Chapter 206: A Battle of Two (2)
Nicole was a very sensitive beta, and situations like these made her feel like crying. But since no one, not even Kestrel who was seated next to her, was crying, she didn’t want to seem fragile. She kept her eyes firmly closed, holding back the tears that filled her eyes.
She looked up to Kestrel a lot, amazed at how someone almost her age could stay so cool and collected. No matter what was happening, Kestrel was always cool-headed. Even when dealing with heartbreaking events, she faced them with such peaceful steadiness. She seemed so much more grown-up, which made Nicole a bit jealous.
Suddenly, a small hand gently held hers, which made Nicole open her teary eyes and turn towards Kestrel.
Kestrel was sitting beside her in a corner, her face as pale as porcelain, showing no emotions, her eyes dark and dull.
"I actually want to cry as well, it’s just that I haven’t figured out how to cry yet," Kestrel admitted. "In fact, I’m a bit jealous of you too. I also want to learn to cry, to learn to feel sad, to learn how to really care for someone."
They looked at each other, one with a face wet with tears, the other showing no emotion.
The alphas in the bunker couldn’t resist glancing over at them.
Ren was sitting a bit away, playing with some grass blades he had gathered at some point, making a mantis figure. His slim fingers stopped moving, and he took a moment to look at Kestrel.
He realized that Kestrel wasn’t as indifferent as she seemed. She had a warm heart, able to feel for beings different from her. A warm heart and caring hands — nobody understood this more than him.
Kestrel was sitting in a corner, her pale, porcelain-like fingers clasped on her lap, her skin looking smooth and shiny like silk under the candlelight, just as he had seen her in his dreams.
After spending time alone in that small storage room, Ren had dreamt about her several times. In his dreams, she would look at him closely, or he would feel the comfort of her hands holding him. He understood that he shouldn’t entertain such dreams, but he couldn’t just stop them whenever he wanted.
Ren bowed his head, focusing again to finish making the small mantis, holding it carefully in his hand. Its fragile wings crafted from glowing green grass symbolized a being ready to risk everything for a brief moment of happiness.
The sun disappeared behind the horizon again. Gathering themselves, the group set out, walking on the burning ground.
Halfway through their journey, they saw a huge Ferris wheel surrounded by a field of flowers far away, its colorful cabins turning slowly. The Ferris wheel looked strange, with a really big shape hanging upside down on top, stretched out over the entire frame.
Everyone stopped walking.
The alphas could see really well, and from afar, they realized it wasn’t a living thing, but an empty casing. It was the shed skin of a giant mantis, semi-transparent, hanging way up there.
Everyone let out a small sigh of relief and quickly moved under the Ferris wheel.
But then, they were suddenly attacked.
The field of flowers they were walking on cracked open, and a giant beast sprang out. The alphas didn’t get any warning, and even Kestrel’s sensitive tendrils didn’t pick up any signs of emotion. It seemed like a big, lifeless beast had been sleeping under the ground, suddenly waking up as they passed by, breaking through the surface.
In the real world, a mantis would look small and weak compared to people, but this mantis-like creature, as big as a mountain, came up from the ground, standing up slowly and putting a huge, heavy pressure on them.
Its triangle-shaped head and human-like face stared at them, its eyes emotionless. It stood up slowly, blocking their way. Its strong upper limbs pulled out two icy, metal-like blades from its body, reminding them of the Grim Reaper’s scythes.
Kestrel and her group of six might be able to fight such a big mutated creature, but they didn’t have time for that. Getting into this fight, no matter who won, could mean they would die in the sunlight.
Raymond was the first to decide what to do. His psychic incarnation, a golden lion, came out of nowhere, its golden fur shaking, and rushed at the blade-armed mantis-humanoid creature.
"You guys go on," he told them. He had been a guard for a long time and this wasn’t the first time he had to make a choice like this.
The previous time, when the Polluted Zone was spreading, he told his team and the people to run away first, trapping himself in the Polluted Zone. There, he went through a lot of pain, barely getting away alive. Now, facing danger, he didn’t hesitate to give his friends the chance to survive.
"It’s fine. Think of it as me paying Kestrel back for saving my life. Getting to live two more years was a gift," Raymond thought as he ran towards the monster’s blades.
Sitting on the back of the orca, Kestrel turned her head to look at Ren without thinking, not sure why she decided to look at him first at this time.
Ren, with black gloves on, used his hands to quickly make a plan using signs. What he meant was: "You and me stay here, the others should leave first."
The orca moved really fast, putting some space between them. Even though flower petals were flying all over and the scary monster was getting closer, Kestrel could clearly see Ren’s face.
He looked really determined, not unsure at all, with a little bit of daring boldness, ready to risk everything by bravely standing up alone.
"We have a chance to make it if we team up. We can try, it’s a risk." Kestrel realized why she looked at Ren first; he always seemed to understand her without words.
The orca stopped, and Kestrel shut her eyes for a second before opening them to show golden colored eyes.
Standing on the orca, the strong wind was making her long hair fly everywhere. She pointed ahead with one hand and said, "You guys go on, we’ll meet you at the safe place up front."
Even though she spoke in a quiet voice, it sounded as loud as church bells in the heads of the few alphas there, making them want to listen to her.
Raymond, who was running towards the mutant, and Rakan and Olivia, who just stopped, looked confused at first. Slowly, they looked like they forgot about the monster and the dangerous situation they were in. They turned and started moving away from where the fight was, running even faster.
Only Kestrel and Ren didn’t move.
The unicorn ran super fast, and Nicole couldn’t even react before it was far ahead.
"Kestrel!" Nicole’s worried voice was heard over the wind.
As Nicole went by her, Kestrel’s tendrils showed up, touching her hand gently before letting go, sending a message, "Wait for me, I’ll join you guys again at some point."
"Please look after the alphas. Maybe we’ll see each other at the end."
...
Their friends had gone away. They might be upset, but saying sorry would only matter if Kestrel and Ren could stay alive.
They hadn’t fought side by side for a while; it felt kind of familiar.
Through the field of flowers, Ren and Kestrel looked at each other. This battle was really dangerous and they didn’t have much time, because the sun that could burn everything might come up at any time, and every second passing was like losing a chance to live.
They were taking a big risk, letting their friends leave first and betting their own lives.
They had to win.
Ren pulled out his sword, the white blade seemed eager for a fight, changing to a red color as he faced the monster.
Standing on the orca, Kestrel’s eyes turned a deep gold color as she looked at the huge monster. The giant creature, as tall as mountains, brought down its cold face that looked like a mask, looking at the two small people on the ground who seemed as tiny as bugs.
