Chapter 55: Leaving Ren Behind (3)
The orca’s soft whale song was indeed pleasant. Kestrel lost herself in the sound and failed to stop the first tendril from attaching to the orca’s tail, resulting in all the other incarnations following suit and clinging to the orca, refusing to move on their own.
Kestrel felt uncertain about whether their behavior was acceptable. Without a reference, she often wondered if her actions were those of a normal person.
Fortunately, that was just a minor issue and the battle was too intense. Another wave of mutants chased them from the floor below, leaving her no time to overthink.
Also luckily, Ren was a professional warrior, a formidable fighter on the battlefield. Holding the red blade, with a serious expression, he focused on the dangerous battlefield. It seemed that he didn’t pay any attention to the squabble between the psychic incarnations.
This made Kestrel feel more relaxed, thinking, "I should learn from him. I need to focus on the fight and stop worrying about what the psychic incarnations are doing."
Kestrel was very good at copying the behaviors of those around her.
Before long, they followed the plan and ran into a roughly built building. As Ren had explained, there was a narrow, long path that the ancient humans used to throw away trash, which could lead them right outside the palace.
"The people who live in this palace think it was made by some magical power, but that’s not true," Ren had said. "Real humans used to live here, and they built this. No house is impossible to break into; there are always various ways in and out. Air vents, sewer lines, trash chutes, service entrances, and so on. The alphas go into the Polluted Zone during the day, find these openings, sneak in, and get the keys out."
They were now within sight of the exit from the palace. The piercing alarm that had been ringing around them suddenly changed into crazy laughter. Kestrel had heard that voice before, back in the white birdcage. Those dark hands that chased her everywhere made such strange, girlish laughter.
"They’ve gone into the Polluted Tower."
"They’ve gone into the Polluted Tower."
The voice laughed and sang about Kestrel and Ren’s location.
"They’re in the basement, hiding in the first room on the left."
"They’re in the basement, now they’ve moved to the second room on the right."
The clear children’s songs revealed Kestrel and Ren’s hiding places.
A never-ending stream of enemies came rushing in, and the two had no choice but to stop hiding and fight their way forward.
After one wave of enemies fell, another wave would come running in from the hallways, from outside the windows, from every possible passage, seemingly without end.
"We’ll be fine." Kestrel heard Ren reassure her.
Next to her, sweat dripping from his forehead, a deadly violet light burning in his eyes, Ren’s voice was gentle.
Kestrel felt reassured by his words.
"Reassured." She thought about the word, seeing it as a complex human behavior. But she realized that she had done this too - patting the shaking Muros’ head was reassuring; wrapping the wet lion in a cloth was also reassuring.
While running and fighting, Kestrel’s mind wandered a bit. Images of her giant psychic incarnations appeared in her mind. She imagined a small human hand reaching out, trying to pat the huge head of the psychic incarnation, whispering, "Don’t be scared". The image made Kestrel laugh.
Kestrel even felt a bit of joy, realizing that she had experienced the feeling of laughter several times recently - that was a benefit.
The scary red light of the sword flashed. Deep cuts opened up on Ren’s arms and legs, his blood pouring out. Not a single drop fell to the ground, all was sucked into the bloodthirsty blade.
The blade became extremely wide and long, resting on Ren’s shoulder, spanning the entire hallway.
Bending down, Ren attacked. A huge red crescent shape flashed into existence, cutting a large number of enemies in half with a single stroke. Even several flights of stairs and hallways were cut apart, rumbling and collapsing.
Ren, pulling Kestrel along, sheathed his blade and raced forward amidst the cloud of dust. Eventually, they arrived at an unremarkable garbage chute.
The sound of collapsing hallways still echoed around them, smoke and dust filling the air. However, they knew that their pursuers would be on their heels soon.
Ren opened the small, dirt-covered door to the chute. It was a square tunnel, just big enough for one person, extending down an unknown distance. Its metal walls were slick, and it was too dark to see the bottom. If they managed to slide down without being caught, they could make their escape.
Taking a breath, Ren took off his black gloves and put them on Kestrel. He did this with care, trying his best not to touch her soft skin, which was as delicate as a flower’s petals.
The gloves were stretchy, fitting a little loosely on Kestrel’s small hands.
"The slide will be fast," Ren explained. "Try to slow yourself down with your palms and shoes. Don’t let your skin touch the walls."
"When you get out, find the others, immediately open the portal, and leave the Polluted Zone."
Only then did Kestrel realize that Ren didn’t seem to plan on leaving with her.
"What about you?" she asked.
"The chute is long. If we go together, they’ll catch us halfway," Ren calmly explained as he checked Kestrel’s backpack, "In a narrow tunnel like this, if we get cornered, we’ll have nowhere to go."
Footsteps echoed from the hallway - their enemies were approaching once more.
Finally, Kestrel asked him, "How will you escape?"
"The portal out of the Polluted Zone stays open for 24 hours." Ren secured the "key" and fastened the backpack tightly to Kestrel’s chest, saying, "Before it closes, I’ll find a way out."
His voice was steady, making it sound like the task was simple.
He held Kestrel’s hands, slowly lowering her into the narrow chute. Looking down at her from the entrance, he said, "It’s okay, they don’t want to kill. At most, they’ll capture me."
By now, Kestrel had slid into the slick tunnel, her gloved hands still clutching Ren’s.
Below her lay the path to safety, but behind Ren was a battlefield.
She looked up into Ren’s eyes.
Holding her hands, his gaze was gentle, and it seemed to hide a beautiful emotion.
Kestrel stared back at those eyes, almost forgetting about the world around her.
For the first time, she didn’t need to use her tendrils—she could see and feel someone else’s emotions with her own eyes and her own hands. The gaze meeting hers wasn’t as if looking at a weirdo, but a joyful, beautiful life.
This feeling was wonderful, nearly touching Kestrel’s heart.
"I’m no longer a weirdo in someone else’s eyes, finally" she thought.
Kestrel opened her mouth to say something, but Ren had already let go of her hands. She could only watch as the square of light above her rapidly shrunk as she slided down into the darkness.
