CHAPTER 12 – Knight duty (1)

"There was just a guy who had a fake ID, and got inside the university. When he came in, he took his time to wear this glittery-golden-mask," Lost-Bird says.

Everyone closely listens to Lost-Bird, as he sits on the couch, and tells us about yesterday, finally.

While me finding the white dragon was a successful and a happy thing, Lost-Bird still was in his stiff pose, since yesterday, so I couldn't take it, and had to bring it up.

"He said that he was there for a test," Lost-Bird scoffs. "He started shooting people."

"What kind of a sick test is that?" Psyand's mother asks.

"Well, Saturn Organisation, they promised such a thing. And they… MASSACRED ten people. People I knew," Lost-Bird sniffles.

Everyone stays silent, and I inwardly regret, having to have bring that topic up. But finally Lost-Bird had come out of his stiff expression now.

"They caught him. Because there was this powered-individual I guess, who threw a knife at him, somehow fast and precise enough, to make him fall," Lost-Bird says. "But even then, he killed another person, a bullet straight to their heart."

I look at Scelestha, from the corner of my eye, and she flinches. Primevel warriors couldn't take it, when they failed to protect even one person. At least she was that kind of a Primevel warrior.

Lost-Bird starts tearing up, and everyone gathers around him, to calm him down. Even Psyand, who had gone out, sees this happening, and comes in.

"Mr. LB, what's wrong?"

After letting it out, and after the dinner, Scelestha and Lost-Bird go out for their stroll.

"Rusk, why was Mr. LB crying?" Psyand asks.

Wrap and Psyand's mother were washing the dishes, and I was left alone with Psyand.

"Everyone needs to let it out sometimes, Psyand. A reason really isn't needed," I say.

"Come on, Rusk. I'm not a kid. I know there is a reason," Psyand says.

"You keep calling me as Rusk. How old do you think I'm?"

"With respect to when you were born, or how you talk?"

I glare at her.

My phone vibrates and I sigh and look at it. A notification, from TBC, 'Danger alert, building 8. All powered-individuals alert. Threat level: B'.

I didn't know what the threat level thing meant, but it didn't sound pretty. So I make a run to the terrace, which is where Scelestha and Lost-Bird had gone to, in this building, building 8.

***

I walk alongside Lost-Bird, on our now-regular stroll of the night.

"Thanks," Lost-Bird says.

"For what?"

"For putting that guy down. In the college."

I just stare at him, with a blank expression.

"Wait, it really wasn't you?" Lost-Bird asks.

"Okay, what really are you talking about?" I make use of the ways in the Primevel warrior book, again.

"The powered-individual who put him down… I felt that it was you."

"On… what terms?"

"Well… I just…" Lost-Bird, whose weakness was of falling for that weird book's ways of lie, finds it hard to say anything.

"You mean I'm a student at your university?"

"Well, no, I thought-"

I silence Lost-Bird, by putting my hand in front of his face. He looks at me, confused, and I signal a circle with my finger, and he seems to get an idea. It could just be another human, but there sure was someone around.

As something moves, I move too, and we clash in front of Lost-Bird, me with my gauntlet hand up, and this… Attear-like being holding the gauntlet with its claws.

It looks like an Exterior Being, it has to be. And Exterior Beings commonly took the form of any common things, like the skinless-featherless bird. But an Attear? Well, or werewolf, as humans called it. But it perfectly resembles an Attear, nevertheless.

Exterior Beings as me and Witch termed them, were rip-offs of Witch, with the only possible goal to eat Witch, not in a pretty way.

The Attear-being still uses its momentum, and manages to kick Lost-Bird away. Next, I toss it away.

Lost-Bird gets up and looks at the thing, which was fallen into the dark.

"That is one of the things which… was ripping her apart," Lost-Bird says.

"You don't say."

The worse thing happens, when realisation strikes me, as I look at this Attear-being again. It possesses hairs. Moreover, the exact way an Attear does, but the hairs seems very less in length.

The Attear-being looks behind me, and then instantly at me. Something sure was going on in… well, it sure has some idea cooked, I mean.

I look at the Attear-being's hands, and it quickly hides them. Something sure was shiny in those hands.

The Attear-being pounces towards me, and something hits it mid-air. Taking this distraction which Lost-Bird had caused, I free myself from the urge in my hand, and let it hit right at the Attear-being's face.

Rather than stopping, it continues towards me and slashes its hand, at my face, cutting down my mask. And once I flinch, it slashes again, but I hold its hand and check the shiny thing, some kind of rock or something.

The Attear-being gets raged by my unneeded curiosity, and pushes me away, with its legs.

Lost-Bird steps ahead to stop the Attear-being, which tries to run towards the door, and into the building.

Why did it want to go inside the building? Shit, they could track Witch, like she could!

Lost-Bird lifts the Attear-being, and throws it towards the edge of the terrace. Was his powers, super-strength?

The Attear-being pounces towards him, but switches its trajectory, and moves towards me, as I stay there, frozen. Right as it reaches my face, and all I do is move my face backwards, I feel some kind of an energy-wave or something, coming from the side. Next thing I know, the Attear-being crashes into the low-wall, at the edge of the terrace.

I look to my side, there must be a source to what happened just now. I see a guy, standing there, with his hand extended out.

I hear footsteps, now concentrating, and another guy steps towards this guy, placing his hand on the shoulder of the first one, he extends his hand out.

I feel the Attear-being move, and it crashes mid-air, into an invisible wall.

Wait, the second person… I look at him, and realise that it's Rustizen.

The first person gets alert and karate-chops towards Rustizen's chest. Rustizen flies away, as if it was more than just a karate-chop, and I see him float in mid-air and stand on a lower stair, and Psyand appears near him and helps him, while Rustizen holds his chest and coughs.

The first guy shudders, looking behind me, and I follow his gaze. The force-field dissipates, and the Attear-being continues to fall towards me, from its previous position.

Before I can even move my hand, the Attear-being simply gets thrown further away, outside the apartment area, towards the playground which Rusk had mentioned, about being in front of the apartment.

"Scelestha?" I hear a familiar voice, and my heart sinks.

I turn behind, and the guy who had thrown the Attear-being, stands in front of me, and removes his mask, to reveal his face. It was him, Shetty.

"I found you."

***

"Be careful out there," my roommate tells me, as I step out the room.

"I will, I will. You too, you know the drill," I say.

"Don't trust anyone," my roommate says. "Not even TBC who saved us," he says.

"All due respect: I saved you," I say.

"Yeah, yeah. The guy who desperately looked for the-girl-he-doesn't-even-know-name-of, saved me," he laughs, mockingly.

"Can we not do this at the door? Bye," I sigh.

I close the door, and wait until I hear the locks click from the inside.

"Her? You mean Scelestha?" Aarshitha had asked me.

"Hey… we kind of didn't tell our names- well it was to be a surprise and you just ruined it, man."

"Well, sorry, but I really don't know anything besides her name, and that she is an aeronautical engineering student, like you," Aarshitha had told me.

While I waited near the one aeronautical engineering class the campus had, for freshers, I couldn't find her. I even asked the juniors, about this 'Scelestha', but no one knew of such a person.

What even happened with her just disappearing that way yesterday… she either was a powered-individual, or got apprehended by one.

I sigh at my dumb thoughts. It was just one girl. Probably a disinterested one at it.

I get a notification, and check my phone, while walking across the corridor. A notification from TBC: 'Danger alert, building 8. All powered-individuals alert. Threat level: B'.

Threat level: B? Oh no, it must be those things.

I quickly run to the terrace. Standing at the entrance, I find a guy lifting up a creature and throwing it towards the edge of the terrace. It being so dark, I barely am able to see the faces or the creature, properly.

I see a girl, not too far from the guy.

The creature pounces this way, towards the guy, but switches trajectory and moves to the girl's side. I quickly slash my hand, and send a wave towards it, pushing it to the edge of the terrace, and crashes into the wall there.

The girl looks towards me. This dark wasn't helping, as I see and feel it is… someone else.

Someone places their hand on my shoulder, and extend their hand out. I creep out, and figuring barely anything, slash my hand directly at this guy's chest. The guy flies away, but stops mid-air.

I look behind the guy, and find a little girl, with her hand extended out, and some kind of energy lightening the dark, right at the palm of her hand.

No wonder, all the powered-individuals were here. It made it harder to choose who to trust.

The guy safely lands to the stair, and the little girl comes to his aid, and checks on the coughing guy.

I feel sorry, but there was imminent danger behind me, so I turn away.

I see the creature in half-air, and feel myself shudder. It was a fucking werewolf. The Werewolf-creature seems to tear through the air, or something, and tries to fall towards the girl.

I concentrate, while running towards the girl, and slash the hardest I can, towards the Werewolf-creature, and send it outside the apartments' area.

I look at this girl, just standing there, ready to battle the Werewolf-creature. And I recognise her.

"Scelestha?" I ask, with a LOT of desperateness.

The girl turns behind. That face… she was indeed her.

I remove my mask, to reveal my face, and hopefully make her recognise me.

"I found you," I say. "Told you I'd find you today."

Scelestha just stays there, frozen.

"M-my name is, Aarush," I say, and extend my hand out. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you Aarush Shetty, my name is Scelesthe," Scelesth…e(?) says.

We both shake our hands and smile at each other.