CHAPTER 25 – T-minus (11)

"Hey," Forcerer appears from behind. "Thought to accompany you."

"Oh hey Forcerer," I say.

I, walking towards Rusk's room, was mindless and would have almost hit a person who would have approached me in this state.

"You could just call me as Aarush. You know, at least when it is us two," Forcerer says.

"Oh… I see," I say.

"I first thought that maybe you'll be going to Witch," Forcerer says.

"She just may need a little time… besides, Lost-Bird said that he'll go. So I'll leave it to him."

"Mm, is Lost-Bird really a human? He seemed strong…"

"Oh that night. Right. Well, he said that he hits the gym, and that is also the story of Wrap. None of them have such powers."

"But is he really a human? I know about Wrap but…"

"We don't know either. But even when he is human… we trust him. After all of it. So it is fine."

Forcerer… well Shetty, just stays silent, and I feel awkward walking alongside him this way.

"What is with you and Feather? What is your story?"

"Well, as I said, I saved him from Saturn Organisation. From one of their bases, which is in the north. He was in a very bad shape back then. And my-"

"-you are just giving out your story that way?" I ask, making him stop. "All of us in the team… we are secretive about everything. No one is safe with information out, don't you understand?"

"I do. But I think you should know."

"Why?"

"I like the kind of person you are."

I scoff. "I don't even remember your name properly. Poof, gone. I don't know you. You don't know me."

"My name is Aarush," he says. "It is fine to forget things."

"Look…" just listen to me, "you CAN'T trust me."

"After all of which happened? You saved people back at the uni, and are doing same here."

"I only wanted to save Lost-Bird. A person who mattered!"

"That is not true."

"It is. Besides, how'd you know?"

"I talked to you… that day. Just as a normal person. Just us. We just talked."

"All that about aeronautical engineering and all was a lie. You don't know me."

"Yes, it was a lie. But we still talked. You told me about this team, indirectly. It showed your worry. And I want to know the real you."

"Why are you?" I ask and push him against a nearby wall. "Don't think I'm some hero here."

"I didn't say that."

"Then why are you making me feel that way?" I ask. "Whats with you? Why do you even…? Why do I even…?"

I go closer to him, shifting my gaze between him and his lips.

"Wear your mask," I say.

"What?"

"Otherwise I'll kiss you on your lips, I swear."

"The mask is… y-you know."

I look into his eyes for too long, going closer and closer ever so slowly. Breathing at each other's face, we just look into our eyes.

"You don't get it," I say to him, right in front of his face. "I'm afraid."

I just back away, and walk away.

.

.

.

I just stand there in my pose, not knowing how to answer Aarush's question.

"It's okay if you don't want to say," Aarush says. "I just wanted to let you know that I feel the same way. I'm afraid too," he pause, "not a competition," he scoffs. "Just wanted to let you know that… same. And it's fine. If you want to talk about-"

"-I don't think I can save you," I say, interrupting Aarush in-between.

Aarush just gives me an unknown look, with a bit of confusion and shock.

"What does that mean?" Aarush finally asks, after some staring.

"I have fallen in… whatever this is. Before. And I couldn't save her," I say, feeling my whole body shiver, remembering of what happened.

Aarush doesn't reply. He just comes closer and hugs me from the side. Luckily I wasn't wearing my armour, as I didn't want to be identified outside. And so, I feel his warmth around me, just like some swivel of an energy which could empower me.

"Scelesthe… I'm not saying you should like me cause I do. I just want to know this person. And be with her. On whatever terms suit us."

I don't say a thing and just stay in his grasp, for as long as an eternity. Sadly, even a happy or a sad eternity comes to an end.

"The team on the other building told me that they got access to their building's cameras," I convey the message I received from Lost-Bird, to Thunder and the others.

"I'm thinking you are suggesting to do the same. But, we can't," Thunder says, and looks at me, with a serious expression. "Somehow, all of the-"

"-cameras are broken," Edward says alongside Thunder, and sighs. "Yeah… the other person and I did that."

"He is saying it so openly, are you with him?" Thunder asks, still confused of Edward's role.

"No, he's with us. To make you understand; he was with them as a spy," Feather says.

"And let us stop at that detail," Edward says.

"Well, is the other person…"

"We see them, and our best option is to kill them," Edward says.

"How do we know that it is not the other way around?" a person asks.

Right. This person. This person was also a spy. A spy who followed Lost-Bird and got caught in this mess. It was a police officer who basically shot at the Exterior-Beings and saved Witch, many days ago.

How many days had it been?

"Well, I'll give you every information I have. On how this all will play out…" Edward says. "And the first scenario here would be that other person. Sadly and also luckily, neither of us know each other's face."

"Well, then how will we catch… him or her?" Thunder asks.

"That is the tricky part. But he or she surely is in this building. Among you. And you may already have a slight suspicion even," Edward sighs loudly. "But… that could be anyone among these bunch, in such a situation."

"What do you mean?" Thunder asks.

"It'll be someone who wants to cause as much death as possible," Edward says.

"Clearly does not explain the, 'anyone in this situation', part," Forcerer presses the question properly.

"It'll be someone who will cause panic. A panic which will result in a lot of causalities. That is, if we don't stop it," Edward says.

A panic… such a person… why does it have to be such a person. And as if to answer my inner question, Edward speaks again.

"That is the goal of Saturn Organisation."

***

"I remember quite a lot from my past," Witch says, as a night-time story to us all, while we gather around a fire we had caused, as if we were on a picnic. "And at the same time very less."

Psyand's mother had made quite a lot of kheer today, to my surprise. And a bunch of more sweet-based products. If Wrap, the gym freak, was awake… he would hate it here.

But it was quite lonely without Wrap still awake.

"How is he?" I had asked Grandpa.

"I'm no expert. But I know a bad condition when I see one," Grandpa had frowned badly. "But-"

All he called it was a miracle for Wrap to still be breathing. Again.

But he was an expert. And he also was-

"-what are you thinking?" Witch asks. "Are you plotting an escape?"

"What?" I ask, having snapped out of my thoughts. "No, I just…"

"You better not go around snitching on our identities to people," Rusk sighs.

"You are one to talk. Even I know your identity," Witch says.

"I'm at least honoured as a sportsperson," Rusk sighs.

"We all deserve to have masks like superheroes. Like Lady Witch suggested," Psyand says.

"Psyand, Witch was being sarcastic when she asked you to call her that," I sigh.

"No, I like it," Witch says, again in her calm and expression-less face and tone. But yet, a tone which clearly always sounded like mockery to anyone and everyone.

"I do agree that protecting identity would be a good thing. Except for the identities already falling," Psyand's mother says.

"I have no problem with my identity. I have no kind of past they can try to harm," Witch says.

"But… maybe there is a kind of attire which could… help you," Psyand's mother says.

I didn't quite understand this sudden bond between the two. And it takes me a while to understand the words meant for Witch. That is, when Witch looks at her self, to answer to my confusion. Witch does a light nod.

"Maybe something in or opposite to purple," Witch says.

And another weird thing was Witch's obsession with that one hero, who had… basically killed her. Okay, I get her obsession.

Even when it was night already, people only stared at us from far, but never approached us. And their stares were already giving me jolts across my skin, in the form of goosebumps.

***

"Are you perhaps planning on going to the other building?" I ask to the spy-officer.

The spy-officer gets shook and trembles with his whole body.

"N-no."

"But that is what you initially came to do?" I ask. "Spy Harsh."

"Yes… initially."

We two were currently on the patrol around the building. Seemingly the spy had replaced the one he was spying, tonight.

"But now I seem to have another purpose."

"And what is that?" I press.

"I became an officer… not to spy you see. It was to help people. And I rarely got the chance. Heck, I never did. But now…"

"This situation is way beyond what you can bear or control or fend against," I wake him up.

"That… I… get," he finds it hard to say. "I did sign-up knowing dangers. The normal ones are scary enough. And with some entity beings going on here… I barely can do anything."

I don't reply. And he goes on.

"But I don't think I'm useless here. I'm still some authority here. I can inspire like how I'm supposed to. I can protect, even if it means to make everyone run from danger. Even if it means I buy time when they do."

He shivers. But it clearly wasn't the cold. He was afraid, visibly so.

"You are scared," I say. "You can let others handle it." I say it with mockery. Mocking his whole vision and being.

"But so are everyone," he blurts out instantly. "Yes. I may fail to sacrifice. But I will lead an escape, even if it is all I can help with."

I knew he had to make peace with the truth. Not become some hero.

"I saw that girl back then. Broken. Not even bleeding. Nearly able to stand. And I saw this guy, who wasn't as strong as her, but stood by her side," he says, remembering that day. "He covered her, to take the bullets in her stead, if we fired," he laughs or scoffs, I didn't know. "I wish I was as strong. I wish everyone was as strong."

The same guy who he had come to spy on. The same guy who was going to be killed if he moved, by the same girl he protected that day. The guy who couldn't look into my eyes, or Psyand's, after we found the book.

Neither the spy, or the girl, or me, or Psyand, understood this guy.

But he was neither the villain or the hero. Even he knew that. Yet… what made Lost-Bird the protagonist?