Chapter 200 Volume IV - Chapter 45: Unusual Feelings
I kept running, and I looked at the Caleuche as I did so, the huge machine of destruction that was now on the ground.
The majestic, dark slaughter ship was right in front of us. It was massive, covering a really big area, and it was busy recovering the energy it had used to fly. Apart from that, its front was facing me at a diagonal angle.
I was being watched, everyone on that ship was looking at me right now.
I directed my armor to my legs. Then a certain amount of the armor, which slid over my skin and clothes like a liquid, concentrated below my waist and I started to run even faster.
As long as I get to the other side of the mountain I'm running on, as long as I step into the North Holar, I'll be safe. I have to be fast.
I can't be caught by them. I definitely can't be caught...
As I was running, I suddenly thought of something. I thought for a moment about the boy I'd left behind.
I left the doors open so he could escape... I hope he made it.
I owe him my life. I would have died in the war in the city in the first place if it was not for him, so even though I ran for my life after that rocket explosion, I gave him a way out.
From what I saw, he was smart and strong-willed... He won't die there, he shouldn't. He just needs a little push.
Meanwhile, as I continued to run, a figure slowly took shape from the shadows beside me. I didn't stop running or hesitate because I had seen it while fighting Umbanth. Instead, I asked in a calm voice.
"Ezareth... where is the boy?"
Ezaredh looked expressionlessly ahead of her as she continued to run beside me.
"He is dead."
I clicked my tongue, then looked back at Caleuche, the slaughter machine.
With my own hands, I left behind the person to whom I owed my life, to save my own life, even if I left traces behind me so that he could escape... I left him there and now he is no longer in this world...
I clicked my tongue again. I was frustrated, a little angry, but there was nothing I could do.
"We must go on as survivors."
Ezareth was far too calm. It was as if she was in this situation every day.
I didn't care too much about it though, after all, I had more important matters.
So, I simply nodded my head in response to what she said.
First of all... we need to survive, we need to escape from the southerners. We have to be fast, very fast. There must be soldiers on our tail already.
*******
I looked down from the tree I was leaning against. Three huge, clawed, gorilla-like apes walked slowly, searching around. I let out a deep but silent sigh as their eyes darted this way and that.
'Don't you dare fight them, Adrian.'
'I'm aware of that.'
I was in a jungle, a jungle with extremely dense vegetation, with large trees that were too tall. There were too many things here that could simply kill me if I wasn't careful, so I was completely guided by Lithoa.
I stayed where I was until the monkeys were out of sight and a certain amount of time had passed, during which time I did not move a muscle, but thought.
How many days has it been? How many kilometers have I walked?
I opened my watch, and what I saw on the small holographic screen did not please me.
I am slow, really slow. It seems impossible for me to reach Lithoa's house as planned. I will be at least two weeks late at this rate.
Finally, when the monkeys were out of sight, I waited a while longer and jumped down from the tree, whose height easily exceeded the size of a four-story apartment building. I landed silently, my foot making no sound except a very low rustling as it made contact with the ground.
After the successful landing, I started moving in the same direction I always move in, again in silence.
Even though the ground was full of leaves and branches, I had learned the hard way how to walk silently. Lithoa had helped me, of course, but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too hard to do. It was one of the essential qualities one had to have here.
As I was walking through a patch of vines, I paused for a moment, I felt something, even for a moment it felt like there was something behind me.
I quickly got into position and looked behind me, planning to run into something and jump into the trees and hide. Just like I had just done...
Yet what I found in front of me was 'nothing'.
Nothing was wrong, everything was as it should be. The trees were in place and the bushes swayed gently in the wind, showing that there was no anomaly. There were no marks on the ground either.
'Don't stop, keep going.'
'What? You didn't feel it?'
'What are you talking about, brat? You turned around all of a sudden, out of nowhere.'
What? I... I was sure. There had to be something behind me...
Even though I broke my stance, I kept looking behind me, into the bushes. There was indeed nothing.
I sighed lightly, then turned back in front of me. I was wrong, I shouldn't stop like Lithoa said... I'm already slow enough, I need to speed up. I need to get back to Cevilian in time and improve.
Until now Aiden has always been indifferent to how strong I am... This time I must surprise even him.
As I started walking again, I imagined the look on his face, his eyes wide and his mouth open. And then Julian and everyone else.
A smile appeared on my face, it was nice to imagine. And then I realized something.
I miss my friends.
It hasn't even been a week, but I miss my life at the academy.
The smile on my face widened slightly, I couldn't help myself and I thought about my past. I thought about the days when I did everything for my life in parts of the city that weren't even 'the city'. I didn't trust anyone and no one trusted me. Now... I had 'friends', let alone trust.
I've really changed, haven't I?
I stopped walking and picked up speed, running briskly through the forest with its huge trees.
I want to go back quickly... I have to hurry.
*******
I had a dream.
It was a dream where I could go out, talk to people, look them in the face, and smile. I was... happy.
Still, it was a dream. Like every dream, it had an end.
I waited for a while as my eyes slowly opened and met the dark ceiling. I got up from my bed, then looked at the clock.
Noon... I overslept.
I leaned back, pulled the duvet over me and part of my hair fell forward.
I gathered my dark brown hair with my hand, threw it back, and thought about the way my hair used to be.
It used to come to my shoulders... right? Now it's even past my waist.
I let go of my hair, got out of bed, and went to wash my face. When I went inside, the mirror caught my attention.
When was the last time I looked at myself? How I looked, what I looked like...
I avoided that mirror because I was afraid to see my violet eyes, I was afraid to even go to the bathroom.
I took a deep breath in and out, then closed my eyes.
I promised Aiden I'd be in much better shape when he came, I have to try, I can't just stand still.
I stood in front of the mirror and a strange feeling came over me. I didn't want to open my eyes.
Still, I forced myself and slowly opened my closed eyes.
My emaciated face greeted me. I didn't think my long hair would make me feel so strange when I saw it in the mirror. But my eyes...
I focused on them, looked into my amethyst purple eyes. I remembered what happened that day and involuntarily pulled my right arm back. Even the color purple was disgusting to me.
Then, all of a sudden, I felt someone touch my shoulder.
My eyes widened, I quickly jumped to the side and looked behind me. I was about to scream, but I paused when I saw an empty space.
"Haaaah..."
Relieved, I looked over the edge again at the mirror and the image of the wall reflected in it.
I walked past it without looking at it and lay back down on my bed.
I can't... I can't look at someone's face, especially not in my own eyes.
Still... I have to try.
Then, just staring at the ceiling, I made a decision.
I'm going to do this every day, even if it's scary, even if I have to scream, I'll get used to it, I'll get better.
With that I sat up again, I was going to go to the bathroom again, but I paused.
Suddenly a bad, unpleasant feeling came over me. My eyes widened, I looked at the wall of the room. I wanted to look past it, the wall was blocking me, but I still didn't look away.
Something happened...
I swallowed, I tried to think of good things as the same feeling completely enveloped my whole body. The Sixth Sense was particularly responsive.
I don't know what happened, but... something very bad happened.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered this feeling. I had felt something like that before.
The day my brother died… I felt the same way.
It wasn't the same, there was a difference. But still... it was very similar.
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