmmp!¡± Effryn put effort into showing off his nearly learned walking skills, while even adding a small jump to add some spice for the show. ¡°Eh¡­ Well I clearly see how much you really wanna go. Fine, but let''s talk for a minute, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°After all that! Fine¡­¡± After his triumph, Effryn was forced to resit down to prevent his legs from collapsing. ¡°So anything on your mind?¡± Effryn asked. ¡°Quite a lot¡¯sa on my mind now, but I wanna know: What¡¯s on my friends mind?¡± He slumped down on the bed next to Effryn, reaching his arm around his next tightly, making it fairly difficult to breath. ¡°H-hey! I c-can¡¯t think if you choke me to death!¡± ¡°Ha, fine fine.¡± Even though Effryn was fixing his neck, a feeling of nostalgia came to him. It was just like old times, whenever Eizer and him would go to the skyscraper and just talk life. Eizer was making the same jabbing jokes as he always had, and it was helping. Effryn hadn¡¯t laughed in god knows how long, so feeling the emotion of this happiness was a change in pace. ¡°Anyhow¡­¡± Eizer¡¯s tone changed more seriously, and his smiling expression changed to a forced smile. ¡°I heard the jot-down of everything from that nice ole lady at your orphanage.¡± ¡°You mean mother.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. I¡¯m sorry for your loss, Effryn.¡± ¡°Oh...yeah.¡± So mother must have told him Evvryn passed away. ¡°But wait, how did you get her contact info?¡± ¡°After the two of you disappeared, me and the toddler searched all long for you, but came up empty. I figured they must have carried you two off to some lil award thing, but then a people came our way and wondered where the two of you ran off to.¡± He slumped down to the bed, lying down. ¡°We had no clue, so I told them to piss off, but they had to give the prize to someone so they gave it to us. I had little interest in keeping something like that, so I figured the the toddler wanted it. After that, we needed to find a way home. Luckily for us, that toddler has one hell¡¯eva memory, ¡®cause she found the direction in a jiffy.¡± ¡°Is toddler the best thing you came up for Frael? And thanks for that. For giving the prize to Frael, I mean.¡± ¡°Ah, it was nothing.¡± He sounded a little too proud to be the hero. ¡°By the by, who was you goin off at in here earlier?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Ya¡¯know, you were talking to someone in here from what I heard. You¡¯ve been going at it with this person for a few days now that I¡¯m thinking on it.¡± Crap. With his extreme southern accent making english sound incomprehensible for Effryn, and having to explain himself for talking to seemingly nobody, this would prove tricky. ¡°I, uh, have always had the tendency to talk to myself, didn¡¯t you know?¡± ¡°Yeh, makes sense.¡± You believed that too fast¡­ ¡°Well, you oughta be lookin out for ya¡¯self. I can¡¯t feel what your going through, but I¡¯m waiting for ya here anytime!¡± ¡°Eizer¡­¡± Knowing Eizer had his back relieved him. He was a good friend, one he was proud of having. These kinds only came about twice a lifetime, and you have to be a complete idiot to pass them up. He was a pain at times, but Effryn grew to appreciate that about him. The remarks they passed on each other back and forth was something Effryn always looked forward to. ¡°And don¡¯t forget, the first one to aid you will be me.¡± he confidently said with a cocky smile. ¡°Thanks Eizer. I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡± Although the world looked bleak, there were still a few things keeping the path lit for Effryn to keep moving. The still water encased in glass moved against the will of vibrations erupting from the two friends. It moved like a beach of pulsating microwaves, twitching at the littlest unbalanced force. ¡°No way?! A crazy doctor, a ghost, and getting drugged?! Life have a couple mishaps against you or something?¡± ¡°I honestly couldn¡¯t tell you. So much crazy things happened at once, it was hard to take in all at once.¡± Eizer¡¯s expression was perplexed, but he laughed. Then he lightly hit him against the arm. ¡°Bro, you really should be dead.¡± Effryn explained to him everything that happened when he first woke up after two weeks. The entire topic was cold and life threatening, and to Effryn, very real. But Eizer was able to joke about it in good way, which made the story even better to tell, regardless of how everything went. But Eizer was respectful for Effryn whenever he mentioned Evvryn, definitely knowing how much she meant to him. ¡°You should really go apologize to Frael though. You pulled a dick move.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I did.¡± Effryn sighed in a heavy tone. He told Eizer about the ghost, and everything that happened between them, like how it disappears the moment a person interacts with Effryn. But one key detail he left out was who the ghost was, or rather who it represented. He had a feeling Eizer would think something was off if a person was seeing remnants of a dead friend, so he decided not to tell him it used Evvryn as a body. And with the changed ghost, he had to change bits and pieces of his story to fit the new story. ¡°It was your dumbass¡¯es fault for that, you need¡¯a apologize now!¡± ¡°I will, I will.¡± He wanted to, he really did. But he wanted to be in his pure and complete mindset before doing so. The effects of the drugs were hardly there, but he still felt a bit empty minded, literally, so he wanted to wait before doing so. ¡°Oh, right. I nearly forgot.¡± Eizer leaped from the bed, and went to his closet. He dug around for a minute. His face said it was on the verge of giving up, but in the last moments of time, a smirk flared in him, as he reached for something inside. ¡°Look here.¡± Eizer pulled out the thing he dug around for. It didn¡¯t look like anything special. Just some overly long blue helmet, kinda looking like glasses¡­ ¡°Is that what I think it is¡­?¡± ¡°I dunno. If your thinking the nervo-connect, then yeah. If not, your a dumbass.¡± ¡°Screw you, I thought of it!¡± Being a different color threw him off for a moment, but after looking at it longer, Effryn was able to tell exactly what the device was. -It was the same VR console that Effryn and Evvryn had used in their first tournament together. It was also their last together. ¡°I figured I oughta get it, to test it out, I mean.¡± ¡°And?¡± Effryn was pretty curious on how the previously advertised life changing device was going to be on full release. ¡°Pure ass.¡± ¡°Pure ass?¡± ¡°Everything sucked. They had barely any games, shoved microtransactions up the dick, and frames went ass whenever anything fun happened.¡± ¡°...Wow.¡± Everyone was so hyped for the reveal of this thing. Even I was. But for it too just flop after everything it built up...is kinda a ¡®screw you!¡¯ signal to everyone who purchased it. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll go fetch the chord for it so you can see it yourself. While I''m out, you should really think on how to apologize for Frael.¡± ¡°Thank you. I will.¡± Effryn said timidly as he watched Eizer leave his room. ¡°Oh and,¡± Eizer poked his head out, looking at Effryn. ¡°Even if you have to get on all fours, do anything to get your sorry across.¡± ¡°Heh, if I have to I''ll give my arm.¡± ¡°Atta boy!¡± his voice echoed the walls as he walked away. A worthy enough sorry for Frael. There probably wasn¡¯t a good enough one for what he did, but maybe if he kept at it along as time persisted with him, she might just forgive him. A huge sorry hug, some groveling, maybe some sweets, more groveling, and another hug was his plan to win back Frael. Filled with determination, Effryn was dead set on repairing his relationship with Frael before the day ends. Hmm, while I can get that, it¡¯s disappointing that the VR thingy we played turned out to be complete junk. I wonder, how would you feel about this Evvryn? Evvryn. Thoughts of her piled to his mind, causing a sporadic mess of feelings all over him. But he calmly brushed it all aside with the reminder of his mission. -Finish whatever business for the ghost, and get the recipe for resurrection to bring back Evvryn. He hadn¡¯t forgotten his original goal, but with everything happening as of late, it made it pretty hard to focus on just one thing. ¡°Hey ghost, I know I failed earlier, but is there still a-¡± ¡°By the¡­ It is complete Effryn! I fail to understand how, but the item is finished!¡± Stunned by the sudden outburst of the ghost, Effryn tried following along. ¡°Wait, so you mean to tell me it¡¯s finished?¡± ¡°Very much so indeed! Now hurry, you must go to-¡± The voice cut out as if sound itself ceased, and a few moments later, the door nearly flew off the hinges. It was Eizer, who was panting and wore a pained expression. ¡°Effryn! It¡¯s Frael. I just hopped a call from your orphanage house, and they say she¡¯s sick!¡± Sick¡­? ¡°They¡¯re with a doctor now, but they¡¯re saying she ain¡¯t looking to fine. We should go, or at least you should go!¡± ¡°I¡­ this isn¡¯t supposed to happen. Why is she getting so sick now?¡± ¡°Screw thinkin¡¯, let¡¯s go!¡± Time felt frozen. Stiff. Like something were placed as a lock over time. But only for him. He watched as the daily commute went on for people around the city. The old man continuing his coffee shop. A mother and her daughter walking her dog. A couple embracing each others hands as they go off in their life. It felt surreal, like watching a movie being the character who was outcast. The ride itself was steadily slow. Holding on tight to Eizer¡¯s back, the two raced off on his bike, hoping to reach the address given to them before long. ¡°I have a few doubts about this hodunk place.¡± ¡°Are you sure we made the right turn back there?¡± ¡°I dunno.¡± The area they arrived in was a rundown shopping district, which was now just filled with motels and apartments. People surrounded buildings in small groups, with smoke rising from each circle. Why here? I know it¡¯s late, but there should still be an available hospital here, so why here?! ¡°Well, times wastin¡¯.¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± An overwhelming feeling of nervous filled Effryn. There was only one car along the apartment building they arrived at, and Effryn remembered it belonged to father. The two found the exact apartment number, and stood readily by the door. Anything could happen. In these situations, Effryn would usually imagine the worst case-scenario, but thinking of something happening to Frael¡­ ¡°This is too much. All of it. It¡¯s too much.¡± Eizer reached for the handle, and turned the knob. Effryn held his breath, trying to pick up on any noise possible, but only the cricketing night aludded sound. Eizer looked at him, and nodded. Maybe it was to reassure him, or tell him to get ready for anything. Anything being loss. The door creaked open, and from there was as dimly lit hallway, with a door to the left and another on the right. ¡°Maybe we oughta knock.¡± ¡°Screw that. We should find her now.¡± ¡°And get caught breaking and entering? I¡¯m with you bro, but once the cops come, I¡¯m gone.¡± They walked down to the first door, and lightly knocked. There was no response. Effryn tried hearing anything from behind, but no sound returned. Next, they reached the only second door here, which was a little further down the hall. Eizer knocked this time. No sound was heard for a moment, but¡­ ¡°Someone¡¯s coming.¡± ¡°I hear.¡± The world was cruel. Effryn knew this. Everything so far was just one gut stab after another. But very next moment held his expectations on living. If something was wrong, it could very well be enough to cut the threads of his human worth to shreds. The knob turned from the other side, and opened¡­ ¡°Excuse me¡­?¡± It was father, who was a bit withdrew. He seemed a bit suspicious when checking who knocked, but once he saw Effryn, his expression dispitated. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just you guys.¡± ¡°H-hey, father.¡± ¡°S¡¯up.¡± It was relieving knowing father was here, and the two hadn¡¯t just entered some random apartment out of nowhere. ¡°Um, still. You two should knock before entering a house.¡± ¡°I told him sir, but he ain¡¯t listen.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Effryn bowed his head, and lifted. ¡°How¡¯s Frael doing?¡± Father had no change in his expression. Only the heavy wrinkles of time weighted on. He looked pushed the door further open, allowing them to enter. The room looked like a poor man''s version of a doctor visit. There were the same tools doctor¡¯s originally used in their offices, but the furniture was a bit old. And in the middle, was a bed holding Frael. Effryn saw her breathing, which put him at ease, but her breath was too light as if it were reaching out for air, but was unable to grab any. He also noticed how familiar this room¡¯s setup looked, but Effryn couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it, so he brushed it out from his mind. ¡°Frael!¡± he exclaimed, unclear on what emotion was showing. The little girl sheepishly opened her eyes that matched the pearlescent gaze of her hair, and slowly worked her eyelids to look at him. ¡°Effy?¡± Her voice was raspy. It sounded like she put everything in speaking. This was unlike anything Effryn had ever seen before. Usually, when she got sick she¡¯d need to rest for a few days and it¡¯d be gone in an instant. But this was completely different. He took hold of her hand, holding it in a soft yet firm grip. It felt like any added pressure would automatically cause the hand to fall apart. ¡°I¡¯m here Frael! You don¡¯t worry about a thing, ¡®cause everything¡¯s gonna be alright!¡± His tone was sporadic, and words slew everywhere. But at the very least, he was happy to see her. ¡°I-Is Gale still here?¡± ¡°Gale?¡± Effryn looked around the room, as did Eizer, and both saw the figure of a small boy soundly asleep. His lime hair brushed against the brown half that lay rested on the wall. ¡°Woah, I swear I ain¡¯t see the little guy there.¡± ¡°Heh, Frael even missed him-agh-¡± she tried cracking the smallest smile, but a rough cough followed by wheezing prevented it. ¡°Frael!¡± He pressed his hand against her forehead, and felt a raging heat. She had a fever, one they¡¯d never seen before. Gale rustled in his corner. ¡°Heh, Frael may not feel well now, but she must come over this!¡± ¡°...Frael?¡± A soft but high pitched voice came from the little corner. It was Gale, who looked confused by the new people in the room. ¡°Oh...hey, Gale.¡± her words were soft and brittle. ¡°Gale¡­¡± Effryn wanted to say something. A lot of something, actually. And he knew he had to look strong for Gale, and leave an adult mark behind. He even bit his lip, causing an iron like saliva to seeth down his tight-shut lip. But his desire for protecting Frael, crushed that hope. ¡°What happened Gale. How did she get so sick? Why is she like this? A few days ago, she was talking and acting like normal, but now¡­ Gale, why?¡± Now it felt like more saliva was dripping down to his chin, but for some reason, some came from above his mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I would know, but...this is partially your fault.¡± ¡°M-mine? How is this-¡± ¡°-it¡¯s yours because you weren¡¯t there. It¡¯s yours because she wanted you-Needed, you. Why did you leave? What did you-¡± ¡°Gale.¡± Fraels whimpered voice tried calming him, but failed. ¡°-do?! Why are there cops, and supposedly people after you?! Why did need to drag Frael into your ever blackening hole of problems?!?!¡± I¡­ ¡°...¡± No response came to mind. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Effryn was sure Gale had the face of anger, possibly even resentment. The only thing preventing him from finding out what he felt was his fear of looking Gale in the eye. The floor had been a good eye sore. ¡°Heya, I think we oughta step outside and cool for a minute dude.¡± Eizer stepped in, breaking the awkward stillness in the air. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I need thinking space anyways.¡± Gale silently scurried past, closed the door, and left. Nothing more was said. ¡°So eh, I¡¯ll be leavin¡¯ you to you. Catch up, reminisce, do everything. Good luck man.¡± Eizer left, leaving only Effryn and Frael left. Effryn digged for words, yet only pulled nothingness as he came up empty. ¡°Frael is happy you came.¡± ¡°O-oh, of course.¡± ¡°Did you have any trouble getting here?¡± ¡°N-no, it went fine.¡± ¡°How are things?¡± ¡°E-everything''s...going nicely.¡± Frael paused for a moment, letting the air swallow the conversation. Effryn waited for the next, but each continuing second made waiting hell. For a moment, he thought time became standstill, and nothing would ever writhe again. -But a small, timid, and shaky palm rested on his scalp. It wavered, if scarcely, and lightly tickled his hair. ¡°But your not, Effy.¡± Her voice was hoarse and raspy, yet still held the sweet kindness it always had. It was bittersweet. ¡°Your not okay. Frael can see your crying. Your even bleeding on your lip.¡± A bittersweet tone. A melancholy symphony. ¡°You wish you were by her. Supported her. Frael wants to say thank you.¡± A melancholy symphony, playing a bittersweet tune. One going by the sound of sending someone off. ¡°Frael...did it! She finished her gift for you!¡± The beginning was rough, but the middle was beautiful. But as the finale of such an instrument plays, dread fills the ears as the tune comes to an end. ¡°Please, do well Effy. For yourself, and for Evvy. And to you...Liea, I¡¯m sure you did make it out. But now¡­ I hope we can have fun like we used to¡­!¡± The song comes to a close, but a string snaps on an instrument, bringing the song to an abrupt end. The gaze of life focused on soley the string, as it lay in two. Fraels hand slipped from his head. He looked up, and saw the hand ever so slowly swinging back and forth. ¡°F-Frael? P-please...don¡¯t leave me.¡± ¡°S-she won¡¯t. Frael won¡¯t¡­ But promise her, don¡¯t let your best part die.¡± ¡°M-my best part?¡± And then, in her final strings, a smile as heart puring as rebirth came across her face. ¡°Y-your golden part Effy, don¡¯t let it fade away¡­¡± Her body went limp, and everything fell. Her pearlescent hair seemed to drift downward, and her Iris lost its vibrant look of curiosity. ¡°...Frael? H-hey now, c¡¯mon. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get over this sickness, positive! We just need some medicine...the doctor! Where¡¯d they go? Why aren¡¯t they here? Why aren¡¯t they here?!¡± Anger dwelled in Effryn, but fighting it was another emotion-sadness. Inside, a constant war of feelings fought over the dominant feeling in his body. But in the end though anger was strong, sadness at this time slowly overwhelmed anger. A stalemate of emotions, fighting so much the two mixed into hatred and emptiness. ¡°...Frael.¡± He grabbed her hand, feeling the cold and weak touch of skin, and moved in her to hug her. He lifted her head close to his, and kneeled, completely embracing her. ¡°Hmm, to expect our reunion in such a location.¡± said a masked voice, somewhere in the room. Effryn didn¡¯t care where. ¡°I see you still have that nasty habit of tears. As I¡¯d expect from a cheater of death.¡± ¡°Are you the doctor?¡± ¡°That I am.¡± ¡°You¡­ Your that doctor from before. That poison addict. You...did you poison her?!¡± Effryn lifted his head to look at the doctor, who was someone he¡¯d seen before. Before him was doctor Zylar, who wore the same medical garments when he last saw him, and he still covered his face with a medical mask. The doctor stared blankly at him, and twitched. ¡°Of course not. Why would I do such a thing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say you didn¡¯t! She was your experiment, wasn¡¯t she?!¡± ¡°Calm down one who receives the whispers of God, for even I have set standards. This girl was brought upon, in terrible condition, with an unnatural loss of blood far exceeding even ¡®normal¡¯ anemia standards. So as per person, I need money to operate. Thus, I accepted the job.¡± ¡°Then why is she dead?!¡± The doctor moved his hand above Frael¡¯s head, and was about to brush her hair before Effryn quickly swept away his hand. The doctor accepted the slap, and didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Even a professional could not save her. She had to have done something to her own self.¡± ¡°But-¡± Effryn racked his brain for some excuse to pin on the doctor, but as he tried nothing came. He lowered his head down, staring at the ever same ground, while the doctor swiftly tilted his head next to Effryns. ¡°Even if I perceived the desire to poison, there would be no point. She was dead either way, so I figured to save the does for a more valid healthy poison.¡± The cold gaze hovered over Effryn, staring at him with eyes built on honesty and insanity. ¡°You¡¯re still a murderer.¡± ¡°Call me what you may, I honestly tried to save this poor girl.¡± So is that it? She¡¯s dead. Just taken away like that? Falling backwards, Effryn slumped down against the wall. It was cold and hard, but his mind could only process the tattered patterns of the floor. ¡°Hey doctor, can I have a swig of your juice?¡± Just a sip. Hopefully ghost won¡¯t stop it like last time. ¡°You, listener, would wish for death after a downfall?¡± ¡°I would.¡± ¡°And would God not whisper in your ear once more?¡± ¡°Hopefully not.¡± The doctor was silent for a few, then started back up again. ¡°Heed me listener, for my concoctions will caress your soul one day, but today is not the day. Infact, I have information you may find necessary for survival.¡± ¡°Just kill me today, and quit with the crazy talk.¡± ¡°I found information on the group who sabotaged my hospital and ruined one of my safe places on work. They go after some rodent name, like mice or something. They usually don¡¯t interfere with common people, which is you, but for whatever reason, your on someones removal list.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. They can kill me.¡± ¡°I would rather them not kill you, for that is my job in this life. But please, keep this in mind as you proceed with your business.¡± Business? I have none. Not with life, or anybody else. Without caring to notice, the doctors eye were mere inches away from his own. ¡°You are my kill, you hear, listener? For now, you should focus on living until such a time arrives. Keep shelter on the streets, and at locations even I could not expect.¡± Effryn sheepishly moved his vision on the doctors, and saw his bright blonde iris pulsating with guilty pleasure. His breath was heavy, sucking in air from within his mask. ¡°Why not keep tallying on for that man, or the younger lad?¡± ¡°Or...Eizer.¡± ¡°Yeah, whoever. Just think, they¡¯d be pretty disheartened if you were to go. Maybe even traumatised!¡± The doctor was getting excited. Too excited for something like this. Effryn was hoping he could say something just to get him out of his face, but the heavy breathing turned into heaving as the face of insanity reached closer. ¡°Whatever keeps you breathing, listener to God, will keep me happy!¡± The doctor finally edged away, granting Effryn¡¯s wish. ¡°Well, I should at the very least get some form of payment for trying. I need to go ask that putrid staring man to come back.¡± The doctor groaned, walking towards the door, when¡­ ¡°Hey, Effryn!¡± The door flew wide open from Eizer, who looked out of breath. ¡°I ain¡¯t know if this is right, but something just happened! Like, major major happened!¡± Surprised by the sudden loud banging, Effryn jumped, and thought Something ¡®major¡¯ already did happen. Frael is dead. ¡°It¡¯s the orphanage! That older guy got a phone call about the entire place getting set ablaze, and some other things, but he left in a hurry before he said anything else.¡± ¡°S-set ablaze?¡± his voice must have been hoarse, or at least he figured it to be. ¡°I ain¡¯t get much details, but he left this lil Gale here with us.¡± ¡°See now, listener? They are after the people you know, hoping to claw out any trace of you. Knowing this, what is your next move?¡± His question held a high curiosity. What should I...do? ¡°Mother,¡± he muttered quietly. ¡°I need to see mother.¡± ¡°Effryn? You sure it¡¯ll be smart going there?¡± Effryn kept his gaze down at the tattered floor. But something inside made a desire to change his view. The floor began to make him sick. ¡°Hmm.¡± Effryn nodded in reassurement. ¡°Okay, now how are we getting¡¯ there?¡± Effryn froze, with his words frozen. He wanted to say ¡®take the bike¡¯ but it would at least take a few hours to even get there. The question loomed over the two, but before any of them got a chance, the doctor stepped in. ¡°Allow me to take you boys there. It¡¯ll be my pleasure.¡± ¡°Right¡¯o! Tone down the creepiness there dude, but thanks!¡± A bit of anxiety dwelled in Effryn, wondering if the doctor might do something. But he did say keeping him alive for today, so he probably wouldn¡¯t do anything to crazy. ¡°Alright then, but don¡¯t you better not pull anything fast on us.¡± ¡°Haha, you dwell in fear listener.¡± Eizer glanced at the two with a suspicious look wondering what he was being left out on. I may have lost Frael...but I still have more family to look after! *** A crackling, crimson passion danced around in the small pulsing of the rains heartbeat. The aftereffect of the dance was floating away, drifting like some kind of dream. Or was it some dream? That¡¯s what it felt like. It had to be some hell of a nightmare, and the work of the worthless dreaming brain to come up with something this sick. Why? Why dream of your entire dream place, burning? Men in suits ran to and for, but he ignored them. He was sure some were yelling at him, he tuned them out. The rain increased its output, as gusts of wind pushed a cold breeze in the atmosphere. While the air grew cold, so did the rain. Why, thought the boy, who watched everything he loved being taken from him. Why do this to us? He had heard Mother screaming earlier before, but the only sound was crackling fire and the other children''s cries of terror. Everywhere he looked, it was like some sick painting only using some red juice from his brothers and sisters, smeared and drenched over the walls and floors. They wouldn¡¯t get up, either. Why is that? The suit¡¯s wouldn¡¯t stop yelling either. There were two whose mouths were moving, and another with a toy gun. No matter how much he tried, the sound of white noise possesed over nearly all sound of his surroundings. He was tired of everything going around him, and began crying for his mother. Yet, he couldn¡¯t hear his own tears shed. So he cried more. The boy couldn¡¯t hear much, but he wanted to tell the yelling suits to bring him his mommy. Only mommy. And daddy too, if she had to wash his clothes. ¡°Mommy. I want my mommy.¡± he wailed. ¡°I want my mommy! And daddy! And even Evvry-¡± A flash erupted from the toy gun, killing him instantly. *** ¡°Do I turn here?¡± ¡°A left, then keep straight.¡± ¡°P-please hurry if you can, I¡¯m worried about everyone.¡± Effryn clenched his chest, hoping everyone there was ok. Thoughts of the worst-case piled, but Effryn cleared his mind entirely, only focusing on the trail of smoke in the sky. ¡°Annoying. There is a roadblock.¡± ¡°What is goin¡¯ down? ¡°Damnit!¡± Effryn gnawed at his thumb, trying to think of another solution. In Front of them, was a police roadblock using their own vehicles as their means of stopping traffic. He glanced at the streets, noticing no presence of anybody coming down here. The only noticeable thing here was a familiar car parked on the sidewalk¡­ ¡°Father! He parked here!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stop here, you two go on ahead.¡± The two got out, and the doctor drove to find a parking stop. Now the next challenge was another problem¡­ ¡°Hmm, why ain¡¯t no one here?¡± ¡°Thats... a very good question.¡± ...or it would have been, if there were any police on standby. The roads were empty, with only the police cars blocking the road, and for whatever reason, excluding the cops as well. ¡°We oughta hurry and see what¡¯s going on!¡± Eizer shouted as he sprinted forward, and Effryn followed closely behind. Smoke filled the air with toxic miasma, mixing in with the cold breeze the wind was pushing. They drew near the orphanage. Mother, everyone, please-be safe. The beating memory of his family appeared. Fond dinners, warm baths, small games. Each child there had their own special personality they only could have gained at the orphanage. Nothing could replace them. For a while, they were running in a empty block in the city, with shops in different variety sprinkled throughout the lots. But the orphanage had a much bigger land slot, making it much easier to find based on its uniqueness of the variety. Past the chinese store, parallel to the laundromat, and finally, beyond the corner of the candy store¡­ ¡°Effffryn! You oughta see this!¡± Eizer yelled, still a bit ahead of Effryn. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease, everyone be saf- -... Ever since first learning about the possibility of his home burning, a part of him felt like it wasn¡¯t true. No, that isn¡¯t it either. Maybe he just refused to believe anything else could happen right now after every negative event having stacked right before this point. -But right now, this defining moment alone was enough to overwhelm prior adrenaline. A moment of pure hopelessness. Noticing his friend had stopped, Eizer hit the breaks and looked back. ¡°Effryn, why the hell are you stoppin¡¯? We should be going to see if any survivors are there.¡± Effryn found himself looking down again, staring off at the now cracked paving of the road. He raised his hands, and: Slap! Pounded his cheeks as hard as he could. Sure, the home he was practically birthed in was burning beyond repairs, but the people are still there. Photos are gone, but the memories always stick. ¡°Thanks Eizer, let¡¯s go save everyone!¡± ¡°Hmm!¡± Eizer nodded, taking the lead once more due to his athletic skill, and the two ran towards the raging blaze corrupting Effryn¡¯s home. ¡°Look! It¡¯s the old man!¡± Eizer slowed while watching his step from the path of rocks. He pointed at the setting blaze, where the entire house had collapsed within itself, only leaving the fire to devour the remains. But Eizer was referencing to the silhouettes of fall figures, surrounding another that was kneeling. Effryn looked closer, and saw about three standing. ¡°Think they¡¯re firemen?¡± ¡°T-they have to... What else can they be?!¡± The before fired up passion Effryn built up had slowly died, and anxiety began to flourish. Thoughts like ¡®What if the children get hurt?¡¯ or ¡®Did I make it in time?¡¯ swarmed his mind. ¡°Excuse me, officers!¡± Eizer yelled and waved, trying to get their attention. The figures looked towards the two, staring. For a slight moment they did and said nothing, until two scurried off, while the last hardly budged. The figure in the middle was still down. Effryn caught up to speed with Eizer. Why is he slowing down? He thought, knowing he could be going way faster. ¡°Buddy¡­ I think we ought to turn now.¡± ¡°Wha- Why?!¡± Why turn back, especially now? If his family was in trouble, then he should be the first to respond, no doubts about it. The fire, the house; reaching it the fastest was better. But Eizer¡¯s response was shaky, and held a high suspicion then Effryn had ever heard from him: ¡°I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ we don¡¯t belong here, and we leave this to the police.¡± he looked around, everywhere except the burning home. ¡°This must have not been an accident. Look around.¡± ¡°What could be the problem n-¡± -ow? Is what he would have finished off. Should have. But as he took his focus off the mansion, and looked more around at his surroundings, a bigger picture formed. Against the downpour of rain, alongside the fences and bushes each child planted on their own, were bloodied men in blue uniforms. Blood washed away with the rain, and spread throughout the grass, creating a mix of crimson leaves. ¡°W-w-why are these here¡­?¡± Effryn slowed, only barely trudging along the rock path. He was closer to the orphanage now, and saw the two figures perfectly. A woman who wore a large ruffled coat, and a hat with an edged red brim was kneeling down, talking to father, who had completely collapsed. He couldn¡¯t exactly make out what the two were saying as the rain intensified. ¡°-ow can you not understand such a simple question?! I¡¯m looking for this little shit, and you two raised him, so hurry up and quit weeping on the floor!¡± He got in range of the two, and heard some of the conversation. But to Effryn, it sounded more like a one sided demand. She continued yelling at father, kicking at his shoulders. ¡°We already have some of your children taken hostage, and your wife beat up! God knows what the others are doing to her, so you better hurry up and tell me where Effryn is!!¡± A grimace formed on her face, as she kicked down on him, moving from shoulders to the neck. ¡°I-I don¡¯t¡­ know where he is now¡­ Please, just leave my wife alone!¡± he pleaded, begging even. ¡°Ahhh, your true colors are showing, Mr Chester! You would forsake your own children just to save your wife?! How romantic of you!¡± She kicked, and kicked, and kicked. Blood washed off, flooding the muddy water forming from the rain. Her expression was as twisted as the clouds, and she writhed from enjoyment. At this point, she had to have forgotten about Effryn and the others. Her only sole enjoyment at this moment was hurting father. -But she stopped, maybe at a whim of self control, and backed off. ¡°Do be fair to call whenever you find him. And oh yeah, there¡¯s company behind us, so have fun explaining it to them. And please, think about your family next time you see him.¡± she walked off, giggling and squirming to herself from her own pleasures. ¡°But for you, your probably only think of your wife!!¡± She walked off, disappearing in the flames of tragedy. ¡°Father!¡± ¡°Effryn, wait!¡± Effryn ran to his father''s side, while Eizer called to him. His father was hurt badly, and he needed to check to see if anything fatal had been done. He practically slid to his father, and checked his shoulders and neck. Red was streaming steadily down from each. ¡°We need a doctor Eizer!¡± Effryn called, looking back at Eizer, to which he nodded and ran back. Sirens began filling the city from each direction, as he lay with his father at the center of it all. ¡°E-Effryn?¡± father spoke with a hoarse tone. ¡°Father! Just hang on, the doctors are on their way!¡± He looked back off in the distance, hoping to see figures come dashing this way. Why was he taking so long? The mad doctor shouldn¡¯t have been that far behind. As his worries were racing, he felt a hand grip his arm. It was weak, but still held. ¡°E...ffryn. Hurry and listen to me. Please.¡± ¡°S-sure thing! What is it? Is there any medicine nearby? Hurry, if you know something that¡¯ll help, tell me!¡± Anything father. Just please, hurry! ¡°I...need you to...die.¡± The sirens seemed to grow louder, yet more distant. ¡°...what?¡± ¡°Please...for the family.¡± A joke. This had to be something on border to a joke. Sure, father never was one to crack them, but maybe this is- ¡°Please, Effryn.¡± ¡°F...Dad?!¡± ¡°Hurry!¡± father lunged at Effryn, overtaking him with a sudden rush of strength. Effryn tried to resist, but was shocked by the sudden mention of dying to fully realize what was happening. Before he knew it, father was on top, bloodied, and his hands tightly ensured around Effryn¡¯s neck. ¡°You need¡­ to die!¡± Arg-! The air was getting dense, the rain was getting colder, the atmosphere was a bit off¡­ Father...is this how much you love mother? ...the oxygen was limited. Or rather, the oxygen the lungs were supposed to be receiving were forcefully limited. The entire thing was hard to believe. No, he definitely didn¡¯t want to believe it. But the undeniable truth was presenting itself to him. -He was being strangled by one of his parents. A person who raised him. Fed him. Bathed him. Did everything in their power to to look after him. He loved him then, Effryn was sure of it. But now, he couldn¡¯t exactly tell what father felt. Maybe his love died for him. Maybe he loved mother more than him¡­ Who...am I kidding? Of course he...loved her more¡­ Thinking about it now, of course he would chose his own wife over some kid he just randomly got because their mother didn¡¯t love them enough to take care of them. Why would he? Father must have had some fond memories of mother to love her this much¡­ Is this...love? And its effects? Love. Effryn never knew it could be used as a driving force like this. Ever since he woke up in that hospital bed, he¡¯d been sluggishly crawling on fours through life, hardly finding any meaning to it at all. Throughout his journey, he¡¯d came close to giving up many times. Yet there was one key force keeping him moving: The chance to bring someone he loved back. But this opportunity proved difficult and costly, as Effryn lost another person who he cared for deeply. Frael. If he knew back then, this would never be happening, and he would have prevented her from doing anything to keep her alive¡­ Father removed one hand, pulling out something from his pocket, but Effryn couldn¡¯t see. His other hand still limited the oxygen Effryn received, though lesser due to removing a hand. His eyes glinted with a sorrowful yet forceful hate¡­ Hatred¡­? Can I use that...as a driving force? Effryn willed his eyes to look view down, and focus on his peripheral vision. He saw father on his old flip phone, one he had always loved because ¡®it was a relic in his time,¡¯ and slowly typed away. He put it away, and focused his gaze at Effryn¡¯s throat. ¡°Forgive me, Effryn. But this is all your fault. If you weren¡¯t here, then my wife, and everything she worked for would still be standing, and our happy home life would continue¡­¡± Small droplets of tears mixed in with the cold rain. ¡°¡±F...athe...r, I-m...sor...ry¡­¡± Effryn whimpered, but he understood what father wanted. If he truly loved his wife, he would do anything for her. -Father tightly gripped Effryn¡¯s windpipe with both hands, and pressed with what felt like every ounce of his strength. Father must have been a laborer with this kind of strength, Effryn wondered. He said nothing, as he slightly killed away one of his children he raised ever so diligently. For love. Fathers eyes told the story¡­ Love. I hate love. Hate. Is he using hatred, or love, as a driving force? ¡°Both.¡± Effryn heard a distant echo pierce. ¡°Heed both.¡± Right¡­? Both? Right, both? Hatred, love¡­? Both. Love and Hatred. Two of the same, just in different names¡­ Fathers expression changed. He seemed...scared. Why is father scared? ...Love! Hatred! They¡¯re the same! There is no difference! Love mask hatred, and hatred is a mask of love! Father seemed to be losing his grip, and for whatever reason, he was struggling to strangle Effryn. How could someone screw up on the simple task of killing their artificial kin? ¡°It¡¯s all the same! There is no difference! I understand, Chester! I really do!! I really do!!¡± It seemed like father gave up, as he jumped to the side, rolling over. ¡°E-Effryn¡­ Please, just let me-!¡± Father picked softly picked himself, and tried begging for Effryn to listen¡­ ...But as a token of Effryn¡¯s love/hatred, he pricked the yellow ribbon Evvryn loved(hated) so much in father''s left eye. ¡°-ARRGGGGHHH!!!!¡± father jumped back, screaming and agonizing over Effryn¡¯s hate mark. He writhed, squirming all around, bumping into fallen debris and charred pieces of wood that were extinguished from the rain. ¡°What¡¯s wrong father? Isn¡¯t this what you tried to tell me?¡± ¡°You¡­ You little shit! Why don¡¯t you die already?! Just die for your mother-for Lynn-already!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Effryn tilt his head slightly, and thought about mother. She loved him, so logically speaking, she must have also hated him. If that¡¯s the case, then he should show how much he appreciates her next time he sees her. Though¡­ ¡°Mothers probably dead by those people by now, so there¡¯s no point. Don¡¯t worry father, you¡¯ll have the pleasure of joining her soon!¡± ¡°So your not denying it?!¡± ¡°Father, was it not your fault for letting Frael get as sick as she did without you noticing?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t my pro-¡± ¡°-After finding her sick, or let me guess, after letting Gale find her sick, weren¡¯t you the one chosen to take her to a shady doctor?¡± ¡°S-stop asking me these pointless quest-¡± ¡°-Was it not you who allowed mother and the others to be taken away, used as bait, and try to lure me here?¡± ¡°W-what are you¡­?¡± Father tumbled back, trying to find surface level to support him up, but with only one hand it was impossible. He kept slipping and falling on each attempt from mud. It was not use, as no matter what he would do, the pain he felt in his eye Effryn made pace towards his father, and stood above him. ¡°Why Effryn, why are you doing this?!¡± Why? Well, that¡¯s an easy one! ¡°For you of course!¡± He tried crawling further away, but was soon met with the large debris from the gutter falling in his path. Mud splashed, but luckily, he wasn¡¯t hit by directly. He was still alive. So, he willed himself above the piece of debris, elevating himself slightly higher than before. Lynn¡­ I want to see you again dear¡­ the old man thought, wishing he could hold her one last time. ¡°Hmm.¡± The old man heard his old son mutter something, taking a few step backs. He thought maybe this could be his chance, and that Effryn had a new change of heart¡­ -That was, until more pieces from the gutter broke off from its original construction, and collapsed on his legs, trapping him. ¡°ACK-!¡± he exasperated, slamming his fist against the gutter piece he was on top of already due to reaction. He tried moving them, but the pain along with the shattered severance of feeling made every movement futile. ¡°Whew, that looked painful!¡± The man scrambled to find a solution out. He racked and rummaged, trying to pull any idea that would keep him alive. He looked around, seeing nothing but mud and burnt debris that was now being soaked. Nothing. Fire roared near them as the mansion continued to ferociously burn, cackling at every opportunity before having the chance to split from the mansion. The old man found no answer, and Effryn paced himself with small steps towards him. Damnit! Anything, even a spec of hope¡­! He thought, but found nothing. He looked down at his legs and cursed them, releasing though he still felt pain, some of the feeling had numbed. ¡°Agh, screw it!¡± He prepared himself for any amount of added agony for what he tried doing: ¡°Hmm?¡± Effryn wondered, tilting his head in amusement. He stopped completely and watched as his father tried lifting the fallen debris off his crushed legs. Effryn watched father doing his utmost best in saving himself, even nearly freeing himself from being trapped. ¡°Oh dear.¡± Effryn took a single step back. ¡°Once...I get¡­out from here...I swear¡­ I¡¯ll-¡± Effryn grinned, watching a scene he thought he¡¯d never have the pleasures of viewing¡­ ¡°-ACK¡­ ARGGGG!!!¡± ...another burning piece of debris fell, crushing fathers arms, while also creating another impact on his legs. A large crackle of a snap rang through his ears, and Effryn finally stood before the man who was once his father. ¡°Y¡­ Y-you bastard¡­! I swear, we should have never taken you in¡­¡± ¡°Aho? You shoulda never raised me.¡± Effryn lifted his left leg, getting in position as if he were a pitcher, and looked at father. ¡°Please don¡¯t bear a grudge on me father, for this is my love and hatred for you.¡± Effryn looked softly in father¡¯s fearful eyes, and smiled one last time at his only father figure. ¡°Thanks, dad!¡± -And from there, the crack of flesh and blood erupted, as Effryn kicked the pin he had stabbed father in the eye even further inwards, making it nowhere to be seen from the outside. Father stopped moving. Father stopped breathing. Father stopped living. ¡°I love you for taking care of me, but I hate you for choosing mother over us.¡± he kneeled over the body, and smiled as he remembered the wonderful meals he often cooked for the family. Thank you...father. Effryn stood, getting ready to move, before¡­ ¡°Effryn, another pulse is rapidly approaching from behind.¡± the ghost echoed murmured in his head. He looked back, and saw the torched entrance to the orphanage barely supporting itself up, and prepared waited for whoever was coming. ¡°Mr. Chester, the boss got your call! We want to know where Effryn is, and you can have your things back.¡± It sounded like a younger guy, maybe only a few years older than Effryn. There was no response. Well, why would there be? Father was dead, so it was impossible to respond. ¡°Mr. Chester? Where are you¡­ Oh, who are you?¡± the young guy asked, puzzled to see someone other than father. ¡°Hmm¡­ First, allow me. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°M-mine?¡± he asked shyly, surprised at being asked something like that. ¡°I-It¡¯s jona-¡± I don¡¯t care. ¡°-So, Jona, what brings you here?¡± ¡°O-oh, yeah sure. I was supposed bring back some kid with me back to the boss. By the way, not if it¡¯s any trouble or anything, but have you heard of someone named Effyrn?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Effryn plastered a puzzled expression, as if he were actually thinking about such a thing. For a moment, it looked as if he found the answer, snapping his fingers like he found it¡­ ¡°What¡¯s the point of finding him?¡± Effryn cheerfully asked. ¡°T-the point¡­? ¡®Cause the boss said so.¡± ¡°Boss, huh.¡± So he follows whatever this ¡®boss¡¯ guys says. I¡¯m more then positive these guys are responsible for burning down home. Effryn pondered, looking at Jona while he patiently waited. Well, maybe not this guy exactly, but I¡¯m sure the group is responsible still. ¡°Hey Jona, what if I said I was Effryn?¡± ¡°Y-your joking, ¡®cause Chester said he already got him-¡± ¡°-Look there.¡± he interrupted. ¡°Huh¡­?...-!¡± His awkward demeanor instantly shifted. He looked more... petrified, than shy. ¡°W-w-w-w-w-what?! What is this?! Why is Mr. Chester¡­¡± Jona couldn¡¯t bring himself to finish, as his gaze was purely on the gouging corpse of someone he¡¯d just seen mere moments ago. His left eye. It was the worst part of it all. It looked worse than any black eye he¡¯d ever seen, maybe because the insides were black, not the surrounding area. Puss pulsated instead, creating a thick coat of yellow mush oozing from the eye socket. Jona inched back, horrified from what he witnessed. But directly behind him, whispered a certain someone in his ear¡­ ¡°-I like you, maybe even love/hate you!¡± ¡°Huh-?!¡± Jona turned around¡­only to be met with a piece of debris with a nail at the tip slamming against his face. The impact alone caused blood to spew through the air, but the board stuck to his face, which was probably due to the nails jammed deeply inside of Jona. ¡°Hope you find peace Jona! Though you reminded me of me, so I hope you suffer!¡± Everything was done. Finally done. Effryn had a hunch no more annoying people would come from that side, though he was a bit sad about it, but he was respectively tired from it all. He just wanted a warm meal, and cozy bed. ¡°Effryn!¡± he heard in the distant. It was Eizer, who was running at him from the shopping district where they had first entered. Hmm, maybe this¡¯ll be good! he thought as he brushed himself off, going to join him. Though I didn¡¯t get much information from Jona, I did get something! ¡°Effryn! How¡¯s your father? I brought that doctor, so where is he?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, he didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I¡­¡± Eizer tumbled on his words, thinking of what to say next. ¡°It¡¯s ok. At least he passed telling me the importance I was to him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ We oughta get back now, the police is waiting.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Though Effryn knew he was supposed to be traumatized, Effryn couldn¡¯t help but feel ecstatic. Jona was the first good thing to ever happen in a long while: a lead to why this all happened. ¡°You can stay over at my place, sense being you ain¡¯t got nowhere else to go.¡± ¡°Thanks, Eizer.¡± Effryn looked up, and beamed at the smoke tangling with the rain. For an opportunity like this, he could actually apply himself to keep living. If it meant for his love and hatred of his family, he would do anything it takes to get back at the people who took them away. Especially Evvryn he thought in his void space of a mind. The incident that occured at the orphanage was dubbed an ¡®intentional tragedy¡¯ and the police was hard at word in unmasking the people involved. Through heavy investigations, it was found that not a single child remained alive, nor were the caretakers alive afterwards either. Police also determined a group had to be involved, and that chief Knox stated himself he was now spearheading this case. In a brief interview with the chief, he stated that though there were no survivors at present at the orphanage, there were a few who weren¡¯t present at the time of the attack: A younger male, and a male in his older teens, though the chief went on to state his whereabouts are unknown. The younger male is reportedly safe at the police department¡­ *** From the preceding aftermath, I took it upon myself to investigate the corpses of left behind by the listener, Effryn, and found some rather intriguing findings. Upon investing the deceased, it was found the two dead were actually murdered, but only very recently. The two wore different clothing, one was of course, the man who brought in my last patient, and the other, was similar to a recent group uprising in the city. It could be guessed that they were killed by the group that attacked the orphanage, but then why would the one dressed in uniform be killed as well? Ooooo! This leaves a rather spilt fork, now doesn¡¯t it? This means, either the one in the gang outfit was deemed outfit to be in the group, and was proceedingly killed to kept quiet, or¡­ Doctor Zylar von Labour smiled wickedly at the test experiments he brought with him, and examined them once more. ...there had to be another killer out there. And the only one roaming about was Effryn, who first found his father alive¡­ The wicked smile was pure enjoyment from this revelation, and the doctor was brimming of joy from this new discovery. Oh, my dear listener! How you have tread from the path of purity, but don¡¯t you worry, as I will cleanse your soul with my concoctions!! The doctor laughed. And laughed. Because he knew, in weeks time, the city was going to undergo a major chain of events, that would forever change the perspective of the city. From one organization, to one boy, who¡¯s heart was once that of golden purity, was now tainted with seething corruption. In a given time, he would have a front row seat to what may be the most entertaining thing he¡¯d ever witness, as the struggle between this newly corrupted boy, and the killers would surely erupt in a bloodbath. *** Is this...ok, Evvryn? I think killing them was too far, but¡­ They did it first. ¡°Are you really okay with this?¡± A voice responded in a icy monotone to his blind plea. ¡­ The corrupting boy gave no response. ¡°I see no need for conception, yet this shall truly degrade your mentality. However, I foresee you continuing this endeavor.¡± Yes, this human still has many things to overcome, and how he will do it, still remains a mystery even to a being such as me... End Afterword: yay, another afterword that no one will read! A part of me feels like I shouldn''t even bother writing this, but screw it. Here''s a sequel no one asked for, or rather, a sequel to a series hardly anyone reads. Its cool though. Really. As long as I have fun writing these things, then I see no problem in writing, even if no one reads them. So yeah, heres the ''long awaited sequel.''This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Hopefully I wrote in a better from than before, but I myself am still trying to learn my own technique. I also tried my best to make everything tie up in a neat position so I can end everything in the final volume. Uh, yeah. Nice weather outside. Also, if it''s not too much trouble, please leave a review on what you thought. Thanks!