Chapter 5: Indecision part 3

2 July 2011 at 18:56

Philip opened his eyes wide.

A moment ago he was on the shooting range, next to James, and now he was in the middle of a street full of people and cars driving around. He was clean and with a change of clothes. Apparently he had gone to his flat, but he couldn't remember.

He looked at his watch, he was running late for his meeting with Clara. He tried to find his bearings and got there easily. He was in front of the parish, near the financial center, where she would be waiting for him.

Philip crossed the street to the gothic building. There, under a huge tree at the entrance, stood Clara.

—I was just leaving, what took you so long? Ditching a girl is wrong, didn't your parents teach you that? —Clara put her hands on her hips and pouted.

Philip, trying to escape the confusion of what had just happened and how cute Clara looked, covered his mouth with his hand and pretended to yawn.

—I'm sorry. I overslept. You know my schedule is backwards.

—Hmph —Clara crossed her arms over her chest and puffed out her cheeks, then after a few seconds she smiled and relaxed her expression —I know, that's why I waited for you.

Philip found it strange to see her in casual clothes. They hardly ever met during the holidays or outside of school.

—What are we going to do today?

—Soon a truck with clothes and food will be arriving, you'll help me load them into the parish.

—At your orders —said Philip, giving a military salute, which annoyed Clara.

—You know, we're not in the mood for so many jokes. Since 21 June, a lot of people have lost things, mainly psychis.

—I know.

Philip's expression was very serious, Clara was surprised by the sudden change. He looked down at the floor.

—I know, but...

A horn interrupted Philip. It was the truck they were waiting for.

The driver got out and opened the hatch, so they could bring down the non-perishable food and clothing they had donated to those residing within the parish.

—Shall we get started?

—Yes...

Clara went to call some priests, and together they took the things to the back of the parish, where dozens of people are staying. Many of them lost their homes or jobs at the time and were left adrift. One could also say that they were fortunate not to be there during the incident.

Most of those who had lost their place of work had found a new one, but did not have enough money to rent a house again.

By about 19:30 they had finished helping to move everything in. The priests invited them both to stay for dinner, but they had to decline the offer because the curfew would start a few hours later. Philip decided to accompany Clara home, as the trams don't run after 18:00.

—In the end, we didn't have time to get coffee.

—It's my fault for being late. It's my fault for being late.

—It's OK —she said as she laughed softly.

Clara doesn't just help carry the donations, she manages the foundation that handles them. Philip deeply admires her work, but he could never think of a reason why she would dedicate her life to this. As they walked in silence, he could not get this feeling out of his head.

When did you start this? —he asked. Almost unconsciously.

—You mean the foundation? It was my grandmother's and my mother's idea, I just carried it out.

—Is there no other reason? Whenever I help you with these things I see your expression, it's strange.

Clara gave a little laugh. Philip tilted his head, not understanding.

—So there are times when you can be perceptive, huh? —Clara looked at Philip with a smile mixed with melancholy. If I had to say another reason, it's because I feel guilty.

—Guilty? Why?

Clara winked.

—It's a secret.

For the rest of that walk, Philip could think of nothing else. To him, Clara was a very good person. He couldn't imagine anything he could feel guilty about. Then she told him something else.

—Taking my personal reasons out of it, I don't think there has to be a reason to do what you think is right. It's just a matter of letting go.

Yes… She's very good. I can't stay behind, I can't run away.

July 2, 2011, at 22:52 PM

The curfew had begun. The curfew had started quite a while ago. Since the dark energy containment department was disbanded, the police took over enforcing the curfew, though it would only work on humans. They didn't have enough training or equipment to reduce any Psychi.

Philip decided to look for more clues about the Eyre stones, and the only place he could think of was in the rubble of the D.C.E.O. headquarters.

As he flew there with his thrusters, he saw that they had put up a somewhat high fence, but that there was no security guarding it.

Philip, since his “suit” was badly damaged, exchanged it for one of the same, but navy blue and included a black belt holding grenades, the weapons James had given him and ammunition.

He quickly stepped over the fence and, on the other side, a ghostly-looking woman was waiting for him. Dressed in a white robe that covered her limbs and, all that could be seen of her face were full lips painted the same color as her long, blood-red hair. He still remembered, she called herself “The Redhead”.

Philip, dumbfounded, couldn't get a word in edgewise.

—Good evening, Mr. Zero.

—You're not dead? Last night, you took the full brunt of that crazy girl's attack.

He ignored the fact that she knew him, since Zero's name had been circulated a lot in the media lately.

—So the one who was hiding last night was you. Killing me is no easy task, so you know —she said before letting out a small chuckle.

Philip just eyed The Redhead warily. She maintained a faint smile. He decided to avoid the subject of the stamp, because it would be revealing a weakness to a potential enemy.

—I thought more people would come to investigate what happened last night, —said the Redhead.

—Am I the first?

—Yes, after me. As a reward, I'll tell you that, in here, you won't be able to find anything.

—But didn't that girl take the stone out of here? —Philip asked.

I know that asking you to trust me may be a bit high-handed of me, but I'm serious, I've already investigated everything.

Philip was suspicious of the woman in the robe, but he assumed that if she had been here before, she was most likely telling the truth.

Still, you don't need to go away empty-handed.

—Huh?

The Redhead shocked Philip for a moment, he stretched out his palm towards him, and it began to emit a light, glowing purple particles emerged and formed an irregular oval-shaped stone.

—This is…?!

—Yes, an Eyre stone. This one here emerged today. I want to give it to you.

—Why?!

—I already told that boy, my aim is to investigate what happens when someone desires something with these stones, I'm not interested in the desire itself.

—… It seems as if you offer the same to anyone who crosses your path.

—We, Eternal Darkness, don't really care who makes that wish, but I will help you by giving you this stone because you seem to be someone very well liked in this city, “hero”.

—I'm not a hero yet.

Philip sighed.

—But you plan to be, don't you? —She got his attention. One of the conditions for receiving the honor of being a local hero is to have committed some heroic act.

Philip pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow.

—Think about it. You put the three stones together, you're asking for something that will save a lot of people, like… —She paused to think for a second—. Undo the incident that happened on the 21st of June, and you're eligible to apply for the World Heroes Organization.

Philip fixed his gaze on The Redhead, she tilted her head curiously.

“That's not my ultimate goal, but if I lose track of the stones, not only will I not be able to find out what really happened on 21 June, but something similar may happen again. If that happens, I won't forgive myself”.

He slowly raised his hand to the stone floating in her palm.

—I don't trust you, but if you won't intervene, I can accept that. As soon as I sense you're planning something, I….

—I have no reason to intervene more than this.

Philip's hand followed cautiously in the direction of the stone.

A loud noise.

His reaction was slow because he was lost in thought. He looked to his side and saw someone, a tall man dressed in black, running towards him less than a meter away. The boy could only manage to shield his face, but he was knocked down by the man.

The Redhead hears something from above and looks up.

A small missile.

She didn't have time to move, she could only see the moment when the device exploded. Both she and Philip and the man who ran over him were hit by the explosion that shook the whole place.