CHAPTER 11: SUSPICIONS

"He's... he's awake!" Jim heard one of the boys exclaim suddenly.

"Jim!" The next second he felt someone hugging him tightly.

Looking at who hugged him he saw the blonde hair of his sister and he could feel her body trembling as she was sobbing with her face buried in his chest.

"I'm so sorry Jim! I'm so sorry. I'm the worst sister ever! Please! Please forgive me!" She wept.

Jim was dazed. He looked at Amy before looking at his friends who stood by the side. An unknown feeling washed over him and he felt the urge to cry but he quickly stopped himself.

'These are the people who care about me. In these godforsaken world. I'll protect them... I'll protect them no matter what!' Jim thought as he gently lifted his hands and caressed Amy's hair.

"It's okay." He whispered.

"Hey you had us worried sick you know." Axel said while throwing a glare at Phil.

"Hey! What'd I do?" Phil cried with a look of indignation.

"Yeah, sorry about that guys." He said while Axel shook his head.

"I should be the one apologizing, I got us into that mess in the first place remember?" Axel said while Jim nodded.

"It's alright."

"It's kinda funny though you didn't have any injuries when you came in and yet you were out the longest. It's a good thing Amy showed up and helped you guys escape. I knew Axel here wasn't man enough to pull it off." Phil said while throwing a contemptuous glare back at Axel who snarled at him.

A confused expression appeared on Jim's face for a split second before he understood what was going on Axel and Amy had probably cooked up that story to hide what really happened in that alleyway.

He looked at Axel with eyes that said "thank you"while Axel nodded in acknowledgement.

'But what did he mean by no injuries? I clearly remember having my head bashed in by that Darwin guy. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing someone with Amy at that time... Or perhaps it was my imagination? I wonder what happened to him, did the academy find out about this?' Jim thought but shrugged it off, since no one was talking about it, he decided to let it be. Looking over at Denok,he noticed he had been silent all through since he woke.

'Huh, What's wrong with him?'

"Well Jim, I don't know if you're just the most unlucky person in the world, it hasn't even been up to a complete day since you got here and you're already hospitalized twice. Well just so you know, you were out for five days straight so you know what that means right?... Yup! Expedition's tommorow." Phil said with a mischievous smile while Jim looked at him with dread.

PAH!

"Ow!" Axel cried.

__________

In a dark room two silhouettes could be seen sittingin front of a table.

"Yes, I saw it with my very eyes. The boy who was assumed to be her brother suddenly stood up and almost killed all of them. They barely survived." One of the figures spoke.

" Oh really now? Well that's unaccounted for, what do you think we should do number 83?" The other figure asked.

"Just give me some more time. Probably after the expedition." the first figure said.

"Ok then. But be aware. There must be no mistakes."

"Yes, red A." The first figure said as they stood up and bowed slightly.

"Hmm... To think she had a brother." Red A said before disappearing without a trace.

__________

The next morning.

Denok was awake but still lied down on his bed as he looked at Jim who was still fast asleep.

' There's something weird about this kid. Those fools are just too dumb to see it.' he thought as he stared at Phil who was snoring away without a care in the world.

'If truly they were attacked by the trench members, there's no way they'd be able to escape just by Amy and her friend showing up... And when he was brought into the clinic there wasn't as much as a single scratch on him yet... He was unconscious for five full days. The only thing that comes to mind is somehow this boy managed to defend against if not defeat the trench. But the backlash was overexertion which sent him in a dormant state for five days.' Denok thought. But he suddenly remembered something.

' No, it's impossible. I managed to see the trench members that day while they were being hospitalized, it was an emergency and I only managed to catch a glimpse. But what I saw... Jim couldn't have done that. Or could he? Argh! This is so frustrating! I know Axel won't tell me a thing. That guy's too tight lipped. Well, I guess what really happened in that alleyway would remain a mystery*sigh*'

Just then Phil stirred before waking up with a scream.

"Argh!" He yelled instantly waking Jim and Axel.

"What's that!?"

"What happened?!" They both asked simultaneously.

Phil smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, I just had a nightmare. Axel had his head bitten off by a terrifying octopus-turtle, Jim was ripped in two by an ape while Denok was... " Phil immediately stopped talking when he spotted Denok's glare.

"I swear I'll kill you the next time you do this." Axel swore while Jim just sighed. He was already used to Phil's character by now so it didn't really bother him much.

"Good morning guys." Jim greeted.

"Oh good morning dear Jim. How was your beauty sleep?" Phil said which made Jim stare at him with an incrdulous look.

'This guy... '

Axel shook his head as he got out of bed. And went towards the bathroom.

"The expedition's today. Get prepared. We don't wanna be late." He said before walking away.

"Aishh! So serious all the time. You better loosen up a little bit Axel or you're gonna grow older than your age." Phil teased.

"Fuck you Phil!" Axel's voice came from the other side of the door making Phil smirked as he lied down on his bed again.

"Ah... What a wonderful dream."

The group prepared and got ready for the expedition taking all the valuable things they would need before heading out.