CHAPTER TEN

Cora's POV

I watch as Sebastian leaves the room before facing Alistair. "You have something to say to me, right?" I ask. I feel like my heart might pop out of my mouth, what could Alistair possibly have to say to me? "There are two types of people in this world." Alistair says.

"Please get straight to the point." I state a little confused. "You're becoming more like that boy." Alistair chuckles. "But I like confident people so it's okay." That means I'm not going to die, right? I don't respond and wait for him to continue. The anticipation is getting to me, I feel like I won't like whatever he has to say. "Like I said, only two types of people in this world. Can you guess them?"

"No, not at all." I say fiddling with my fingers. "There's the talented and untalented. Back in the day, we could have used the 'fortunate' and 'unfortunate'. But aren't we all unfortunate in this era?" Alistair smiles. What is he trying to get at? "It's all according to the natural selection. You can say someone is exceptional but not quite talented. Central can see through such things. That small percentage of the talented is here, in Central."

"I know that it requires a lot of processes to get here." I say still not understanding. "Yes, it does. Apart from you, there's only one other person who got here without any processes." Alistair says while folding his arms. That piques my interest; nobody has ever told me that. "Who was the first?"

"Sebastian, but I won't get into that. The fact that you're here means you hold some sort of talent, I won't doubt that."

"But?" There must be a catch somewhere.

"Where did you come from?" The question is simple but the way he says it makes my heartbeat accelerate. The atmosphere suddenly changes as Alistair sharply glares at me with suspicion. "W-what do you mean?"

"Sebastian says you lost your memories but is that really the case? How come none of the camps found you? The way you just appeared from nowhere….it's quite peculiar." Does he think that I'm a spy? That's ridiculous. But then, I remember Ren and his words.

He called Central the enemy, so that might make me their enemy if what he said is true. "I did lose my memory and it's on the camps if they didn't find me." I say calmly. Besides, they wouldn't have taken me in considering the situation I woke up in... The scene still makes me nauseous every time I think of it.

Alistair is silent for a moment. "I don't trust you."

"I don't trust you either." I shrug.

"But I'll trust Sebastian's judgment. Although, just know this, there's nothing in this place that passes me by." He says seriously. "And that's a promise; choose your side wisely, Cora Aetós." So he's resorting to threats. I understand the threat well. But how the hell do I choose when I don't even know the sides?

"I guess that's all then." I say turning to leave. "We'll see your performance." I walk out the room feeling both frustrated and irritated at the same time. I think he might be watching me from now on, that is, if he wasn't already. That doesn't bother me though, what really scares me is I find out that I really am the enemy. How will I react? Would my memories make me change sides?

"You don't look so good." The voice startles me and I look up to see Sebastian leaning by the wall.  The way his hair falls over one eye gives him a slightly boyish look, like he has no worries. "Oh, it's you." I guess he waited for me. I continue walking as Sebastian falls into step with me.

"So, what did you guys talk about?" I glance at him from the side but he looks straight ahead. "Nothing much." He sighs, "Whatever he said, don't take it to heart." That's easy for you to say, he's never doubted you. I wonder what kind of talent Sebastian has to have found himself here.

"We have a mission to prepare for." I say calmly after a while. I guess the world won't let me have a break for too long, this mission is a test. Frankly, without my memories, I'm not sure I'll pass it.

******

"This is the zone we'll primarily focus on; it's a C-Zone. The least dangerous zones are ranked E while X-Zones are the most dangerous. So you can say C is pretty neutral and in the middle." Sebastian explains while pointing at the map on the board. "How many do we need to kill?" I ask. "We need three samples this time, so three." He shrugs. Alistair is throwing us straight in the fire, huh? Sebastian has been trying to explain to me how this whole thing works for a couple of hours. Honestly, I'm the one who suggested this whole preparation thing but I don't think I can handle it. 

I know that it's definitely not sunshine and rainbows but Sebastian is so serious. He's barely smiled the past two hours, but I guess this is a pretty serious business. "Cora, are you listening?" That pulls me out of my trance. "What? Of course I am! Three samples, three metamorphoses…"

"Okay, anyway it's time for you to pick your weapon." Sebastian says before leaving the room. From the window, I see that it's getting late. I can't wait to go home. HQ looks a little different in the night and the only I can hear is the buzzing sound of the light bulb. The door opens and Sebastian wheels in a big black box.

After close observation, I notice that it has three compartments. I conclude that they all open at the same time. "What's this?" Sebastian moves to the side and removes a remote from his pocket.

"Hold on a sec." He presses a button and as I expected, three compartments open. Two are horizontal on opposite ends while the last one opens vertically between the two. "These are some of the finest weapons made by Camp Blaze." Sebastian smiles proudly. I move closer to take a look. The weapons are all in different forms which reminds me of Blair. On one of the horizontal platforms are knifes. All sorts of knifes ranging from daggers to – swords?

I look up at Sebastian, "People use swords?"

"Hey, it's an amazing weapon used over time and it works efficiently if used properly. The people from the east are especially fond of it."From the east? He must be talking about Camp Greenwood. 

"I thought they dealt with medical supplies…." I mumble. For a second Sebastian looks guilty, like he said something he shouldn't have. "Oh, that was in the past. But it's still highly respected even now. But I prefer the dagger."

I wave him off and continue taking a look. The other one is more of an assortment. I notice some balls, bows and arrows, as well as guns. "Aren't guns the best weapons to be used?" I ask. "They just slow them down if used by an amateur but they can do some real damage if used by an expert. Like Nico, he's our best sniper."

That surprises me, Nico has never mentioned it but it suits him. "Alex uses swords and Blair? Well anything goes with her."

"So Blair is just allowed to keep all those weapons? Aren't they limited or something?"

"Perks of being the best." Sebastian smirks. I didn't know that I was surrounded by such amazing people. I look at the vertical compartment which interests me far more than the other two. It holds weapons that I didn't expect to be options. The one that catches my eye is gold in color. Where did they find gold, or is it artificial? It has a sharp tip and is short in length, though, I suspect its length is adjustable.

I trace my fingers over it noticing the designs on it. "You want the spear?" Sebastian asks. "I'm not sure yet." I lift it and feel its weight in my hands. I feel like I've used something like this before, no, I know I have.

"Be careful what you choose. I know you're good at close combat but the spear is a tricky weapon. It can be used at long distance, which is kind of useless but whatever, or close combat. You'll need to synchronize all of your skills." Sebastian explains. "I'm guessing it's not used often." I say still looking at the spear.

"You can say that. Even Blair is not a fan of it and she's a beast." I don't think you should let her hear that. I clench my fists. "Maybe wait after the mission, so you get proper training for it.2

"No! I can do it, trust me."I add pressure on the spear and it extends. "Trust me."

Sebastian stares at me and shrugs. "If you say so." I smile at Sebastian, "Thank you."

He looks away and coughs, "Don't thank me, it's all part of the mission...I didn't really do anything." He mumbles the last part. "Plus it's your choice."

"I guess we're all set now."I conclude. I sigh and stretch my limbs. "Yeah, get some rest. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Sebastian ends up walking me all the way to my place despite my protests. Blair is fast asleep when I settle in so I end up lying in my bed surrounded by complete silence. 

I really wish she would snore or something, I don't want to be alone with my thoughts. With all my thoughts racing through my head, it takes a while before I finally fall asleep.

******

"Communicator?"

"Check." I answer nodding my head.

"Weapon?"

"Check."

"Map?"

"It's in my bag."

"Bag?"

"It's on my back…" I say while tilting my head at Sebastian. It's finally morning and Sebastian and I are making sure we have everything we need. "What am I forgetting?" Sebastian says.

"Nothing, can we go already?"

"To avoid mistakes, we must take absolute caution when it comes to-

"I hear you, now hurry, they'll leave us. We're lucky enough we got a ride." I say.

"That's because it's Galand and-

"Yes, yes." I grab his hand and begin walking towards the entrance. The only difference is that this time I don't have to go through that hellish tube. I cringe at the mere memory of it. We find a black van waiting for us with a man in black standing besides it. I immediately identify him as Galand and run towards him.

"Galand, it's been a while." I say. "That it has, Miss Cora." He replies before nodding at Sebastian. "So, where are we sitting?" Sebastian asks. Galand rolls his eyes and points at the back. "What's taking so long?" A woman says from behind the wheel. She pops her head out of the window to stare at us before raising an eyebrow. "Sorry Yuna." Sebastian says while dragging me to the back.

"These guys aren't transporting supplies right?" I ask before Sebastian opens the back of the van. "Nope, information."We climb in and I sigh when the van starts moving. I can't help but feel something will happen on this mission and it will affect more than just me. 

"Hey, what's on your mind?" Sebastian asks noticing my silence. "I…I don't know."

"Are you nervous about fighting them? Don't worry, you have me." He says folding his arms while leaning back. I burst out into laughter and shake my head. "Everything is going to be fine." If only I thought about it then, that those are famous last words.

After a while, the van began to slow down until it came to a stop. I tighten my grip on the spear in my hand. "We're at the outskirts of the C- Zone now. This is as far as we can take you." Galand calls out to us. "Thank you, you made our mission much easier." Sebastian replies as he climbs out. I follow after him before looking up at the sky. 

The weather is way different from the morning. Dark clouds cover the sky and I can feel the gush of strong winds against my skin. Yellow tapings only make the zone more eerie. Is this going to be okay?

Before long, Sebastian and I remain standing alone. This town looks like it was abandoned long ago. The roads are covered in dust and most of the windows are broken. "So this is what a C-Zone city looks like." I say. It has a different feel to it, I can tell that the town I met Sebastian in was low level. 

"Yeah, the metamorphoses did a number on this town. It's rare for people to come here which also makes it the perfect place for hunting." He says smiling at me. Being here with Sebastian makes me feel less anxious and jumpy. 

I feel a sudden jolt and turn my attention to the shopping centre. "Did you see something?" I take a step back and pick up a stone. The distance isn't too far but it's hard to see anything from our position. "No, but I think our targets are there." I reply looking at the stone in my hand before throwing it at the only good window there. I hear a loud screech and extend my spear as Sebastian pulls out his daggers.

The metamorphoses show themselves and I flinch back at the sight. It's been a while since I saw one so I'm not surprised when some fear takes a hold of me. But somewhere in me, I knew that I could take them on.

The three of them look similar in nature. They have black eyes and dark fur with purple gashes. A sticky dark fluid is stuck on their fur which I find strange. "It looks like they've already sustained some injuries." Sebastian says. But the real question is what gave them those injuries?

"That doesn't matter." I say adjusting my weapon in my hand. These metamorphoses look bigger than the last one meaning I have to be alert. The biggest one snarls at me as I move away from Sebastian. The other two move towards him and I begin running towards a more open space.

As expected, the biggest one runs after me with a slight limp. I hold the bottom of my spear with my right hand and the top with my left. The beast growls before launching its body at me. I move my left leg behind and strike it on its front legs. More blood flows out and it screeches at me. For a second, it looks sad or rather I feel it looks sad.

I move to the left, closer to the left and it lungs at me once again. I jump onto a bench and extend my spear further. Before it has time to react, I jump on its back and bury the spear in. I end up losing my balance and fall to the ground, but it looks like the metamorphosis has lost hope. That doesn't seem right.

How bad were the injuries that it's not even trying to fight me off? I move closer to it as it whimpers, it turns its eyes to me. But I don't flinch back until I'm standing right in front of its face. I crouch down to its eye level and remove the syringe that Sebastian gave me from my pocket.

It continues to look at me and I find myself unable to complete the mission. I don't know why but to me, it looks sad and pained. I sigh and close my eyes.

"I'm just imagining it." I have to get a grip. Save me. The voice is sudden and I hear it in my mind. A shiver runs down my spine, that's not my voice. I look around but there's no one in sight. "I can't deal with this." I sigh. I turn back to the metamorphosis and draw blood before it disintegrates.

"It looks you're done here." Sebastian says from behind me as I stand up. "Yes, I am." I say pushing the previous ordeal to the back of my mind. "How'd it go on your end?"

Sebastian waves two tubes at me smugly. I transfer the blood  I got to a tube and hand it to Sebastian. He looks at me oddly before reaching for my hand. "You're bleeding." Oh, I didn't notice that. He wipes the blood off my hand with a cloth. "We'll need to disinfect it."

"That's okay. Can we leave now? This place feels off…"

Sebastian tilts his head to the side. "Sure."

Before, I was sure the discomfort I felt was due to the metamorphoses, but they're dead now and I feel even more uncomfortable. Unconsciously, I start walking faster before Sebastian stops me. "Hey, what's wrong?"

My heartbeat accelerates and I stare at Sebastian. "I…I don't know but-

A loud screech cuts me off and I pull my hands to my ears. The sound is deafening and I stumble to the right. I'm hit by a gust of wind which pushes me to the ground. When I finally manage to get my hair out of my face, I notice Sebastian is also on the ground. Only in front of him is a bird like metamorphosis. It's different from the others; I can feel killing intent radiating off it. 

I don't think we can take on this creature. I knew something seemed strange about this place. From the blood on its talons, I'm sure it attacked the other metamorphoses. But that doesn't make any sense. I pull myself up regaining my momentum and throw my spear at the creature's side. That came out with more force than I intended. The spear impales its wing and Sebastian manages to get back on his feet.

For a moment, it turns its attention to me before turning back to Sebastian. Did I just get ignored by a bird?

It screeches loudly once again and we're frozen in place. "Cora, get out of here!" Sebastian yells. "No!" There's no way I'm leaving him, besides, I don't even know the way back to Central…

There's got to be something I can do. The creature closes in on Sebastian when he's backed up against a wall and my legs are still frozen from the aftereffects of its voice. I clench my fists in frustration, I have to think. Come on brain, there's got to be something I'm missing!

The metamorphosis reaches out its talons to Sebastian when a sudden thought crosses my mind. I end up speaking without realizing it, "Stop it."

My voice comes out calm and commanding, so much that I barely recognize it myself. The metamorphosis freezes in place and I take some steps forward. My body moves without thinking until I'm right in front of it.

It struggles trying to move before it gives up. I can control it, I'm not sure how but I can. It's like a part of me, something I've always been able to do. "Who sent you here?" I ask. The metamorphosis looks from side to side before backing up. I glare at it and it yelps in pain, I don't stop as the creature slumps to the ground. It's not like it'll answer my question anyway.

"Cora, that's enough!" Sebastian suddenly grabs my shoulders and I look up at him. The metamorphosis uses the chance to escape and take to the sky. "Wait, it's getting away." I say trying to take a step forward. Huh, why I feel so heavy? Sebastian catches me before I fall and I force my head upwards.

 Even as my sight blurs, I manage to make out a person on the roof of one of the stores. The person wears a black cloak but I can make out their empty eyes and black veins coming down from the eyes. The uncomfortable feeling is back and I do nothing to fight it back. For some reason, I feel like if we faced that person, we wouldn't make it out alive. I'm sure the metamorphosis flew in that direction. The person smiles before turning.

"Sebastian…" I try getting out of his hold but my body is too heavy and I feel myself drifting off. "They're getting away…."